The Criterion Collection

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

Mine was The Thin Red Line, and it was a blind buy, like almost all of my Criterion purchases. It's still one of my favorites.

[mrjohnnyb]

I am forgetting how to access the Black Friday coupon. I believe that it can be accessed on the Barnes and Noble website.

Could somebody please refresh my memory?

[octagon]

I'm a little fuzzy on that myself but isn't Step#1 'wait until November'?

[popcorntreect]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress on DVD. I had never seen a Kurosawa film and was very cautious treading into the Criterion Collection. I figured if Lucas enjoyed it, I would like it too.

A little more than 2 hours later, I was hooked.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

1st Criterion -- probably the Laserdisc of Blade Runner in Nov 1991 though it could have been the 2001 or CLose Encounters boxsets. I could have bought any/all of those together.

[Show spoiler] I know I had put off buying an LD player for a year or two, but always promised when Fantasia came out it was a done deal it was announced for November 1991. Off to Camelot in early November for some buying. My first 3-4 LDs were bought in October by joining through Columbia House -- it seems The Little Mermaid may have been in that pack. First Ken Crane purchase was mid Nov 1991

1st DVD -- Walkabout May 6 1998

1st Bluray -- Benjamin Button, Wages of Fear, the Third Man May 18 2009 (bought on the same day -- just noticed almost exactly a decade later).

usually it comes through email though the generics are often available here or the DVDTalk BN Master pretty early.

Are you gonna be hooking us up with those B&N non-member 20% off coupons next month?

...me like those coupons!!!!

[Ray Blew]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

The Magnificent Ambersons, original CAV laserdisc, in December 1986. I'd seen it before in 35mm, in revival houses and in a Welles film festival. Still one of my favorite and most treasured Criterions.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

Oh, my Gosh, it's been so long, I've forgotten what my very first Criterion title was, but I know that it was a LaserDisc, and I got it on clearance at one of those chain stores at the mall.

When I switched over to DVD, my first Criterion title was The Silence of the Lambs, and my second was the original Criterion release of A Night to Remember. I had seen both films before I bought them.

My first Criterion blu-ray was Howards End, and I'd already seen it, too. I bought it half-price at Amazon, not realizing it was discounted because it was being discontinued.

[PLG1962]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Are you gonna be hooking us up with those B&N non-member 20% off coupons next month?

...me like those coupons!!!!

Id be in this as well if the overseas postage isn't an issue like it was for the last sale

[Page14]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

My first Criterion was a DVD - Robinson Crusoe on Mars. This was long before I knew that Criterion was a "special" company. All I knew was that I just had to have that movie.

My first Criterion blu-ray was Harold and Maude. This is most likely the movie that sparked my interest in learning what Criterion was all about ... and opened the gates to my Criterion collection.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

I'm pretty sure it was an old Kurosawa box set - Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Hidden Fortress, all blind-buys. I knew I wanted Hidden Fortress because of the Star Wars connection, and Seven Samurai was some kind of classic. The latter would become one of the best blind-buys I ever made, and the set overall was great (although the Blu-Rays would best them much later).

Around the same time, I also got the Sergei Eisenstein Sound Years box set (Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevsky). Don't remember if I got this before or after the Kurosawa one. I wanted Ivan because I saw clips of it on the TV and thought it looked awesome. Once I saw the film, I loved it. I still have this set - it's one of the last things I have that's never been upgraded to Blu-Ray.

I might have been familiar with the Criterion label thanks to seeing the fancy editions of Armageddon and The Rock, but I don't think I picked those up until later.

[KCota15]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

The Red Shoes and The Thief of Bagdad, both on DVD and blind buys. I had always heard of Criterion but always stayed away because of the price. Then I heard in July 2010 there was a 50% off Barnes and Noble sale. So I scrounged up money, bought two titles I wanted to see most and I fell in love. 1 year later, I converted to blu-Ray and fell in love more.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes. I agree wholeheartedly. There are so many unlikeable characters in that movie, but yet, as ignorant and self-important as some of those characters are with their careers/art, it brings an air of realism to the story, and that makes it a film people can really relate to. It's also a story that bridges two generations between Bill Murray's character and that of Scarlett Johansson's, so at least the movie doesn't believe in "Ageism".

Yea, it gives us old timers hope.
It's funny, Bill Murray and I were both born the same day; the same year. Yet he keeps denying that we're twins. Something about us being born in different parts of the country. Hey, I never claimed we were identical twins!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

My memory is less than reliable but I believe it/they were:
Laserdisc-Supercop not the classic title others have listed but I was really into Jackie Chan and it offered non-dubbed language and was widescreen.
DVD-Good Morning I had never heard of Ozu but the cover art and the plot summary sold me. My next couple were Grand Illusion and ... And God Created Woman.
Blu-ray-This I remember very clearly. Ordered Red Desert, Days of Heaven, and Walkabout from Amazon and watched the last one first.

The blind buys from this group were GM and RD.

[octagon]

First overall was probably the Notorious DVD (and that's still probably my favorite cover). It's possible the first was Seven Samurai though. So I guess my answer to the blind buy part would be probably not but maybe.

The Mr. Arkadin set was the release that made me realize they were more than just pretty transfers.

Stagecoach was my first BD and Revanche turned me into an eager and unrepentant blind buyer.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Yea, it gives us old timers hope.
It's funny, Bill Murray and I were both born the same day; the same year. Yet he keeps denying that we're twins. Something about us being born in different parts of the country. Hey, I never claimed we were identical twins!

For all I know, you're Bill Murray and keeping it a secret.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

I think my first Criterion purchase was the Kurosawa Samurai film set (Seven Samurai / Hidden Fortress / Yojimbo / Sanjuro), since that one seemed to offer the maximum VFM per film at the time. Before that I had been gifted a Criterion release of Taste of Cherry.
My first Criterion blu-ray was Wings of Desire, which pretty much erased all doubts I had about whether HD presentation would enhance the viewing quality of older films in B&W. After that my DVD buying dropped very sharply, except in the cases where I didn't have the option

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

For all I know, you're Bill Murray and keeping it a secret.

Anything's possible.

[Show spoiler]Except that.

[melo4mvp]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

Mine was the blu-ray of Repulsion. I had heard of Criterion before and love horror films so I blind bought it. Been hooked ever since.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

What was your first Criterion purchase be it dvd or blu and was it a film you had seen before or a blind buy?

My first Criterion DVD was almost certainly Armageddon, not a blind buy but I wanted to see the extra mins in the DC they had & my first CC BDs were during the sale this past summer, Cronos, The Devils Backbone & Tokyo Drifter, all blind buys. 95% of every CC title ive bought & watched has been a blind buy for me. Side note, I haven't gotten my mailer yet with the coupons. Hope they arrive before the 10th of Nov.

[wondervamp]

Originally Posted by melo4mvp

Mine was the blu-ray of Repulsion. I had heard of Criterion before and love horror films so I blind bought it. Been hooked ever since.

I just bought Repulsion among other titles and cannot wait to watch it. Do you love it?