The September lineup for The Criterion Channel features Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Penance, Abel Ferrara, girl bands, and more.

      The Criterion Channel has been a major platform for streaming Japanese films. This status is bolstered in September 2026 with the addition of Hideaki Anno’s seminal work, Neon Genesis Evangelion, along with its lesser-known film adaptation, Evangelion Death (True)², and The End of Evangelion (a different kind of masterpiece); while Kiyoshi Kurosawa remains a notable figure, his outstanding 2012 series Penance will be made available; the newly restored Linda Linda Linda will be part of the “Girl Bands!” series, which also includes Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Streets of Fire, and Olivier Assayas’ Clean; additionally, an eleven-film retrospective dedicated to Shohei Imamura has been organized.

      The largest retrospective is centered on Abel Ferrara, featuring 19 films that include Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, New Rose Hotel (his masterpiece), Tommaso, and Napoli, Napoli, Napoli. Dangerous Game is featured in both this collection and a Madonna series that also comprises Body of Evidence and Desperately Seeking Susan, the latter appearing in a Susan Seidelman program; Robert A. Nakamura and Carla Simón are also showcased. The latter collection includes the recent release Romería, which premieres on streaming alongside Lucrecia Martel‘s Our Land and the recently restored director’s cut of Michael Almereyda’s Nadja, included in a selection with Terence Nance’s An Oversimplification of Her Beauty and Alfréd Radok’s Distant Journey.

      For Criterion Editions, titles such as Michael Mann’s Thief, Gints Zilbalodis’s Flow, Joan Micklin Silver’s Chilly Scenes of Winter, Satyajit Ray’s freshly restored Days and Nights in the Forest, Blue Velvet, and Paul Dano’s Wildlife (whose director is also featured in a Craft of Acting masterclass) are all set to arrive; the out-of-print section will present Paul Morrissey’s Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, The Man Who Fell to Earth, alongside Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Pitfall, Woman in the Dunes, and The Face of Another. It’s worth noting the inclusion of Don Siegel’s The Beguiled, a prime example of quality Hollywood cinema, featured in Southern Gothic.

      Check out the complete lineup below and find more at the Criterion Channel:

      4:44 Last Day on Earth, Abel Ferrara, 2011*

      The Addiction, Abel Ferrara, 1995

      Aqua, Gints Zilbalodis, 2012

      Away, Gints Zilbalodis, 2019

      Bad Lieutenant, Abel Ferrara, 1992

      The Ballad of Narayama, Shohei Imamura, 1983

      The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola, 2017*

      Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story, Steve Sullivan, 2018

      Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Russ Meyer, 1970

      The Blackout, Abel Ferrara, 1997

      Blood for Dracula, Paul Morrissey, 1974

      Blue Velvet, David Lynch, 1986

      Blur, Darol Olu Kae, 2025

      Body of Evidence, Uli Edel, 1993

      Body Snatchers, Abel Ferrara, 1993

      Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997

      Cemetery Man, Michele Soavi, 1994

      Chilly Scenes of Winter, Joan Micklin Silver, 1979

      China Girl, Abel Ferrara, 1987

      Clean, Olivier Assayas, 2004*

      Dangerous Game, Abel Ferrara, 1993

      Days and Nights in the Forest, Satyajit Ray, 1970

      Desperate Teenage Lovedolls, David Markey, 1984

      Desperately Seeking Susan, Susan Seidelman, 1985

      Detention, John Hsu, 2019

      Distant Journey, Alfréd Radok, 1949

      The Doors, Oliver Stone, 1991

      The Driller Killer, Abel Ferrara, 1979

      The Eel, Shohei Imamura, 1997

      Evangelion Death (True)², Hideaki Anno, 1998

      Fear City, Abel Ferrara, 1984

      Flesh for Frankenstein, Paul Morrissey, 1973

      Flow, Gints Zilbalodis, 2024

      Grace of My Heart, Allison Anders, 1996*

      Head, Bob Rafelson, 1968

      Hito Hata: Raise the Banner, Robert A. Nakamura and Duane Kubo, 1980

      I Ran from It and Was Still In It, Darol Olu Kae, 2021

      Josie and the Pussycats, Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, 2001*

      King of New