The Criterion Collection
Essays
Jul 2, 2015 — By recounting the impossibility of making a movie, Federico Fellini ended up creating a masterpiece that almost fell into his lap.
Aug 11, 2026 — Set in 1930s French West Africa, Bertrand Tavernier’s hard-to-classify adaptation of the Jim Thompson novel Pop. 1280 offers an apocalyptic vision of a society in which institutions have abdicated their moral authority.
Nov 10, 2025 — Olivia Laing is a writer and critic. Their books include The Lonely City, Funny Weather, and Crudo. Their latest novel, The Silver Book, is about the making of Federico Fellini’s Casanova and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s apocalyptic masterpiece, Salò, or The...
May 6, 2020 — Kleber Mendonça Filho began his career as a film critic and journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines, as well as for his own site, CinemaScópio.As a director, he experimented with fiction, documentary, and video clips in the 1990s. He migrated...
The writer and director talks about the connection between Le corbeau and Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom; praises the strength of Kira Muratova and Larisa Shepitko; and selects Deep Crimson for his friend, Arturo Ripstein.
The musician and Pulp front man shares how films like Blue Velvet and Meantime altered his view of cinema, talks about collaborating with Wes Anderson and Danny Boyle, and decides he’s finally ready to watch Salò, or The 120 Days...
The actor and director returns to the Closet, where he clarifies his feelings on Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom; shares how much he learned about filmmaking from supplemental features on the Criterion editions of Barry Lyndon and Roma;...
Olivia Laing is a writer and critic. Their books include The Lonely City, Funny Weather, and Crudo. Their latest novel, The Silver Book, is about the making of Federico Fellini’s Casanova and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s apocalyptic masterpiece, Salò, or The...
Critic and author Maitland McDonagh writes and lectures on film and erotica. An editor at Riverdale Avenue Books, she founded its 120 Days Books imprint to republish vintage gay adult novels.