September, we are in the twilight of the year 2026. The next two months, October and November, will have a Criterion sale of some kind within – so if you choose to seek any of these titles out, maybe wait? We are also hitting the heat of new and great cinema – future Criterion releases on the way in 2027? Criterion is dropping seven (7!) new releases, pretty solid line up! Criterion is bringing back an out-of-print box set on Blu-Ray, as well as three new 4K+Blu-Ray releases, a new 4K+Blu-Ray combo boxset, and one new Criterion Premieres release.
12 Angry Men (1957)
12 Angry Men is one of the most incredible pieces of cinema – ever. It’s sort of unbelievable that something like this exists. 12 Angry Men is about a group of white jurors who deliberate the verdict on a Puerto Rican teen charged with murdering his father. It’s the original pressure cooker film and one of the most intense legal dramas ever made. To say this film is a masterpiece is the equivalent of saying the sky is blue or the sun is hot. 12 Angry Men is a 4K+Blu-Ray combo pack featuring a new 4K digital restoration.
Two Prosecutors (2025)
In a new release from Criterion’s ‘Criterion Premieres’ line of films, Two Prosecutors is a freshly released film from Icelandic filmmaker, Sergei Loznitsa. Two Prosecutors is a film about a Soviet prosecutor finding a letter from a prisoner that exposes corruption in the NKVD during Stalin’s Great Purge. This is the first Criterion Premieres release from Loznitsa and the film premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival in 2025. Criterion Premieres is a line of films that releases new Janus Film releases with minimal special features and Two Prosecutors will release on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Shoah (1985)
Shoah is a nine hour documentary that took over a decade to produce and follows survivors of the Holocaust as well as former Nazis detailing how the events of the Holocaust still follows them and how prevalent the past is in their lives. While I am unfamiliar with this film, I do know that people that have seen it are changed for having seen this. This is a previous Criterion Blu+Ray release that only recently went out of print, but the difference between this new release and the previous release is that a film recounting the production of Shoah, All I Had Was Nothingness, is now included in this release. This has been on my list for quite some time to finally sit down and watch, and this is the push I need to finally sit down and watch this. Shoah is a Blu-Ray box set featuring a 2K digital restoration.
Nouvelle Vague (2025)
Richard Linklater is no stranger to the Criterion Collection, and Nouvelle Vague follows a muse of the Criterion Collection, Jean-Luc Godard, making a film that embodies what the Criterion Collection strives for, Breathless. Nouvelle Vague is a perfect storm/a Criterion ouroboros of sorts, and seemed like a no brainer to be added. I have a soft spot for Linklater, and his intuitions as a filmmaker speaks to me as a filmgoer – even at times where his films may not hit for me (I’m looking at you, Slacker). To plug, he is a fellow Texan and I will always go to bat for him. Next up, could we get Everybody Wants Some!!? Nouvelle Vague is a 4K+Blu-Ray combo pack featuring a new 4K digital restoration supervised and approved by director Richard Linklater.
The Secret Agent (2025)
I have not gotten around to seeing The Secret Agent, which is a huge hole for me at the moment. One of my very good friends has been pushing me to check this out and his reasoning is that it’ll hit for me as a fellow Metal Gear Solid fan. Every person I know that has seen The Secret Agent has praised it endlessly and I feel incredibly behind for having not seen it. If you are reading this article, I wouldn’t say it’s a stretch to say that you are aware of this film at the absolute least. I will report back on my findings in a future article when I get around to this (as well as when I purchase this in the October flash sale 😉 ). The Secret Agent is a 4K+Blu-Ray combo pack featuring a new 4K digital restoration supervised and approved by director Kleber Mendonça Filho.
Three Films by Leos Carax
Leos Carax is a filmmaker for me where his style is a cut above most modern filmmakers. While it’s not for some people, it is certainly for me. Holy Motors, Annette – I got down with those! This set was a total surprise, and similarly to the recently released Mike Mills box set, is a very welcomed surprise. This set features the first three films that Carax made, and are all incredible in their own right. Additionally, the packaging on this is some of the most artistically alluring work that Criterion has done in years. If you are uninitiated in the cult of Carax, this wouldn’t be a bad jumping off point. Three Films by Leos Carax is a 4K+Blu-Ray combo box set featuring new 4K digital masters of Boy Meets Girl, Mauvais sang, and The Lovers on the Bridge.
Days and Nights in the Forest (1970)
My only knowledge of the films of Satyajit Ray is that The Simpsons character Apu is named after the Apu trilogy (which is also in the Criterion Collection). Additionally, my only knowledge of Indian cinema is through S.S. Rajamouli with his masterpiece RRR, as well as his appearance in the masterpiece Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. I have been due to explore deeper into Indian cinema and the films of Ray. When I first discovered John Cassavetes, I was overwhelmed with the excellent Criterion box set of six of his films so I dabbled with a film not in that set – Husbands, then nosedived from there. I will be doing a similar tactic by buying this and diving into Ray’s other films. Days and Nights in the Forest is a roadtrip buddy comedy about the deconstruction of masculinity and ego – all elements that I’ve loved in other films (see Two Lane Blacktop). All to say, this is my personal diving point and if this also sounds like your jam then you should give it a whirl too. Days and Nights in the Forest is a 4K+Blu-Ray combo pack featuring a new digital 4K restoration.
