The Criterion Collection, a list by James Kearney

7.7

/45668/

75

/989/

73

/549/

3.8

/25193/

97

/29/

91

/1435/

77

/9/

age 12+

In 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, man-of-the-people Lt. Chard and snooty Lt. Bromhead are in charge of defending the isolated and vastly outnumbered Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes.

72

69

6.8

/11911/

67

/249/

66

/244/

3.3

/10617/

100

/20/

62

/134/

77

/11/

When a young writer is falsely accused of murdering a famous actress, he escapes custody and joins forces with the daughter of a police constable to prove his innocence.

83

7.5

/29022/

74

/798/

72

/404/

3.9

/38849/

97

/32/

89

/773/

82

/16/

4.0

age 17+

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

79

7.0

/22248/

67

/481/

66

/376/

4.0

/30782/

95

/38/

83

/333/

72

/25/

4.0

In the upscale Toronto strip club Exotica, dancer Christina is visited nightly by the obsessive Francis, a depressed tax auditor. Her ex-boyfriend, the club's MC, Eric, still jealously pines for her even as he introduces her onstage, but Eric is having his own relationship problems with the club's female owner. Thomas, a mysterious pet-shop owner, is about to become unexpectedly involved in their lives.

85

7.7

/83402/

74

/1767/

74

/1295/

4.0

/169002/

97

/61/

90

/1404/

94

/20/

4.0

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.

79

7.2

/28277/

69

/826/

69

/651/

3.7

/71910/

92

/72/

73

/438/

85

/16/

4.0

A Serbian émigré in Manhattan believes that, because of an ancient curse, any physical intimacy with the man she loves will turn her into a feline predator.

71

7.1

/21695/

71

/488/

67

/342/

3.4

/10757/

90

/20/

77

/306/

77

/11/

2.0

age 12+

In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.

67

63

6.6

/5985/

68

/245/

66

/170/

3.5

/6269/

66

/4768/

Lung is a talented fighter but prefers to spend his time loafing around and picking fights, despite orders from his grandfather not to fight. Unknown to him, a brutal general has been slaughtering all the people from his grandfather’s clan. When the general recognizes Lung’s style of kung fu during one of his street fights, he hunts down Lung’s grandfather and kills him.

72

66

6.9

/6151/

71

/151/

63

/115/

3.6

/11649/

90

/30/

75

/115/

64

/6/

If they missed Beatles' first appearance in the U.S.A. they would hate themselves for the rest of their lives! So four young girls from New Jersey set off even though they don't have tickets for the show! The journey is full of surprises and misfortunes but the young ladies are determined to reach their idols.

84

8.0

/301033/

76

/5241/

76

/3576/

4.1

/459380/

87

/94/

90

/7029/

83

/19/

4.0

age 15+

A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.

86

8.4

/257316/

82

/4211/

82

/3579/

4.3

/171374/

92

/52/

95

/1899/

3.5

age 10+

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

59

57

5.6

/6436/

61

/319/

63

/218/

3.0

/18438/

67

/6/

48

/67/

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the message and begin their own plan of action.

71

7.2

/211857/

69

/8126/

70

/2687/

3.7

/843676/

72

/285/

80

/71/

63

/47/

3.0

age 15+

A celebrity model couple are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged, alcoholic captain. What first appears Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island in a struggle of hierarchy.

85

8.1

/72724/

78

/1292/

79

/1057/

4.2

/80528/

95

/88/

93

/869/

3.5

The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

83

7.8

/466248/

75

/16627/

75

/7285/

3.9

/864023/

95

/468/

86

/325/

94

/55/

3.5

age 17+

Pennsylvania, 1956. Frank Sheeran, a war veteran of Irish origin who works as a truck driver, accidentally meets mobster Russell Bufalino. Once Frank becomes his trusted man, Bufalino sends him to Chicago with the task of helping Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful union leader related to organized crime, with whom Frank will maintain a close friendship for nearly twenty years.

73

71

7.0

/11057/

67

/283/

64

/221/

3.7

/14332/

89

/19/

74

/152/

75

/9/

Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.

66

64

6.2

/6180/

65

/287/

69

/214/

3.3

/15664/

78

/9/

61

/165/

Mothra's dark counterpart, Battra, emerges to eliminate humanity on behalf of the Earth. Two tiny fairies called the Cosmos offer their help by calling Mothra to battle the creature. Unfortunately a meteorite has awoken a hibernating Godzilla as a three way battle for the Earth begins.

55

6.0

/10524/

65

/250/

60

/137/

3.4

/29246/

32

/41/

58

/367/

49

/10/

2.0

age 15+

Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."

88

8.0

/39202/

77

/697/

76

/557/

4.2

/62025/

98

/62/

91

/532/

100

/5/

4.0

New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

57

55

6.2

/2858/

63

/530/

69

/329/

3.1

/28178/

52

/21/

56

/700/

40

/4/

The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.

77

7.3

/19027/

71

/398/

70

/325/

3.7

/22096/

87

/38/

81

/297/

80

/10/

3.5

The story of two radically different men thrown together in a Latin American prison cell. One is Valentin, a journalist being tortured for his political beliefs. The other is Molina, a gay window-dresser who fills their lonely nights by spinning romantic fantasies drawn from memories of old movies.

87

8.1

/38204/

79

/844/

79

/865/

4.1

/39960/

97

/30/

93

/341/

90

/7/

4.0

Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

57

45

6.4

/2599/

59

/84/

61

/89/

3.1

/3112/

41

/214/

Mr. Pest tries several theatre seats before winding up in front in a fight with the conductor. He is thrown out. In the lobby he pushes a fat lady into a fountain and returns to sit down by Edna. Mr. Rowdy, in the gallery, pours beer down on Mr. Pest and Edna. He attacks patrons, a harem dancer, the singers Dot and Dash, and a fire-eater.

81

7.6

/23951/

74

/541/

73

/383/

3.9

/20868/

100

/33/

86

/244/

83

/15/

Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.

53

44

6.3

/4587/

65

/216/

59

/113/

3.1

/2582/

17

/2/

So goes to the U.S. to open a martial arts school. Around this time, many Chinese people were sold off to U.S. railroad companies, and were brutally treated by the Americans under the harsh working conditions. Thus, the American workers' hatred towards the Chinese immigrants is high. As a result, So gets into trouble with the Americans and the mob, and calls Master Wong for help.

84

7.6

/141888/

75

/5961/

80

/3215/

4.0

/649555/

96

/298/

90

/575/

79

/49/

4.0

age 11+

During the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy, a wooden boy brought magically to life struggles to live up to his father's expectations.

84

7.7

/214109/

75

/7402/

73

/3821/

3.8

/200829/

99

/75/

89

/6020/

87

/12/

4.0

age 13+

Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.

71

7.0

/86806/

69

/2670/

68

/1584/

3.4

/73589/

75

/32/

71

/2111/

67

/8/

3.5

age 16+

Imagine a world where absolute conformity rules, and word and thought, including loyalty to Big Brother is demanded. It's the year 1984 and such a world exists. Divided into three vast states, whose inhabitants are dominated by all powerful governments, an illegal love affair begins. Soon, worker drone Winston becomes the target of a brain-washing campaign to force him back to conformity.

87

8.1

/258923/

80

/7508/

80

/4349/

4.4

/850953/

95

/80/

92

/1038/

82

/18/

4.0

age 16+

During the late 1980s, two detectives in rural South Korea attempt to solve a series of gruesome rape-and-murders of young women that leave the community terrified using limited resources and outdated methods. But when the murderer strikes several more times with the same pattern, the detectives realize that they are chasing the country's first documented serial killer. They then attempt to piece together the clues in this thriller based on true events.

80

7.2

/4902/

70

/133/

66

/78/

3.8

/4654/

97

/60/

77

/278/

83

/20/

4.0

Alejandro, a tough and ambitious Latino street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his 16-year-old sister, Isamar.

73

64

7.4

/5249/

69

/118/

69

/151/

3.6

/6204/

82

/498/

A bricklayer and his wife clash over his end-of-the-week partying.

74

7.2

/229190/

72

/5425/

71

/3791/

3.9

/562818/

69

/192/

78

/18333/

67

/35/

3.5

age 16+

Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray).

81

79

7.6

/14487/

75

/317/

76

/296/

3.9

/28156/

94

/16/

89

/222/

In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

80

61

7.5

/3097/

71

/103/

71

/87/

3.9

/6389/

100

/5/

84

/14/

As the world progresses into the industrial age, a professor studying the "nature of pure matter" is spirited away by a would-be dictator and connived into building a super-bomb, as a young reporter and a girl rescued from the sea attempt to warn him of their mutual kidnapper's intentions to dominate the world with a new and more-deadly-yet weapon.

77

7.5

/20423/

74

/494/

71

/316/

3.9

/17623/

86

/21/

82

/282/

age 10+

British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.

80

7.5

/67217/

72

/1433/

72

/1152/

3.9

/117793/

82

/106/

84

/1766/

80

/18/

4.0

age 16+

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

81

7.9

/150835/

76

/3011/

75

/2304/

3.9

/118040/

93

/61/

87

/2365/

87

/17/

3.0

age 14+

The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.

83

7.8

/149446/

75

/4043/

76

/2638/

3.9

/305402/

95

/82/

87

/6466/

89

/17/

3.5

age 17+

A ragtag group barricade themselves in an old Pennsylvania farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls ravaging the Northeast.

76

7.8

/207962/

78

/9428/

78

/5234/

4.0

/1069125/

90

/368/

87

/1145/

82

/55/

1.5

age 11+

In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island used as a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.

67

6.9

/12714/

67

/282/

64

/207/

3.4

/5519/

75

/28/

74

/168/

70

/7/

2.0

age 11+

The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.

79

7.8

/220808/

78

/5451/

76

/3567/

4.1

/252500/

98

/63/

90

/7405/

84

/18/

2.0

age 17+

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

82

7.7

/35705/

74

/889/

74

/641/

4.1

/63362/

95

/57/

86

/615/

88

/17/

A young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.

82

7.3

/6070/

74

/331/

67

/114/

3.9

/34555/

98

/135/

79

/17/

87

/31/

4.0

age 15+

Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

72

7.0

/9686/

68

/170/

67

/224/

3.5

/7230/

80

/15/

73

/89/

3.0

A recently-deposed "Estrovian" monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity. Later, he's wrongly accused of being a Communist and gets caught up in subsequent HUAC hearings.

68

6.8

/15638/

69

/482/

69

/359/

3.3

/10699/

70

/512/

While Yeung Kam Wing is trying to remove all connections between the mob and him, his actions are being carefully observed by Lau Kin Ming, who bears a personal grudge against him.

70

7.6

/167915/

75

/3776/

75

/2845/

4.1

/377471/

69

/62/

87

/3626/

53

/21/

2.0

age 18+

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

66

6.4

/71680/

65

/1888/

65

/1274/

3.7

/227630/

65

/63/

61

/1968/

53

/23/

3.5

A car crash victim suddenly finds himself turned on by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground sub-culture of like-minded souls.

70

68

6.9

/13323/

68

/328/

65

/270/

3.4

/15946/

88

/24/

65

/218/