The Criterion Collection
Joan Mellen is the author of several books about Japanese cinema, including Voices from the Japanese Cinema and The Waves at Genji’s Door as well as monographs for the BFI on Seven Samurai and In the Realm of the Senses....
Michael Raine teaches Japanese cinema and other courses in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and in the Program in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago. He has published on various aspects of Japanese cinema...
Tony Rayns is a London-based critic with a special interest in the film cultures of East Asia. He has been awarded the Kawakita Prize (2004) and the Foreign Ministry of Japan’s Commendation (2008) for services to Japanese cinema. His books...
Donald Richie has written widely on Japanese film and is the author of the seminal book The Films of Akira Kurosawa (University of California, 1965; revised 1998).
Mar 16, 2009 — Dave Kehr heralds the rediscovery of “the oceanic depth and diversity of Japanese cinema” in recent years, “thanks in no small part to home video,” in a lovely New York Times piece on the latest example of that, Eclipse Series...
Aug 13, 2026 — In Kidlat Tahimik’s playful and unpredictable film, a Philippine village is tasked with manufacturing thousands of figurines for the Olympic Games, upending the lives and customs of the local population.
Jul 22, 2026 — The filmmaker looks back on the experiences that have shaped his creative life, including his time in art school, his work as a graphic designer and music-video director, and his early interest in documentary cinema.
On the Channel
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...
The Daily
Jun 29, 2026 — In the run-up to the country’s 250th birthday, several venues are offering prompts for celebration and reflection.
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...