Evan Dalton Smith on Andy Griffith

'A Face in the Crowd' was Andy Griffith's first film role; he would go on to be most famous for his folksy portrayal of Sheriff Andy Taylor on television's The Andy Griffith Show. In this interview, filmed by the Criterion Collection in 2018, Griffith expert Evan Dalton Smith discusses the actor's difficulties with the role of Lonesome Rhodes and how it led to his career-defining television show.

Jay Cocks and Farran Smith Nehme on 'The Heiress'

In this 2018 Criterion Collection program, screenwriter Jay Cocks and film critic Farran Smith Nehme discuss the adaptation for the film version of 'The Heiress' (1949) of the 1947 play by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, which was itself inspired by the 1880 Henry James novel 'Washington Square'.

May The Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story

May the Lord Watch follows the rise, breakup, and reunion of Little Brother, detailing the vast impact of the preeminent 2000’s rap group.

Black Girl in Bloom

St. Louis florist Darien Burress launches her small business while preparing to compete at Art in Bloom, the St. Louis Art Museum's annual festival celebrating floral design and the fine arts.

Manny

From abject poverty to becoming a ten-time boxing world champion, congressman, and international icon, Manny Pacquiao is the true definition of a Cinderella story. In the Philippines, he first entered the ring as a sixteen-year-old weighing ninety-eight pounds with the goal of earning money to feed his family. Now, almost twenty years later, when he fights, the country of 100 million people comes to a complete standstill to watch. Regarded for his ability to bring people together, Pacquiao entered the political arena in 2010. As history’s first boxing congressman, Pacquiao now fights for his people both inside and outside of the ring. Now at the height of his career, he is faced with maneuvering an unscrupulous sport while maintaining his political duties. The question now is, what bridge is too far for Manny Pacquiao to cross?

Ron Briley on 'A Face in the Crowd'

In this interview, shot by the Criterion Collection in 2018, Ron Briley, author of 'The Ambivalent Legacy of Elia Kazan: The Politics of the Post-HUAC Films', discusses the origins of the Lonesome Rhodes character in the biographies of populist celebrities such as Will Rogers and Arthur Godfrey. He also addresses the political implications of 'A Face in the Crowd' (1957) within the context of Kazan's career.

D-Day, 100 jours pour la liberté

Using restored, colorized archives and testimonies from all the players in this conflict, this documentary covers the hundred days of apocalyptic fighting that wrote History. June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy. This odyssey was meticulously prepared for months. The construction of two artificial ports, the transport of Anglo-American troops, their training cost colossal efforts, and caused many cold sweats: the secret of D-Day almost came to light several times. The documentary reveals the inner workings of Operation Overlord, it also deciphers the military operations, and evokes the choices of the high command. Placed at human level, it retraces the fate of Norman civilians subjected to deadly bombings, the attitude of the Allied soldiers and their German adversaries, as well as the aspirations of the French population, torn between fear and hope.

Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

THE MACHINE

Eldorado – Alles, was die Nazis hassen

A glittery nightclub in 1920s Berlin becomes a haven for the queer community in this documentary exploring the freedoms lost amid Hitler’s rise to power.

Joso2020

Joso (josō 女装) is a film collaboration combining anthropology and art film to explore the nature of male reaction and sentiment on the cusp of transformation in contemporary Japan.

Nous étions soldats - Les oubliés de la Seconde Guerre mondiale

Les Usines de Staline face aux armées d'Hitler

How did the USSR - a country considered a second-rate industrial power, economically inferior to Germany, the USA and the UK - shape its victory over the armies of Hitler's regime, and secure its place among the winners?

An Inconvenient Truth

A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

Sans soleil

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

Mythos Côte d'Azur - Liebe, Luxus, Leidenschaft

AA - Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is a community of men and women who share their experience, hope and support with each other so that they can address their common problem and help others to break free from alcohol addiction. The documentary follows the stories of ten people who have been on the verge of alcoholism for almost their entire lives.

Olympia - Fest der Völker

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. This first half of her two-part film opens with a renowned introduction that compares modern Olympians to classical Greek heroes, then goes on to provide thrilling in-the-moment coverage of some of the games' most celebrated moments, including African-American athlete Jesse Owens winning a then-unprecedented four gold medals.

Olympia - Fest der Schönheit

Commissioned to make a propaganda film about the 1936 Olympic Games in Germany, director Leni Riefenstahl created a celebration of the human form. Where the two-part epic's first half, Festival of the Nations, focused on the international aspects of the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, part two, The Festival of Beauty, concentrates on individual athletes such as equestrians, gymnasts, and swimmers, climaxing with American Glenn Morris' performance in the decathalon and the games' majestic closing ceremonies.

Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue

The documentary follows leaders and community members from the tropical Pacific island nation who are making bold changes to move the needle on marine protection. With a population of under 2,000 people and a marine reserve covering 40% of its waters, Niue has demonstrated the ways in which traditional knowledge and contemporary science can live in harmony for the benefit of people and the planet.