The Criterion Shelf: Starring Alain Delon

The face of an angel with haunted, almost devilish eyes couldn’t be more suited to capturing the hearts and imaginations of viewers, and throughout his lengthy career Delon has played a series of charismatic bad boys that have made him a very potent, very eternal sex symbol

The Criterion Shelf: Directed by Powell and Pressburger

It’s not just marriages that are made in heaven, some film collaborations are as well, and the artform rarely benefited more from two artists collaborating than when Austrian émigré screenwriter Emeric Pressburger was paired up with English director Michael Powell.

The Criterion Shelf: German Expressionism

Criterion's collection highlighting the genre of German Expressionism is such a gift for those of us who have always read about the filmmaking style, but never actually investigated it. 

The Criterion Shelf: Marriage Stories

Criterion has put together a collection of marital tales, most of which aren’t going to inspire you to jump to propose any time soon: the ones who stay together are miserable (or, in one case, possibly a fantasy), those who part do so in a morass of bigamy, infidelity and acrimony.

The Criterion Shelf: Directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga

No surprise that a man who began his studies in philosophy before enrolling in the impressively named “Institute of Cinematographic Investigations and Experiences” would turn out to be a storyteller whose technical skill is matched by his intelligent and thoughtful irony. Even less shocking is that a man who volunteered to serve in World War II to save his Republican father from being executed would also have a critical opinion of his government.

The Criterion Shelf: Four Trilogies

The Criterion Channel has put together small collections of films by noted filmmakers past and present, choosing three each to represent the essence of their work. 

The Criterion Shelf: Criterion Channel Essentials

If you're looking for key works in the realm of arthouse cinema, Bil Antoniou and ThatShelf.com writers Pat Mullen, Rachel West, Colin Biggs and Barbara Goslawski have looked through the Channel's Permanent Gallery and put together list and reasons for why you should start with these.