The Criterion Collection is a set of home media releases that has pledged to ensure that “important classic and contemporary films” can be seen how they were meant to be seen. A lot of home media formats lose some of the defining qualities of the films, but not The Criterion Collection.
Criterion has famously upheld a number of film presentation standards, such as applying the letterbox format to films that were shot in widescreen. Both old black-and-white classics and newer modern classics have been released in the collection. The best movies ever made can be purchased from The Criterion Collection. So, here are The 10 Best Criterion Collection Movies, Ranked.
The Silence of the Lambs
Jonathan Demme’s psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs is one of the most spectacular works of cinema ever created. It was the third film in history to win Oscars in all five major categories, and Anthony Hopkins won his Best Actor award with less than half an hour of screen time.
It was the first (and so far only) horror film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. And it accomplished all of this simply by using everything in the filmmaker’s toolkit – camera angles, editing, framing, lighting, set design – to tell its story in the most effective way possible.
Notorious
Notorious might not be Alfred Hitchcock’s most famous movie, but it did mark a major turning point in his career. He would become known for blending elements of the crime and mystery and film noir genres with earnest love stories, and this was the first time he pulled that off successfully.
Cary Grant and Claude Rains provide incredible performances as two men who fall for the same woman, but it’s Ingrid Bergman who steals the show as a humanized version of a classic femme fatale. Notorious is billed as a spy movie, but with a two-and-a-half-minute kiss, it is primarily a romance.
The Princess Bride
“As you wish.” Rob Reiner’s satirical fairy tale adventure The Princess Bride, the screenplay for which William Goldman adapted from his own equally groundbreaking novel, is a beloved family classic. It didn’t make a ton of money at the box office when it was initially released, but it has since become a cult hit.
The movie takes the characters who are usually the side characters in fairy tales – like giants and goblins – and puts them in the spotlight. Plus, it utilizes a delightful way of framing its narrative, as Peter Falk reads from a storybook to his grandson, played by Fred Savage, who is sick and taking a day off school.
The Night of the Hunter
This chilling thriller mixes in motifs from German expressionism and director Charles Laughton’s experience mounting theatrical productions to create one of the creepiest and most unique moviegoing experiences of all time. The whole film rests on Robert Mitchum’s performance as the sinister Reverend Harry Powell, whose “LOVE” and “HATE” tattoos on his knuckles have become cinematic hallmarks.
Powell was also named one of the ten greatest villains in the history of fiction by none other than Stephen King in a list the horror master wrote for Entertainment Weekly. The plot is told in a deceptively straightforward way, making for a deeply engaging movie.
Seven Samurai
Akira Kurosawa is one of the most acclaimed and beloved filmmakers of all time, and a pioneer of many storytelling and shooting and editing techniques that have been copied, tweaked and reworked over the years.
First, its basic plot and character dynamic formed the basis of John Sturges’ classic western The Magnificent Seven. Then, its eclectic cast of characters had a huge influence on the makeup of George Lucas’ original 1977 Star Wars movie. A lot of mainstream audiences discount foreign films because they don’t like reading subtitles, but Seven Samurai is bound to have inspired one of their favorite Hollywood movies.
Rosemary’s Baby
This film is a haunting tale of a woman who is impregnated with Satan’s child is one of the most influential horror films ever made. Nearly every horror filmmaker working today counts Rosemary’s Baby among their primary inspirations to work in the genre.
The movie is also a deep study of religious beliefs and women’s rights, and with its release coming five years before the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, it was also way ahead of its time. Rosemary’s Baby, created some of the tropes and techniques of the horror genre that are still used today, blending sharp filmmaking with an eye for terror.
Blood Simple
Surprisingly, the Coen brothers’ directorial debut is also one of their finest films. Usually, directors need a couple of movies to warm up before they can really wow audiences.
However, Blood Simple has all their hallmarks – the juxtaposition of shocking violence and dark humor, the beautifully chilling imagery, the open-to-interpretation uses of symbolism etc. – in a slick neo-noir thriller about a marriage that violently falls apart at the hands of a private eye. The Criterion Collection Blu-ray of the movie is special in that it was digitally transferred to 4K quality and approved by the Coens themselves. It is rammed with all-new bonus features, too.
Some Like It Hot
On the AFI’s 100 Years...100 Laughs list, Some Like It Hot was ranked as the greatest comedy movie ever made, even factoring in all the classics from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Its cast includes some of the most famous and talented actors who ever lived: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon.
The movie was also very progressive for its time, with a plot dealing with homosexuality and cross-dressing – themes that lost it the approval of the Motion Picture Production Code (but won it the approval of moviegoers across the world for decades to come). This year, Some Like It Hot is celebrating its 60th anniversary, so it’s the perfect time to add it to your Blu-ray collection.
Night of the Living Dead
This is the movie in which George A. Romero invented the modern zombie film and changed the face of the horror genre forever. Zombies had existed in fiction before, but never like this – and never in this rigid story template that has since been copied hundreds of times. Its grainy black-and-white look gives its hordes of the undead an even more unnerving glimmer, while the stark black backgrounds of the night are reminiscent of German expressionist cinema.
There are also sociopolitical overtones that explore racial issues in America, however unintentional they may have been. It’s just an all-around horror masterpiece.
The Graduate
Mike Nichols’ The Graduate is praised as possibly the greatest coming-of-age movie ever made. Dustin Hoffman stars as a bright young man who graduates from college and finds that he has no idea what he wants to do with his life.
His whole life has been leading up to this moment, and now, he finds that he has, essentially, nothing. He has education and career prospects, but he pretty much has to settle into a job and toil away for decades before retiring and dying. His existential crisis is marred when an older woman seduces him and then he falls for her daughter. The movie is filled with iconic moments and is infinitely rewatchable.
We hope you like the items we recommend! Screen Rant has affiliate partnerships, so we receive a share of the revenue from your purchase. This won’t affect the price you pay and helps us offer the best product recommendations.