The Criterion Collection

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by Gigantic Gene

Criterion is about to hit their 40th year in business, so how about we celebrate them for what they have successfully accomplished? I'm not a packaging collector and can't stand LEs and FOMO because I just want the movies and content.

Someone earlier was complaining about the "FOMO" of Criterion sales and meanwhile I am looking at two copies of a movie in my shopping cart, both sold by Amazon and not AM sellers, and one significantly cheaper than the other. One link I got from notification of a sale price here, the other I got from doing an Amazon search. Meanwhile MU and its many other fronts show a movie out of stock in one of their sales fronts so they can jack up the price in another.

I am grateful for all the boutique brands that are trying to stay viable in a market that is declining. If people want to pay for limited editions, it would be foolish of them to leave that money on the table. It is too bad that titles go OOP, but presumably there just isn't enough of a market for them to keep certain titles in print. I reserve my ire for FOMO for the big retailers and all their scammy tricks.

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

My Back to the Future trilogy 4k steelbook sold by Zavvi.

The original poster art by master Drew Struzan

Just for comparison see below:

While Criterion's packaging for Kane is needlessly overdone (should have just done an Arrow/Indicator slipbox with regular Scanavos, plus a poster and booklet), it's not exactly the title you want to bring up concerning poster art. All the original art from 1941 sucks and nothing has really beat Warner's excellent 2001 2-disc DVD cover.

[dkelly26666]

I was just thinking.... if we are going to get any kind of a box set or special release like that for this November, we should get an announcement about it in the next few days.

They usually announce these box sets separately, ahead of the regular monthly announcement on the 15th.

[GenPion]

I personally hope that Criterion doesn't delve in to steelbooks. If Criterion released a handful at some point, that might be one thing, but as much as I enjoy steelbooks sometimes my OCD kicks in and I wouldn't want to deal with that with Criterion titles.

I do feel like it would be fine if Criterion started to add slipcovers to their releases ala Kino Lorber, Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow Video, Eureka, etc. However, I understand a argument for Criterion to leave it alone as it is.

[Axl Rose]

The only thing i wish as far as packaging is that Criterion would stick to a height with their digipacks.

[koberulz]

Making their slips open on the correct side is far more important than anything else.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by Gigantic Gene

Criterion is about to hit their 40th year in business, so how about we celebrate them for what they have successfully accomplished? I'm not a packaging collector and can't stand LEs and FOMO because I just want the movies and content. As long as there's still a SE I'm happy though. Criterion's mission has always been to make these works available to as many people as possible and on as many formats as possible, while keeping them in print for years and years to come. The majority of their competitors are looking to make quick returns on their investments and use as many FOMO options as possible to sell them out. If it goes out of print in a year, they're still quite happy. But I'm not. lol. I hope Criterion never has to rely on steelbooks and the like to sell movies.

Thank for your mature thoughtful response. A rarity these days.

The best way I celebrate a company is by opening up my wallet to purchase an item. I viewed Criterion’s Blade Runner on laserdisc. I’ve been giving my appreciation to Criterion for a long time, but lately other companies have garnered my wallet’s attention (Kino and Arrow). My statement about limited editions/steelbooks is a way for me to give them more money. Of course I am not arguing against a standard edition that would be easily available (Twilight Time was a nightmare).

I look forward for Tod Browning collection.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

Someone earlier was complaining about the "FOMO" of Criterion sales and meanwhile I am looking at two copies of a movie in my shopping cart, both sold by Amazon and not AM sellers, and one significantly cheaper than the other. One link I got from notification of a sale price here, the other I got from doing an Amazon search. Meanwhile MU and its many other fronts show a movie out of stock in one of their sales fronts so they can jack up the price in another.

I am grateful for all the boutique brands that are trying to stay viable in a market that is declining. If people want to pay for limited editions, it would be foolish of them to leave that money on the table. It is too bad that titles go OOP, but presumably there just isn't enough of a market for them to keep certain titles in print. I reserve my ire for FOMO for the big retailers and all their scammy tricks.

I am glad there is another forum member with marketing sense. These tactics are not innovative. Everyone should look at Arrow Video as a gold standard for marketing.

[Gigantic Gene]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

I am glad there is another forum member with marketing sense. These tactics are not innovative. Everyone should look at Arrow Video as a gold standard for marketing.

OK, but what if I'm simply looking for the gold standard in film appreciation and putting them into the hands of the most people? I understand that some demand cardboard and steel, but do we have to accept that marketing is more important than content? As always, I'd be fine if there were at least two clear lanes so that I can always purchase a SE edition at a lower price. I don't like being forced to pay double for items I don't want, just to watch a movie.

[kwillard37]

Originally Posted by dkelly26666

I was just thinking.... if we are going to get any kind of a box set or special release like that for this November, we should get an announcement about it in the next few days.

They usually announce these box sets separately, ahead of the regular monthly announcement on the 15th.

True, i'm very curious if there's a boxset or not. Although the big release that got a separate announcement last year was Wall-E which got an announcement 3 weeks after the other November titles, so could be anytime in the next month. I won't lose hope until December announcements haha. Overall hopeful for November whether there's a box set or not.

[Professor Echo]

I rarely watch the closet picks by "celebrities" at Criterion, but for whatever reason I watched filmmaker Mary Harron a few days ago. I don't know what's sadder, her taking mostly DVDs or her not having these supposed "favorite" movies already.

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I rarely watch the closet picks by "celebrities" at Criterion, but for whatever reason I watched filmmaker Mary Harron a few days ago. I don't know what's sadder, her taking mostly DVDs or her not having these supposed "favorite" movies already.

trick question. The answer is

[Show spoiler]your post.

[Reddington]

RIP William Friedkin. An immense talent.

Love his Criterion Top 10:

https://www.criterion.com/current/to...edkin-s-top-10

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by gbm82

trick question. The answer is

[Show spoiler]your post.

Why is that? My comment was perfectly justified. Or do you just believe that anything a “celebrity” does is above reproach?

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Reddington

RIP William Friedkin. An immense talent.

Everyone who ever met and spent time with Friedkin has their story to tell. Contrary to many of them, mine is positive. When I was 20 and writing for a magazine in Chicago, Friedkin and I spent an entire day together talking about everything and the guy couldn't have been nicer to me. Although I admired him and his talent and credit him with teaching me more about filmmaking than anyone else (starting with reading the transcript of an AFI seminar he had when I was 15) I was hardly a fanboy on the day we met. I guess I felt I had to prove myself because of my age so at times I fired a lot of tough, challenging, even obnoxious questions at him and he not only took them well he also wanted me to elaborate so we could discuss it all on a deeper level.

Never once did he lose his cool and in retrospect I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I acted like a rude a-hole a couple of times. Still, at the end of the long interview he thanked me, said how much he enjoyed the day and invited me to stay in touch. I gave him his privacy after that, but many years later I ran into him again and he actually remembered me. We talked briefly and I quoted to him some of the colorful things he had said to me about EXORCIST II years before. He laughed really hard and said, "I don't think I ever said any of that." And then he asked me if I still had the tape of our interview and he winked.

RIP.

[MifuneFan]

Here is Mary Harron's closet video. Soem great picks and info. Also, at the spry age of 70, she goes up on the ladder, which people rarely do.

Mary Harron's Closet Picks - YouTube

[BadBart]

Professor Echo I want to thank you for taking the time to share your story about Friedkin. It's always nice to hear positive stories about someone after their passing. We are all very lucky to have enjoyed so muck of his work. I'm confident I will be adding a few more of his to my watch pile in the next few weeks.

[Ishai]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Why is that? My comment was perfectly justified. Or do you just believe that anything a “celebrity” does is above reproach?

Maybe because you seem to not understand how those videos work. The guests are supposed to pick movies that meant something to them, so even if they own them, they might still pick them.

They're also not collectors, they're filmmakers. Why would they care if it's a DVD or BD that they're holding up when talking about a movie?

[Axl Rose]

I wouldn't mind a release of I Shot Andy Warhol.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Ishai

Maybe because you seem to not understand how those videos work. The guests are supposed to pick movies that meant something to them, so even if they own them, they might still pick them.

They're also not collectors, they're filmmakers. Why would they care if it's a DVD or BD that they're holding up when talking about a movie?

I know how those videos work, they are a commercial and done more for entertainment purposes than educational ones. I would love to see what titles some of these people would choose once the cameras are turned off.

As to your latter point, it's because I would hope these professional filmmakers were aware of the differences between DVD and Blu and be knowledgeable about the formats. If the filmmakers themselves don't understand the best methods for consumers to experience their art at home then I stand by my post that it strikes me as sad. If I directed movies I wouldn't assume everyone was going to see them in a theater and I would take the time and make the effort to understand the choices my potential audiences have if they don't go to a cinema. It's also a concern for the future of physical media when an industry representative does not champion the superior technology. It could be seen as a discouraging idea to those just starting to explore home cinema, e.g. "Well, she directs movies so if she chooses DVDs then there must be no benefit to spending more money on Blu-ray or 4K." Not everyone reads these forums or understands the intricacies of the technology so these advertisements from Criterion could send out some mixed signals.

Let me ask you this: If Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan walked out of that closet with all DVDs wouldn't you feel disappointed by their ignorance and frustrated by the message others might get from it? Joe Walmart doesn't need any more encouragement to keep diving in the DVD dump bin.

What really makes me sad is your post and that from the other dude who seem more inclined to rush out a defense for a celebrity and Criterion than to champion educated consumers and prosperity for the superior technology. This forum overflows with folks complaining about the idiocy of consumers who continue to help DVDs outsell Blu-rays every week. But you guys seem more concerned that I criticized a celebrity and God forbid Criterion too! Relax, it's not a mortal sin to find fault with Criterion, despite the overwhelming majority of folks who post in this thread claiming it is. Seeing someone of stature in the industry choosing a proven inferior format should not be defended, especially on this site! They should know better and you should know better too.

Originally Posted by Ishai

They're also not collectors, they're filmmakers. Why would they care if it's a DVD or BD that they're holding up when talking about a movie?

Now that's a sad question.