The Criterion Collection

[sherlockjr]

Originally Posted by imax143

People are never satisfied, you can't please everyone. For years, countless people in these forums mocked and hated on Criterion for not getting into UHD. And when Criterion got into it, there were many complaints of too few UHD releases, too few UHD upgrades for big classic movies, too slow of a pace. Now that Criterion has listened to those criticisms from UHD fans, we have the crowd that hates them for that, a crowd that includes people like you. And your crowd can't ever agree with the people that prefer to have UHDs of big movies instead of new to HD obscure stuff. Even if Criterion released 20 movies a month, with 10 of them being new to HD and the other 10 being UHD upgrades, I bet you would still be ranting.

I'd strongly suspect that Criterion is now doing a lot of UHD upgrades as well as new UHD releases because they're generating significant sales. They were hesitant at first due to a smaller potential market and higher costs for licensing, mastering and replicating UHDs, but now that they're out and selling, they're turning up that output.

The Criterion market has shown that they're buying those UHD upgrades and new releases so Criterion is satisfying the demand that they've seen based on actual revenue, not people mouthing off on odd corners of the Internet.

While there will always be a few holdouts who claim--likely because they don't want to spend the money on new quality hardware--that they can't see the difference between UHD and HD or even DVD, that's not the average Criterion customer. Their customer has for decades been willing to spend more for a higher quality image and more feature full physical release. And they want that at the highest possible image quality.

Those who post on the blu-ray.com forums are a very small niche. The majority of the larger but still still small niche group who continue to buy art and foreign films on physical media probably don't know that blu-ray.com exists. Even those who do likely don't spend time posting on the forums. Criterion is using their actual sales to inform them of what to release, not focusing on a tiny group on one particular Internet forum. A group that, as you say, will never, ever be satisfied. And, for some, never happy unless they're complaining.

[Cremildo]

Aren't Glenn Gould, Midnight and Thelonius Monk new to HD? That's three SD to HD upgrades in a month. So the problem, for some, is that Criterion releases UHDs at all. Sounds a bit extremist to me.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Aren't Glenn Gould, Midnight and Thelonius Monk new to HD? That's three SD to HD upgrades in a month. So the problem, for some, is that Criterion releases UHDs at all. Sounds a bit extremist to me.

Yeah, they are. Criterion have actually been doing a lot more new to HD releases this year than in the past, and also seems to have greater focus on indie films.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by imax143

Now that Criterion has listened to those criticisms from UHD fans, we have the crowd that hates them for that, a crowd that includes people like you.

There are a lot of people on this board that fit that definition and I have blocked because they're straight-up anti-Criterion trolls, but Duke is not one of them. I disagree with him on a lot of things Criterion - intensely much of the time - but I would never say he hates Criterion. He wants certain things from Criterion, many of which I don't think make sense, but you know what? That's okay. He articulates his points respectfully.

The fact is, a company has to pick a direction. It's okay to not like that direction. I personally love much of what they've been doing - a LOT - but "not for me" is a valid argument. The only thing I'd say is, you know, if the company's lost you, maybe it's not emotionally productive to keep frequenting a forum dedicated to Criterion enthusiasts and get a lot of rhetorical pelting, but hey, I've been there too.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by imax143

People are never satisfied, you can't please everyone. For years, countless people in these forums mocked and hated on Criterion for not getting into UHD. And when Criterion got into it, there were many complaints of too few UHD releases, too few UHD upgrades for big classic movies, too slow of a pace. Now that Criterion has listened to those criticisms from UHD fans, we have the crowd that hates them for that, a crowd that includes people like you. And your crowd can't ever agree with the people that prefer to have UHDs of big movies instead of new to HD obscure stuff. Even if Criterion released 20 movies a month, with 10 of them being new to HD and the other 10 being UHD upgrades, I bet you would still be ranting.

Socky, is that you?

[MifuneFan]

Here are the titles so far for 2025 that were not previously released in HD worldwide:

Anora*
Choose Me
Crossing Delancey
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
Killer of Sheep
King Lear (1987)
Midnight
Prince of Broadway*
Thelonious Monk Straight, No Chaser (1988)
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould

*There are French releases that have recently been announced, and coming out in March, ahead of Criterion's releases.

Here are the HD releases that are brand new to the US:

Basquiat (there was just an old JP release before this new one)
Drugstore Cowboy
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Last Summer (Janus Contemporaries)
Room 666 / 999 (Janus Contemporaries)
The Three Musketeers / The Four Musketeers (1973-74)
The Mother and the Wh0re
Winchester '73
Withnail and I
A Woman of Paris

Here are the Criterion titles being upgraded to 4K:

Brazil
Chungking Express
Cronos
In the Heat of the Night
Mishima: A Life in 4 Chapters
Punch Drunk Love
Some Like it Hot
Thief
Ugetsu
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Wages of Fear
Yojimbo & Sanjuro
Withnail & I (previously released on DVD by Criterion)

And finally here are releases previously released in HD in the US, but are new to Criterion:

Godzilla vs Biollante
The Grifters
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring
Night Moves
Performance
Sorcerer
The Wind Will Carry Us
The Wiz

Make of that what you will.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

There are a lot of people on this board that fit that definition and I have blocked because they're straight-up anti-Criterion trolls, but Duke is not one of them. I disagree with him on a lot of things Criterion - intensely much of the time - but I would never say he hates Criterion. He wants certain things from Criterion, many of which I don't think make sense, but you know what? That's okay. He articulates his points respectfully.

Thanks for that. When Criterion announces a product I actually want, I have no issues. They put out a pretty good product. For me it's simply the output of titles that's the issue. Still, if it's a movie I love, I really have no complaints from their actual product. It's a solid one.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Here are the titles so far for 2025 that were not previously released in HD worldwide:

Thanks for the list! It's informative.

The one thing that makes me bristle is when someone makes the argument, "but there was a British release or a French release" or whatever. The assumption that more than a splinter of the DVD audience have multi-region disc players that open up the entire world is as elitist as some people accuse Criterion fans of being. (Yeah yeah, I know that it's more complicated than that especially with 4k, but I mean.)

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by imax143

I have read these forums for years before creating an account. It's just that.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

People are just not happy unless they have something to complain about on these boards. It is never enough and there is no gratitude for what is being released in a time when physical media is considered dead.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

Thanks for the list! It's informative.

The one thing that makes me bristle is when someone makes the argument, "but there was a British release or a French release" or whatever. The assumption that more than a splinter of the DVD audience have multi-region disc players that open up the entire world is as elitist as some people accuse Criterion fans of being. (Yeah yeah, I know that it's more complicated than that especially with 4k, but I mean.)

While I acknowledge a lot of what Criterion releases has a Blu-ray or 4K elsewhere, I usually only throw the "foreign release" card when the foreign release completely outclasses the Criterion release.

While no titles where this has happened are on my mind right now, I'll hypothetically use Brazil. The Criterion 4K, in laymen's terms, is this:

Disc One: 142-minute director's cut on 4K
Disc Two: 142-minute director's cut on Blu-ray, same disc as before
Disc Three: 94-minute "Love Conquers All" cut on Blu-ray, same disc as before

Great set, I kept putting off the old disc because I knew this would have a 4K, and now I'm buying the 4K.

However, if BFI or MoC or someone else came out with all three cuts fully restored, on 4K and remastered Blu-ray, with all the special features, and with basically everything I could ever want in a home video release, then absolutely I'd say "screw Criterion, I'm importing".

But just a blanket "meh, this already has a disc", that's not kosher.

Where would you even draw the line?

"Oh, Imprint already put that out on Blu-ray with a 20-year-old DVD master, we don't need that on 4K."

"Warner Bros. already released a Blu-ray with a laserdisc-era master, we don't need that on 4K."

"Meh, they already have a DVD of that out in the UK, and yeah it's missing six minutes and the master's crusty, but they could've given that fully restored, fully uncut 4K release to some other film."

Seriously, how far are people willing to take this?

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by imax143

I have read these forums for years before creating an account. It's just that.

[Rexx]

Maybe this has been discussed in this thread before—and if there is one here or anywhere else in the forums I would appreciate receiving a link to said discussion(s)—, but would someone explain to me the business argument for licencing relatively well-regarded films and then "sitting on" them for years and years? Has Criterion itself ever publicly explained its "logic" in doing this? All I'm after is an explanation of what the hell is going on with Catch-22 (1970), one of the few comedies I find worth owning. (I loved the novel, which I read a long time ago in high-school English class.) The only word I got from them when I inquired was a "no plans to release it" in the near future, as far as the respondent knew. I find the whole situation beyond frustrating.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by Rexx

Maybe this has been discussed in this thread before—and if there is one here or anywhere else in the forums I would appreciate receiving a link to said discussion(s)—, but would someone explain to me the business argument for licencing relatively well-regarded films and then "sitting on" them for years and years? Has Criterion itself ever publicly explained its "logic" in doing this? All I'm after is an explanation of what the hell is going on with Catch-22 (1970), one of the few comedies I find worth owning. (I loved the novel, which I read a long time ago in high-school English class.) The only word I got from them when I inquired was a "no plans to release it" in the near future, as far as the respondent knew. I find the whole situation beyond frustrating.

I mean, there's almost never ONE single reason. Sometimes it's rights. Sometimes it's materials. Sometimes it's getting participation. Sometimes it's the studio getting cold feet.

And sometimes it's just rumors. Do we actually KNOW that Criterion has the rights to Catch-22? Paramount seems especially mercurial lately. (Like, there were rumors for months and months that a Criterion edition of Bringing Out the Dead was imminent, and then Paramount released their own SE instead.)

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Nobody beats The Wiz! Nobody!!

But Crazy Eddie’s prices were INSANE!

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Rexx

Maybe this has been discussed in this thread before—and if there is one here or anywhere else in the forums I would appreciate receiving a link to said discussion(s)—, but would someone explain to me the business argument for licencing relatively well-regarded films and then "sitting on" them for years and years? Has Criterion itself ever publicly explained its "logic" in doing this? All I'm after is an explanation of what the hell is going on with Catch-22 (1970), one of the few comedies I find worth owning. (I loved the novel, which I read a long time ago in high-school English class.) The only word I got from them when I inquired was a "no plans to release it" in the near future, as far as the respondent knew. I find the whole situation beyond frustrating.

Has Criterion indicated they have licensed Catch-22? There are so many made up assumptions that Criterion has certain titles and then they show up on another label or by the studio themselves.

[Scottie]

I'm going to update the thread a little bit.

Part of this includes adding a post dedicated to all of the films Criterion has yet to announce for BD/4K, but that are confirmed (or heavily rumored). I.E. Captain Blood, The French Connection, The Big Heat, as well as the sources associated with them. If anyone could help me with this, I'd appreciate it!

[Member-810559]

Originally Posted by Scottie

I'm going to update the thread a little bit.

Part of this includes adding a post dedicated to all of the films Criterion has yet to announce for BD/4K, but that are confirmed (or heavily rumored). I.E. Captain Blood, The French Connection, The Big Heat, as well as the sources associated with them. If anyone could help me with this, I'd appreciate it!

Source for the The French Connection rumor:
https://criterionforum.org/forum/vie...e53dc1#p828509

https://www.instagram.com/dawnofthediscs/p/DDZnYk-pSsO/

[JupiterMission]

The free shipping threshold of $75 typically remains the same during flash sales, right?

[Driver78]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Aren't Glenn Gould, Midnight and Thelonius Monk new to HD? That's three SD to HD upgrades in a month. So the problem, for some, is that Criterion releases UHDs at all. Sounds a bit extremist to me.

There's one particular member who seems to believe Criterion is hoarding and/or sitting on a bunch of Japanese films and not doing anything with them. No one knows for sure whether this is true or not but one thing is certain: there is NO dearth of Japanese films making their way to disc. It's unrealistic to essentially expect there to be monthly drops or announcements for one specific genre that may lack broad appeal. Japanese cinema is still being very generously represented if you don't limit yourself to one continent.

I also took his comment basically suggesting that the label perhaps focus less on 4K reissues or even the format itself(!) in order to reduce the "backlog" of unreleased titles quite alarming. With each 4K that gets released, the "Blu-ray is good enough" crowd have less of a leg to stand on. Practically no one is wishing 4K would go away. Sorry, haters.