School of Life

Jul 17, 2026 — Channel Calendars This month on the Criterion Channel, crank up the volume on our playlist of (actually good) rock biopics that go beyond cliché to explore the elusive place where inspiration sparks and musical legends are born. Our Southern Gothic...

Jun 16, 2026 — The debut in 1998 of Lisa Cholodenko’s first feature film, High Art, was a triumph. The intense mastery of its form and the freshness of its narrative created waves of excitement—from the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo...

May 27, 2026 — Is it possible to look without trying to grasp the object of one’s gaze? Traditional ethnographic documentaries, much like the written ethnographies that preceded them, have attempted to explain a given culture to those who don’t belong to it, assuming...

May 21, 2026 — The Cannes sidebar wraps with prizes for three stories about teenage girls and another about a determined adult woman.

May 14, 2026 — Channel Calendars This month on the Criterion Channel, set out on an epic journey with our Odysseys collection, or revisit the foundational Bond classics that introduced the silver screen’s most iconic superspy. A spotlight on Courtney Love’s acting career reveals...

May 8, 2026 — Jean Rouch said they created “a new cinematographic language,” and a retrospective touring North America begins in Toronto.

Feb 5, 2026 — Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, and Hong Sangsoo select films to screen in a series celebrating the Korean Film Archive.

Jan 29, 2026 — Critics have taken a liking to the new films from Olivia Wilde, Padraic McKinley, and John Wilson.

Dec 9, 2025 — One Battle After Another carries on plowing through the season while Hollywood braces for “a seismic reorganization.”

Oct 23, 2025 — For many critics and fans, the only problem with the five-hour series is that it isn’t twice as long.