The Criterion Collection

[ChadFL]

I've been streaming Netflix for over a year now and finally decided to try out Hulu Plus. I'm actually quite impressed so far. Very nice Criterion selection.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Jack Lemmon is one of my favourite actors, these are my favourites, and there's many more I want to see:

Mister Roberts
My Sister Eileen
Bell, Book, and Candle
Some Like it Hot
The Apartment
The Wackiest Ship in the Army
Days of Wine and Roses
Irma la Douce
Under the Yum Yum Tress
Good Nieghbour Sam
How to Murder Your Wife
The Great Race - Professor Fate is my favourite role he did
The Fortune Cookie
The Odd Couple
The Out-of-Towners
The Grass Harp

Bell, Book, and Candle is on Twilight Time's BD release schedule for next year.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

For the love of film please let that be Cockfighter!

Alas.... it was "Wacky Chicken" and not "Wacky Cock"

The Gold Rush will be a pleasant surprise to those who have been clamoring for more Chaplin though.

[*DrStrangelove*]

I can only get one. Branded to Kill or Tokyo Drifter? I will get the other eventually but just want to know what you guys think I should get first.

[widowmaker]

For the benefit of the newbies, such as myself, who are starting with their BD movie collection, what makes Criterion releases different or special as compared to the other collections?

I am already eyeing a few titles that I have always been interested with, though most of them are not too familiar to me.

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by widowmaker

For the benefit of the newbies, such as myself, who are starting with their BD movie collection, what makes Criterion releases different or special as compared to the other collections?

I am already eyeing a few titles that I have always been interested with, though most of them are not too familiar to me.

I just had a multi-paragraph post explaining several reasons why, and citing examples, but I accidentally hit the wrong key and deleted all of it...

So, now you are going to get my very simplified answer.

The thing that makes the Criterion collection different or special is quality.

Criterion are known for having the best quality transfers, special features, accompanying booklets and inserts, and (of course) the best films.

The films are almost all universally hailed as great works of art and are significant films in the cinematic landscape.

Hope that helps a bit...not as near as thorough as my original answer, but a decent overview anyway.

Welcome to the forum...and the obsession.

[Mr. Movie Fan]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

I just had a multi-paragraph post explaining several reasons why, and citing examples, but I accidentally hit the wrong key and deleted all of it...

So, now you are going to get my very simplified answer.

The thing that makes the Criterion collection different or special is quality.

Criterion are known for having the best quality transfers, special features, accompanying booklets and inserts, and (of course) the best films.

The films are almost all universally hailed as great works of art and are significant films in the cinematic landscape.

Hope that helps a bit...not as near as thorough as my original answer, but a decent overview anyway.

Welcome to the forum...and the obsession.

I still think they trade on their legacy as THE GREATEST and first SPECIAL EDITION LASERDISC PUBLISHER and now resort to releasing obscure arthouse fare with some genuine classics thrown in to keep them solvent.
They are the best at what they do. They have only recent been bested* by another publisher twice- and that itself is debatable.

* "M" and "The Leopard"
-All in all Criterion's releases are more comprehensive, and thusly better.

[tenia]

Like Criterion Collection said, Criterion makes quite exhaustive pacakges for their releases. It tends to be a bit expensive though, but I think that the "Criterion trastment" (technical and editorial) is almost every time worthy.

However, yes, there are some HD releases which have been beaten elsewhere in the world, or that can easily be felt as not definitive.

However, most of the time, you can blind buy any movie you like that has been released here.

Or, like I do, you can also use Criterion as a pool of movies to discover.

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by Fanboyz

I still think they trade on their legacy as THE GREATEST and first SPECIAL EDITION LASERDISC PUBLISHER and now resort to releasing obscure arthouse fare with some genuine classics thrown in to keep them solvent.
They are the best at what they do. They have only recent been bested* by another publisher twice- and that itself is debatable.

* "M" and "The Leopard"
-All in all Criterion's releases are more comprehensive, and thusly better.

M? I think Criterion's release of M is simply amazing.

May I ask what version (of M) you feel is superior to Criterion's release? And why you felt it was better? Not trying to pick a fight, just genuinely curious.

BTW, I have an odd habit of liking to look at other peoples collections on this site, and I have to say that yours is possibly my favorite collection I have seen on here. Simply awesome job picking titles man!

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by tenia

Or, like I do, you can also use Criterion as a pool of movies to discover.

One of the major reasons I began exploring the collection myself. Simply to broaden my horizons, and discover great films I knew that otherwise I would never even hear about.

Plus, I do have some favorites (Criterion spine or not) in the collection as well.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

M? I think Criterion's release of M is simply amazing.

May I ask what version (of M) you feel is superior to Criterion's release? And why you felt it was better? Not trying to pick a fight, just genuinely curious.

BTW, I have an odd habit of liking to look at other peoples collections on this site, and I have to say that yours is possibly my favorite collection I have seen on here. Simply awesome job picking titles man!

This German edition of M was further restored AFTER Criterion made their disc. It has less pops, specks and scratches.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/M-Blu-ray/18091/

[Wally Q]

Like I said in the Kino thread, I’m going to be looking to expand my collection in 2012 with more pristine, art house titles to further my self taught film education and Criterion will be a priority. My worry is the availability of specific titles and how will I know what’s safe and what isn’t. Will Stagecoach be available for quite a while or should I throw that on top of the list of titles to pick up on a rainy day?

Newer titles that I want will be picked up as they’re released but is there a way to know what’s going to be out of print soon or not?

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by retablo

This German edition of M was further restored AFTER Criterion made their disc. It has less pops, specks and scratches.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/M-Blu-ray/18091/

Wow! Thank you for the link and information.

Edit: I just read the video portion of the review. Very nice. It makes me curious to see the Eureka, and Universum releases for comparison purposes. Money is a factor though, and it seems as if the Criterion one may be considered the "best" one as well. Picking things such as this (when all three transfers are excellent, albeit in slightly different ways) ultimately comes down to personal preference though.

[Freeza]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

As of right now in Canada, it's legal too, unless they passed that stupid copyright reform. I know a lot of people on this forum have a fit whenever anyone mentions ripping copies for personal use, which is why I said it was a grey area.

I think everyone's guilty of piracy at some point, but we all do it for different reasons.

The legal way is making an archival copy (one you store away in case the original stops functioning), not making a copy and using that so as to prevent wear and tear on the original.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Alas.... it was "Wacky Chicken" and not "Wacky Cock"

A male Chicken is a cock. Wouldn't it be too obvious to say "Wacky Cock"? Either way, it's a long shot for Cockfighter as Gold Rush has been known for sometime (way to waste a clue on something they announced they had already).

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Freeza

The legal way is making an archival copy (one you store away in case the original stops functioning), not making a copy and using that so as to prevent wear and tear on the original.

Exactly. Although there was one disc of the Laverne and Shirley season one boxset where I had to used the ripped copy (only archival copy I ever made), because the disc came scratched, and for some reason, the ripped copy played fine. Haven't tried to play the scratched disc in a BD player yet though I don't really like that unplayable episode much anyways.

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

During the 50% sale they replace some of the standard price stickers with ones that read ("50% off, members receive additional 10% off). During the 50% sale, members still get the standard 10% discount on top of everything else. So I don't see how the 40% would be better in-store.

I don't think Criterion are discounted at all in stores anyway. They are $39.95 MSRP for non members. Members get 10% off everything regardless of what it is - books, coffee, magazines, or whatever other junk you might happened to be buying. Unless I'm mistaken, the 10% stickers are just referring to that member discount.

I'm not a member, and I got 10% off 3 Criterions at two different B&N when I went south. Members would get 10% off the alreadt 10% discounted MSRP.

[fkbrun]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

A male Chicken is a cock. Wouldn't it be too obvious to say "Wacky Cock"? Either way, it's a long shot for Cockfighter as Gold Rush has been known for sometime (way to waste a clue on something they announced they had already).

Am I the only one that thought of City of God, with the chicken and the hurt foot? I know it is most unlikely, but that would be nice, too. The only Brazilian movie I can remember in the collection is Black Orpheus, and it counts actually as French, since it was a French production.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Wally Q

Like I said in the Kino thread, I’m going to be looking to expand my collection in 2012 with more pristine, art house titles to further my self taught film education and Criterion will be a priority. My worry is the availability of specific titles and how will I know what’s safe and what isn’t. Will Stagecoach be available for quite a while or should I throw that on top of the list of titles to pick up on a rainy day?

Newer titles that I want will be picked up as they’re released but is there a way to know what’s going to be out of print soon or not?

Stagecoach is awesome.

Criterion will usually announce when something is going OOP on their site, so you do get some warning. It really depends on if you have the money and how badly you want the film. I saw you had several Criterions on your list. Were there others you wanted more than Stagecoach? Buy them first. Worst comes to worst, you could buy or trade for Stagecoach if it does end up going OOP, which, to be honest, I don't see happening any time soon.

[P@t_Mtl]

I have no real experience with Criterion going OPP. While I bought a few Laserdiscs back in the early 90's and really started jumping on the collection with DVD, I never knew about titles going OPP until I join this site. Before joining here I never really did this "forum posting"

So for the veterans, how bad is it for titles going OPP for Criterion. After more then three years here I think only three titles have been confirm as OPP on Blu-ray?

[Old Geezer]

I received an e-mail from Barnes & Nobel this morning that my pre-order of Designs for Living and Branded to Kill has been delayed "because the release date had changed". Anybody else get a similar e-mail from them? I received similar treatment with my pre-order of The Three Colors Trilogy, finally receiving it about a month after release date. I sent them a nasty return e-mail letting them know that maybe they ran out of the product but the "release date" had certainly not changed.