The Criterion Channel is the best streaming service out there. Launched in 2019 by The Criterion Collection, the streamer brought some of the best movies in history to our laptops and TVs. The Criterion Channel’s selection spans decades and continents, and it is an exhaustive archive of global film history. You might think that the Criterion Channel is only for movie-obsessives or pretentious film nerds who want to claim that they’ve seen every Kurosawa movie ever made. While they would certainly love the Criterion Channel, it is appealing to a much wider audience. At the end of the day, everyone enjoys quality content.

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Let’s explore a few reasons why The Criterion Channel is the best streaming service out there:

What Is The Criterion Channel?

     Criterion

The Criterion Channel was made by the Criterion Collection, an iconic film distributor and restorer known for curating only the best films in the market. Founded in the 1980s, The Criterion Collection has historically sold films and restorations in physical form, whether it was LaserDisc, DVD, or Blu-ray, but in 2008 it had worked with MUBI and Hulu to provide some of its content online.

In November 2016, FilmStruck, a film streaming service from Turner Classic Movies, became the official streaming service for The Criterion Collection. However, Warner Bros and Turner shut down FilmStruck in 2018 without much explanation, which led to prominent Hollywood individuals signing a letter asking Warner to reconsider its decision. While Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese sent their own letters, Christopher Nolan, Paul Thomas Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alfonso Cuaron, Barbra Streisand, Edgar Wright, and many more put their names behind another. It was an impassioned plea that includes glowing praise for FilmStruck (which, one can argue, is entirely applicable to The Criterion Channel today):

The letter, though, was to no avail. So, like the protectors and promoters of cinema that they are, The Criterion Collection decided to create its own streaming service.

FilmStruck service was the best streaming service for fans of cinema of all kinds: classic studio movies, independent cinema, international treasures. Without it, the landscape for film fans and students of cinema is especially bleak. There’s a reason there was a huge outpouring from artists and fans over it being shuttered, they were doing the Movie God’s work.

Incomparable Selection

     Jet Tone Productions

What makes Criterion’s catalog so important, that myriad celebrities rallied to bring it back online? Well, simply put, it’s the best selection of films in the world. Very few film distributors, if any, are as highly regarded as Criterion, because this distribution company prioritizes high-brow, artistic, and worldly masterpieces that do not play at most local cineplexes. Browse through The Criterion Channel, and you’ll see names like Godard, Hitchcock, Tarkovsky, Kar-wai, Varda, Bergman, Fellini, Lynch, and every filmmaking legend you can imagine. You will be sure to find at least one film worth your time, and probably 500.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of big streaming services like Netflix, which have focused on increasing the quantity of media at the expense of its quality. Obviously, in that ocean of movies and TV shows, there are plenty of excellent options and great content, but it is becoming harder and harder to find something that truly grips you in a sea of mediocrity. One may find themselves scrolling through option after option in search of the perfect title, only to realize they could’ve watched a whole movie in the time they spent looking for one!

Curated Collections

Criterion’s vast catalog would be daunting to navigate without a tour guide, but thankfully, The Criterion Channel offers curated collections to help you choose. They group films by director, star, genre, and region, but their most interesting collections group films by thematic connections (New York Stories, Afrofuturism, Female Gaze, Japanese Noir, Love Stories, and many others).

These collections are constantly updated, and they reflect contemporary events; for example right now there is a special collection to remember the work of Monica Vitti after her passing in early February. They also often pair films for double features that make sense. Similarly, their search function allows you to filter by decade, director, country, and genre to easily find one or a group of films that might interest you when you are not sure which specific one you want to watch.

Extra Features

The Criterion Channel also offers interesting behind-the-scenes videos and interviews with some of the most important people working in the industry. Criterion was already well known online for its Closet Picks articles and videos, where Hollywood stars and arthouse figures came into their closet and picked some of their favorite films from the Criterion catalog to take home, providing commentary on each. It is a fun and insightful series of videos that became rightfully popular, and they have applied this to the other content on The Criterion Channel.

Playing off the bounty of extra features found in most Criterion Blu-rays and DVDs, the streaming channel has interviews, commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and archival treasures. Along with the amazing selection, these additional videos are great for anyone who is trying to learn more about film history and production. It is a great starting point for anyone who likes movies and wants to try new things they might not have otherwise even heard about. The Criterion Channel is the best streaming service because it democratizes cinema and allows anyone to take part in its history.