For decades, the Criterion Collection has been a guiding star for movie buffs. Launching in the LaserDisc era, and then moving intoDVDs, thenBlu-rays, and now4K Blu-rays, the company has been at the forefront of releasing classic and art house films from all over the world. In 2019, they launched the Criterion Channel, a streaming service housing a huge portion of their library, along with licensed titles from many other studios and distributors.
Criterion Channel is filled with movies from across the whole history of cinema, from the silent era to today.
What is the Criterion Channel? Pricing, availability, movies, and more
Movie buffs will be happy to know they can now stream films from the Criterion Collection using a dedicated app.
The Criterion Channel
What does Criterion 24/7 offer?
Only the best movies of all time
BecauseCriterion 24/7pulls from Criterion Channel’s vast library, that also means it’s packed with many of the best films ever made. There are over 2,000 films on Criterion Channel, which may not sound like much compared to giants like Netflix. But unlike Netflix, which barely features any movies made before 1980, Criterion Channel is filled with movies from across the whole history of cinema, from the silent era to today.
Much of the library is pulled from Janus Films, the parent company of Criterion, which has been distributing foreign, art house cinema in the United States since the 1950s. That includes movies by important filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Agnes Varda and many more. There are also many contemporary films, including this year’s excellent Evil Does Not Exist, by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who was Oscar-nominated for Drive My Car in 2022.
Why Criterion 24/7?
Randomness is the spice of life
The key thing to know about Criterion 24/7 is that you never know what you’re going to get, and that’s the beauty of it. In fact, when you tune in to Criterion 24/7, which exists as a channel within the Criterion Channel app, it won’t even say what’s currently playing. The idea is to mimic the way things would be in the old days, on an actual TV channel – the viewer was simply stuck watching whatever was on.
It’s a great way to discover movies.
That may sound like a bad thing in the era of video on demand, where user choice is king, but there was something simpler about just turning on a movie channel and checking out whatever happened to be playing. What’s more, it’s a great way to discover movies. It can be so difficult to choose something new to watch, and it’s often easy to settle on something familiar.
While familiar titles might pop up on Criterion 24/7, the randomness means being exposed to plenty of new films as well. Want to know what’s playing, or when the next mystery movie will start? Just head over to the site’sWhat’s On Now page.
How I use Criterion 24/7
It’s the new TCM
I’ve always loved Turner Classic Movies, but without cable, I needed a replacement, and Criterion 24/7 offers just that. It’s not exactly the same or as thoughtfully curated, the schedule isn’t announced in advance, and it doesn’t feature interstitial content like old newsreels, film intros, or documentaries. That said, the movies are the most important thing, and on that front, Criterion 24/7 more than delivers.
Since it launched, I’ve used Criterion 24/7 a lot, mostly as something to have on in the background while I work. That’s not the ideal way to watch movies, but whenever I come across one that actually captures my attention, I’ll just add it to my Criterion Channel watch list and stream it later. I also use the 24/7 channel a lot at night, when I’m too tired to search through my various streaming services for something to watch. I can put on Criterion 24/7 and let it choose for me.
It’s even fun to turn on in the middle of some movie that’s already playing, getting a taste of something I might want to rewind and watch in full, or settling in with an old favorite.
My Criterion 24/7 discoveries
The best things I’ve seen on the channel
There really is a wealth of great content for movie lovers on Criterion Channel and Criterion 24/7, and since the live-stream channel launched, I’ve discovered many great titles. Here are some of the best.
And that’s just a small taste of the kinds of movies you’ll see if you tune in.
Criterion now lets you stream these movies by black filmmakers for free
Movie buffs will be happy to know they can now stream select Criterion Collection movies by black filmmakers for free.
