In our annual episode focusing on The Criterion Collection’s releases from the past year – and there’s a lot to celebrate – we’ve assembled a panel of CriterionCast regulars to share our favorite releases of 2023. David Blakeslee from Criterion Reflections hosts this discussion, which also includes Aaron West (CineJourneys), Josh Hornbeck (Criterion Channel Surfing), and longtime site contributors Jordan Essoe and Brad McDermott.

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Critic and YouTube creator Celeste de la Cabra joins Josh for a journey into the Criterion Channel’s permanent, streaming-only library, and conclude their conversation about the films of Japanese filmmaker and the master of kaiju cinema, Ishirō Honda.

Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode of this fourth season of the podcast features conversations with a variety of guests offering insights on movies that originally premiered in 1972 and were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this, the final episode of Season 4, David is joined by Trevor Berrett and Brad McDermott to discuss State of Siege, directed by Costa-Gavras. The film is available on DVD and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection and is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss The Complete Jean Vigo. This box set contains the films À propos de Nice (1930), Taris (1988), Zéro de conduite (1933), and L’Atalante (1934).

Even among cinema’s legends, Jean Vigo stands apart. The son of a notorious anarchist, Vigo had a brief but brilliant career making poetic, lightly surrealist films before his life was cut tragically short by tuberculosis at age twenty-nine. Like the daring early works of his contemporaries Jean Cocteau and Luis Buñuel, Vigo’s films refused to play by the rules. This set includes all of Vigo’s titles: À propos de Nice, an absurdist, rhythmic slice of life from the bustling coastal city; Taris, an inventive short portrait of a swimming champion; Zéro de conduite, a radical, delightful tale of boarding-school rebellion that has influenced countless filmmakers; and L’Atalante, widely regarded as one of cinema’s finest achievements, about newlyweds beginning their life together on a canal barge. These are the witty, visually adventurous works of a pivotal film artist.

Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode of this fourth season of the podcast features conversations with a variety of guests offering insights on movies that originally premiered in 1972 and were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by Brad McDermott, Derek J. Power, Daniel Humphrey, and first-time guest James Bogdanski to discuss Cries and Whispers, directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film is available on DVD and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection and is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Friend-of-the-show Michael Hutchins returns for a deep dive into the Criterion Channel’s permanent, streaming-only library, and a conversation about three films from Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura – Cousin Angelica, Elisa, Vida Mía, and Los Ojos Vendados.

Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode of this fourth season of the podcast features conversations with a variety of guests offering insights on movies that originally premiered in 1972 and were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by Richard Doyle and Aaron Strand to discuss Don’t Play Us Cheap, directed by Melvin Van Peebles. The film was released in the box set Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films, and is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode of this fourth season of the podcast features conversations with a variety of guests offering insights on movies that originally premiered in 1972 and were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by Richard Doyle and David Seeley to discuss three films featuring Hanzo the Razor, all starring Shintaro Katsu, best known for his portrayal of Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman. The films were released between 1972 and 1974, and are currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Critic and YouTube creator Celeste de la Cabra joins Josh for a journey into the Criterion Channel’s permanent, streaming-only library, and a conversation about three films from Japanese filmmaker and the master of kaiju cinema, Ishirō Honda.

Friend-of-the-show Michael Hutchins returns for a deep dive into the Criterion Channel’s permanent, streaming-only library, and a conversation about the next three films from Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura.