The Criterion Collection

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

I recently picked up the OOP How to Get Ahead in Advertising and wanted to see if it was worth the eBay price. It wasn't...but it was very entertaining. It felt like a mashup of The Brood, Terry Gilliam in his weirdest mood and American Psycho (without the sex or violence). In other words, it is hard to explain.

I'm glad it is in my collection and it is actually rewatchable if you're in a funny, weird mood. I don't know too much about the film or why it is on Criterion. Anybody seen this?

I'm a fan of the film. It was a staple of British television growing up, and the Criterion was one of the first I picked up way back when. I've always assumed they released it because of it's relationship with Withnail & I, and the fact that it made for a nice pair of releases in the way that Criterion often like to go (Made In USA/2 Or 3 Things I Know About Her, The Confession/State Of Siege).

I've had the Arrow Blu-ray to hand for a while now but haven't watched it yet. I may check it out tonight actually.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Tonight, I took it upon myself to start organizing my Blu-ray collection, or, at least, putting it in some semblance of order.

[Show spoiler]This is easier said than done, because all of my Blu-rays are housed in plastic cases from Target, and it's not possible to put the movies in alphabetical order while still allowing space for upcoming purchases.

My first task was to separate the horror movies in my collection from the rest of my collection. All of the Criterion Collection horror titles were separated along with the other horror films, since I'd prefer to organize by loose category than by putting all of my Criterion titles together. A few Criterion titles that straddle the line between genres, such as The Vanishing and Repulsion, were placed in the horror section, because...well, they're eerie and often horrifying films. This task took a while, but all of my cases of horror movies are stacked neatly (sort of like the caretaker's family in The Shining) at the end of my closet.

I started my second task, separating the classic-era films noir in my collection from the rest of my collection, after finishing the horror flicks. This is a little easier, because I had a lot of my films noir grouped together already.

After horror and films noir will come the westerns, the 1980s comedies, the science fiction, samurai, etc.

All of my James Bond movies and all of my Alfred Hitchcock movies are already grouped together, fortunately. My Kurosawa movies are all scattered about, though, depending on when I purchased them. I'll remedy that at some point.

Alright... Today, I separated my classic-era film noir Blu-rays from the rest of the collection, and grouped them together. The Criterion films noir (The Night of the Hunter, The Third Man, Night and the City, etc. etc.), all go into the film noir section.

After that, I grouped all of my neo-noir films together, including Criterion titles like Thief and Insomnia.

After that, I grouped my westerns together, including Criterion titles like Stagecoach, Red River, and Jubal.

Now that I have separate sections for film noir, neo-noir, westerns, and horror, I'll have to think about how to group the rest. I might separate my science fiction/sci-fi films next, and then 1980s comedies or something of the sort.

[tallrichard]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Alright... Today, I separated my classic-era film noir Blu-rays from the rest of the collection, and grouped them together. The Criterion films noir (The Night of the Hunter, The Third Man, Night and the City, etc. etc.), all go into the film noir section.

After that, I grouped all of my neo-noir films together, including Criterion titles like Thief and Insomnia.

After that, I grouped my westerns together, including Criterion titles like Stagecoach, Red River, and Jubal.

Now that I have separate sections for film noir, neo-noir, westerns, and horror, I'll have to think about how to group the rest. I might separate my science fiction/sci-fi films next, and then 1980s comedies or something of the sort.

On the shelves at home, alphabetical is always easier...

It is only here on this site where I use genre as a sort.

My curiosity is, why would genre matter on the shelves?

[Polaroid]

Am I only one that does by spine number? Seems most logical and easiest option... I just memorise what film is what spine number and then I know exactly where to look - and its a lot easier with newer spines .

[octagon]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

So, what has been everyone's top 3 Criterion blind buys?

Revanche
Carlos
Pale Flower

Originally Posted by tallrichard

My curiosity is, why would genre matter on the shelves?

It looks cool. I don't sort everything by label or genre but I really like having things like comedy, sci-fi, comic books, horror or tv all shelved together.

[Gusto-Guus]

I feel comfortable saying Room is the MOTY for me. That one lived up to the hype. WOW.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I thought it got downgraded to plastic case >.>

The DVD version did (the DVD also lost the short story from the booklet)

[45Caliber]

Originally Posted by jmclick

As you can see, I couldn't pare down my list to just three; I tried, and finally gave up. I find it really interesting that Purple Noon is on your list ... that's one I've really been looking forward to, and have been saving for a dark, cold winter's night when there are no distractions. From everything I've read, it's going to be "my kind" of film.

Just wanted to say, I love Purple Noon. It's so much better than the American version of Talented Mr. Ripley with Matt Damon, even though that's pretty watchable, too.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by tallrichard

On the shelves at home, alphabetical is always easier...

It is only here on this site where I use genre as a sort.

My curiosity is, why would genre matter on the shelves?

In my first post, I wrote that it was not feasible to alphabetize my movies, because it would be too difficult to make room for upcoming purchases.

It's easier, as such, for me to organize my physical collection by genre. That way, every time I buy a new film noir, horror, or western, I can simply put the new discs in the respective genre cases in my closet.

I'm nearing the final stretch with the organization now...

I've grouped my film noir movies, my neo-noir movies, my horror movies, my westerns, my science fiction movies, my 1980s comedies (John Hughes films, etc.), my "guy movie" action flicks (Chuck Norris films, Charles Bronson films, etc.), my all-around classic movies (old Billy Wilder comedies, non-western John Ford films, etc.), and most of my Criterions that do not seem to fit in with any specific genre. I'm down to the sleazy 1970s grindhouse/exploitation/etc. sort of flicks now.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Am I only one that does by spine number? Seems most logical and easiest option... I just memorise what film is what spine number and then I know exactly where to look - and its a lot easier with newer spines .

I think most people would put them in spine order. I tend to group them by director (chronologically) and putting earlier directors before later directors. I'm in no way consistent though, which is all part of my plan to distress OCD visitors.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm nearing the final stretch with the organization now...

Heh, no you're not.

I'm not saying you're getting shelves tomorrow but those bins have been living on borrowed time since you put the offer in on your house.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Am I only one that does by spine number? Seems most logical and easiest option... I just memorise what film is what spine number and then I know exactly where to look - and its a lot easier with newer spines .

I order them by spine # also.

[applemac]

Top 3 blind buys:
Three Colors (Red)
Tati (specifically Trafic, Mr Hulot's Holiday)
Shoah

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

Heh, no you're not.

I'm not saying you're getting shelves tomorrow but those bins have been living on borrowed time since you put the offer in on your house.

Until then, this is what I've got...

[Show spoiler]

I will likely put them on actual shelves one day, but I'm pretty picky about furniture, and I would rather buy nice shelves over time instead of buying some fake wood thing from a chain store.

I also like to have a non-cluttered living room downstairs so that company can feel at ease there. I've got four of these cases inside a wooden chest downstairs, but that's it. (The movies that go downstairs are the ones that I revisit often...Bond movies, etc....and/or movies that friends generally like to watch if they visit...Star Wars, Rocky, Mad Max, Stand By Me, etc.)
The rest of the movies, the ones in the above photo, are housed in a big walk-in closet.

The great thing about the plastic cases is that they were incredibly easy to transport when I moved to my new home. It's also a lot easier to sift through the Blu-rays than one would imagine.

It became necessary for me to organize the movies into genres (with a few exceptions) after I moved to this new place, though, because I had stacked the boxes in a different place and could no longer find Blu-rays by remembering when I purchased them, as I was able to do in my old apartment just by the way that the cases were arranged.

This process of organizing my Blu-rays has been educational, boys and girls...

Although Blu-ray.com tells me that films noir and westerns are "strongly overrepresented", it turns out that I own way more horror movies than I own any other type of movie on Blu-ray.
That tall stack of cases to the far right in my above photo is all horror Blu-rays.
I guess that I'm officially a horror hound. That's okay. I won't run from my feelings.

The Criterion discs are housed in the second stack of cases to the left, but those are not all of my Criterion discs by a long mile. I have the horror Criterions in the horror section, the film noir Criterions in the film noir section, and so on. The ones in the Criterion-exclusive cases are generally intricate foreign films, samurai films, the category-evasive titles, and such.

I do not have the Criterions in the cases sorted by spine number or by any other order. They are simply stored according to how efficiently I was able to put them into the cases depending on the size of the digipaks and the unique editions (Zatoichi, etc.).

Right now, I've got plastic cases for...
Film noir
Neo-noir
Western
Horror (all of my Vincent Price horror films are stored together in one case)
1980s comedies/1980s fun dramas (John Hughes films, The Karate Kid, etc.)
Science fiction/Fantasy
Criterions (my Hitchcock Blu-rays are stored with Criterions in the Criterion stack, since it was simply the easiest option)
James Bond (along with my Jean-Pierre Melville films in the same case...how cool and awesome is that?)
Classic comedies (Billy Wilder stuff, Marilyn Monroe films, Audrey Hepburn films, etc.)
Classic drama/romance
Classic action/adventure/war
"Guy movie" action flicks (First Blood, Chuck Norris movies, Charles Bronson movies)
Exploitation/Trashy/WTF? movies (Revenge of the Cheerleaders, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, etc.)
Digibooks (just because it's easier and safer to store them together)

Not an exact science, since musicals and animated films are generally stored interchangeably in the comedies or drama sections, but it all works.

Another thing that I did that I've been meaning to do forever was to replace some of the plastic bins that had white lids with cases that have the clear plastic lids. I did this by switching out my clear-lid cases for some of my music CDs (Yes, I store about a third of my music collection in plastic cases, since they no longer make the cool CaseLogic CD cases.) for the white-lid movie cases. Now, I am able to see which movies are in which case quite easily.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

So, what has been everyone's top 3 Criterion blind buys? I only started buying this past summer & have thinned out my collection already to make room for other stuff. Mine are:

The Devil's Backbone
Shallow Grave
Purple Noon

It pains me to try to only pick three because there are so many good ones to choose from, but...

It Happened One Night
Charade
Sullivan's Travels

[rjg77vett]

How do we know when a new Criterion title is added?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by rjg77vett

How do we know when a new Criterion title is added?

New Criterion releases are generally announced on the 15th, 16th, or 17th of each month. Usually on the 15th if that day falls on a non-holiday weekday.

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

In my first post, I wrote that it was not feasible to alphabetize my movies, because it would be too difficult to make room for upcoming purchases...........

It would also seem to make sense if you're watching with someone else and you want to allow them to pick a title. Pull out one or two genre's and let them have at it. So if you have a fair amount of SciFi I can see those out and you really need a comedy tub.
After I'd heard you mention your tub system my first thought was Gollum and the 'Ring' safely hidden away, but then I thought it was ingenious. No clutter, no dusty shelves. I'd have to have a tub for comedies, too many couples and friends wanting to see those. I've been thinking for months I need a tub with those I can pull out of the closet anytime someone comes over. I lost count of how many times I've heard "Why would I want to watch this?"

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jbieste

It would also seem to make sense if you're watching with someone else and you want to allow them to pick a title. Pull out one or two genre's and let them have at it. So if you have a fair amount of SciFi I can see those out and you really need a comedy tub.
After I'd heard you mention your tub system my first thought was Gollum and the 'Ring' safely hidden away, but then I thought it was ingenious. No clutter, no dusty shelves. I'd have to have a tub for comedies, too many couples and friends wanting to see those. I've been thinking for months I need a tub with those I can pull out of the closet anytime someone comes over. I lost count of how many times I've heard "Why would I want to watch this?"

My classic comedy cases (Audrey Hepburn stuff, etc.) are stored in the middle of the far-left stack. My 1980s comedies are stored in another case along with the general fun 1980s flicks (The Karate Kid, etc.)...the force of nostalgia is strong with that case!

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My 1980s comedies are stored in another case along with the general fun 1980s flicks (The Karate Kid, etc.)...the force of nostalgia is strong with that case!

There you go. My free advice, nothing wrong finding nice shelving over time. Nothing wrong with waiting until you're absolutely sure there isn't going to be another half. Unless of course you're setting a room or basement you're pretty sure would end up as 'your' responsibility anyway.