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Date night on Criterion Channel: movies and shows for two

Right now the best date-night picks on Criterion Channel in the United States are Modern Times (1936), The Circus (1928) and Three Colors: Red (1994). This is the top 20 streaming there today, ranked by how well rated each one is, how many people have rated it, and what people are watching now.

Romance and sharp comedies, and series with a love story at the heart of them: none of them horror or kids' fare.

Updated November 12, 2026 · streaming in the United States

Pick three for me

  1. 1. Modern Times1936

    Film · 1h 27mComedy, Drama, Romance★ 8.3

    A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...

    Stream onPrime VideoHBO MaxYouTube TVCriterion Channel+4

  2. 2. The Circus1928

    Film · 1h 12mComedy, Drama, Romance★ 7.9

    Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.

    Stream onPrime VideoHBO MaxCriterion ChannelFlixFling+5

  3. 3. Three Colors: Red1994

    Film · 1h 40mDrama, Mystery, Romance★ 7.9

    Part-time model Valentine unexpectedly befriends a retired judge after she runs over his dog. At first, the grumpy man shows no concern about the dog, and Valentine decides to keep it.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelTCM

  4. 4. 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

  5. 5. The Young Girls of Rochefort1967

    Film · 2h 6mRomance, Comedy, Drama★ 7.7

    In the seaside town of Rochefort, twin sisters Delphine and Solange dream of love and artistic fulfillment beyond their quiet lives.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion Channel

  6. Which of these would you actually like?

    Rate a few films you've seen and every title gets a match score for your taste, with picks from friends who agree with you. Free, about three minutes.

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  7. 6. Boogie Nights1997

    Film · 2h 36mDrama, Comedy★ 7.6

    In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

    Stream onCriterion ChannelPlex (free)

  8. 7. La Notte1961

    Film · 2h 2mDrama, Romance★ 7.9

    A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship in Milan.

    Stream onHBO MaxAMC+Criterion ChannelKanopy (free)

  9. 8. My Night at Maud's1969

    Film · 1h 50mRomance, Comedy, Drama★ 7.6

    Devout Roman Catholic Jean-Louis subscribes to an austere moral code influenced by the philosophy of 17th-century physicist Blaise Pascal. When he spots a pretty girl at church, he promises to one day marry her.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion Channel

  10. 9. Donkey Skin1970

    Film · 1h 30mFantasy, Comedy, Music★ 7.2

    A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry her father.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  11. 10. Great Expectations1946

    Film · 1h 58mDrama, Romance★ 7.3

    In this Dickens adaptation, orphan Pip discovers through lawyer Mr. Jaggers that a mysterious benefactor wishes to ensure that he becomes a gentleman.

    Stream onfuboTVHBO MaxCriterion ChannelFlixFling+9

  12. 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow1963

    Film · 1h 59mComedy, Romance★ 7.4

    Three tales of very different women using their sexuality as a means to getting what they want.

    Stream onCriterion ChannelKino Film CollectionKanopy (free)Darkroom (free)+1

  13. 12. Scenes from a Marriage1974

    Film · 2h 49mDrama, Romance★ 8.1

    Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion Channel

  14. 13. A Summer's Tale1996

    Film · 1h 54mRomance, Drama, Comedy★ 7.3

    Awaiting his girlfriend Léna’s arrival at the Breton seaside resort of Dinard, Gaspard befriends — and flirts heavily with — two other women, the companionable ethnology student Margot and the sensual townie Solène, making for a rather…

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion Channel

  15. 14. L'Eclisse1962

    Film · 2h 6mDrama, Romance★ 7.6

    Vittoria is a beautiful literary translator living in Rome. After splitting from her writer boyfriend, Riccardo, Vittoria meets Piero, a lively stockbroker, on the hectic floor of the Roman stock exchange.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

  16. 15. A Short Film About Love1988

    Film · 1h 27mDrama, Romance★ 7.8

    19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call.

    Stream onCriterion ChannelKlassiki

  17. 16. Orpheus1950

    Film · 1h 35mRomance, Fantasy, Drama★ 7.7

    A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion ChannelArtifyMometu (free)

  18. 17. Hannah and Her Sisters1986

    Film · 1h 47mComedy, Drama★ 7.5

    Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.

    Stream onPrime VideoCriterion ChannelMGM+Hoopla (free)+4

  19. 18. Happiness1965

    Film · 1h 20mDrama, Romance★ 7.5

    Though married to the good-natured, beautiful Thérèse, young husband and father François finds himself falling unquestioningly into an affair with an attractive postal worker.

    Stream onHBO MaxCriterion Channel

  20. 19. 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

  21. 20. The Silence1963

    Film · 1h 35mDrama, Romance★ 7.5

    Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester, her sister Anna and Anna's young son, Johan, check into a near-empty hotel.

    Stream onCriterion Channel

Questions

What are the best date-night picks on Criterion Channel right now?
In the United States, as of November 12, 2026: Modern Times (1936), rated 8.3 out of 10 on TMDB, then The Circus and Three Colors: Red.
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.

More to choose from