In May 2024, the Criterion Channel is set to transport cinephiles back to the transformative midcentury shift from old Hollywood to the new era. Movie enthusiasts will rejoice to discover that this beloved streaming platform has placed special emphasis on titles from Columbia Pictures. These films explore the prevalent theme of mental breakdowns in the sixties while delving into the remarkable career of Shirley MacLaine, a living connection to the golden age of cinema.
Furthermore, the OTT platform offers a diverse array of options, including an exploration of Asian American personal documentary filmmaking, a celebration of the best movies from 1999’s twenty-fifth anniversary, a late-career trilogy by the director of House, groundbreaking independent films from the Philippines, and the rediscovered masterpieces of Michael Roemer.
The Criterion Channel in May 2024
The Criterion Channel presents a Michael Roemer triple-feature, showcasing his superlative “Nothing But a Man” in a newly remastered Criterion Edition, along with the recently rediscovered gems “The Plot Against Harry” and “Vengeance is Mine.” These three distinct features offer a glimpse into a long-lost voice of American cinema.
In addition, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy (“Casting Blossoms to the Sky,” “Seven Weeks,” and “Hanagatami”) and four films by Sara Driver (“You Are Not I,” “Sleepwalk,” “When Pigs Fly,” and “The Bowery”) enrich the platform’s auteurist offerings.
Turning to series, a spotlight on 1999 transcends the established canon with films like “Trick” and “Bye Bye Africa,” while paying homage to directors such as Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, and Claire Denis. The selection also features films starring Shirley MacLaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and highlights from Columbia’s “golden era” (1950-1961).
Furthermore, streaming debuts include “The Breaking Ice,” “Young Soul Rebels,” and “Shaihu Umar,” rounding out the diverse and compelling lineup.
In this article, we have compiled a list of all the films that have recently found their place on the esteemed Criterion Channel, which will be available for streaming starting in May 2024!
Everything Coming to The Criterion Channel in May 2024
- 95 and 6 to Go, Kimi Takesue, 2016
- a.k.a. Don Bonus, Spencer Nakasako and Sokly Ny, 1995
- Adaptation., Spike Jonze, 2002
- Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001
- The Apartment, Billy Wilder, 1960
- Artists and Models, Frank Tashlin, 1955
- Being There, Hal Ashby, 1979
- Bernie, Richard Linklater, 2011
- Bold Eagle, Whammy Alacazaren, 2022
- Bonjour Tristesse, Otto Preminger, 1958
- Born Yesterday, George Cukor, 1950
- The Bowery, Sara Driver, 1994
- Brainstorm, William Conrad, 1965
- The Breaking Ice, Anthony Chen, 2023
- The Bridge on the River Kwai, David Lean, 1957
- Bringing Out the Dead, Martin Scorsese, 1999
- Bye Bye Africa, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, 1999
- Can-Can, Walter Lang, 1960
- Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2012
- The Chase, Arthur Penn, 1966
- The Children’s Hour, William Wyler, 1961
- Cleaners, Glenn Barit, 2019
- Death in Venice, Luchino Visconti, 1971
- Dikit, Gabriela Serrano, 2021
- Don’t Look Now, Nicolas Roeg, 1973
- First Person Plural, Deann Borshay Liem, 2000
- For My Alien Friend, Jet Leyco, 2019
- From Here to Eternity, Fred Zinnemann, 1953
- Gambit, Ronald Neame, 1966
- Girl, Interrupted, James Mangold, 1999
- Go, Doug Liman, 1999
- The Gossips of Cicadidae, Vahn Leinard Pascual, 2022
- Guarding Tess, Hugh Wilson, 1994
- Hair Piece: A Film For Nappy Headed People, Ayoka Chenzira, 1984
- Hanagatami, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2017
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell, 2001
- HERadventure, Ayoka Chenzira, 2014
- Hito, Stephen Lopez, 2023
- The Honey Pot, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1967
- i get so sad sometimes, Trishtan Perez, 2021
- The Insider, Michael Mann, 1999
- I Was Born, But . . ., Roddy Bogawa, 2004
- In Cold Blood, Richard Brooks, 1967
- In the Rivers of Mercy Angst, Ayoka Chenzira, 1997
- Irma la Douce, Billy Wilder, 1963
- It’s Raining Frogs Outside, Maria Estela Paiso, 2021
- Italian for Beginners, Lone Scherfig, 2000
- Lilith, Robert Rossen, 1964
- A Little Romance, George Roy Hill, 1979
- The Lure and the Lore, Ayoka Chenzira, 1988
- Madame Sousatzka, John Schlesinger, 1988
- The Manchurian Candidate, John Frankenheimer, 1962
- MOTV (My Own TV), Ayoka Chenzira, 1993
- My America . . . or Honk if You Love Buddha, Renee Tajima-Pena, 1997
- Fisting: Never Tear Us Apart, Whammy Alacazaren, 2018
- No Data Plan, Miko Revereza, 2019
- Nothing but a Man, Michael Roemer, 1964
- OctoGod, Shievar Olegario, 2019
- Oh, Saigon, Doan Hoang, 2007
- On the Waterfront, Elia Kazan, 1954
- Once Upon a Time in America, Sergio Leone, 1984
- The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir, Shirley MacLaine and Claudia Weill, 1975
- Picnic, Joshua Logan, 1955
- The Plot Against Harry, Michael Roemer, 1971
- Point Blank, John Boorman, 1967
- Postcards from the Edge, Mike Nichols, 1990
- Pressure Point, Hubert Cornfield, 1962
- Pretty Poison, Noel Black, 1968
- Pull Your Head to the Moon: Stories of Creole Women, Ayoka Chenzira and David Roussève, 1992
- A Raisin in the Sun, Daniel Petrie, 1961
- the river that never ends, JT Trinidad, 2022
- Rocks in a Windless Wadi, EJ Gagui, 2022
- Seconds, John Frankenheimer, 1966
- Seven Weeks, Nobuhiko Obayashi, 2014
- Shaihu Umar, Adamu Halilu, 1976
- Sleepwalk, Sara Driver, 1986
- When Pigs Fly, Sara Driver, 1993
- Snowfire, Ayoka Chenzira, 1994
- Somewhere a Destination, Celeste Lapida, 2021
- The Straight Story, David Lynch, 1999
- Suddenly, Last Summer, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1959
- Summer of Sam, Spike Lee, 1999
- Sweet Charity, Bob Fosse, 1969
- Syvilla: They Dance to Her Drum, Ayoka Chenzira, 1979
- Targets, Peter Bogdanovich, 1968
- Trick, Jim Fall, 1999
- The Trouble with Harry, Alfred Hitchcock, 1955
- Twinsters, Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto, 2015
- Uptight, Jules Dassin, 1968
- Vengeance Is Mine, Michael Roemer, 1984
- What a Way to Go!, J. Lee Thompson, 1964
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Robert Aldrich, 1962
- When I Walk, Jason DaSilva, 2013
- Who’s Going to Pay for These Donuts Anyway?, Janice Tanaka, 1992
- Williamswood, Ayoka Chenzira, 1992
- Wisdom Gone Wild, Rea Tajiri, 2022
- You Are Not I, Sara Driver, 1981
- Young Soul Rebels, Isaac Julien, 1991
- Zajota and the Boogie Spirit, Ayoka Chenzira, 1989
