The Criterion Collection

[Areyakiddin]

I know y'all are going to crucify me by asking this, but if this is an entry level set why is there not an option for a DVD version?

[MifuneFan]

I do wonder how the 40 titles were selected. Did they really go through all 200+ closet vids, make a spreadsheet of the titles selected, and chose the top 40? I just find that unlikely with some of the titles in this set, and some of the obvious exclusions as well.

[Martin_31]

Originally Posted by Areyakiddin

Repo Man is releasing on 4k through Criterion next month.

The Night of the Hunter, On the Waterfront, His Girl Friday, Do the Right Thing have received 4k releases from other labels.

So yeah, I'd expect at least another 2-4 of these movies in this boxset to have 4k releases by the end of 2025 which would make approx. 1/4th of the set have 4k editions elsewhere

Is there a list (google sheets or excel) that has all former CC Blu-rays on 4K from other labels? I feel like I’ve asked this question.

[MifuneFan]

There is a Letterboxd that has documented the closet picks from 2010 to 2020. That encompasses 76 vids. Out of those, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom was picked 7 times. And of course it's absent in this set. I don't imagine statistics would have changed so much that it wouldn't fall into the top 40 of what was picked, so there's obviously some disingenuity when it comes to the selectins being the most picked titles out the closet vids.

https://letterboxd.com/euler0/list/c...-closet-picks/

[The Great Owl]

I have reviewed Le Samouraï, my favorite Criterion title of all time and one of my all-time top five movies in general, a few times in this thread over the years, so I will not subject any of you to that boring self-indulgence again.

This time around, I will just say that the new 4K UHD Blu-ray is a thing of beauty with regard to presentation and quite wonderfully befitting of such a perfect movie.

I was fortunate to have caught this movie on the big screen at Plaza Theatre a few weeks back, and am grateful that the new Criterion presentation matches that restoration step for step on my living room screen.

[DukeTogo84]

I feel like it's been awhile since we have gotten a massive director themed boxset from Criterion. They usually save those for July or November, but would be nice to get one of those soonish.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I feel like it's been awhile since we have gotten a massive director themed boxset from Criterion. They usually save those for July or November, but would be nice to get one of those soonish.

I'm sure more will follow.

I'm still hoping for these as my highest wants - Akira Kurosawa collection, Truffaut collection, and Ozu collection.

[joshinminn]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Echoing the thoughts of most here...just who on earth is this set aimed at?

I have 65 Criterion titles in my collection, but only four of them overlap with this box. Picking these up at $10/title (if I wait until a sale) honestly seems like a pretty good deal to me. I'll consider it next time a sale comes around.

[Shanghai Express]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I do wonder how the 40 titles were selected. Did they really go through all 200+ closet vids, make a spreadsheet of the titles selected, and chose the top 40? I just find that unlikely with some of the titles in this set, and some of the obvious exclusions as well.

They totally shoehorned some titles in there. Was Love & Basketball chosen that many times? It’s much newer to the collection than many of the glaring exclusions. Weekend being the lone Godard? No Hitchcock, no Lubitsch, no Kurosawa, but Cleo which is exclusive to another massive box set is among the 40 most chosen? Fishy.

[GenPion]

Is it a perfect set if you already own a ton of these films? No. Is it a gorgeous and lavish set? Absolutely. I'm sure there's a decent number of Criterion fans who only own a few releases from this set... and quite a few will want the set.

[ShortFuse98]

I only own 8 of 40 in the box, but the one's I don't have aren't movies I need to own anyway. I like dwk's idea for the essay book better.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I feel like it's been awhile since we have gotten a massive director themed boxset from Criterion. They usually save those for July or November, but would be nice to get one of those soonish.

I'm holding my breath for an Ozu box set soon.

The Ozu 120 retrospective finished touring last summer.

[Watershipdownisgood]

Originally Posted by Shanghai Express

They totally shoehorned some titles in there. Was Love & Basketball chosen that many times? It’s much newer to the collection than many of the glaring exclusions. Weekend being the lone Godard? No Hitchcock, no Lubitsch, no Kurosawa, but Cleo which is exclusive to another massive box set is among the 40 most chosen? Fishy.

I agree very fishy I have a very strong feeling we're getting a Kurosawa set in November with a couple of brand new to Blu-ray Kurosawa titles that being Stray Dog, Drunken Angel, and The Bad Sleep Well. I could also see us getting a new to Blu-Ray Hitchcock set with more new to Blu-Ray in the US Hitchcock titles like say Secret Agent, Sabotage, and Easy Virtue.

I'm strongly leaning towards a Kurosawa box set instead of Hitchcock for November unless we get both which would be insane.

[ShortFuse98]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I feel like it's been awhile since we have gotten a massive director themed boxset from Criterion. They usually save those for July or November, but would be nice to get one of those soonish.

I think the most recent is the Pasolini set from last year. If they could keep doing one big director box per year that would be great.

[M A]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Is there a list (google sheets or excel) that has all former CC Blu-rays on 4K from other labels? I feel like I’ve asked this question.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by Scottie

I'm holding my breath for an Ozu box set soon.

The Ozu 120 retrospective finished touring last summer.

Uhhhh I wish.

[TheArgentinian]

They must have been so excited to announce this and everyone's shitting on it

[jshaide]

Would be aces if they released something for the long time buffs (like an Ozu or Kurosawa set) and this for the newly minted or general audiences. Double that flow

[jw007]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

How is it a money grab? If you buy it on sale, it works out to $10 a disc. If purchased directly from Criterion, you're now 80% of the way to a $50 GC. That's $8.75 a disc, with a beautiful package, and free shipping.

If Criterion made unreleased titles exclusive to the set, e.g., Columbia, I could understand a complaint.

But that's not the case.

It's just not for the Criterion collector who already owns some, most, all of the titles in the set.

For the consumer it's a good deal if you don't have all or most of these titles, but for the company it's an even better deal from a marketing standpoint. So I give them props for the CC40 idea.

In some ways this is also sort of a "Greatest Hits" perhaps too. Maybe these are the films that Criterion wants to showcase as their favorites all in one easy to buy box set.

No doubt, this is for the diehard completists if you already own each individual title.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There is a Letterboxd that has documented the closet picks from 2010 to 2020. That encompasses 76 vids. Out of those, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom was picked 7 times. And of course it's absent in this set. I don't imagine statistics would have changed so much that it wouldn't fall into the top 40 of what was picked, so there's obviously some disingenuity when it comes to the selectins being the most picked titles out the closet vids.

https://letterboxd.com/euler0/list/c...-closet-picks/

Is that list just from the videos, because they really cut those down and people take a tote bag full of discs, so not everything taken is shown.