The Criterion Channel 12+

Watch classic movies and more

The Criterion Collection, Inc.

    • 4.8 • 9.7K Ratings
    • Free
    • Offers In-App Purchases

Description

A movie lover’s dream, the Criterion Channel offers classics and discoveries from around the world, thematically programmed with special features, on a streaming service brought to you by the Criterion Collection.

With constantly refreshed selections of Hollywood, international, art-house, and independent movies, plus access to Criterion’s entire streaming library of more than 1,000 important classic and contemporary films, there’s something new to choose from every day of the week on the Criterion Channel. Start with Sunday Spotlights on directors, stars, genres, and themes; Tuesday’s Short + Feature; or the Friday double bill. Try out our 15-minute-a-month film school, Observations on Film Art, or choose from suggestions by friends like Barry Jenkins, Guillermo del Toro, or Mira Nair. Go deep with the Criterion Collection’s archive of special features for context that no other service can match.

FEATURES

- The Criterion Collection’s streaming library, including many complete editions released on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as unreleased titles
- Ongoing programs of Hollywood, international, art-house, independent, documentary, and short films, including thematic programming, director and star retrospectives, and guest-curated series
- Original Criterion Channel series such as Observations on Film Art, Adventures in Moviegoing, and Art-House America
- Supplemental features to deepen your appreciation of the art of film, including audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, scholarly analyses, introductions, new and archival interviews, and trailers

To access all features and content you can subscribe to The Criterion Channel on a monthly or yearly basis with an auto-renewing subscription right inside the app.* Pricing can vary by region and will be confirmed before purchase in the app. In app subscriptions will automatically renew at the end of their cycle.

* All payments will be paid through your iTunes Account and may be managed under Account Settings after the initial payment. Subscription payments will automatically renew unless deactivated at least 24-hours before the end of the current cycle. Your account will be charged for renewal at least 24-hours prior to the end of the current cycle. Any unused portion of your free trial will be forfeited upon payment. Cancellations are incurred by disabling auto-renewal.

Terms of Service: https://www.criterionchannel.com/tos
Privacy Policy: https://www.criterionchannel.com/privacy

What’s New

Version 8.600.1

* Bug fixes
* Performance improvements

Ratings and Reviews

4.8 out of 5
9.7K Ratings

9.7K Ratings

Areviewer198 ,

Favorite Streaming App for Cinephiles

A lot of issues I have with several other streaming apps were resolved with The Criterion Channel. I was bothered by the lack of special and extra features in streaming services, such as Netflix, which made physical media much more appealing to me overall. Also, most streaming services are bereft of classic hollywood cinema, indie films, and foreign films and have a constant stream of mainstream or populous media. This creates a stale library content for most streaming services and quality varies immensely month to month. The Criterion Channel is the main streaming service that I know of (other than Mubi) that dedicates itself to a strong curation of content from cinema around the world and around different time periods while also including many special features existing in only the physical media versions of these films. Also, they have specialized playlists and categories that are centered around film genres, directors, technical works, and themes that are rare to see in other streaming services (or at least this level of dedication). Please subscribe to The Criterion Chanel and give it a watch. I do not want this streaming service to suffer the same fate as Filmstruck and would like this stand its ground against the other streaming giants.

Cakekat ,

Favorite Streaming Service

While I mourned the end of Filmstruck, I’m even happier with the Criterion Channel. I initially thought it was going to be just Criterion films, but that’s not the case due to the differences between streaming rights and distribution rights. So, films that Criterion may not be able to acquire for physical releases (even if they want them) may very well be easier to license for streaming. This keeps it interesting! The whole channel feels extremely curated in the best way possible, down to each well written synopsis. And of course, the supplemental videos for some films are *chef’s kiss* fantastic. In the past month or so I’ve really only been using this app to watch movies. A lot of the other services feel so bogged down lately by so many options and I can never tell the quality. It was getting frustrating until I remembered I had this app. Oh and if you feel overwhelmed by all the new stuff you’ve never heard of before, check out their Instagram - they’re constantly posting about interesting films and series. Sometimes all it takes is seeing a screenshot of a film for me to watch it! As far as functionality goes, I have no complaints. Maybe in the future they could have a rating or like feature so the app could recommend films.

Brainymcgyver ,

The History of Cinema at your fingertips

In my opinion, there is no better collection of movies and film than the criterion collection. You can find works from all of the greatest directors, a treasure trove of world cinema, the most important and influential films of all time, not to mention numerous short films, interviews, commentary and more. It’s literally the history of film laid out before your very eyes. Any true cinephile has access to this channel or has shopped this collection. I thought I loved movies, but once I started exploring this collection my love and appreciation for them deepened and grew exponentially. This is film as an art form and not just entertainment. I would say the only reason you would NOT want to start watching movies from the criterion collection is because once you do you can never watch a crappy Netflix movie again without feeling guilty that you just wasted 2 hours of your life. You’ll ruin 90% of all other programming on contemporary channels because it will all pale in comparison to what criterion has to offer. If you want to keep on sifting through trash, then keep with your current viewing habits, but if you want to expand your horizons then dive into all that Criterion has to offer!

App Privacy

The developer, The Criterion Collection, Inc., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

  • Purchases
  • Location
  • Contact Info
  • User Content
  • Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

  • Search History
  • Usage Data
  • Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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