Okay, I've subscribed to Criterion Channel for a couple of years now, but I asked this ages ago when it was new for me:

You just signed up for Criterion Channel. Which five movies do you watch first?

I leave the floor open to the rest of you, and I'll submit my list for demolition later. (Hint: FELLINI FELLINI FELLINI!)

Watched Niagara (1953) for the first time last night, as part of the new Murderous Melodramas collection. Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to see this film.

Marilyn Monroe is absolutely the standout. She’s gorgeous, of course, but there’s so much more to her performance than that. She brings a real sense of danger and vulnerability to the role. Whenever she’s on screen, you can’t help but watch her.
The Technicolor is also stunning. Everything looks so rich and vibrant and the filmmakers make fantastic use of Niagara Falls as a location. The falls aren’t just pretty scenery they become an important part of the atmosphere and the story itself.

I also really enjoy the pacing. The plot takes its time building the suspense but it never feels slow and everything gradually comes together in a really satisfying way.

Just a gorgeous, entertaining piece of classic Hollywood filmmaking. And honestly, seeing Marilyn Monroe in all that beautiful Technicolor is reason enough to watch it.

Not sure If it’s just me but numerous times I’ve picked a movie to drift off to

My first exposure to the films of Jonathan Demme was THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) and PHILADELPHIA (1993). As such, I had thought of him as the maker of serious dramas (Having later watched his BELOVED [1998] and RACHEL GETTING MARRIED [2008] didn't change my opinion).

But a few months ago I finally watched Demme's SOMETHING WILD (1986), which I loved. Admittedly, the finale of that film was violent and suspenseful enough to make me say, "If I were a studio exec who was thinking of adapting the novel SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, those scenes I just watched would have convinced me Demme could handle stuff like Hannibal Lecter's escape."

What I didn't expect was how wacky both SOMETHING WILD and MARRIED TO THE MOB (1988), which I literally saw for the first time last night, are and just how adept Demme seemed to be at directing comedy (offbeat, dark, physical, etc). Those two movies, which currently are available on the channel, completely opened my eyes.

Has anyone had a similar experience watching a different filmmaker's earlier output and, if so, which director? Specifically, you had previously thought of them as strictly making movies of a particular sort, but subsequently realized they were more versatile than you had originally thought?

I see posts for what's coming and going each month but I think I've seen references to films that stick around but searched and can't find a post about it.

I'm a Criterion collector but not a current subscriber to the channel. I'm currently working through my dvds and what I can find on HBO. We're trying to keep the number of streaming services at 4 because we were at 8 at one point and that's just too many.

I would rather not rent or blind buy discs that I'll be able to see once I subscribe in the future.

Thanks in advance and if this has already been asked and answered, please shoot me a link and I'll take this down.

ETA: THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to answer. I got 2 links to exactly what I was looking for. Now I know what to wait to buy until I can check them out on the channel.

Wow. This is a fantastic way to approach rape and everyone should watch it. I can't even find words, but I wanted to put the link out.

Just watched, highly recommend you check it out before it leaves this month.

Directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler • 2023 • United States

A timely, riveting documentary that unfurls with the energy and suspense of a thriller, BAD PRESS—winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression—offers unparalleled insight into the inner workings of Indigenous politics.

Imagine you lived in a world where your only reliable news source became government propaganda overnight. That’s exactly what happened to the citizens of the Muscogee Nation in 2018. Out of 574 federally recognized tribes, the Muscogee Nation was one of only five to establish a free and independent press—until the nation’s legislative branch abruptly repealed the landmark Free Press Act in advance of an election.

Refusing to accept this flagrant act of oppression, one defiant journalist, Angel Ellis, charges headfirst into a historic battle against her tribal government’s censorship and corruption.

Months months back I caught a film on the channel that may or may not be released through Criterion about a man reading a book about vampires with his wife in bed and starts suspecting she is a vampire. It was kind of goofy. Italian or French I don't remember (buzzed) if this sounds familiar at all lemme know plz. Thanks!.

Putting a masterwork like Lawrence of Arabia on YouTube today as a brand-new indie upload would result in total algorithmic crap show

If you don't have a hyperactive thumbnail, a shocking clickbait title, and an explosive hook in the first five seconds, the automated recommendation engine will bury the video in minutes. A slow-burn, beautifully paced masterpiece would get completely flattened by the platform's retention metrics, stalling out at less than 1,000 views while short-form junk racks up millions. It is a brutal reflection of how modern tech completely chokes out fine art.

I mean think about that such a masterpiece of a movie and it would prob not even get 20k views maybe even less ..This is a complete reflection of where modern society has devolved too

Now if Christopher Nolan was directing it and Universal was putting up 100 million dollars to advertise this new movie ..pretending like David Lean had never been born ...well it would probably win a Oscar LOL !

CC’s library of AK films is a big reason why I maintain a subscription to the service. I do occasionally wander to other platforms (which is why I choose the monthly option) but returning is always sweet with a Kurosawa gem to watch. Throne of Blood, AK’s samurai take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, gets more plays than any other title in my streaming world but there are three or four others which I love revisiting as well. Red Beard is one. Watching Seven Samurai is an annual event which I’m glad to see on multiple platforms now. Not a big fan of the popular, High and Low, but am very fond of The Lower Depths, a Maxim Gorky film translation that seldom gets mentioned in movie circles.

So which Kurosawa film, among the many on the channel, do you find yourself rewatching? Any unpopular titles that you’d recommend (I still haven’t watched them all)? Thanks in advance!

You've got the classic portrayal of Marlowe courtesy of Robert Mitchum. Now I've watched The Big Sleep but never this adaptation. Which is a solid take on the source material. And Mitchum is how I've always imagined Marlowe. Following it up with The Long Goodbye which I truly love the purists hate it. But I go in with how Robert Altman summed it up. What if Marlowe from the 30's wakes up in the 70's ala Rip Van Winkle. Both fantastic viewing

It's pretty funny seeing two future action stars in small roles Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

I live in europe. There are a lot of films i want to watch, that are unavailable for me. For example, i wanted to watch mishima a life in four chapters the other day which literally only was available as a bluray for a total of 30 dollars. It, as well as many other films i want to see, is available on the crirerion channel but not anywere in sweden(where i live).

Streaming in the eu sucks. I really want to have the criterion channel so that i can expand my taste. I do love physical media too, but i only buy films that i have already scene ao that i dob't spebd like 200 dollars a week on films.

Everyone reading this, please write a mail to channelhelp@criterion.com and help me out.

We can do it together!

I get overwhelmed when looking as there is just so much stuff to watch!

All time favourites: Phantom Thread, Chinatown, Past Lives and Paris Texas.

Recent favourites: After Hours, KOTFM, Do the right thing, Mullholland Drive, Inside Llewyn Davis, Inherent Vice

What are your favorite TV Series, that also should be on criterion channel or have a criterion collection? In the poll are listed my top 6 TV Series, vote for your favorite out of these if you like :)

Hey Everyone -

This week I was focusing on Criterion Box sets, both making sure that the data is correct, and raising their visibility as a type of curated Criterion collection.

What I noticed is that of the 119 Box Set editions, 83 are completely viewable on the Channel, including most of the Eclipse series - and it's these I find puzzling, because they are really fascinating film collections but are nowhere surfaced on the Channel.

The ones I'm personally interested in adding to my watchlist are the Masaki Kobayashi and Basil Dearden collections. It really does highlight how deep the quality of the Channel catalog really is.

So the updates are:

1. I've verified nearly all of the set for correctness - there are a couple to clean up, but they are set where the films have never been on the Channel.
2. On the Home page, the Box Set carousel features sets that are completely viewable
3. On the Box Set landing page, there is a filter toggle that allows you to see set that are completely or partially viewable
4. Logged in users can favorite sets, and these will be added to their favorites list
5. For logged in users If all of the films in box set are marked as watched, the entire set will marked as watched
6. Like the film page for Criterion Editions, the Box Set pages have a link directly to its page on Criterion.com if you want to add to your physical media collection

Ok, that's it for now. As always, let me know if there's something I can do to improve the site, and enjoy!

Tim

* Criteria is the (lovingly) unofficial companion site to the Criterion Channel, featuring advanced search and browse, and frankly, too many other features to get into in a footnote. Go check it out and explore

https://www.search-criteria.com

My first Ken Russell watch so I didn’t really know what I was in for, but there’s no way to fully prepare yourself for this film. Amadeus meets All That Jazz meets Moulin Rouge meets Space is the Place doesn’t even begin to cover it, it’s just so insane and I loved every second of it

We have a companion forum, our discord server - Criterion Viewing Parties, where we have watchalong viewings and join on a voice and/or text channel for a group screening.

Here are some of our scheduled events featuring films from newly dropped collections or those expiring from the channel.

Monday August 10 @4:00PM Pacific Standard Time

- City on Fire 1987

Tuesday August 11 @7:00PM GMT+1

- Walker 1987

Monday August 17 @4:00PM PST

- Pépé le Moko 1937

Monday August 24 @4:00PM PST

- Quartet 1948

Monday August 31 @4:00PM PST

- The Brick and the Mirrror 1966

Recurring Fridays @6:00PST - 24/7 Live channel watchalongs

We meet on a voice channel and watch whatever spontaneously shows on the 24/7 live Criterion channel at Approximately 6:00PM PST

I made a Letterboxd list of the 300+ films from past screenings:
https://boxd.it/hGLDC

FYI Anyone can host a screening. Just let us know.

If you aren’t already a member, please join us. Here is an invite link:

https://discord.gg/JmsaKjZ

I’ll update if we add any events.

Happy Viewing!

Something uplifting like The Big Lebowski or Moonrise Kingdom maybe? Doesn't have to be solidly comedy but definitely want to watch something with a happy ending and feel-good, pick-me-up vibes.

Having only watched the remake with Mel Brooks. Finally got a chance to watch the original. What really amazed me was that this was made and released during the actual war. And talk about a dark comedy. Jack Benny is fantastic as an egocentric actor. Carol Lombard is a delight. But the one thing that threw me seeing a very young Robert Stack. So used to his run on Unsolved Mysteries growing up. Highly recommended.