The latest in Criterion’s online magazine: A wild ride through the Pet Shop Boys’ England

By rahmat hidayat

Sunday, August 3, 2025

Plus: Jon Raymond's Top 10, an interview with Susan Streitfeld, and a celebration of Miami neonoir

Current HIGHLIGHTS AUGUST 3, 2025 A roundup of recent articles from Criterion's online magazine. Happy reading!

The Pet Shop Boys Hit the Road A Big-Screen Oddity from the Synth-Pop Legends. Largely dismissed upon its release in 1987, It Couldn't Happen Here has endured as a compelling document of the chart-topping duo at the height of their success as well as of the curdled nostalgia of Thatcher-era England. By Dennis Lim WATCH It Couldn't Happen Here is now playing on the Criterion Channel.

The Wages of Desire A Conversation with Susan Streitfeld. The director of Female Perversions looks back on the film's transgressive exploration of women's sexuality and on Tilda Swinton's role as a key collaborator. By Beatrice Loayza WATCH Female Perversions is now playing on the Criterion Channel.

Jon Raymond's Top 10 The author and screenwriter's list includes a gritty documentary he saw in his adolescence, a pair of films featuring Neil Young songs, and one of the all-time great depictions of artistic collaboration. READ MORE Raymond explores the vivid portrayal of faith and addiction in Drugstore Cowboy.

Sin and Sun Noir's Longtime Fascination with Miami. Mystery, intrigue, and illicit passion thrive in one of America's most complex and expansive cities, captured in all of its glory in such crime thrillers as Out of Sight, Miami Vice, and China Moon. By Alex Segura WATCH The Miami neonoir China Moon is now playing on the Criterion Channel. Bad Behavior The Men Are Not Alright in Carnal Knowledge. An era-defining reckoning with the sexual revolution, Mike Nichols's controversial drama develops a rigorous form for analyzing what we have recently come to call "toxic masculinity." By Moira Weigel READ MORE Weigel examines another film about sex, control, and repression in her essay on The Piano Teacher.

OLDIE BUT GOODIE "Neorealism showed us how nonprofessional actors could bring traces of their lives into a movie and become a central ingredient in creating a certain texture of reality." —Jia Zhangke on Bicycle Thieves. Jia's latest film, Caught by the Tides, is now playing on the Criterion Channel.

THE DAILY Essential Film Books The Latest Must-Reads. The past month saw the publication of new books on Clint Eastwood, Jonathan Demme, and Ronald Colman. WATCH David Hudson surveys a group of recently announced world premieres at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival.

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.  © 2025 The Criterion Collection :: 215 Park Ave S. New York, NY 10003

Share :

Facebook Twitter Google+