The Watch

Feb 27, 2017 — The premiere screening of Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’avventura in 1960 was one of the most infamously divisive in Cannes Film Festival history. While Antonioni’s opaque characterizations and languorous pacing retain their ability to befuddle uninitiated viewers, these qualities also marked the...

Nov 22, 2016 — I don’t do psychoanalysis, I do cinema. —Athina Rachel TsangariThis week, over on the Criterion Channel, we’re kicking off Meet the Filmmakers, an exclusive new series of encounters with directors we’re excited to champion. For each program, we’ve enlisted a...

Feb 5, 2016 — Today marks the birthday of French New Wave pioneer François Truffaut. In celebration of his incredible life and body of work, revisit a selection of essays and Criterion supplements dedicated to the brilliant filmmaker and cinephile: “The face of the...

Apr 23, 2013 — Who is Pierre Etaix and where has he been all your life? This is the story of a filmmaker who was vanished, banished, skipped over. It’s as if one of those invisible cubicles mimes are always getting themselves shut in...

May 1, 2026 — A new month begins with a Visconti restoration, a new issue of Senses of Cinema, and a deep backgrounder on Backrooms.

Jan 27, 2026 — William and David Greaves’s film captures a gathering of Harlem Renaissance luminaries in 1972.

Jan 22, 2026 — At once earnest and fantastic, carefree and mindful, G. Aravindan’s richly imagined work of folklore channels the director’s deep spiritual vision through the form of a children’s story.

Jan 20, 2026 — A smash hit at the box office, this electrifying adventure film established the team of director Michael Curtiz and actors Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland as one of the most iconic creative partnerships in Hollywood.

Nov 13, 2025 — The director of Rat Trap and Monologue was an uncompromising artist who helped establish the Indian state of Kerala as a hub of bold political filmmaking.

Nov 3, 2025 — Beginning on November 24, the Criterion Channel will exclusively premiere the long-awaited television series from visionary director Wong Kar Wai.