Cinephiles and collectors heads up, Criterion Collection is adding some gems to its collection come the new year. This has been a good year for movie buffs as the distribution company added an array of modern classics, and restored fan favorites from around the world. January 2024 won’t be any different as Criterion adds features like Trainspotting, Lone Star, Mudbound, and more to its collection.

Kicking things off in January is Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray’s The Apu Trilogy, the movies follow a young free-spirited boy, Apu, from Bengal and chronicles his life as he matures into an adolescent student and, finally, a sensitive family man navigating the world – across three films. Shot over five years, the story which starts with the movie Pather Panchali (The Song of the Little Road) which puts the trilogy on a radiant journey. It leads into Aparajito (The Unvanquished) which sees him navigating adolescence as an urban student as he struggles with the death of his father. The trilogy ends with Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) which sees him as a doting husband and father, but a struggling write. Based on two novels by Bibhutibushan Bandopadhyay, the story is universal with themes of coming of age and realizing your own vision of life.

Coming up next is Joel and Ethan Coen’s directorial debut Blood Simple, the 1984 film follows a detective hired by a saloon owner to kill his younger wife and her bartender lover. However, the detective has his own agenda. The movie features John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh in leading roles and was a critical hit cementing the foundation of the Coen brothers’ eerie work in years to come. The special edition comes with a director approved restored version, commentary on the movie, interview with the cast and crew, and more.

'Lone Star' and 'Chantal Akerman Masterpieces' Will be Included in the Upcoming Collection

Available from mid-January is John Sayles’ neo-western mystery Lone Star which follows lawman Sam Deeds (Chris Cooper), who investigates a skeleton found in the desert, however, things change when the investigation starts taking a toll on his personal life and on all of Rio County, a place still coming to terms with its history of racial violence. The special edition includes a new conversation between Sayles and filmmaker Gregory Nava along with a new interview with Dryburgh.

Also, Criterion's upcoming release will include the full collection of Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978, writer-director Dee Rees’ Mudbound, and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting. You can pre-order the January collection here.