Pictures via Netflix
Netflix has released well over 1,000 original movies since 2015, with some being hand-picked to get included in the prestigious Criterion Collection. Here’s a look at all the Netflix Originals released via Criterion over the years.
Netflix first got into the “movie business” in 2015 with its first Netflix Original movie, Beasts of No Nation. While it still has a DVD rental business, its Netflix Original movies have largely remained exclusive to streaming. The biggest exception to this is when Netflix Originals get included in the Criterion Collection.
For those unaware, the Criterion Collection is a distribution company that seeks to license, restore, and distribute classic movies or movies they deem to be historic. Since its inception in 1984, the company has distributed over 1,000 special editions of various films.
So, let’s look at the Netflix movies released within the collection:
Full List of Netflix Originals Released in The Criterion Collection
Note: Listed in order of release on Criterion.
Beasts of No Nation (Spine #1091)
Released on Netflix: October 16, 2015
Released on Criterion: August 2021
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
From Cary Joji Fukunaga, this is Netflix’s first full Netflix Original movie, which was honored years after its initial release on Netflix.
The movie gives insight into war from the view of a child soldier, with Idris Elba playing the boy’s ruthless commander.
The special edition includes:
- 2K digital master, approved by director Cary Joji Fukunaga, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary featuring Fukunaga and first assistant director Jon Mallard
- New documentary on the development and making of the film, featuring interviews with Fukunaga; author Uzodinma Iweala; actors Idris Elba and Abraham Attah; and producers Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, and Riva Marker
- New conversation between Fukunaga and film and television producer and cultural commentator Franklin Leonard
- New interview with costume designer Jenny Eagan
Roma (Spine #1014)
Released on Netflix: December 14, 2018
Released on Criterion: February 2020
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
Roma is one of Netflix’s most decorated movies, sweeping awards across the board, including three Oscar wins.
The movie by Alfonso Cuarón takes us back to the early 1970s and what life was like for a middle-class family’s maid.
Special features in the Criterion release include:
- 4K digital master, supervised by director Alfonso Cuarón, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Road to Roma, a new documentary about the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Cuarón
- Snapshots from the Set, a new documentary featuring actors Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira, producers Gabriela Rodríguez and Nicolás Celis, production designer Eugenio Caballero, casting director Luis Rosales, executive producer David Linde, and others
- New documentaries about the film’s sound and postproduction processes, featuring Cuarón; Sergio Diaz, Skip Lievsay, and Craig Henighan from the postproduction sound team; editor Adam Gough; postproduction supervisor Carlos Morales; and finishing artist Steven J. Scott
- New documentary about the film’s ambitious theatrical campaign and social impact in Mexico, featuring Celis and Rodríguez
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Spine #1062)
Released on Netflix: June 12, 2019
Released on Criterion: January 2021
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
This was the first of two Martin Scorsese Netflix projects released on Criterion and indeed released onto Netflix in 2019. This also represented Scorsese’s second documentary on Bob Dylan after his 2005 entry.
The Criterion release included:
- New 4K digital master, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New interviews with Scorsese, editor David Tedeschi, and writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman
- Restored footage of never-before-seen Rolling Thunder Revue performances of “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” and “Romance in Durango,” and of a new, extended cut of “Tangled Up in Blue”
The Irishman (Spine #1058)
Released on Netflix: November 27, 2019
Released on Criterion: November 2020
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated Netflix feature featured the likes of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino. While its length was the subject of much debate, it is perhaps one of Scorsese’s finest movies.
The special edition features:
- New 4K digital master, approved by director Martin Scorsese, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Newly edited roundtable conversation among Scorsese and actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, originally recorded in 2019
- Making “The Irishman,” a new program featuring Scorsese; the lead actors; producers Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Jane Rosenthal, and Irwin Winkler; director of photography Rodrigo Prieto; and others from the cast and crew
- Gangsters’ Requiem, a new video essay by film critic Farran Smith Nehme about The Irishman’s synthesis of Scorsese’s singular formal style
- Anatomy of a Scene: “The Irishman,” a 2020 program featuring Scorsese’s analysis of the Frank Sheeran Appreciation Night scene from the film
- The Evolution of Digital De-aging, a 2019 program on the visual effects created for the film
- Excerpted interviews with Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran and Teamsters trade-union leader Jimmy Hoffa from 1999 and 1963
Marriage Story (Spine #1038)
Released on Netflix: December 6, 2019
Released on Criterion: July 2020
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
Noah Baumbach’s sensational character drama, headlined by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, netted the streamer an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, awarded to Laura Dern.
The movie follows a divorce in progress and the toll it takes on everyone involved.
Extras for the movie on Criterion include:
- New 4K digital transfer, supervised by director Noah Baumbach, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New interview with Baumbach
- The Players, a new program featuring interviews with actors Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Julie Hagerty, and Ray Liotta
- The Filmmakers, a new program about the production of the film, featuring interviews with Baumbach, editor Jennifer Lame, production designer Jade Healy, costume designer Mark Bridges, and producer David Heyman
- The Making of “Marriage Story,” a new program featuring behind-the-scenes footage
- New interviews with composer Randy Newman and Baumbach about the film’s score
- New program featuring Baumbach walking viewers through a key location from the film
Dick Johnson Is Dead (Spine #1111)
Released on Netflix: October 2, 2020
Released on Criterion: January 2022
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
Winner of a Primetime Emmy, this documentary follows the filmmaker’s father, who is suffering from dementia, and his preparations to end his life. It first debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2020 before being released on Netflix later that year.
The Criterion edition includes:
- New 2K digital master, approved by director Kirsten Johnson, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- New audio commentary featuring Johnson, cowriter and editor Nels Bangerter, and documentary sound recordist Judy Karp
- New conversation between Johnson, her fellow producers Katy Chevigny and Marilyn Ness, and coproducer Maureen A. Ryan
- New interview with sound designer Pete Horner
- New program featuring Johnson in conversation with fellow filmmakers about redefining what a documentary can be
Okja (Spine #1133)
Released on Netflix: June 28, 2017
Released on Criterion: July 2022
Okja was a big Netflix movie by Bong Joon-ho, which sadly hasn’t remained relevant on Netflix over the years, despite being one of its best releases to date.
Released in the summer of 2017, the movie is about a South Korean girl growing up with a GMO superpig. After the experiment concludes, her pig is taken away from her.
Here’s what’s on offer with the Criterion release:
- 4K digital master, approved by director Bong Joon Ho, with Dolby Atmos sound on the Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions
- In the 4K UHD edition: One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- New conversation between Bong and producer Dooho Choi
- New interviews with actors An Seo Hyun and Byun Heebong
- New interviews with members of the crew about the film’s cinematography, visual effects, and costume and production design
- Short programs including a director’s video diary, featuring Bong; actors Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, and Steven Yeun; and others
- Teaser, trailer, and web promos
- English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
The Power of the Dog (Spine #1158)
Released on Netflix: November 17, 2021
Released on Criterion: November 8, 2022
Jane Campion’s first Western movie led Netflix’s Oscar charge for the 94th Academy Awards, picking up 12 nominations in total.
Special features include:
- 4K digital master, approved by director Jane Campion, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Interview with Campion about the making of the film
- Program featuring interviews with members of the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage captured on location in New Zealand
- Interview with Campion and composer Jonny Greenwood about the film’s score
- Conversation among Campion, director of photography Ari Wegner, actor Kirsten Dunst, and producer Tanya Seghatchian, moderated by filmmaker Tamara Jenkins
- New interview with novelist Annie Proulx.
Trailer
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Spine #1201)
Guillermo del Toro has been working with Netflix on several projects, but his swan song thus far has been the beautifully crafted, stop-motion animated movie Pinocchio. The movie was a major release for Netflix’s animation division and went on to win Netflix’s first Oscar in that category.
Here’s what you can expect from the new special edition release:
- 4K digital master, supervised by directors Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Handcarved Cinema, a new documentary featuring del Toro, Gustafson, and cast and crew, including the film’s puppet creators, production designers, and animation supervisor
- Directing Stop-Motion, a new program featuring del Toro and Gustafson
- New conversation between del Toro and film critic Farran Smith Nehme
- New interview with curator Ron Magliozzi on the Museum of Modern Art’s 2022 exhibition devoted to the film
- New program on the eight rules of animation that informed the film’s production
- Panel discussion featuring del Toro, Gustafson, production designer Guy Davis, composer Alexandre Desplat, and sound designer Scott Martin Gershin, moderated by filmmaker James Cameron
- Conversation among del Toro, Gustafson, and author Neil Gaiman
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, and English descriptive audio
Mudbound (Spine #1205)
Released on Netflix: November 17, 2017
Released on Criterion: January 30, 2024
Picture Credit: Criterion Collection
Seven years after Mudbound led one of Netflix’s first serious Oscar campaigns, the excellent movie headlined by Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, and many other well-known names heads to Criterion in early 2024.
Special features crafted for the new director-approved special edition include:
- New 2K digital master, supervised by director Dee Rees and director of photography Rachel Morrison, with Dolby Atmos soundtrack
New audio commentary featuring Rees- New documentary featuring Rees, composer Tamar-kali, editor Mako Kamitsuna, and makeup artist Angie Wells
- New documentary made on set, featuring members of the cast and crew
- Interview with Morrison
- New interview with production designer David J. Bomba
- Trailer and teaser
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
Nouvelle Vague (Spine #1327)
Released on Netflix: November 14, 2025
Released on Criterion: September 2026
It’s 1959, and a young Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) is the only one among his film-critic peers at Cahiers du cinéma not to have made a feature film. Determined to put his revolutionary cinematic ideas into practice, he brings his small crew and two stars—an eager unknown named Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) and wary Hollywood expat Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch)—onto the streets of Paris to shoot Breathless, an adventure in unfettered creativity that would soon upend the way movies are made.
With this enthralling love letter from one cinematic maverick to another, director Richard Linklater captures, with buoyant humor and effortless charm, the intoxicating joy of being young, breaking all the rules, and making art without boundaries.
Here’s what you can expect from the DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION release:
- New 4K digital master, supervised and approved by director Richard Linklater and director of photography David Chambille, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- New audio commentary featuring Linklater
- Le making of “Nouvelle Vague” (2025), directed by Lucie Saada
- Interviews with Linklater and actors Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin, and Guillaume Marbeck
- Within the Wave, an audiovisual dossier on the real-life figures depicted in the film, by critic Farran Smith Nehme
- Linklater’s prerehearsal manifesto, read by Deutch
- Selection of trailers from French New Wave films
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing and English descriptive audio
- PLUS: Essays by critic Nick James and coscreenwriter Vince Palmo and an introduction by Linklater
Announced / Coming Soon to the Criterion Collection
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (Spine #TBD)
Released on Netflix: 2025
Released on Criterion: TBA
Based on an exclusive report from Variety, Guillermo del Toro’s sumptuous reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic tale is officially joining the collection. Nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture, the visually bold film features an incredible ensemble cast including Oscar Isaac, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, and Jacob Elordi as the creature. A physical release date and special features are to be announced.
KPop Demon Hunters (Spine #TBD)
Released on Netflix: Summer 2025
Released on Criterion: TBA (rumored for December 2026)
Also confirmed by Variety to be getting a future Criterion release is Netflix’s viral smash hit animated feature, KPop Demon Hunters.
Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and produced by Sony Pictures Animation, the film shattered records to become the streaming service’s most popular film ever. It recently snagged Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards for best animated motion picture, as well as scoring a history-making Grammy win for the hit song “Golden.” Full Criterion release details are still pending.
Note: Uncut Gems was released internationally on Netflix as a Netflix Original, but in the US, it was released by A24. The movie was added to the Criterion Collection in November 2021.
American Factory was reportedly getting a Criterion release at one stage, but that never came to pass. Likewise, Mati Diop’s Atlantics was supposed to be released, but it didn’t happen.
Do you own any of the Netflix Original Criterion releases? Let us know in the comments.
