The Criterion Collection

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by speedracer5

While I'm sure there are a lot of great foreign films out there, I own a handful of French New Wave, but for the most part, none of these films interest me. I don't want to watch a depressing movie about poverty or some horrible accident, or whatever other topic.

Yeah, because that's all foreign films are

[mclellandj]

I don't see any US alternative to Criterion that does what they do so I'm always surprised when most of the comments are complaining about the films they put out.

When their primary US competitors are putting out Count Dracula, D.A.R.Y.L. and the remake of The Last House on the Left, i'm pretty happy with the selection of films Criterion works on -- even more so now with Janus Contemporaries.

Kino is good too but doesn't really curate the films they put out. I'm glad Indicator now has a US branch but they are still mostly doing a lot of beautiful editions of niche stuff.

[TolerancEJ]

Originally Posted by mclellandj

I don't see any US alternative to Criterion that does what they do so I'm always surprised when most of the comments are complaining about the films they put out.

When their primary US competitors are putting out Count Dracula, D.A.R.Y.L. and the remake of The Last House on the Left, i'm pretty happy with the selection of films Criterion works on -- even more so now with Janus Contemporaries.

Kino is good too but doesn't really curate the films they put out. I'm glad Indicator now has a US branch but they are still mostly doing a lot of beautiful editions of niche stuff.

I'm just glad there are so many labels trying to obtain licenses and release films on HD, some for their first time.

My favorite extras of many Criterion releases are the inclusion of short films of the director's early career.

[mclellandj]

Originally Posted by TolerancEJ

I'm just glad there are so many labels trying to obtain licenses and release films on HD, some for their first time.

My favorite extras of many Criterion releases are the inclusion of short films of the director's early career.

Yeah me too. I'm not saying Criterion is above criticism or anything but I guess it just feels like considering how most of these boutiques service horror/cult fans I'm glad Criterion have stuck to their guns with the types of movies they platform.

[Nori]

Criterion has been pretty good for me lately but I still wish they’d up the Japanese releases.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by speedracer5

While I'm sure there are a lot of great foreign films out there, I own a handful of French New Wave, but for the most part, none of these films interest me. I don't want to watch a depressing movie about poverty or some horrible accident, or whatever other topic. Not to say that these films aren't worthy and don't have merit, but that's not the subject matter that draws me to a film. I wonder if they're having problems getting rights to Classic Hollywood because the studios either want to release their own films, or companies like Kino who has secured deals for a lot of the Paramount/Universal libraries, are getting to the rights first. It's interesting that Kino has released 4K versions of a lot of films that have a Criterion blu ray.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by Bradsdadg

Great list! The thing about Criterion with me is that my list is always changing. They have a good amount of titles always coming out, and sometimes my tastes change a bit as to what I want to see next. I need to make a new one for the next sale

During Deep Discount's most recent discount code offer, decided to get:



I'd forgot to include in the list of Criterion titles I want to get that you replied to, the Criterion US Blu-ray release of In the Heat of the Night. I don't have a 4K set-up (and having double-checked the Blu-ray.com review it appears the KL 4K Blu-ray release only has the film on a 4K Blu-ray disc, with the two sequels on a Blu-ray disc with some extras. I hope to get a copy of the Criterion US release of In the Heat of the Night with the KL double feature Blu-ray of the two sequels (not a dealbreaker, but after asking in a North America thread, the KL Blu-ray releases of the two sequels don't begin with restored opening logos).

[trobrianders]

What's up with the packaging for Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits? Not the usual refined yet sturdy plastic casing from Criterion but the cheap and brittle variety. Mine came new but rattling with significant damage to three parts of the interior casing.

[NeoNical]

Fortunately, my copy of the Bruce Lee set didn't have any scratches on the discs. However, I had a really tough time pulling the discs out and still do to this day, further putting me away from rewatching these films in the near future (And also now that the Arrow 4Ks exist, I may be replacing the set sometime soon). I really want to see that newly discovered cut of The Big Boss so I might end up buying the 4K of The Big Boss alone for now.

On the other hand, my copy of the Branded to Kill 4K UHD had the discs scratched because they were put on top of each other. I really would rather have the discs put on opposite sides of the case so the only times these discs are touching each other is on their face and not on the backside where it could damage the playback. I feel like Criterion did this before with an older release but then again, it may have been one of the DVD cases that my local library replaced them in.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Doomhunter

Great that they are releasing Toro’s Pinocchio on 4k. But if Criterion is releasing a 4k of that though, then where the heck is Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs on 4k?

There are no Wes Anderson movies on 4K yet, and I’m starting to wonder what the reason is. Surely his films are big sellers (up until recently I couldn’t enter a secondhand store without finding at least one Criterion DVD of TRT), so his films would be obvious candidates to bring to the 4K format. His earlier films are shot on film so they could benefit greatly from the jump, and at least his most recent film Asteroid City has a 4K DI, so the jump to native 4K would be nice.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by speedracer5

While I'm sure there are a lot of great foreign films out there, I own a handful of French New Wave, but for the most part, none of these films interest me. I don't want to watch a depressing movie about poverty or some horrible accident, or whatever other topic. Not to say that these films aren't worthy and don't have merit, but that's not the subject matter that draws me to a film. I wonder if they're having problems getting rights to Classic Hollywood because the studios either want to release their own films, or companies like Kino who has secured deals for a lot of the Paramount/Universal libraries, are getting to the rights first. It's interesting that Kino has released 4K versions of a lot of films that have a Criterion blu ray.

Please tell me you’ve seen Metropolis.

[Member-222782]

I rarely buy Criterions anymore but Walkabout and The Others are must-haves. Gonna wait until the 50% off sale, though. Hoping to walk into a B&N and picking these up in person. The Union Square outlet by me is pretty big but I don't remember if it has a movie section. I've been to B&N stores that didn't have one or have gotten rid of theirs.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

During Deep Discount's most recent discount code offer, decided to get:



I'd forgot to include in the list of Criterion titles I want to get that you replied to, the Criterion US Blu-ray release of In the Heat of the Night. I don't have a 4K set-up (and having double-checked the Blu-ray.com review it appears the KL 4K Blu-ray release only has the film on a 4K Blu-ray disc, with the two sequels on a Blu-ray disc with some extras. I hope to get a copy of the Criterion US release of In the Heat of the Night with the KL double feature Blu-ray of the two sequels (not a dealbreaker, but after asking in a North America thread, the KL Blu-ray releases of the two sequels don't begin with restored opening logos).

What I believe is the case with most if not all MGM titles that Kino has done 4Ks of is that if Criterion had the DVD and Blu-ray rights first, Kino could only snag the 4K rights, and those titles would be 4K-only from Kino. They’re not ditching the standard Blu like the big guys and some boutiques are, they just can’t legally drop a Blu-ray at the same time as Criterion. (I think The Silence Of The Lambs was 4K + Blu-ray, but other than that every title I know has the movie on 4K, special features on standard Blu.)

This might eventually become a recurring issue with boutiques, but I hope it doesn’t.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

What's up with the packaging for Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits? Not the usual refined yet sturdy plastic casing from Criterion but the cheap and brittle variety. Mine came new but rattling with significant damage to three parts of the interior casing.

Mine was scratched on the inside of the sleeve and the outside of the massive fold-out thing. I wasn’t particularly a fan of the packaging either. I get they were going for the cheap look and feel of the way people had seen Lee’s films for all this time, but the package itself looks and feels like a cheap package. The booklet/insert/pamphlet/whatever the hell you call it is a mess too. I’m afraid to look at it for fear of covering it in fingerprints or tearing it.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Röckzilla

I've been fairly underwhelmed and disappointed with The Criterion Collection's number of (pre-1980s) Japanese films released on Blu-ray/4K UHD lately, especially this past year.
Was really hoping that they would finally upgrade either Jigoku (1960) or The Face Of Another (1966) in time for October/Halloween at the very least.
Oh well.
Hopefully next year they can start to release one of their previous Eclipse Series/DVD only titles on Blu-ray each month or something like that.

[Show spoiler]Although I unfortunately doubt it.

:

1. Giant Space Monster Guilala “a.k.a. The X From Outer Space” (1967)
2. Goke Body Snatcher From Hell (1968)
3. The Living Skeleton (1968)
4. Genocide (1968)
5. Samurai Spy (1965)
6. Sword Of The Beast (1965)
7. Samurai Rebellion (1967)
8. Kill! (1968)
9. Crazed Fruit (1956)
10. Stray Dog (1949)

Even better would be some "new" titles:

1. The Birth Of Japan "a.k.a. The Three Treasures" (1959)
2. Red Lion (1969)
3. Eagle Of The Pacific (1953)
4. Black Lizard (1968)
5. Super Giant “a.k.a. Starman” (1957) [Perhaps a complete 9 film box set? ]
6. The Great Thief "a.k.a. The Lost World Of Sinbad" (1963)
7. The Lady Vampire (1959)
8. Samurai Banners (1969)
9. The Rainbow Man (1949)
10. The Vampire Moth (1956)

But alas, I digress...

Originally Posted by Nori

Criterion has been pretty good for me lately but I still wish they’d up the Japanese releases.

I'm really hoping 2024 changes some of this, but something tells me it won't. Japanese films seem more popular than usual, so maybe Criterion will see this? A lot of the titles Criterion has already have HD masters. Toho seems to be an issue, but there are numerous other Japanese studios that they work with that they should be able to get more releases out.

I'm thankful for other labels right now, but Criterion really does have some of the very best from Japan that are screaming for some Blu-ray love.

An Ishiro Honda boxset? Immamura boxset set? Naruse boxset? Gosha? Kobayashi? Ozu? The almighty Kurosawa set? Just give us something.

[magnusbe]

Originally Posted by Gerby

Roy Andersson (especially Du Levande & Songs From The Second Floor).

Bent Hamer (O'Horten is a masterpiece imo, Kitchen Stories & Eggs are not that far behind either).

All Bent Hamer's films are now collected in a set with English subtitles:

https://www.nb.no/nettbutikk/produkt/bent-hamer/

[CelestialAgent]

could Mafioso end up upgraded? as the DVD is OOP but it’s still streaming on the Channel

[ErickRPG]

So I'm holding back buying a few new releases for the Criterion sales. Supposedly one happens for 1 day on Criterion. Then all month in November at B&N.

One of the ones I want comes out end of Nov. Do either of these sites count pre-orders? Or only currently released titles?

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by ErickRPG

So I'm holding back buying a few new releases for the Criterion sales. Supposedly one happens for 1 day on Criterion. Then all month in November at B&N.

One of the ones I want comes out end of Nov. Do either of these sites count pre-orders? Or only currently released titles?

Criterion flash sale doesn't, only in stock items.

BN counts preorders that encompass the entirety of the sale.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I'm really hoping 2024 changes some of this, but something tells me it won't. Japanese films seem more popular than usual, so maybe Criterion will see this? A lot of the titles Criterion has already have HD masters. Toho seems to be an issue, but there are numerous other Japanese studios that they work with that they should be able to get more releases out.

I'm thankful for other labels right now, but Criterion really does have some of the very best from Japan that are screaming for some Blu-ray love.

An Ishiro Honda boxset? Immamura boxset set? Naruse boxset? Gosha? Kobayashi? Ozu? The almighty Kurosawa set? Just give us something.

I highly doubt Criterion is doing anymore work on Japanese films for WHATEVER reason. The only likely thing I can imagine right now is Kurosawa in 4K. Would doubt they would be interested in releasing the stuff that they have but never released such as the Gosha and Oshima films. With that said, they have to try to represent all countries but I don't know what's going on in the back where they are behind on Asian films lately but have been pushing more for American and European films.