The Criterion Collection

[oubukibun]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

December predictions

Birth (2004)
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985)
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Ikiru (1952)

Birth, eh?! I've had honest-to-goodness dreams about this happening, right down to how the menus look (Sean running through Central Park to "Prologue" by Desplat) and the extras (interviews with Glazer, Kidman, Desplat, and Savides, though, alas, that last one is now impossible...), plus that terrific trailer.

Are these just 'feelings' or are they guided by inner knowledge?

[sherlockjr]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Whether it was The Rock and Armageddon, doing mass market versions of Traffic and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or bowing down to pressure from the New York Times to add more African American film makers to their catalog (which they have increased over the last 4 years).

It always amuses me when people bring up the same two Criterion releases from a quarter century ago to trash Criterion's 2025 releases. If 25 year old releases are all someone's able to dredge up to attack Criterion that's not a bad track record at all compared to some of the trash the many celebrated boutique labels rely on to pay the bills. It sure seems that THE ROCK and ARMAGEDDON helped Criterion keep the doors open. And they were never were upgraded past DVDs. Also, of course, Criterion now has entirely different ownership and management from 1999. So who cares what they released in 1999?

As for TRAFFIC and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON they were both multiple Oscar nominees and winners, so not exactly junk. Those sales likely made up for whatever art films they released that have never made it out of the red. And those releases were both 14 or more years ago. Release strategies change at every label.

As for more African American, and Asian American, and Woman American, and Indigenous American, etc films, I'm sure glad the NYT called out Criterion and they're no longer solely focused on the 20th century film school definition of old white male American, Western European and Japanese filmmakers as the only ones worth paying attention to. Those Janus films and similar titles are absolutely great cinema. But for decades that particular filmmaker demographic were the only ones allowed to make films in the US/UK or or most other cinema cultures--and there's plenty of countries with rich cinematic history that have been entirely ignored. Filmmakers are a bit more diverse now (just a bit, but it's improving) as are their cultural backgrounds and viewpoints and I'm glad Criterion is out of that narrow focus. Which 21st century film studies has also gotten away from.

There are plenty of Criterion films I'm not interested in buying--including ones I will watch on The Criterion Channel. But there's even more non-Criterion label films I'm not buying--including those I will also watch on The Criterion Channel. If I want a cinematic hall of fame I'll look at the Sight and Sound polls and the National Film Registry, I don't rely on Criterion's release schedule. Though given Criterion's quality releases I do pay more attention when those lists and the Criterion schedule overlap.

[eightslicesofpie]

Originally Posted by oubukibun

Birth, eh?! I've had honest-to-goodness dreams about this happening, right down to how the menus look (Sean running through Central Park to "Prologue" by Desplat) and the extras (interviews with Glazer, Kidman, Desplat, and Savides, though, alas, that last one is now impossible...), plus that terrific trailer.

Are these just 'feelings' or are they guided by inner knowledge?

From last week:

Originally Posted by yoloswegmaster420

A user on the AwardsWorthy forum was chatting with Peter Becker at the Criterion Van in Toronto and they asked him if Birth was going to be released, when he just smiled and said he couldn't say more at the moment. I guess that is a soft confirmation.

Also just found a post on Reddit where someone overheard a Criterion employee say that Network was coming next year.

[oubukibun]

Originally Posted by eightslicesofpie

From last week:

OH GOODNESS!!

Now if only Paramount Presents could get its team together and just release The Talented Mr. Ripley then all of my literal dreams will come true!

[Cat Vision]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

TCM is showing Basil Dearden's All Night Long (1962), a classic Brit noir, essentially Othello set in the early 60s London jazz scene, with Dave Brubeck, Johnny Dankworth and Charles Mingus guest-starring as themselves. It opens with the Criterion logo. Released by Network in the UK.

Probably because they released it in the Dearden Eclipse DVD set over 10 years ago, which is OOP. I bought the Region B blu-ray years ago since Criterion never bothered to upgrade it.

[MealDealSupreme]

Where are these announcements? I'm itching for some Pee Wee right now.

[sandman slim]

Where. Mah. Announcements?

I mean, it's noon already, some of us have to go to bed.

[sandman slim]

Originally Posted by MealDealSupreme

Where are these announcements? I'm itching for some Pee Wee right now.

Phrasing, boom!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by eightslicesofpie

From last week:

Although me putting it on my prediction list wasn't based on that info

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

I would probably argue that even if the diversified titles weren't to some tastes or didn't perform commercially, and part-agreeing with you that it wasn't initiated in the best way and done slightly out of panic... they were one part of a huge transformation, resuscitation and reputational rescue of the Criterion brand over the last five years. Not that long ago "Criterion" was associated with affluent white male hipsters and had this slightly inaccessible, haughty image. Now it really doesn't - with the growth of the channel, the Closet videos, and the aligning of the brand with the Letterboxd audience (and honestly it wouldn't surprise me if Janus makes a move on Letterboxd at some point), it has become a lot more of an everyman brand, with a wider democratised reach and a 'something for everyone' reputation. Criterion have successfully harnessed the younger demographic's adoption of physical media and saved their brand from becoming a reactionary old relic for the terminally dusty, and regardless of why they first did it (let's face it, it was to stop bad PR on social media by and large), it has done them and their audience a lot of good.

You make great points and an overall summary with the current state of where Criterion is as a company. That said, the pandemic caused a spike in the interest of physical media from manga, to vinyl and to BD/4Ks and many company’s have fostered the growth of new collectors and have really built their brand around that (I.e Vinegar Syndrome).

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

Criterion have successfully harnessed the younger demographic's adoption of physical media and saved their brand from becoming a reactionary old relic for the terminally dusty, and regardless of why they first did it (let's face it, it was to stop bad PR on social media by and large), it has done them and their audience a lot of good.

I don't know if it was even panic, so much that it was really one of the first times that a major news source, one with a dispassionate take on the whole culture of boutique video, had taken a look at Criterion from a historical perspective and identified certain persistent patterns. I believe smart people take constructive criticism as a challenge, not a threat.

It can be easy to stay in your comfort zone when your staff and your customers all float down the same current, so to speak. I'm amused by the many people who freaked out that "Criteri0n CAVED to the NEW Y0RK T1mes!" when all Criterion did was come to terms with certain facts that were *already* obvious to a lot of people who weren't Criterion die-hards.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by sherlockjr

It always amuses me when people bring up the same two Criterion releases from a quarter century ago to trash Criterion's 2025 releases. If 25 year old releases are all someone's able to dredge up to attack Criterion that's not a bad track record at all compared to some of the trash the many celebrated boutique labels rely on to pay the bills. It sure seems that THE ROCK and ARMAGEDDON helped Criterion keep the doors open. And never were upgraded past DVDs. Also, of course, Criterion now has entirely different ownership and management from 1999. So who cares what they released in 1999?

As for TRAFFIC and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON they were both multiple Oscar nominees and winners, so not exactly junk. Those sales likely made up for whatever art films they released that have never made it out of the black. And those releases were both 14 or more years ago. Release strategies change at every label.

As for more African American, and Asian American, and Woman American, and Indigenous American, etc films, I'm sure glad the NYT called out Criterion and they're no longer solely focused on the 20th century film school definition of old white male American, European and Japanese filmmakers as the only ones worth paying attention to. Those Janus films and similar titles are absolutely great cinema. But for decades that particular filmmaker demographic were the only ones allowed to make films in the US/UK or or most other cinema cultures--and there's plenty of countries with rich cinematic history that have been entirely ignored. Filmmakers are a bit more diverse now (just a bit, but it's improving) as are their cultural backgrounds and viewpoints and I'm glad Criterion is out of that narrow focus. Which 21st film studies has also gotten away from.

There are plenty of Criterion films I'm not interested in buying--incoluding ones I will watch on The Criterion Channel. But there's even more non-Criterion label films I'm not buying--including those I will also watch on The Criterion Channel. If I want a cinematic hall of fame I'll look at the Sight and Sound polls and the National Film Registry, I don't rely on Criterion's release schedule. Though given Criterion's quality releases I do pay more attention when those lists and the Criterion schedule overlap.

I think you need to remember this discussion kicked off because someone asked if “Go!” could actually make it into the collection, and I was simply pointing to multiple examples over the years where financial or external concerns influenced them to expand “their canon”. I wasn’t giving a state of the nation address on the current state of Criterion in 2025 or whatever.

I mean if I wanted to do that, I would point to their fairly frequent low effort releases, embarrassing foldout poster “booklets”, consistently thin on extras vs other boutiques, frequently disappointing scans, dropping the ball on the Janus Contemporary line, and the Mobile Criterion Closet phenomenon.

But again, that was not the point of the discussion . . .

[JasonMichael]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

I mean if I wanted to do that, I would point to their fairly frequent low effort releases, embarrassing foldout poster “booklets”, consistently thin on extras vs other boutiques, frequently disappointing scans, dropping the ball on the Janus Contemporary line, and the Mobile Criterion Closet phenomenon.

So you're anti-Mobile Criterion Closet? Why? Genuinely curious how it could be offensive or a negative?

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

So you're anti-Mobile Criterion Closet? Why? Genuinely curious how it could be offensive or a negative?

Also what scans of theirs recently have been "disappointing"? Just seems like brand tribalist nonsense and is looking for anything to whine and complain about.

[aladdin123]

Criterion's encodes are sometimes disappointing, but their scanning and restoration work is first-rate.

[MovieBuff647]

Originally Posted by aladdin123

Criterion's encodes are sometimes disappointing, but their scanning and restoration work is first-rate.

100% this.

Anyway, they took the November banner off their site, meaning the December announcements could happen later today or tomorrow.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

I mean if I wanted to do that, I would point to their fairly frequent low effort releases, embarrassing foldout poster “booklets”, consistently thin on extras vs other boutiques, frequently disappointing scans, dropping the ball on the Janus Contemporary line, and the Mobile Criterion Closet phenomenon.

What? A name change is not dropping the ball on Janus Contemporaries. It's a recognition that Janus isn't the brand that brings people in. Criterion is.

Also, yes, sometimes the extras are lighter in quantity and they can do better - though thank god fresh commentaries are now a regular feature again - but they're high-quality and tell a story about the film.

I was watching some of the extras on my newly acquired Silent Running disc - beautiful transfer, of course. I was especially interested in the supplement about the evolution of the screenplay - and I was actually shocked at how unfocused and amateurish it was. It was such an actual slog that it was depressing. I'm not saying that this is true of every supplement from other boutiques, but I'm not used to a supplement being so poorly thought-out that I actually abandon it. Maybe in a YouTube video, but not something I paid good money for.

[Winslow Leach]

Me biding my time as I wait for announcements:

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Also, yes, sometimes the extras are lighter in quantity and they can do better - though thank god fresh commentaries are now a regular feature again - but they're high-quality and tell a story about the film.

I was watching some of the extras on my newly acquired Silent Running disc - beautiful transfer, of course. I was especially interested in the supplement about the evolution of the screenplay - and I was actually shocked at how unfocused and amateurish it was. It was such an actual slog that it was depressing. I'm not saying that this is true of every supplement from other boutiques, but I'm not used to a supplement being so poorly thought-out that I actually abandon it. Maybe in a YouTube video, but not something I paid good money for.

Not to mention that every other label not named Criterion aren't even paying the scholars who work on the extras a proper wage, which is why they can stack their releases with lots of extras. This is something that has been confirmed by multiple people who have been involved with extras. Though this will never really be mentioned by anyone here for reasons.

I also agree with you that it should be about the quality, not the quantity of the extras, as I've sat through a fair share of releases where they stacked it with extras but are just repeating the same information constantly. I do have a very strong suspicion that an overwhelming amount of people who buy physical media rarely (if ever) watch the extras.

[traths]

Hoping for a miracle and we get Doctor Zhivago on 4K.