Distant shores, wild youth, and love for sale

This week’s lineup offers a mix of stark political realities and stylishly imaginative fantasy. NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 9, 2019 What’s New A guide to the latest from the Criterion Channel. If you haven’t already subscribed, [click here]( for a 14-day free trial and explore the more than 1,800 titles and thousands of supplemental features available to stream. [This Land Is Our Land]( There’s nothing new about the quest for a better life on distant shores—or the struggles that come with it. This week, our program [The Immigrants]( looks beyond borders, exploring the varieties of the immigrant experience around the world, in different eras, through the eyes of such masters as Elia Kazan, Jan Troell, Louis Malle, and Chantal Akerman. Looking for a place to start? No film in the lineup brings as much disarming humor to the subject as 2011’s [Le Havre.]( Imbued with Finnish cinema luminary Aki Kaurismäki’s trademark deadpan style, this portrait of a French harbor city follows the friendship between a young African refugee and the bohemian shoeshiner who defends him against the authorities. [Three Hustlers]( A trio of envelope-pushing tales of men on the margins of society: Paul Schrader’s American Gigolo, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Fox and His Friends, and Gus Van Sant’s Mala Noche. [Summer Wonderlands]( Drift into the realm of childhood imagination with David Gordon Green’s debut feature, George Washington, and a short film that inspired it: Clu Gulager’s A Day with the Boys. [Manny & Lo]( An eleven-year-old Scarlett Johansson received her first starring role in this charmingly oddball road movie, introduced on the Channel by writer-director Lisa Krueger. [From the Archive: Trainspotting]( Danny Boyle’s electrifying tour through scuzzy 1980s Edinburgh is accompanied by a classic Criterion laserdisc commentary with cast and crew members. [The Devil Made Me Do It]( Enjoy a double dose of satanic fantasy with William Dieterle’s The Devil and Daniel Webster and René Clair’s Beauty and the Devil. [For Me and My Gal]( Busby Berkeley directs Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in this nostalgic ode to the vaudeville days of yore, an effervescent delight from MGM’s legendary Freed Unit. EDITION #951 [True Stories]( David Byrne was inspired by tabloid headlines to make this ode to the extraordinariness of ordinary American life, his sole foray into feature-film directing. SPECIAL FEATURES: A documentary on the film’s production; an homage to the town of Virgil, Texas; a program on designer Tibor Kalman; and more. For further information on Criterion and our products, please visit our website at [criterion.com.]( To start streaming the Criterion Channel, please visit [criterionchannel.com.]( If you are not already on our mailing list and would like to be added, please [click here]( to register at [criterion.com](. To unsubscribe, [click here.]( © 2019 The Criterion Collection.