How $100 a year gives me personal access to the best movies ever made

Sometimes, it’s tough being a big movie buff in the streaming era. More movies are more available than ever before, yet the big streamers aren’t always the best place to look when diving into the rich history of cinema. Thankfully, cinephiles have at least one great streaming service to look to: The Criterion Channel.

Right now on Netflix in the United States, there are only 20 films made before 1980 — paltry number, to say the least. Services like Peacock, Paramount+, and Disney+ all offer more classic cinema thanks to their deeper studio libraries, but even then they can leave cinephiles wanting. Max is the leader in the space, thanks to the extensive library from Warner Bros., as well as its deal with Janus Films to include numerous classics from the Criterion Collection.

But for people who want to dig even deeper, it’s even better to go right to the source and sign up for The Criterion Channel, the paid streaming service from the renowned distributor of classic and foreign cinema.

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What is The Criterion Channel?

A movie lover’s dream streaming service

The Criterion Channel is the streaming service of the iconic Criterion Collection, a physical media label that got its start in the LaserDisc era. At the time, the Criterion Collection was focused on delivering great editions of classic films from the library of its parent company, Janus Films, which has been distributing foreign art house films from Ingmar Bergman to Akira Kurosawa since the 1950s, along with titles licensed from the big studios. Their first LaserDiscs were Citizen Kane and King Kong, but the company even invented audio commentary.

Since then, they have gone on to release DVDs, Blu-rays, and UHD Blu-rays over 1,000 titles with meticulous restorations, excellent special features, essays and more. In the late-2010s, they partnered with Warner Bros. to launch the streaming service FilmStruck, which included films from both the Warner and Janus libraries. That service was eventually scuttled, but Criterion decided to go it alone by launching The Criterion Channel in 2019.

The Criterion Channel features thousands of titles from across the entire history of cinema, from the silent era to today. The bulk of its library comes from Janus Films, but the streamer also regularly licenses titles from other studios and distributors, with exciting new titles coming and going each month.

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How does The Criterion Channel Work?

It’s all about curation

Criterion Channel

Having a great library is one thing, but where The Criterion Channel really succeeds is in curation. With so many titles at your fingertips from across film history, it can be tough to know what to choose. Everyone has had the experience of scrolling through Netflix or some other streaming service, sometimes for hours, before deciding on something to watch.

The Criterion Channel answers this problem by offering well-curated featured programs. This month, for example, the Channel is featuring a series called Déjà Vu, which includes a number of films dealing with twisting timelines and tricks of memory, like Christopher Nolan’s Memento, David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Other recent series have focused on classic film noir from the ’40s and ’50s, MTV Films productions from the ’90s, racy pre-Code comedies from the ’30s, and more.

The beauty of the curated programs is that they offer an easy gateway into new worlds of films. They will often include filmed introductions by film critics and historians, giving context for the films users are about to experience. There are also the Adventures in Moviegoing programs, in which filmmakers and stars, like Bill Hader, John Waters, Rian Johnson, Greta Gerwig, and more share their own picks from the library and offer their own insights, spreading their love of cinema even further. On top of all that, Criterion has also ported over their DVD and Blu-ray special features for many of the films on the service, giving users even better insight into the movies they watch.

And if you’re still unsure of what to watch, there’s always the recently launched Criterion 24/7, a perpetual live stream of films from the library, selected by the Criterion Channel’s programmers. Just hit play, and you’ll be greeted with a surefire classic, and another after that, and another, and so on.

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The bottom line

The history of cinema at your fingertips

Criterion Channel

In the world of streaming, the classics don’t always get the attention they deserve. Thankfully, The Criterion Channel exists to help fill the gap. With a large, constantly evolving library of titles from around the world, spanning practically the entirety of cinema history, the boutique streamer is perfect for serious film buffs, and for anyone looking to delve deeper into the rich traditions of film. Criterion Channel has well-curated series, bonus features, interviews with stars and filmmakers, and more. For the film lover, it’s simply one of the best deals around.

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