Criterionhas announced their December slate, which includes a recent Oscar nominee, a 4K rerelease of British classic from the late 40s, and the first Hollywood studio film by a Black director.
One Night in Miami…was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, and the new 4K digital transfer was approved by directorRegina Kingherself. 1969’sThe Learning Treeis getting a 2K restoration and its special features include an interview withGordon Parks Jr., who talks about his father’s legacy.The Red Shoesgets a 4K UHD transfer from the 2009 restoration, with an uncompressed soundtrack.
RELATED:Criterion Announces First 4K Ultra HD Releases with ‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘Mulholland Dr.’ and More Classics
As per tradition, Criterion is giving its new titles some incredible cover art, and you can check out all of them below, along with the list of special features for each film and the official release date.
One Night in Miami… (December 7)
Adapted byKemp Powersfrom his acclaimed play, the feature directorial debut of Academy Award–winning actor Regina King puts viewers in a room with four icons at the forefront of Black American culture as they carouse, clash, bare their souls, and grapple with their places within the sweeping change of the civil rights movement. July 03, 2025, has gone down in history as the day that the brash young boxerMuhammad Ali(then known as Cassius Clay) defeated Sonny Liston, but what happened after the fight was perhaps even more incredible: Ali, civil rights leaderMalcolm X, NFL greatJim Brown, and “King of Soul”Sam Cookeall came together at a Miami motel. Electric with big ideas and activist spirit,One Night in Miami . . .plunges us into the midst of an intimate, ongoing conversation—and a defining moment in American history.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
The Learning Tree (December 14)
With this tender and clear-eyed coming-of-age odyssey, the renowned photographer turned filmmakerGordonParksnot only became the first Black American director to make a Hollywood studio film, he also served as writer, producer, and composer, resulting in a deeply personal artistic achievement. Based on Parks’s own semi-autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree follows the journey of Newt Winger (KyleJohnson), a teenage descendant of Exodusters growing up in rural Kansas in the 1920s, as he experiences the bittersweet flowering of first love, finds his relationship with a close friend tested, and navigates the injustices embedded within a racist legal and educational system. Exquisitely capturing the bucolic splendor of its heartland setting, this landmark film tempers nostalgia with an incisive understanding of the harsh realities, hard-won lessons, and often wrenching moral choices that shape the road to self-determination of the young Black man at its center.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Red Shoes (December 14)
The Red Shoes, the singular fantasia fromMichael PowellandEmeric Pressburger, is cinema’s quintessential backstage drama, as well as one of the most glorious Technicolor feasts ever concocted for the screen. Moira Shearer is a rising star ballerina torn between an idealistic composer and a ruthless impresario intent on perfection. Featuring outstanding performances, blazingly beautiful cinematography byJack Cardiff, Oscar-winning sets and music, and an unforgettable, hallucinatory central dance sequence, this beloved classic, dazzlingly restored, stands as an enthralling tribute to the life of the artist.
The Red Shoeswas restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.
KEEP READING:‘Uncut Gems’ Is Coming to the Criterion Collection This October
