Saluting the godfather of the avant-garde

We’re closing out August with a tribute to experimental-film legend Jonas Mekas. Also, see what we’ve programmed as the first series in September! NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 30, 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. [Jonas Mekas]( One of the most influential voices in American experimental film, Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) dedicated his life to liberating cinema from the constraints of the mainstream, forging his own artistic language in which fleeting, autobiographical impressions of the everyday yield moments of ecstatic truth and beauty. This tribute to his legacy brings together a selection of his features and shorts along with a 2009 portrait by fellow avant-garde pioneer Ken Jacobs and a new piece by filmmaker Jem Cohen. Looking for a place to start? For an introduction to Mekas’s deeply personal cinema, don’t miss a pair of his most miraculous diary films: Walden, one of the most epic of his “home movies,” and Lost, Lost, Lost, a reflection on his early years as an immigrant in New York. [Observations on Film Art No. 30]( Professor Jeff Smith explores how Samuel Fuller and cinematographer Stanley Cortez make use of dynamic long takes in the psych-ward drama Shock Corridor. [There’s a Riot Goin’ On]( Two immigrant communities are rocked to their core in a pair of gut-punching looks at life on the margins of French society: Christophe M. Saber’s Sacrilège and Mathieu Kassovitz’s La haine. [Mysterious Mason]( James Mason puts his dangerous charm to good use in the lurid The Wicked Lady, then plays a doomed ship’s captain in the dreamlike romantic fantasy Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. [Jungle Book]( Sabu stars as Mowgli in the Korda brothers’ captivating Technicolor spectacle, which remains the definitive version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic collection of fables. EDITION #356 [Sweetie]( A feast of colorful photography and idiosyncratic characters, this tough and tender debut feature from Jane Campion heralded the emergence of one of contemporary cinema’s most essential artists. SPECIAL FEATURES: An audio commentary, three early short films by Campion, and more. [C]( This Sunday Directed by John Schlesinger A sensitive chronicler of outsiders, outcasts, and dreamers searching for human connection, director John Schlesinger flourished first as part of the British New Wave of the sixties and then in the New American Cinema of the seventies. This retrospective showcases early-career triumphs like Billy Liar and Darling with some of the most daring and exciting films of the era: the X-rated Oscar winner Midnight Cowboy, the taboo-shattering bisexual romance Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the intense thriller Marathon Man. This is the first of our September programs! Head to the Current for a listing of [the full month’s lineup.]( [Last Call]( The clock is ticking on a number of great movies we’ve programmed on the Criterion Channel. Here are some of the most popular titles: Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971) Performance (Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, 1970) Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (Akira Kurosawa, 1990) Craig’s Wife (Dorothy Arzner, 1936) My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears, 1985) Bad Education (Pedro Almodóvar, 2004) [Click here]( for a full list of films leaving the service this Saturday, August 31. 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.