CC40

These 40 films are the ones most frequently grabbed by directors, actors, and writers during Criterion's famous Closet Picks video series. If you have the interactive view of the closet, the spine numbers are alongside.


Classic & Arthouse Staples

  • by Federico Fellini (1963) — Spine #140
  • Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu (1953) — Spine #217
  • Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica (1948) — Spine #74
  • The Night of the Hunter by Charles Laughton (1955) — Spine #541
  • Jules and Jim by François Truffaut (1962) — Spine #281
  • On the Waterfront by Elia Kazan (1954) — Spine #647
  • The Red Shoes by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (1948) — Spine #44
  • Persona by Ingmar Bergman (1966) — Spine #701
  • Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky (1975) — Spine #1084
  • The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo (1966) — Spine #249
  • Pickpocket by Robert Bresson (1959) — Spine #314
  • Cléo from 5 to 7 by Agnès Varda (1962) — Spine #437
  • Sweet Smell of Success by Alexander Mackendrick (1957) — Spine #555
  • Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick (1975) — Spine #897
  • His Girl Friday by Howard Hawks (1940) — Spine #849
  • Sullivan’s Travels by Preston Sturges (1941) — Spine #118
  • Ace in the Hole by Billy Wilder (1951) — Spine #396
  • All That Jazz by Bob Fosse (1979) — Spine #724
  • Being There by Hal Ashby (1979) — Spine #866
  • A Woman Under the Influence by John Cassavetes (1974) — Spine #251

Cult, Indie, & Modern Favorites

  • Repo Man by Alex Cox (1984) — Spine #654
  • Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee (1989) — Spine #97
  • Safe by Todd Haynes (1995) — Spine #739
  • Ratcatcher by Lynne Ramsay (1999) — Spine #1153
  • In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai (2000) — Spine #147
  • Yi Yi by Edward Yang (2000) — Spine #339
  • Love & Basketball by Gina Prince-Bythewood (2000) — Spine #1100
  • Y tu mamá también by Alfonso Cuarón (2001) — Spine #723
  • La Ciénaga by Lucrecia Martel (2001) — Spine #741
  • Night of the Living Dead by George A. Romero (1968) — Spine #909
  • House by Nobuhiko Obayashi (1977) — Spine #539
  • Naked by Mike Leigh (1993) — Spine #263
  • My Own Private Idaho by Gus Van Sant (1991) — Spine #277
  • Down by Law by Jim Jarmusch (1986) — Spine #166
  • Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters by Paul Schrader (1985) — Spine #432
  • Wanda by Barbara Loden (1970) — Spine #963
  • 3 Women by Robert Altman (1977) — Spine #567
  • Seconds by John Frankenheimer (1966) — Spine #667
  • Weekend by Jean-Luc Godard (1967) — Spine #635
  • Sunday Bloody Sunday by John Schlesinger (1971) — Spine #629

Source: CC40 Boxset

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Pub: 22 Jun 2026 18:17 UTC

Edit: 22 Jun 2026 18:38 UTC

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