Ryan Gallagher
From the anniversary of Destroy All Monsters, to the release of the first Cuban film in the Collection, there is much to celebrate this August as a Criterion enthusiast.
August 1st
On August 1st, 1968, Destroy All Monsters was released in Japan. Fiftieth anniversary! (available on FilmStruck)
Jacques Becker series opens at the Film Forum in New York
August 6th
The last day of the Barnes & Noble 50% off sale! 🎉
UK Release of sex, lies, and videotape on Blu-ray
![Sex, Lies and Videotape [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2018]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51F7TnvBAmL._SL160_.jpg)
August 14th
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
Shifting its perspective between the pursuers and the pursued, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez is a thrilling chase film and a nuanced procedural that peels away the layers of prejudice and myth surrounding Cortez, uncovering the true story of an ordinary man persecuted by the law and transfigured by legend.
![The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cp2YETY-L._SL160_.jpg)
August 15th
November line-up announced?
August 21st
Smithereens
Shot on 16 mm film that captures the grit and glam of downtown in the 1980s, with an alternately moody and frenetic soundtrack by the Feelies and others, Smithereens—the first American independent film to compete for the Palme d’Or—is an unfaded snapshot of a bygone era.
![Smithereens [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51XbPD3uPpL._SL160_.jpg)
Heaven Can Wait
Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait, nominated for Academy Awards for best picture and director, is an enduring classic that showcases the filmmaker’s trademark blend of wit, urbanity, and grace.
![Heaven Can Wait [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51PAzdn8pIL._SL160_.jpg)
August 27th
UK Release of Smithereens on Blu-ray
![Smithereens [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2018] (UK)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Fry-Zm7EL._SL160_.jpg)
August 28th
The Tree of Life
(Update: the release now shows a date of September 11th!)
Reaching back to the dawn of creation, Malick sets a story of boyhood memories on a universal scale, charting the coming of age of an awestruck child (newcomer Hunter McCracken) in Texas in the 1950s, as he learns to navigate the extremes of nature and grace represented by his bitter, often tyrannical father (Brad Pitt) and his ethereal, nurturing mother (Jessica Chastain, in her breakout role).
![The Tree of Life [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41ldOxz25tL._SL160_.jpg)
Memories of Underdevelopment
Intimate and densely layered, Memories of Underdevelopment provides an indictment of its protagonist’s disengagement and an extraordinary glimpse of life in postrevolutionary Cuba.
![Memories of Underdevelopment (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51UBC0bM84L._SL160_.jpg)
August 31st
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Released one year ago
- The Breaking Point (August 8, 2017)
- Hopscotch (August 15, 2017)
- Meantime (August 15, 2017)
- La poison (August 22, 2017)
- Sid & Nancy (August 22, 2017)
Released five years ago
- The Earrings Of Madame De… (August 6, 2013)
- Seconds (August 13, 2013)
- Charulata (August 20, 2013)
- The Big City (August 20, 2013)
- To Be Or Not To Be (August 27, 2013)
- Eclipse Series 39: Early Fassbinder (August 27, 2013)
Released ten years ago
- Brand Upon the Brain! (August 12, 2008)
- The Small Back Room (August 19, 2008)
- Twenty-four Eyes (August 19, 2008)
- Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (August 28, 2008: returned from being out of print!)
- Eclipse Series 11: Larisa Shepitko (August 12, 2008)
Released twenty years ago(!)
- The Naked Kiss (August 4, 1998)
- Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (August 12, 1998)
- Shock Corridor (August 28, 1998)
![Bergman Island (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/bergman-island-the-criterion-collection-blu-ray-400x496.jpg)
![This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/this-is-not-a-burial-its-a-resurrection-the-criterion-collection-blu-ray-400x496.jpg)
![Lars von Trier's Europe Trilogy (The Criterion Collection) [The Element of Crime/Epidemic/Europa] [Blu-ray]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/lars-von-triers-europe-trilogy-the-criterion-collection-the-element-of-400x496.jpg)
![Imitation of Life (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/imitation-of-life-the-criterion-collection-blu-ray-400x496.jpg)
![The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (The Criterion Collection) [4K UHD]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/the-adventures-of-baron-munchausen-the-criterion-collection-4k-uhd-400x496.jpg)
![Cooley High [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [1975]](https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cooley-high-criterion-collection-blu-ray-1975-400x496.jpg)