'The Irishman,' 'Marriage Story,' 'Atlantics' Are The Latest Netflix Films To Join The Criterion Collection

By Hoai-Tran BuiJan. 24, 2020 4:00 pm EST

Four more Netflix films are being added to the Criterion Collection. Just as Roma is about to make history as the first Netflix release to receive a Criterion Collection Blu-ray release, the streaming giant announced that The Irishman, Marriage Story, American Factory, and Atlantics will also join the prestigious curated collection of designated classics.

Netflix has been stubborn in upholding its strategy of streaming over physical releases, but that is starting to change. Roma will hit Criterion on DVD and Blu-ray next month, and it will soon be joined by four new additions to the Criterion Channel, meaning four new physical releases of films previously only available on the streaming giant.

"Incredibly excited and honored to announce that THE IRISHMAN, MARRIAGE STORY, AMERICAN FACTORY, and ATLANTICS will all join the Criterion Collection later this year!" Netflix's official Twitter account announced.

Incredibly excited and honored to announce that THE IRISHMAN, MARRIAGE STORY, AMERICAN FACTORY, and ATLANTICS will all join the @Criterion Collection later this year! pic.twitter.com/Z3TVYL45S0

— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) January 24, 2020

All four new selections are up for Oscars or are critical darlings, like Mati Diop's Atlantics, Senegal's submission for Best International Film that failed to earn a nod but nonetheless made many critics' favorite films of 2019 lists, and is a nice surprising addition to Criterion.

Martin Scorsese's gangster epic The Irishman, which is up for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, marks the director's third film to be featured in the collection, alongside his lush period piece The Age of Innocence and his religious epic The Last Temptation of Christ. It will be joined by fellow Best Picture contender, Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, which is up for 6 Oscars. Marriage Story will join Baumbach's other Criterion films Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale, and Kicking and Screaming. The Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar-directed American Factory, meanwhile, is currently up for Best Documentary Feature.

Each Criterion Collection release will include exclusive special features, behind-the-scenes content, as well as a likely filmmaker-supervised master. The Roma Criterion release, which arrives on February 11, will include a 4K digital master supervised by director Alfonso Cuarón, as well as a new documentary about the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with Cuarón, and more.

This marks an exciting shift for Netflix's original film strategy, and one that points to more Netflix titles getting physical Criterion releases down the line. Which Netflix films would you want to see added to the Criterion Channel next?