Streaming Service Spotlight: Everything to Know About the Criterion Channel

John Hogan October 15, 2023, 1:00 pm

Tom Cruise in 'Minority Report' — ©20THCENTFOX/EVERETT COLLECTION

Searching for something fresh from streaming? Here’s everything you need to know about the Criterion Channel:

What is it?

The Criterion Collection brand of films on home video is synonymous with quality: restored prints, commentaries and supplements galore. The bulk of those 1,000-plus titles provide the foundation for Criterion Channel’s collection of classics, indies, art-house films, foreign gems and more. Many movies are grouped into helpful categories that also include introductions from film scholars and curators, so it’s like getting a degree in film studies…without taking a test.

How much does it cost?

Get a feel for all the offerings with a free seven-day trial at CriterionChannel.com.

Ready to commit for longer?

Subscriptions run $99.99 for a year, or you can pay $10.99 monthly instead.

Treat Williams, Laura Dern-'Smooth Talk'

(Credit: ©International Spectrafilm/courtesy Everett Collection)

What’s in the library?

A sprawling assortment of movies spanning just about any genre—nearly 3,000 titles in all. Each month brings carefully curated collections: For October, a “’90s Horror” section arrives in time for Halloween, with horror Western Ravenous (1999), vampire flick The Addiction (1995) and a director’s cut of The Exorcist III (1990). “Technothrillers” gathers David Cronenberg’s cult classic Videodrome (1983), Robert Redford in Sneakers (1992) and more. And James Gray, who directed Brad Pitt in 2019’s Ad Astra, picks his personal favorites, which include Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece Modern Times (1936) and gorgeous Vivien Leigh as That Hamilton Woman (1941). These series usually run for three months. No fancy calendar work required: One click gets you to a list of what’s leaving at the end of the month.

If there are holes in your classic-movie education, try digging into thought-provoking categories like “’50s Kubrick” or “British Noir,” or go way deeper with highly specific groupings like “Czechoslovak New Wave.” Then again, you could just rewatch a crowd-pleaser like Ernst Lubitsch’s sparkling Trouble in Paradise (1932) or Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).

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What else should I know?

Extra features like director and expert commentary, analysis from film historians and other bonuses provide context and supply valuable information.

How do I get started?

You can watch directly on the CriterionChannel.com website, or add the app to your preferred streaming devices (Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android, XBox One, etc.). Once you’re set up, you can see “All Films” and then narrow down what you’re looking for using filters for genre, decade, director and country. Or simply browse from the home page: “All-Time Favorites,” “Newly Added” and “Popular Collections” are excellent places to begin.

New and Notable

This is an excerpt from TV Insider‘s October issue. For more in-depth, reported coverage devoted to streaming shows from the publishers of TV Guide Magazine, pick up the issue, currently on newsstands, or purchase it online here. You can also subscribe to TV Insider Magazine here now.