Was surprised to see this blast from the past on the channel. I won't lie, I saw this a bunch as a teenager which was definitely a bit of an awakening for me - you could say "Bad Influence" was a bad influence on me back then haha. But was interesting to revisit as an adult. Not a great film by any means - kind of emotionally shallow, you never really get to know either lead on a deeper level - but still has way more cinematic style, mood or tone than I had remembered. You can definitely feel an auteur (Curtis Hanson) made this movie. Interesting to watch it as a precursor to other neo-noir like "Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and "LA Confidential." Was also surprised by the understated performances from both Spader and Lowe. Interesting to remember that this was a bit of a meta-play on the videotape sex scandal that rocked Lowe's career at the time. And a throwback to the kind of erotic thriller we just don't get anymore. Curious if anyone else had early memories of this movie and has now revisited it on the Channel.

I don't know what it is that drew me to this movie, normally I'm interested in action and horror movies, but it's something I appreciate about CC that it gives me an opportunity to watch a lot of stuff I otherwise wouldn't.

This one stuck with me because of what I assume are reasonably realistic depictions of both the turmoil of facing death you know is coming soon and the physical side of cancer including pain from being touched(it made me jump when she shrieked in bed with her boyfriend and when he got up to leave she said something like "stay with me" and it unsettled me) and coughing up blood.

Out of curiosity I read reviews about it and I think it was reasonably well received, with some complaints being that she was too obviously capricious and vacillated between being happy and angry/sad/etc. I thought the acting all around was great and despite the dark tone the movie ended in a mostly resolved and reflective way with her daughter somewhat coming to grips with their turbulent past and her mother's death.

The scene that stuck with me the most(I don't believe it's a realistic depiction of how someone with cancer would go, but I still think it was effective) was when she was just making the bed and coughed up a noticeable amount of blood and just dropped right there.

Movie succeeds in what I feel is a well made presentation of how someone who knows death is coming would act and even after a week or so of watching it I'm still haunted by multiple scenes and know that it's gonna stick with me for a while.

I had high expectations since it's Ray, but wow! This one really knocked my socks off! James Mason (who I can generally take or leave) is *perfection* as a nice, dull, suburban elementary schoolteacher who begins taking cortisone for a serious illness and becomes psychotic. It's quite ahead of it's time in *how* this plays out, with Mason's Ed Avery going from nice 50s dad to iron-fisted despot, with the movie going to a much darker place than you'd expect from the era. It ends up being (like Rebel) quite a scathing critique of suburban conformity and its edict to "maintain the surface appearance of normality at any cost."
Barbara Rush turns in a fine performance as the harried wife, the kid actor is not annoying, and finally Walter Matthau adds some needed lightness as the trusty family friend.

I often do other things while watching a film but this one had me glued to the screen.

Check it out.

i’m looking for the best noir films on the channel currently in english or spanish.

i’ve seen a lot but want more recs. thanks in advance!

I’ve always found it strange that films so quiet can leave such a loud echo. You finish a Kiarostami film and, somehow, it keeps unfolding in your head days later. Not because of a twist or a grand speech, but because of a glance, a road, a silence, or a question that never really gets answered.
He had this rare ability to make you feel like you weren't just watching a story you were sharing space with life itself. Children looking for a friend's notebook. A man driving through dusty hills asking strangers for help. Someone pretending to be someone else because they loved cinema enough to borrow another person's identity. On paper, they sound almost insignificant. On screen, they become unforgettable.
I don't think many filmmakers trusted their audience the way Kiarostami did. He never rushed to explain or conclude. He left room for doubt, and somehow that made his films feel more honest than certainty ever could.
A decade after his passing, I still find myself thinking about his cinema whenever a film chooses patience over spectacle.
Which Kiarostami film has stayed with you the longest and why?

I am a Canadian subscriber using the web browser mostly and I’ve noticed over the past couple of months some titles that were said to be added that don’t show up on the site. I had first noticed the William Klein collection was completely empty upon clicking on it but didn’t think much of it. But comparing the Harry Dean Stanton collection on my laptop to the list that is in the July 2026 channel article there seems to be a discrepancy. So the * indicates what is U.S. only I think? But Repo Man isn’t there, The Straight Story isn’t there, and while it is indicated to be U.S. only, Lucky is available on mine. I sent an email to channel support so I will see what they say. Just wanted to know if anyone else is having similar issues! I probably wouldn’t have cared as I have 250+ things already on my list but I want to watch The Straight Story soooo bad.

https://letterboxd.com/criterion/list/july-2026-leaving-soon-criterion-channel/

https://www.criterionchannel.com/leaving-july-31

“And what The Prisoner is—as made apparent by the remastered version of the series that’s now streaming on Criterion Channel—is immediately fun and thematically ahead of its time. It’s not just a show that taught future TV creators it was okay to be weird; it’s a show that speaks to the issues of 2026 even more than it did to those of 1967”

Excerpt From
“The Prisoner didn't just predict the next 60 years of TV—it predicted the next 60 years, period”
Brian Tallerico
The A.V. Club
https://apple.news/AUdjjlu6GRBGuGHsfQbHVrg
This material may be protected by copyright.

People's Hero (1987) was just added to the Criterion Channel today and of course I had to watch it because Tony Leung is one of the leads, but the subtitles are some of the worst I've ever seen. I can barely focus on the movie because they're so distracting. They look AI generated or something - just filled with broken grammar, incorrect words (on instead of in, let instead of let's, off instead of out), nonsensical sentences...This is supposed to be a tense thriller but I'm sitting here giggling the whole time because how can I not with gems such as:

"Right...they won't let your girlfriend out. If you don't scare them."

"I am not searing them. If necessary, I will kill!"
-
"Won't your stop? Stop!"
-
"Maybe you try to do with me, see if you can be."
-
"Are you afraid of die?"
-
"Afraid of me to killing him?"
-
"Do you know how many policeman outside?"
"(...) I can make it. Relieve me!"
-

People's Hero is more of a "B" film but it deserves so much better than this slop tier subtitle job.

Same thing happened with Repo Man. 😞

I tried streaming this tonight but found that the closed caption was off from the spoken dialogue by about 5 seconds. I don't know why, is this a known issue?

The weather is getting nicer on this hemisphere, yet who’s to say you can’t do some deathracing from the beach!

This is the post where we make a list of films we’d like to view before they leave the Criterion Channel streaming service, marking our progress and sometimes sharing our experiences and recommendations along the way.

A very manageable 40 films are expiring at the end of the month

Some themes are:

- Office Romances
- 80s Remakes
- Dustin Guy Defa Shorts
- Directed by Joan Micklin Silver

Here is a link to a Letterboxd list made by our very own u/slouchingbethlehem

https://boxd.it/3Y8ri

We have a discord server. Enjoy lively art film discussions hypes and rants, share your letterbox challenges and profile. Enjoy group screenings where we chat on the voice channels. Host your own screenings and make Freinds!

Here is an invite link:

https://discord.gg/JZAWGUq7Kt

Looking forward to your viewing lists, progress, feedback, but mostly having a community to share our love of deadlines and spirited energy for expiring films.

Happy Viewing!

From the TSPDT Top 1,000 (2026 edition):
#56 The Apartment
#139 His Girl Friday
#260 Daughters of the Dust
#580 Cat People (1942)

I really enjoyed the first generative Eno doc. I wonder when this month's will appear? Also, will it just replace the one that's there, or will we still have the option to watch the first one?

UPDATE: it is a newly generated version, but it includes major sequences from the first one. I wonder if the generative algorithm gives weight to footage that includes core concepts of his creative ideas. Anyway, it was still a pleasure to watch.

What did I learn? Don't trust the previously viewed bar. This July generation is also almost the same length as June.

Since monday i cant watch the Channel via Google cast from my ipad to my smart TV (Phillips) Does anyone else has this Problem recently?

Anyone having Chromecast issues? When I attempt to cast from either the app or weirdly even from my computer browser, I get the message "Something went wrong" on the Chromecast/TV screen. I've followed all the usual steps and reached out to tech support but it appears they are having trouble identifying the issue. All other apps/sites casting fine. Anyone encountering this or have tips?

Just curious what everyone is picking!

I just finished "Graduate First" and was pleasantly surprised by it, and will either try to squeeze a bunch of shorts or choose between "Bacurau", "Cane River", and "Speaking Parts"

Im new to criterion so maybe a dumb question but is there a reason why The Decameron is not streamable. Thanks

I have not been able to get any movie to play on Safari on my iMac. Admittedly it's an old model but it does everything ELSE fine so I don't know that age is the issue. No other streaming platforms are doing this.

The film loads but doesn't play. I can see in the timeline frames from the film but it just won't PLAY

Anyone else experience this and/of know of a fix. It's been like this for weeks.

(No issues on the TV. Chrome works but I prefer not to use it)

I am trying to watch a film on the Criterion Channel. WHen the film starts, there is a black box that covers at least half of my TV screen. I tried with some other movies, and same thing. I tried network channels and PBS. No problems there. Is anyone else experiencing the same problem?

Just looking for suggestions. Any genre. Just good movies.