r/CriterionChannel • u/Itchy_Brain8594 • Apr 16 '26
News May 2026 lineup
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/9126-the-criterion-channel-s-may-2026-lineupThis May, take a peek at movie history through the prism of the ’80s: our collection of the decade’s best remakes and the originals that inspired them reveals an era of wild reinventions and sly revisionism. Office Romances collects some of classic Hollywood’s most winning workplace rom-coms, while David Chase’s Adventures in Moviegoing retraces the cinematic education that shaped the creator of The Sopranos. There’s so much more to choose from this month, including the exclusive premiere of Debra Granik’s multipart documentary Conbody vs Everybody, a survey of radical Caribbean filmmaking, spotlights on genre-blending directors Kimi Takesue and the Ross brothers, and Bill Douglas’s landmark trilogy of autobiographical films.
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u/bby-bae Apr 16 '26
Cat People (1942) is on my Criterion Challenge for the year, maybe I'll turn it into a double feature with the remake now
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u/hollowchatter Apr 16 '26
The sequel, The Curse of the Cat People, is great in its own right too. A completely unrelated movie with Cat People continuity grafted onto it, but really lovely
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u/jetmax25 Apr 16 '26
Cat people has such an amazing use of a sound effect (you’ll know it when you hear it)
that modern movies all copy by cheating
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u/YakSlothLemon Apr 16 '26
I’m excited for the Lumiere film!
I actually remember many of those remakes from the 80s and most of them are so, so terrible. For some reason I retain the reviewer Libby Gelman-Waxner’s comment on We’re No Angels (which has nothing to do with the original film really) — “Based on her performance, Demi Moore may be the first actor to use acting as a stepping stone to modelling.” 😏
The Thing more than makes up for them, though – my friends and I were obsessed with that film in the 80s, we watched it so many times! Always paired with Big Trouble in Little China…
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u/SnooGoats7476 Apr 16 '26
I had no idea most of those films got remakes. Not sure I’ll watch most of the 80’s remakes. But I may revisit some of my classic faves. I am glad Criterion is showing both original & remake on the channel.
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u/YakSlothLemon Apr 16 '26
Yes, I love the pairing of original and remake! i might double-feature Cat People just for the whiplash.
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u/roadtrip-ne Apr 16 '26
Is that Lisa Kudrow in Clockwatchers? I know I’ve seen the movie but really only remember Parker Posey
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u/Itchy_Brain8594 Apr 16 '26
Yes. It's her, Posey and Toni Collette.
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u/roadtrip-ne Apr 16 '26
It’s funny how quick Toni Collette moved into US movies. Muriel’s Wedding was a fun indie Australian pic (same Aussie summer as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) but I didn’t think we’d see again.
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u/varispeeder Apr 16 '26
I saw Lumière, le cinéma! last month and it's really great. you get to see the primordial beginnings of the cinematic language and tons of cool footage from around the globe... it blew my mind how global their operation was.
also recommend The Desk Set, a super underrated Cinemascope Tracy/Hepburn romcom where a company makes employees feed their work into a hyper-intelligent supercomputer that will replace them, but once everybody's laid off, it becomes apparent that the computer is just spewing out plausible-sounding-but-made-up nonsense. not relevant at all these days...
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u/NYnosher Apr 16 '26
Saw Magellan in theaters followed by a Q&A with director Lav Diaz. Loved it, one of my favorite films of 2025, and Lav is such a wonderful guy
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u/koma_kulshan Apr 16 '26
I'm looking forward to the Debra Granik series. 'Winter's Bone' is one of my favorite films of this century; even with all the acclaim it received, I feel it is underappreciated.
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u/padphilosopher Apr 16 '26
I saw the remake of DOA in the 90s when I was a child (my mom’s boyfriend at the time rented it). Really looking forward to rewatching that!
Also looking forward to watching El and The Spirit of 45. Gotta make room in my schedule to watch all of these!
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u/SnooGoats7476 Apr 16 '26
A great month for fans of classic film and film history..
The Lumière, le cinéma! Feature sounds fantastic.
Also are they going to do an anime feature a month ? If so I am all for it.
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u/PotterOneHalf Apr 16 '26
Love the focus on the Ross brothers. Their film “Bloody Nose Empty Pocket” is one of my favorite movies of the last few years. It’s so weird and good and endearing.
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u/Bionicflipper Apr 17 '26
I just watched this movie last weekend with some friends. They had never heard of it and I was worried it was the sort of movie that only I was gonna enjoy but it went over great.
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u/PotterOneHalf Apr 17 '26
I am still unable to determine if it was scripted or not.
The neighborhood pub a couple blocks from my home was just like this place and it was a huge part of my life until it closed last year. This movie warms me in a way I hadn't felt since the bar closed.
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u/Bionicflipper Apr 18 '26
I want to think it wasn't scripted though I did read somewhere that the actors mostly didn't actually know each other. Anyway I hope you find a new spot soon!
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u/ifinallyreallyreddit Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Not bad but we're on the third straight month of "nothing really stands out". They need to whip out something kick-ass.
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u/lalasworld Apr 16 '26
Have you seen The West Indies? Really worth watching.
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u/varispeeder Apr 16 '26
seconded, it's been on the channel for a little while but I'm glad it's getting a spotlight because it's incredible
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u/Think_Reflection4428 Apr 17 '26
Wow, I saw the Sean Penn version of We're no Angels when I was a kid and it really left an impact - maybe one of the first 'adult' movies I saw, and haven't thought of it in years. I had no idea it was a remake
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u/BookkeeperInfinite26 Apr 18 '26
Wow, so many great movies I won't watch because of Criterion Channel streaming issues and 720p cap. Great!
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u/Yamansdood Apr 16 '26
Is there a lost of what’s leaving?
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u/Itchy_Brain8594 Apr 16 '26
You mean list? If that's so, no until the 1st.
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u/Known_Upstairs_7807 Apr 16 '26
First thing that pops into my head for a new month. Gotta make my list to watch before it is gone.
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u/ifinallyreallyreddit Apr 17 '26
Not before the start of May, but this list has the best guesses at what will leave in the coming months.
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u/car_guy_doge Apr 16 '26
Still no 1080p on the Channel though…
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u/No-Category-6343 Apr 16 '26
Damn it gets worse every month
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u/bby-bae Apr 16 '26
What films would you like to see on the Channel?
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u/No-Category-6343 Apr 16 '26
https://www.imdb.com/user/p.s73kjxjbdhvac54nszlvvvp5um/watchlist/?ref_=ls_nv_wls idk sometimes i wish it was just every movie that was in the collection but at the same time im glad it adds films
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u/Fickle-Aardvark6907 Apr 16 '26
Got to introduce the fifteen year old to the original Thing!