The Criterion Collection

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It is curious that it doesn't have a single Kurosawa title in there. I wouldn't expect Seven Samurai of course, but there are others, especially Rashomon, but also Ikiru, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Hidden Fortress, and High and Low that could have been included. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up with that though.

Same, especially since there are overlaps with Bergman, WKW, and Varda in this set, so something like Rashomon would’ve made perfect sense.

I do sometimes dislike how close to the chest Criterion plays it.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This is apparently what the Night of the Living dead FB page was teasing

Hmmm. Well, that's even more disappointing news. I felt Dawn of the Dead really wasn't realistic, but maybe a new edition of the 1990 Night remake.

[MifuneFan]

It's actually funny that Peter Becker name drops Guillermo del Toro as the first to do a closet video on camera, yet none of his movies made it into the set.

https://www.criterion.com/current/po...rion-closet-40

Guillermo del Toro was not the first person to raid the closet, but he was the first to do it on camera. The most passionate, generous, and hardworking film fan you’ll ever meet, Guillermo was excited to have us shoot his closet visit when he stopped by one day in September 2010. He was in and out in under three minutes, for the most part offering little more than brief exclamations of enthusiasm for each new choice. But watching the video after he left, we knew it was something special. “A very small robbery,” he said, before ducking out the door with a black Criterion tote bag full of his favorite films. And with this, the Criterion Closet Picks video was born.

[Shanghai Express]

So it's basically Criterion For Beginners and OCD completionists but still random, unwieldy, and prohibitively expensive so... not for beginners at all? Very threadbare thinking here.

[kwillard37]

Originally Posted by jshaide

It is interesting tho how this set has no Kurosawa at all.

I thought it was weird there's no Lynch or Wes Anderson as well. Both seem pretty regular pulls in the criterion closet videos.

[themp3000]

It’s a really solid set for someone just starting their collecting journey or has a curiosity and a decent amount of disposable income. Especially this holiday season and everything. I ain’t gonna knock it.

We’re still getting some announcements in a week or so, there’s still something to look forward to.

[MifuneFan]

I was working on a highly ambitious November predictions list, but with this huge box set coming that month, I wonder if i should temper it, and my expectations

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I was working on a highly ambitious November predictions list, but with this huge box set coming that month, I wonder if i should temper it, and my expectations

I'm betting there's only 2-3 titles getting announced this month. But even though we may probably get less titles announced, I still believe those 2-3 titles will be some big fan favorites (Seven Samurai 4K, Barry Lyndon 4K and Paris Texas 4K are my predictions).

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

I'm betting there's only 2-3 titles getting announced this month. But even though we may probably get less titles announced, I still believe those 2-3 titles will be some big fan favorites (Seven Samurai 4K, Barry Lyndon 4K and Paris Texas 4K are my predictions).

Two of those are on my list. November is usually one of their biggest months, but yeah, it could just be fewer major ones.

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I was working on a highly ambitious November predictions list, but with this huge box set coming that month, I wonder if i should temper it, and my expectations

After such a disappointment they better have a top-tier November line-up available with at least one or two titles they’ve teased for a while, such as Dog Day Afternoon. I can imagine a big classic like La Dolce Vita or Seven Samurai coming but after the BFI’s announcement for the latter, I doubt there’ll be much excitement by people on here. A Paul Thomas Anderson film also feels appropriate for November, maybe Magnolia or something like Nolan’s Memento.

[NeoNical]

Just saw the news right now about the new CC40 boxset and to say this lightly: Holy s*** what a set!

Looks quite amazing but I want to know if any of those releases have new upgrades (Does 8 1/2 feature the same 4K restoration from the Essential Fellini set?, Is the Tokyo Story disc on this set come from the 4K restoration that BFI did?, etc.) and if they retain all the special features from their individual releases.

But this is ultimately a pretty good bargain because the MSRP price is what you can get out of those 40 titles at a 50% off sale. But when one buys this during the B&N sale, you end up paying $10 per title. $400 all at once is definitely more daunting and frightening than paying $400 over the course of a few days during the sale. Still, this looks like an amazing set, even without 4K UHD.

It's a bit of a tough sell, even when you don't have half of those titles (I, myself, surprisingly only had 8/40 of those titles as I saw most of those from the Criterion Channel). Might as well sell off the individual releases for the ones I do have if I wanted to buy this. But if this set were to have titles that they haven't released, then this would also be a tough sell for people either unfamiliar with it or just not a fan of the variety that the set offers (Though I would also argue that the variety in this set is also not fit for everyone).

P.S.: I'm already jumping far ahead but this is giving me ideas of a CC50 set now $500!!

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I was working on a highly ambitious November predictions list, but with this huge box set coming that month, I wonder if i should temper it, and my expectations

I'm thinking it'll be business as usual, I don't think this set is gonna steer a good month off course.

[jzbadblood]

Personally I think Happiness and Gummo were pretty huge releases

[kmhofmann]

Nothing to see here for me. Only 2-3 out of the 40 films that I don't yet have.
Criterion should focus on things they haven't released yet...

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by kmhofmann

Nothing to see here for me. Only 2-3 out of the 40 films that I don't yet have.
Criterion should focus on things they haven't released yet...

Here before someone point out the Criterion Closet stuff is new to disc and that makes this boxset worth it or something.

[BrokenGlass41]

So, in this box set, there are some good films, some great films, some pieces of trash, and a few that will be upgraded to 4K by other distributors in several months. I hate to say it, but I told you so:

Originally Posted by BrokenGlass41

People seem to also have a tendency towards expecting something HUGE every time Criterion is about to announce a new slate of films: Seven Samurai 4K UHD, Killers of the Flower Moon, Barry Lyndon, etc. The list could go on and on.

I think probably this will appeal to people just getting into collecting Criterion, but to people who already own a decent amount, it’s immeasurably disappointing. It’s also extremely variable in what it contains. I would probably get Pickpocket, A Woman Under the Influence, and a couple more, but that would only come up to like $80 from B&N. If they were to do a number of collections, like a Kurosawa set, a Horror set, a Film Noir set, a Cassavetes set, etc., it would probably get people like us to buy a lot more and make them a lot more money.

As it is, this is such a letdown. Sorry Criterion, I’m not buying.

[Amiibro121]

Originally Posted by themp3000

It’s a really solid set for someone just starting their collecting journey or has a curiosity and a decent amount of disposable income. Especially this holiday season and everything. I ain’t gonna knock it.

Even if I prefer individual releases this is pretty cool for someone like me who wants to delve further into the world of movies, it's a treasure trove of blind buys you can't go wrong with. I don't see myself getting each of these for $20 each so for $10 each (during the sales of course) I don't think it's too bad even if I own like four of these on 4k already.
Some odd omissions you'd expect to be on the set like kurosawa, probably rights issues.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This is apparently what the Night of the Living dead FB page was teasing

Disappointment for no Criterion Dawn AND a basic starter pack set.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I was working on a highly ambitious November predictions list, but with this huge box set coming that month, I wonder if i should temper it, and my expectations

Girls the Complete Series on blu perhaps?

[sfmarine]

Clearly a set for ….I’m not sure.

Hard-core collectors and CC enthusiasts will likely grab it.

Perhaps newcomers as others pointed out-a great opportunity for some incredible films all in one go.

Those newcomers & “late adopters” would likely not care about 4K tho…

Strange release. I really don’t know.