The Criterion Channel’s November programming is a terrific reminder that movie history is rarely as compartmentalized as we imagine. This month, the streaming service explores the creative explosion that occurred when music video directors graduated to feature filmmaking, celebrates Nicolas Cage’s gloriously unpredictable career, and revisits the elegant, psychologically complex performances of Hollywood icon Gene Tierney. With retrospectives on Roy Andersson and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, plus a tribute to the late producer Jeremy Thomas, there’s a little something for every kind of cinephile.
Perhaps the most intriguing collection is “From MTV to Hollywood,” which examines how 1990s music video experimentation helped reshape American cinema. The 16-film series features David Fincher’s “Se7en,” Hype Williams’ visually astonishing “Belly,” Spike Jonze’s “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation,” Michel Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,” and Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast.” The list also includes more eccentric selections, including Tarsem Singh’s “The Cell,” Mark Romanek’s “One Hour Photo,” and Roman Coppola’s “CQ.” It’s a fascinating snapshot of an era when filmmakers brought the formal audacity of short-form pop entertainment to the big screen.
Meanwhile, Cage gets a whopping 17-film retrospective, spanning early appearances in “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” and “Rumble Fish” through his breakthroughs in “Valley Girl,” “Raising Arizona,” and “Moonstruck.” Naturally, the stranger corners of his filmography are well represented, including “Vampire’s Kiss,” “Wild At Heart,” “Bringing Out The Dead,” and Werner Herzog’s gloriously unhinged “Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans.” More restrained performances in “Birdy,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” and “Matchstick Men” provide a useful counterpoint. Few actors have built such a fascinating career out of refusing to make the obvious choice.
For classic Hollywood devotees, the Tierney collection includes ten films, from Otto Preminger’s immortal noir “Laura” and John M. Stahl’s Technicolor nightmare “Leave Her To Heaven” to “The Ghost And Mrs. Muir,” “Dragonwyck,” and “Night And The City.” Critic Imogen Sara Smith introduces a star whose serene beauty often concealed something far more mysterious and unsettling.
The director spotlights are equally impressive. Andersson’s existential comedies, introduced by Ari Aster and cartoonist Daniel Clowes, include his extraordinary Living Trilogy: “Songs From The Second Floor,” “You, The Living,” and “A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence.” His debut, “A Swedish Love Story,” and later feature “About Endlessness” round out the five-film selection. Hamaguchi receives a smaller but equally rewarding showcase featuring “Happy Hour,” “Drive My Car,” and “Evil Does Not Exist,” three remarkably different explorations of human behavior, connection, and emotional uncertainty.
Criterion also pays tribute to Thomas, the legendary British independent producer who died in September, with 13 films illustrating his extraordinary commitment to uncompromising filmmaking. Highlights include Jerzy Skolimowski’s “The Shout” and “EO,” Nicolas Roeg’s “Bad Timing,” Nagisa Oshima’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” Stephen Frears’ “The Hit,” and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning “The Last Emperor.” Thomas helped make some genuinely adventurous international cinema possible, and the collection provides an excellent overview of that legacy.
Elsewhere, the service is bringing newly restored versions of the scruffy 1980s New York independent film “No Picnic” and the New Zealand colonial revenge western “Utu Redux.” Criterion Collection editions of “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Last Waltz,” “Trainspotting,” and “Welcome II The Terrordome” arrive with substantial supplemental features. Other highlights include a spotlight on filmmaker and editor Mary Stephen, a trio of New York documentaries from Bobbito García, Laurie Anderson’s concert film “Home Of The Brave,” and a new installment of “Adventures in Moviegoing” featuring Hiro Murai in conversation with Chris Ryan.
Complete List Of Films Premiering On The Criterion Channel In November 2026
“About Endlessness,” Roy Andersson, 2019*
“Adaptation.,” Spike Jonze, 2002
“ATL,” Chris Robinson, 2006
“Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans,” Werner Herzog, 2009
“Being John Malkovich,” Spike Jonze, 1999*
“Belly,” Hype Williams, 1998
“Birdy,” Alan Parker, 1984
“A Body To Live In,” Angelo Madsen, 2025
“Bringing Out The Dead,” Martin Scorsese, 1999*
“CB4,” Tamra Davis, 1993*
“The Cell,” Tarsem Singh, 2000
“City Of Angels,” Brad Silberling, 1998
“CQ,” Roman Coppola, 2001
“Doin’ It In The Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC,” Bobbito García and Kevin Couliau, 2012
“Dragonwyck,” Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1946
“Drunken Noodles,” Lucio Castro, 2025
“Duke Of Groove,” Griffin Dunne, 1995
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,” Michel Gondry, 2004*
“Fast Times At Ridgemont High,” Amy Heckerling, 1982*
“The Ghost And Mrs. Muir,” Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1947
“The Great Canadian Puberty Rite,” Mary Stephen, 1974
“Guncrazy,” Tamra Davis, 1992
“Happy Hour,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi, 2015
“Home Of The Brave,” Laurie Anderson, 1986
“Human Nature,” Michel Gondry, 2001
“Labyrinthe,” Mary Stephen, 1973
“The Last Waltz,” Martin Scorsese, 1978
“Laura,” Otto Preminger, 1944
“Leave Her To Heaven,” John M. Stahl, 1945
“Leaving Las Vegas,” Mike Figgis, 1995
“Manal Issa, 2024,” Elisabeth Subrin, 2024
“Maria Schneider, 1983,” Elisabeth Subrin, 2022
“Matchstick Men,” Ridley Scott, 2003
“Moonstruck,” Norman Jewison, 1987
“Never Let Me Go,” Delmer Daves, 1953
“Night And The City,” Jules Dassin, 1950
“No Picnic,” Philip Hartman, 1986
“Oh, Christmas Tree,” Katie Aselton, 2024
“One Hour Photo,” Mark Romanek, 2002
“Palimpsest: The Story Of A Name,” Mary Stephen, 2025
“Peggy Sue Got Married,” Francis Ford Coppola, 1986
“A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence,” Roy Andersson, 2014*
“The President’s Analyst,” Theodore J. Flicker, 1967*
“Raising Arizona,” Joel Coen, 1987
“The Replacement Killers,” Antoine Fuqua, 1998
“Rings On Her Fingers,” Rouben Mamoulian, 1942
“Rock Rubber 45s,” Bobbito García, 2018
“Rumble Fish,” Francis Ford Coppola, 1983*
“The Secret Of The Grain,” Abdellatif Kechiche, 2007
“Se7en,” David Fincher, 1995
“Sexy Beast,” Jonathan Glazer, 2000
“Shades Of Silk,” Mary Stephen, 1978
“Snake Eyes,” Brian De Palma, 1998*
“Stretch And Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives,” Bobbito García, 2015
“A Swedish Love Story,” Roy Andersson, 1970
“That Wonderful Urge,” Robert B. Sinclair, 1948
“This Is Spinal Tap,” Rob Reiner, 1984*
“Thumbsucker,” Mike Mills, 2005*
“Trainspotting,” Danny Boyle, 1996*
“Two Gods,” Zeshawn Ali, 2020
“Utu Redux,” Geoff Murphy, 2013
“Valley Girl,” Martha Coolidge, 1983
“Vampire’s Kiss,” Robert Bierman, 1988
“A Very Easy Death,” Mary Stephen, 1975
“Way Of A Gaucho,” Jacques Tourneur, 1952
“Where The Sidewalk Ends,” Otto Preminger, 1950
“The Wicker Man,” Neil LaBute, 2006
“Wild At Heart,” David Lynch, 1990*
“You, The Living,” Roy Andersson, 2007
Available in the U.S. only.
