My Way

Wayne Koestenbaum, a poet and cultural critic, has published sixteen books, whose subjects include opera, Jackie Onassis, Andy Warhol, hotels, humiliation, and Harpo Marx. His most recent book is My 1980s & Other Essays. He is a Distinguished Professor of...

Jul 23, 2024 — Chen Kaige’s sweeping epic chronicles the history of twentieth-century China through the story of two childhood friends, contrasting the unchanging traditions of their Beijing-opera milieu with the nation’s swift and turbulent transformation.

Feb 3, 2026 — Her passing has sparked an outpouring of appreciation for the hilarious ways she found to cut loose.

Jun 2, 2025 — More than a hundred films likely to make you feel bad in all the best ways will screen in eight cities this month.

Jan 21, 2022 — This week: Sundance at thirty and Ways of Seeing at fifty, plus the Márta Mészáros and Bill Morrison retrospectives and a new Cinema Scope.

Aug 1, 2019 — A new book and film series survey the many varied ways filmmakers from outside the country have viewed America.

Jul 30, 2015 — It is now thirty years since the release of Stephen Frears’s film, which was both a product of and a response to the social and political landscape of 1980s Britain and depicted the lives of Pakistani immigrants with wit and...

Dec 11, 2009 — This expansive tribute to the iconic Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai was first published on the Criterion Collection’s website in fall 2005, around the time of the Criterion releases of two films starring Nakadai: Kurosawa’s Ran and the less well-known samurai...

Mar 11, 2008 — There’s no real rhyme or reason to explain which Criterion films I end up watching. For example, I saw Breathless over the holiday break after Abbey convinced me to give Godard a chance. Then I watched The Seventh Seal in...

Jul 24, 2026 — September will bring new films from Lee Chang-dong, Julia Loktev, Barbara Kopple, Mariano Llinás, and Takashi Miike.