February is the month of romance, right? So, why not cuddle up with a significant other (or just by yourself) and watch one of the new releases from The Criterion Collection? 

READ MORE: January Criterion Releases Include ‘The Mother & The Whore,’ ‘Jo Jo Dancer,’ ‘Yojimbo’ & More

February is led by the release of “Punch-Drunk Love,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s off-kilter rom-com.

Continue reading February Criterion Releases Include ‘Punch-Drunk Love,’ ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ & More at The Playlist.

Boutique DVD/Blu-Ray label The Criterion Collection always has a terrific monthly line-up, and its August 2024 releases are no different. Highlighting late summer’s Criterion announcements are a pair of comedian Albert Brooks films that have been out of print on DVD for quite some time. The first is Brooks’ 1979 directorial debut, the reality TV spoof “Real Life,” and the second is the 1996 comedy “Mother” co-starring Debbie Reynolds.

Continue reading Criterion Adds Two New Albert Brooks Films, Martha Coolidge’s ‘Not A Pretty Picture’ & More For August 2024 at The Playlist.

Tom Cruise has finally entered The Criterion Collection. While technically, “Cocktail” has been available on the Criterion Channel in the past (no, really), in announcing its July titles today, Criterion made Cruise’s inclusion with a DVD/Blu-Ray title official today with the addition of 1983’s classic comedy, “Risky Business,” the actor’s breakthrough film. Directed by Paul Brickman, the coming-of-age comedy film, sometimes said to be modeled after a more risqué, “The Graduate,” centers on a Chicago teenager (Cruise) and his sexual exploits while his parents are away on vacation, including spending time with prostitutes.

Continue reading Criterion Adds 4-Disc ‘Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid’ 50th Anniversary Edition & ‘Risky Business’ To July 2024 Releases at The Playlist.

While Criterion devotes itself to essential classics and contemporary films, in a rare but not unprecedented move, the boutique DVD/Blu-Ray cinephile label is adding some TV to its collection in June. Just announced, Barry Jenkins’ ten-episode “Underground Railroad” mini-series, originally having premiered on Prime Video in 2021, is coming to the Criterion Collection this summer. Nearly 10 hours long, the series featured Thuso Mbedu, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Chukwudi Iwuji, Sheila Atim, and many more (you can read our A-grade review, which said it brought “poetic instant light to the ideas of black humanity and emancipation,” here)

READ MORE: ‘Medicine for Melancholy’: Barry Jenkins Reflects On His Lo-Fi Debut & Why He Didn’t Think It Was Criterion Collection Worthy At First [Interview]

Released right as the Cannes Film Festival was underway, one can argue the series was somewhat overlooked at the time; the similar cinephiles’ audiences gaze shifted towards France, so Criterion giving a second opportunity feels like a much-deserved move.

Continue reading Barry Jenkins’ ‘Underground Railroad’ Comes To The Criterion Collection In June at The Playlist.

While the movie industry seemingly buckles, Disney’s seemingly cutting back on any physical media anymore, and Best Buy is apparently ending its run of selling DVDs and Blu-Rays, companies like the Criterion Collection are staying the course. As usual, the boutique, cinephile-friendly company always aims to release and rediscover classic movies in the annals of film history, and they’re doing much the same with their May 2024 announcements.

READ MORE: Criterion Adds ‘I Am Cuba,’ ‘Werckmeister Harmonies’ & More For April 2024

Celebrated Senegalese film director Ousmane Sembène, known for 1966’s “Black Girl,” is getting his further due with “Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène, “a three-disc box set featuring powerful 1970s works by the trailblazing Senegalese auteur.

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Anatomy Of A Fall,’ Karyn Kusama’s ‘Girlfight’ An Ousmane Sembène Box Set & More For May 2024 at The Playlist.

The Criterion Collection is constantly curating and adding the best and brightest of cinema to its collection, but its April 2024 is pretty stellar and adds two classic films that haven’t been in the collection previously that really deserved to be there.

The first film added to the collection in April is notable because of Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. While Tarr is a giant of international cinema, specifically what’s often referred to as “slow cinema,” the addition of Tarr’s 2000 classic, “Werckmeister Harmonies,” is actually the first of the filmmaker’s movies ever added to the Collection (at least on DVD/Blu-Ray and not counting the Criterion Channel).

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘I Am Cuba,’ ‘Werckmeister Harmonies’ & More For April 2024 at The Playlist.

The Criterion Collection always kicks off its releases for a new calendar year with a couple of big titles. And 2024 starts off very strong for the boutique DVD series, with Danny Boyle‘s “Trainspotting” leading the way. Criterion released Boyle’s modern classic on Laserdisc in 1997, but the film didn’t re-enter the Collection as a spine number until now. In other words, that’s big news for CC collectors.

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Trainspotting,’ A Chantal Akerman Boxset, ‘Mudbound,’ John Sayles’ ‘Lone Star’ & More For Its January 2024 Releases at The Playlist.

Another month, another set of new The Criterion Collection releases. And while December is typically the lightest month for releases on Criterion’s calendar, three titles will be out in time for the holidays: two remasters, with the addition of four other films to one of those releases, and one new spine #.

READ MORE: Criterion Adds ‘Mean Streets,’ A Jackie Chain Boxset & More For Its November 2023 Releases

So what’s getting inducted into the Collection in December?

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,’ Remasters Of ‘The Red Balloon’ & ‘Blast Of Silence’ For Its December 2023 Releases at The Playlist.

You know what time it is: time for a Criterion Collection update with their newly announced November releases. Two significant highlights anchor November: a six-film Jackie Chan box-set, “Jackie Chan: Emergence Of A Superstar,” and Martin Scorsese’s classic low-level gangster film “Mean Streets.”

“Mean Streets” needs little introduction. While it’s not Marty or Robert De Niro’s first film, it’s a seminal early work from both that eventually launched them into the pantheon of incredible American filmmakers and collaborators.  

Continue reading Criterion Adds ‘Mean Streets,’ A Jackie Chan Boxset & More For November 2023 Releases at The Playlist.

Before “The Underground Railroad.” Before “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Before his Best Picture-winning “Moonlight,” there was “Medicine for Melancholy.” The debut feature from writer/director Barry Jenkins, “Medicine for Melancholy” is a mumblecore journey through the streets of San Francisco shared by Micah (Wyatt Cenac) and Jo (Tracey Heggins), two brief lovers who share a day together after a one-night stand. 

Released in 2008, the low-budget film captures a specific moment in San Francisco before it gentrified from a vibrant denizen for young artists into a moneyed landscape composed of tech giants.

Continue reading ‘Medicine for Melancholy’: Barry Jenkins Reflects On His Lo-Fi Debut & Why He Didn’t Think It Was Criterion Collection Worthy At First [Interview] at The Playlist.

On the week I’m scheduled to speak with legendary artist Terry Gilliam, a quote from Martin Scorsese starts going viral. “I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late,” Akira Kurosawa had expressed at 83. “At the time, I said, ‘What does he mean?’” Scorsese reflected, “Now I know what he means.” I thought it was prudent to ask Gilliam, also an octogenarian if he knows what Kurosawa meant.

Continue reading ‘Time Bandits’: Terry Gilliam Reflects On The Evolution Of Family & Fantasy Films Ahead Of Criterion 4K Release [Interview] at The Playlist.

The Criterion Collection already corners the home-video market for prestige releases of classic and contemporary foreign films. Now the company adds a new line of releases alongside its central line-up. What’s the new brand? Criterion will work with Janus Films on Janus Contemporaries, a home-video line for first-run international releases. The DVD/Blu-Ray editions of these films will also coincide with their premieres on the Criterion Channel, Criterion’s streaming service.

Continue reading The Criterion Announces Janus Contemporaries, A New Home-Video Line For First-Run Theatrical Releases at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, and catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s disc and streaming guide includes Oscar winners, Oscar nominees, a box set from one of the most respected distributors of our time, and a box set from one of the most disreputable filmmakers of her time. 

PICK OF THE WEEK: 

“Sony Pictures Classics 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Collection”: As 4K UHD Blu-ray release slates broaden, studios are increasingly moving past the obvious titles, the bombastic show-off blockbusters and cult favorites, into more esoteric territory.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘WALL-E’ & Sony Pictures Classics At 30 at The Playlist.

Film fans are notoriously hard to shop for: hoarders by nature, obnoxiously opinionated, and weirdly unpredictable in our tastes. But the good news is, there are so many options for the movie lover on your gift list – so many must-have box sets, 4K discs, deep-dive books, and other essentials – that only the rich ones (and seriously, how many rich movie nerds do you know) could possibly have them all, already.

Continue reading The Playlist’s 2022 Holiday Gift Guide at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s three-weeks-in-the-making rundown of the picks to click on the New Release page include the highest-grossing movie of 2022, a Santa slasher from 1984, and everything in between.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Pearl,’ ‘In The Mood For Love,’ & More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

We’ve loaded this column up before, but rarely like this: due to a combination of spooky season, pre-holiday releases, and general physical media feasting, this week’s disc and streaming guide features a page-busting thirty titles, the most we’ve ever showcased.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Nope,’ ‘Barbarian,’ ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ & More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

If you’re a horror fan with a 4K player, well, you’re eating well this week, with some of the most iconic scary movies of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s making their way to the format.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Catherine Called Birdy,’ ‘The Limey,’ ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula,’ & More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

You can tell spooky season is on the horizon, since we’re getting shiny new 4K editions of two ‘80s horror classics this week.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Blonde,’ ‘Murina,’ ‘Poltergeist’ & More at The Playlist.

Cinephiles take note, it’s that good cineaste time of the month: The Criterion Collection has unveiled its latest line-up, this time for December to wrap up 2022. The boutique DVD-Blu-Ray label is ending the year with quite a bang, including two trilogy box sets—one from Austrian fear-meister Michael Haneke and one from the lesser-known Mai Zetterling, a Swedish actor turned director who worked with Ingmar Bergman and then started making her own films in the 1960s.

Continue reading Criterion’s December 2022 Titles Include A Michael Haneke Trilogy Box Set, ‘Cooley High’ & More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s disc offerings are a little slimmer than usual – it happens, at this odd point between summer and holiday shopping seasons – but there are a couple of things to grab (including a must-have 4K upgrade for one of the best movies of the 1980s), along with a handful of new-to-streaming titles that are well worth a look (or a second, or third). 

PICK OF THE WEEK: 

“Blow Out”: Brian De Palma’s 1981 political thriller, about an exploitation movie sound man (John Travolta) who accidentally records a political assassination, is a free-wheeling grab bag of elements pilfered from “Blow-Up,” “The Conversation,” the Zapruder film, and decades of conspiracy theories.

Continue reading The Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: ‘Blow Out,’ ‘The Lost City,’ ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,’ And More at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalogue titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This twice-monthly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

This week’s round-up of new disc and streaming releases includes two of the year’s most striking genre movies, along with new releases from Criterion and Vinegar Syndrome, a handful of classic and international exploitation movies, and a 4K release for an antiwar classic:

PICK OF THE WEEK: 

“Paths of Glory”: KL Studio Classics continues their welcome series of early Stanley Kubrick on 4K with this crisply rendered restoration of this 1957 masterpiece – his first war movie, boasting one of Kirk Douglas’ finest performances.

Continue reading The Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Crimes Of The Future,’ ‘The Black Phone,’ ‘Daddy Longlegs,’ & More at The Playlist.

If you live in the US, November is a time for feasting and excess. Obviously, you have the joy of Thanksgiving, which is a feast that makes you literally pass out from food exhaustion. Then you have Black Friday, which is a lesson in excess, as people just go out to buy everything they can at low prices as they brace for the Christmas season. Well, in the tradition of November feasts, the Criterion Collection is here to feed us well with plenty of new releases for us to overindulge in. 

Continue reading ‘Power Of The Dog,’ ‘Infernal Affairs,’ ‘Malcolm X’ & More Coming From Criterion In November at The Playlist.

October is a time for scares. And this Halloween season, the Criterion Collection is set to serve up one of the best horror films of all time, “Night of the Living Dead,” along with an incredibly creepy thriller from David Lynch, a recent Guatemalan folk horror feature, a Southern-gothic tale, a new Japanese horror classic, and more.

READ MORE: Lost Director’s Cut Of George A.

Continue reading Criterion Goes Spooky For October With 4K Releases Of ‘Night Of The Living Dead,’ ‘Lost Highway’ & More at The Playlist.

For those of us who hold our breath in between announcements from the Criterion Collection regarding DVD releases, anticipating just how much more expansive and exciting their releases can get, their announcement for August’s slate will be anything but disappointing. Later this summer, the Criterion Collection invites us to explore places as disparate as the gritty underbelly of New York City, the 19 Century American West, and rural Ethiopia, amongst other nightmarish and magical locales.

Continue reading Criterion’s August Releases Include Early Safdie Brothers Outing ‘Daddy Longlegs,’ ‘Buck And The Preacher,’ And More at The Playlist.

Someone on Film Twitter was recently asking, what’s all the fuss about the upcoming Criterion Collection July announcement, and why are they building it up to be such a thing? Well, it’s because we’re all going broke in July and the Criterion Collection is going to make it rain with cinephile classics this summer, both modern masterpieces, and good ol’ legendary goats.  The Collection is really going for it in July. The crown jewel in their new releases is, of course, Martin Scorsese’s searing 1980 black and white boxing drama, “Raging Bull” which is as much a look at toxic male self-destruction and spiritual immolation as it is boxing.

Continue reading Criterion’s July Releases Include ‘Raging Bull,’ ‘Okja,’ ‘Drive My Car,’ & More at The Playlist.