With a new month comes a new slate of movies being released on The Criterion Channel. This has quickly become one of my favorite streaming services since I started subscribing to it back in 2022. They release new playlists each month, chronicling a specific event during that time span. The month of August is no different, as The Criterion Channel is celebrating the anniversary of one of music’s finest genres.
In August, The Criterion Channel is also honoring one of cinema’s leading actresses in the 1930s, a certain director’s interest in the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, European filmmaking, and so much more. August may be the downtime for so many entertainment industries in the United States, but The Criterion Channel has found a way to keep it fresh. Here is what’s coming August 1st:
Hip-Hop
A dense 18 film collection exploring the collision of hip-hop music and cinema on the 50th anniversary of the genre’s inception. Includes:
- Wild Style (1982),
- Style Wars (1983)
- Beat Street (1984)
- Krush Groove (1985)
- Deep Cover (1992)
- Fear of a Black Hat (1993)
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
- Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2000)
- Scratch (2001)
- Paid in Full (2002) * only available in the United States
- Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
- Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
- Jamel Shabazz Street Photographer (2013)
Later this year:
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Boyz n the Hood (1991)
- Poetic Justice (1993)
- Belly (1998)
- Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club (2008)
Starring Kay Francis
A 10 film collection that acknowledges one of the industry’s most unforgettable stars during the pre-code era in the 1930s. Includes:
- The Cocoanuts (1929)
- For the Defense (1930) * only available in the United States
- Street of Chance (1930) * only available in the United States
- The Virtuous Sin (1930)
- Ladies’ Man (1931)
- One Way Passage (1932)
- Jewel Robbery (1932)
- Trouble in Paradise (1932)
- Mandalay (1934)
- When the Daltons Rode (1940) * only available in the United States
Grindhouse Gothic: Roger Corman Directs Edgar Allan Poe
An 8 film collection that combines two unmistakably distinct storytellers. Roger Corman directs a handful of Edgar Allan Poe stories, spinning his own twists in the process. Includes:
- House of Usher (1960)
- The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
- The Premature Burial (1962)
- Tales of Terror (1962)
- The Haunted Palace (1963)
- The Raven (1963)
- The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
- The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
Eurothrillers
A 21 film collection paying homage to the European thrillers responsible for some of the most stylized filmmaking of the 20th century. A seriously expansive set of films that I can’t wait to dive into. Includes:
- M (1931)
- The Wages of Fear (1953)
- Diabolique (1955)
- Purple Noon (1960)
- Knife in the Water (1962)
- Night Games (1966)
- La piscine (1969)
- Z (1969)
- The Ear (1970)
- State of Siege (1972)
- Mr. Klein (1976)
- The Shout (1978)
- The Element of Crime (1984)
- The Hit (1984)
- The Vanishing (1988)
- Europa (1991)
- La cérémonie (1995)
- Funny Games (1997)
- Insomnia (1997)
- Demonlover (2002)
- Revanche (2008)
The Criterion Channel will also play host to a few personal favorites, both new and old, including Tori and Lokita from earlier this year and Dog Day Afternoon from 1975.
Personally, I’m going to struggle divvying up my own viewing hours between a handful of films I’ve never seen. I’ll surely check out the movies dedicated to A Tribe Called Quest, as well as a few of the Roger Corman directorial efforts. Follow my viewing habits on Letterboxd here to see what I watch in August.
READ MORE: Criterion, Roger Corman, Kay Francis, Tori and Lokita
