Despite not having made a film of his own since 2013 (the under-appreciated “Go for Sisters”), John Sayles is having quite the year. In January, his 1996 neo-Western mystery film “Lone Star” entered the Criterion Collection with a 4K Uhd edition that features interviews with director of photography Stuart Dryburgh, as well as an interview with Sayles himself conducted by “El Norte” director Gregory Nava.

Then in April, his largely unavailable 1991 inner-city saga “City of Hope” received the Blu-ray release many fans had been pining for since a restoration was screened at Sundance in 2016 for the 25th anniversary. Adding to this newfound availability of quality copies of his work, a large number of Sayles’ films are currently streaming for free on apps like Tubi, Kanopy, and Pluto TV, as well as cost-based apps like AMC+, Starz, and Prime Video.

At no other point in his career has his library of work been...