The Criterion Channel carries some of the best movies ever made, but there are a few films that should go to the top of the watchlist this month. Launching in 2019, The Criterion Channel features many of the over one thousand films contained within the Criterion Collection, though it also serves as a platform for other underrepresented movies.
The Criterion Collection started back in 1984 with the goal of bringing foreign films and other cinematic curiosities to Western audiences. More than four decades later, Criterion is still going strong as one of the most popular boutique home video collections on the market. In the era of streaming, Criterion has been able to keep up with shifting trends.
Pound for pound, The Criterion Channel is one of the best values in today’s crowded streaming field. As a curated service, it’s guaranteed that every film on the platform has some merit as a work of art. Even when Criterion hosts mainstream films, it’s with an eye toward underappreciated gems. However, this has made sorting through the platform a hassle.
Knowing what to watch on The Criterion Channel isn’t easy, especially with so many of the films being relatively unknown to most moviegoers. Despite such a crowded catalog, there are some films on The Criterion Channel that everyone should see at least once. Starting with those movies is the best way to dig into Criterion’s online platform.
5
Starlet (2012)
Oscar-winning indie filmmaker Sean Baker has quietly amassed an impressive catalog of films in the last few decades, and Starlet is one of his earlier works. An aimless young woman finds a stash of money in a Thermos she buys at a yard sale, and she soon strikes up a friendship with the elderly woman who sold it to her.
Starlet is an honest and earnest dramedy that showcases Baker’s unique gift for crafting characters. Just a few years before Tangerine and The Florida Project, Baker is already at the height of his powers as a storyteller. Like Anora, the best aspects of Starlet are also its simplest, and it deftly blurs the line between reality and fiction.
4
Police Story (1985)
Before Jackie Chan came to Hollywood, he directed and starred in many of his best films in Hong Kong. Police Story casts Chan as a cop who is tasked with protecting the girlfriend of a gangster who has decided to become an informant. Though the movie has a plot, it’s essentially a platform for a series of amazing action sequences.
Bounding from one over-the-top moment to another, Police Story is a thrill ride that never lets off the gas. What’s more, the film is also uproariously funny, and illustrates Chan’s mastery of the art of physical comedy. Many of the stunts in the film have forever defined Chan’s career, and the final stunt is worth the price of admission alone.
3
The Others (2001)
Horror was in a really weird place in the early 2000s, but The Others is a throwback to the old-fashioned chills of the genre’s past. Set in 1945, the movie stars Nicole Kidman as a mother whose photosensitive children begin to experience supernatural events when new caretakers arrive. Capturing the “old dark house” aesthetic perfectly, The Others is relentlessly creepy.
Capped by a brilliant twist, the movie plays out slowly. Kidman’s performance is the heart of the movie, and she sells every surprise with flare. In an era of overblown spectacles, The Others gets back to basics in the best way. It is one of the best horror films of the 2000s, and arguably one of Kidman’s best performances too.
2
Red River (1948)
John Wayne made scores of westerns in his career, but Howard Hawks’ Red River is one that even non-fans should watch at least once. The Duke plays the hard-nosed cattleman who pushes his relationships to the limit on a cattle drive. It’s a quintessential cowboy movie and Thomas Dunson is perhaps the greatest character in Wayne’s filmography.
Instead of playing a swaggering hero, Wayne is cast against type as a heel. The western epic is a masterclass in storytelling, and it explores its themes at both a micro and macro level. At a time when westerns were guilty of repeating themselves, Red River was fiercely original. Few westerns have aged as well as the John Wayne gem.
1
Lost In America (1985)
Albert Brooks has produced some of the most underrated comedies of all time, and Lost in America might just top that list. A yuppie couple decide to cash in their life savings and live on the road, but their rebellious dreams immediately come crashing down. The quotable classic takes aim at the Baby Boomer generation’s greatest flaws.
Brooks is perfectly cast as the affable everyman, and his chemistry with co-star Julie Hagerty makes the film. Lost in America is the opposite of the idealistic comedies of the 1980s, which has helped it age perfectly. Like most films on The Criterion Channel, it is a work of art as well as a brilliant piece of comedy gold.
