The August lineup for The Criterion Channel includes Ringo Lam, James Baldwin, desert adventures, and rock biopics.

      The Criterion Channel's significant influx of restorations has been a pivotal moment for the visibility of Hong Kong cinema in the United States, but—as with many aspects of film—there's always more to explore. Enhancing their Ringo Lam film collection, they are featuring a series in August that includes previously shown titles such as City on Fire, Prison on Fire, Prison on Fire II, and School on Fire (often considered his masterpiece), alongside Wild Search, Victim, and Full Alert, which is likely the definitive action film regarding the 1997 handover. The month’s directorial retrospectives also include two films by Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA and American Dream), an eleven-feature collection dedicated to the often-overlooked Julien Duvivier, and three short films by Neo Sora. Additionally, an artist highlighted who never directed is the aptly named James Baldwin On-Screen: I Heard It Through the Grapevine, James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, along with three shorts.

      In the themed series, the appropriately titled Rock Biopics That Don’t Suck, curated by Bandsplain's Yasi Salek, showcases some of the genre’s most recognizable and less embarrassing entries (I’m Not There, Velvet Goldmine, 24 Hour Party People, Control); I particularly recommend The Hours and Times, which I believe better captures John Lennon than any of Sam Mendes’ upcoming biopics. Complementing each other (in terms of sweat and sexual tension) are Desert Trips and Southern Gothic: the former notably provides a streaming platform for Antonioni’s often underrated Zabriskie Point, while the latter presents a chance to discover Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll, and both include Wild at Heart. Meanwhile, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein have organized their own Adventures in Moviegoing.

      The Criterion Editions for August include Med Hondo’s West Indies, Nagisa Oshima’s Cruel Story of Youth, Luis Buñuel’s That Obscure Object of Desire, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter, Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou, and Douglas Sirk’s Written on the Wind; additionally, the out-of-print Carrie Criterion is being released alongside this collection. Among the recent films debuting on streaming are the remarkable Blue Heron, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), and Cactus Pears, while the restoration of I Heard It Through the Grapevine is accompanied by Ebrahim Golestan’s Brick and Mirror and three anthology features (Quartet, Trio, Encore) that adapt works by W. Somerset Maugham. Lastly, a special mention goes to George Armitage’s Miami Blues, a film that has gained recognition in recent years, though its profile could still be higher.

      Check out the full lineup below and more details at the Criterion Channel:

      24 Hour Party People, Michael Winterbottom, 2002

      Amadeus, Miloš Forman, 1984

      American Dream, Barbara Kopple, 1990

      The American Ruling Class, John Kirby, 2005

      Baby Doll, Elia Kazan, 1956

      The Beguiled, Don Siegel, 1971*

      Brick and Mirror, Ebrahim Golestan, 1965

      The Buddy Holly Story, Steve Rash, 1978

      Cactus Pears, Rohan Kanawade, 2025

      Cape Fear, J. Lee Thompson, 1962*

      Cape Fear, Martin Scorsese, 1991*

      Carrie, Brian De Palma, 1976

      The Chicken, Neo Sora, 2020

      Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements, Gorman Bechard, 2011

      Control, Anton Corbijn, 2007

      Dream Lover, Nicholas Kazan, 1993

      Encore, Pat Jackson, Anthony Pelissier, and Harold French, 1951

      Eve’s Bayou, Kasi Lemmons, 1997

      La fête à Henriette, 1952

      Full Alert, Ringo Lam, 1997

      The Hours and Times, Christopher Munch, 1992

      I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Pat Hartley and Dick Fontaine, 1982

      I’m Not There, Todd Haynes, 2007

      James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, Karen Thorsen, 1989

      Lisztomania, Ken Russell, 1975

      The Long Goodbye, Robert Altman, 1973

      Love & Mercy, Bill Pohlad, 2015

      Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), Joel Alfonso Vargas, 2025

      Miami Blues, George Armitage, 1990

      Nico, 1988, Susanna Nicchiarelli, 2017*

      The Night of the Hunter, Charles Laughton, 195