Cinephile Mecca Criterion Channel Sets Its Sights on the Sexy, Subversive Side of Miami

All right, Mr. DeMille. We're ready for our close-up.

Founded in 1984 to issue definitive, expanded editions of "important classic and contemporary films from around the world," Criterion has gone beyond physical media film nerd servicing in recent years. The Criterion Channel is arguably the best, most inventively curated channel available on streaming services, and even casual film viewers have seen its viral clips of celebrities rummaging through the hallowed Criterion Closet.

Next month, Criterion programmers turn their sights on the one American city that gives the glitz and grandeur of classic Hollywood a run for its money.

Yes, our very own beloved "rich and wicked pastel boomtown," in the immortal summation of the late Joan Didion, will be represented in next month's Criterion Channel lineup via the Miami Neo-noir collection, sneaking a bit of signature heat, sexy subversiveness, and grit n' grime into a month otherwise focused on '50s and '60s summer romances (Roman Holiday, Suddenly, Last Summer), the 100th birthday of documentarian D.A. Pennebaker (1968's Monterey Pop; 1993's The War Room), and underappreciated French New Waver Jaques Rozier.

"Few cities have fired the cinematic imagination like Miami," Criterion said in its announcement, adding the city "exists in the collective pop-culture psyche as both a sun-splashed paradise and a zone of moral ambiguity, its pastel facades and glistening coastlines providing a seductive backdrop to crime, corruption, and existential drift."

Considering the first look at the partial roster of films, it seems fair to take that as a compliment. On the lineup are Lawrence Kasdan's scorching Body Heat (1981), featuring prime William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Mickey Rourke; the Alec Baldwin-anchored black comedy Miami Blues (1990); dark romance China Moon (1994); Steven Soderbergh's Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight (1998), which pairs George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez; Larry Clark's poignant Bully (2001), stocked to the gills with early aughts pretty young things from Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl, and Michael Pitt to Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, and Kelli Garner; and Michael Mann's Miami Vice (2006), which critic Steven Hyden dubs "unapologetically, one of the most expensive art films ever made."

"Miami gives filmmakers an amazing, ready-made stage upon which to tell riveting stories," Miami-based actor/producer Derek Hedlund — who not only has appeared in acclaimed series such as Severance, Blue Bloods, FBI, and Stranger Things, but also is the mastermind behind the incredible annual Miami Vice Reunion Week — tells New Times. "We've got over-the-top wealth, crime, spicy nightlife, a unique backdrop of art deco architecture, palm trees, beautiful beaches, neon lights, and a melting pot of cultures. Oh, and the legacy of the coolest show of all time: Miami Vice. What else could you ask for?"

"Miami Neo-noir" on the Criterion Channel. Airing throughout July. criterion.com.