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The best action & adventure on Criterion Channel right now

Right now the best action & adventure films and series on Criterion Channel in the United States are Flow (2024), The Gold Rush (1925) and Harakiri (1962). This is the top 21 streaming there today, ranked by how well rated each one is, how many people have rated it, and what people are watching now.

Updated November 12, 2026 · streaming in the United States

Pick three for meAllFilmsSeries

  1. 1. Flow2024

    Film · 1h 25mAdventure, Animation, Family★ 8.1

    A solitary cat, displaced by a great flood, finds refuge on a boat with various species and must navigate the challenges of adapting to a transformed world together.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  2. 2. The Gold Rush1925

    Film · 1h 35mAdventure, Comedy, Drama★ 8.0

    A gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall girl.

    Stream onPrime VideoHBO MaxCriterion ChannelHistory Vault+11

  3. 3. Harakiri1962

    Film · 2h 15mAction, Drama, History★ 8.5

    Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide…

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  4. 4. Il Sorpasso1962

    Film · 1h 45mDrama, Comedy, Adventure★ 8.2

    Roberto, a shy law student in Rome, meets Bruno, a forty-year-old exuberant, capricious man, who takes him for a drive through the Roman and Tuscany countries in the summer.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  5. 5. Police Story1985

    Film · 1h 39mAction, Crime, Comedy★ 7.6

    Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelTencent VideoShout! Factory TV (free)

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  7. 6. Sanjuro1962

    Film · 1h 36mDrama, Action, Comedy★ 7.9

    In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  8. 7. Dersu Uzala1975

    Film · 2h 21mAdventure, Drama★ 7.9

    A military explorer meets and befriends a Goldi man in Russia’s unmapped forests. A deep and abiding bond evolves between the two men, one civilized in the usual sense, the other at home in the glacial Siberian woods.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  9. 8. Watership Down1978

    Film · 1h 32mAdventure, Animation, Drama★ 7.2

    When the warren belonging to a community of rabbits is threatened, a brave group led by Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Hazel leave their homeland in a search of a safe new haven.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelShout! Factory TV (free)Plex (free)

  10. 9. Walkabout1971

    Film · 1h 35mAdventure, Drama★ 7.3

    Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelCinemax

  11. 10. Where Is The Friend's House?1987

    Film · 1h 23mDrama, Adventure★ 7.9

    An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  12. 11. The Thief of Bagdad1940

    Film · 1h 47mAdventure, Fantasy, Romance★ 7.1

    When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelMometu (free)Tubi (free)

  13. 12. Streets of Fire1984

    Film · 1h 33mAction★ 6.9

    Raven Shaddock and his gang of merciless biker friends kidnap rock singer Ellen Aim. Ellen's former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody, happens to be passing through town on a visit.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  14. 13. Foreign Correspondent1940

    Film · 2h 0mThriller, Mystery, Action★ 7.0

    American crime reporter John Jones is reassigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent to cover the imminent war. When he walks into the middle of an assassination and stumbles on a spy ring, he seeks help from a beautiful politician’s…

    Stream onHBO MaxYouTube TVCriterion ChannelTCM+7

  15. 14. The Most Dangerous Game1932

    Film · 1h 3mThriller, Adventure, Horror★ 6.9

    When legendary hunter Bob Rainsford is shipwrecked on the perilous reefs surrounding a mysterious island, he finds himself the guest of the reclusive and eccentric Count Zaroff.

    Stream onPrime VideofuboTVHBO MaxMGM++20

  16. 15. Ms .451981

    Film · 1h 21mCrime, Thriller, Action★ 6.7

    After being attacked and raped twice in one day, a timid, mute seamstress becomes a violent agent of revenge for wronged women.

    Stream onCriterion ChannelFandorNight Flight PlusARROW+7

  17. 16. Lady Snowblood1973

    Film · 1h 37mAction, Crime, Drama★ 7.5

    A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelYouTube Free (free)Plex (free)+1

  18. 17. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion1997

    Film · 1h 27mAnimation, Science Fiction, Drama★ 8.3

    SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

    Stream onNetflixCriterion Channel

  19. 18. Lord of the Flies1963

    Film · 1h 32mDrama, Adventure, Thriller★ 6.7

    Following a plane crash a group of schoolboys find themselves on a deserted island. They appoint a leader and attempt to create an organized society for the sake of their survival.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelCinemaxKanopy (free)

  20. 19. Infernal Affairs II2003

    Film · 1h 59mAction, Thriller, Crime★ 7.3

    In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelShout! Factory TV (free)

  21. 20. A Chinese Ghost Story1987

    Film · 1h 35mFantasy, Action★ 7.3

    A naïve young tax collector for the imperial government winds up spending the night in a haunted temple. There he falls in love with a beautiful woman who, unfortunately, is dead.

    Stream onPrime VideoPhiloAMC+Criterion Channel+6

  22. 21. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex2002

    Series · 2 seasonsAnimation, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy★ 8.2

    In the future when technological enhancements and robotics are a way of life, Major Motoko Kusanagi and Section 9 take care of the jobs that are too difficult for the police.

    Stream onYouTube TVCriterion ChannelSpectrum On Demand (free)Roku Channel (free)+3

Questions

What are the best action & adventure films and series on Criterion Channel right now?
In the United States, as of November 12, 2026: Flow (2024), rated 8.1 out of 10 on TMDB, then The Gold Rush and Harakiri.
How is this list made?
Watchwalla asks TMDB for everything of this kind that streams in your country today, ranks it by rating (pulled toward the middle until enough people have rated a title), with a nudge for what's new and what people are watching now, and refreshes the list every day. Streaming availability comes from JustWatch, through TMDB.
Can it pick something for me?
Yes. The picker at watchwalla.com/tonight asks who's watching, how much time you have and what you're in the mood for, and gives three picks streaming where you are. Sign in and every title also gets a match score for your own taste.

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