“Desert Hearts” (dir. Donna Deitch, 1985)
Image credit: Samuel Goldwyn Films
The Criterion Channel can always be counted on to have the deepest and most diverse lineup of any of the major streamers (while the bar is low, Criterion over-delivers), but I was still blown away by the sheer variety of what’s on it month. The fun begins with a program dedicated to films with iconic synth soundtracks — the ’80s dominate, of course (“Scanners,” “Thief,” “Shogun Assassin,” etc.), but the line-up extends all the way to “Forbidden Planet ” of 1956, and to the moon with “For All Mankind”. For a ridiculously riotous change of pace, why not dip your toes into the internet’s deepest Ingmar Bergman retrospective, spanning from 1946’s Crisis to 1984’s After the Rehearsal.
If that’s a little chilly for you, Paul Schrader’s ever-comforting cinema is ready to offer its warm embrace as Criterion has put together a retrospective featuring masterpieces like ‘Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters’ and ‘Hardcore . Movies stand out like “The Comfort of Strangers” (that’s a cusper), even movies like “The Canyons.” Ingmar Bergman and Lindsay Lohan in the same month? It’s hard to beat.
Elsewhere, the channel celebrates Pride with a series of LGBTQ+ favorites (“Portrait of Jason,” “Paris Is Burning,” our pick of the month “Desert Hearts” and a bunch more), while Céline Sciamma gets her own little The spotlight that brings special attention to themed movies like ‘Water Lilies’ and ‘Tomboy’. There’s a package devoted to big ensembles (“Dazed and Confused,” “The Big Chill,” even “Can’t Hardly Wait”), a handful of ecstatic but unknown gems from “House” director Nobuhiko Obayashi (don’t miss ” Beijing Watermelon’), first-run exclusives like Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Cannes hit ‘About Dry Grasses’, Jacques Rivette’s inimitable ‘Duelle’, a tribute to Haitian-Canadian author Miryam Charles and quite a few more.
All movies are available to stream on June 1st.
