The Criterion Collection

[ozzfan84]

Is there a database somewhere of Criterion blu ray releases by date? I usually make up a list between sales as they come out but I've been lazy and I don't want to miss anything next sale. Thanks!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ozzfan84

Is there a database somewhere of Criterion blu ray releases by date? I usually make up a list between sales as they come out but I've been lazy and I don't want to miss anything next sale. Thanks!

You can browse Criterion titles by the Spine Number on the Criterion website. Wikipedia also has a list of Criterion releases in order. Have fun!

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by ozzfan84

Is there a database somewhere of Criterion blu ray releases by date? I usually make up a list between sales as they come out but I've been lazy and I don't want to miss anything next sale. Thanks!

here

You'll have to ignore the individual titles from boxed sets, but should get you where you're going. If you sort by release date (descending order), you'll have to page through the No Release date entries.

[BLUgrass]

Hey guys what is the significance/meaning of the number on the spine?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

Hey guys what is the significance/meaning of the number on the spine?

It's just how the collection is organized. There are certain rare instances where Criterion chooses a specific spine number for a certain release, like for instance with The Devil's Backbone, whose Spine is 666

[BLUgrass]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It's just how the collection is organized. There are certain rare instances where Criterion chooses a specific spine number for a certain release, like for instance with The Devil's Backbone, whose Spine is 666

I see thank you. I thought maybe it was just the number in order of release but that didnt quite add up when I was looking at my modest criterion collection. They should've used 666 for Rosemary's Baby

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

I see thank you. I thought maybe it was just the number in order of release but that didnt quite add up when I was looking at my modest criterion collection. They should've used 666 for Rosemary's Baby

I believe they do mostly go in order of release, but there are certain titles that already had older spine numbers on DVD (and laserdisc) so when those get upgraded to BD, they still retail that older spine number.

[aes3728]

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

I see thank you. I thought maybe it was just the number in order of release but that didnt quite add up when I was looking at my modest criterion collection. They should've used 666 for Rosemary's Baby

The very well could have done it for Rosemary's Baby (which does make sense due to the very presence of the Devil himself), the Devil's Backbone makes much more sense in the grand scheme. We have the Devil which is represented by the 666 and Backbone or spine which we all lovingly deem the bend of our editions. It was too perfect not to do.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I believe they do mostly go in order of release, but there are certain titles that already had older spine numbers on DVD (and laserdisc) so when those get upgraded to BD, they still retail that older spine number.

Criterion didn't take LD spine numbers into account when they started issuing DVDs. The DVDs simply started over again with #1. Well, with #5 actually, as there were significant delays in getting a quality source for Grand Illusion, and even a few delays with #2-4. The Blu-rays follow the DVD numbering.

The reasoning is almost guaranteed to be because by the time Criterion got into DVD, LD was on its last legs. Criterion only released about a dozen LDs after they started releasing DVDs, and the DVDs were all earlier titles being reissued in the new format while the LDs were (almost) all new titles. There were no titles that they released simultaneously on both LD and DVD. And by then, they knew that they wouldn't have the DVD rights to a lot of their earlier LD releases. On the other hand, DVD was (and still is) the primary home video format when Criterion started releasing Blu-rays, and they knew that they'd be issuing new titles in both formats. So it was less confusing to keep the same numbering scheme.

As far as number/release order, I suspect that they assign the spine number well into the production process of a given title. If any delays happen after that point, then a given number will get released after a later number. Doesn't happen now as often as it used to.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

Hey guys what is the significance/meaning of the number on the spine?

One might say that it's a throwback to the early days of paperback books. Publishers would number their books as they issued them, with the numbers acting as accounting/catalog numbers. This type of numbering on paperbacks pretty much died with the introduction of the ISBN in the mid-to-late 1960s. Some publishers today still do have a spine-number system separate from the catalog number (the paperback imprint Hard Case Crime is one example that comes to mind).

Criterion started putting spine numbers on their LD from the beginning (well, almost: the first two didn't have numbers, though later pressings retroactively numbered them 1&2). They were, if memory serves, the only home video label to do that during the LD days. On DVD, Fox did a few sets of numbered titles (Fox Studio Classics, Fox Film Noir, and a set of two-disc collector's editions of about two dozen titles).

On the Blu-ray format, there are a couple of other labels that do the numbering thing. One is Kino's Redemption label, and another is the Masters of Cinema label in the UK.

[Meek12345]

Good afternoon everyone!

I need some help. I'm considering the possibility of buying a region and zone free blu-ray player later this year. One reason for this is that I'm unsure if Criterion will ever release films such as Sullivan's Travels(Arrow)and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse(Eureka) on blu. Arrow and Eureka (Masters of Cinema) appear to have high quality releases.

My favorite brand is Panasonic, so I priced a region free player on Amazon. It currently costs $199, so i might be unable to get that one anytime soon. Do you all know of any adequate region free players for under $100?

Well, I guess I could wait to see if Criterion will upgrade certain films before the end of the year instead of spending money on a new player. Although, there are non-Criterion films such as Arrow's 25th Anniversary remasterd edition of Cinema Paradiso and an upcoming French release of The Big Heat that are very tempting as well. Also, I'm hoping that Criterion will release Don't Look Now soon or I may go with the U.K. release by Optimum/StudioCanal.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[dtyner92]

I know there's a lot of talk about Criterion rereleasing Le Samurai on blu-ray, but I would love to see Le deuxieme soufflé given the blu-ray treatment as well. As I recall, this came out during the time when Criterion would pick and choose what would get a blu-ray release and what would get a dvd release. I would also love to see Criterion rerelease The Friends of Eddie Coyle. If anyone on this forum hasn't seen it, I highly recommend it! It's one of those Criterion titles that I feel doesn't get talked about enough.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

I need some help. I'm considering the possibility of buying a region and zone free blu-ray player later this year. One reason for this is that I'm unsure if Criterion will ever release films such as Sullivan's Travels(Arrow)and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse(Eureka) on blu. Arrow and Eureka (Masters of Cinema) appear to have high quality releases.

My favorite brand is Panasonic, so I priced a region free player on Amazon. It currently costs $199, so i might be unable to get that one anytime soon. Do you all know of any adequate region free players for under $100?
[snip]

Don't mean to send you away, but there's a Region Free Bluray player recommendations thread that would probably be a better place to ask.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

Good afternoon everyone!

I need some help. I'm considering the possibility of buying a region and zone free blu-ray player later this year. One reason for this is that I'm unsure if Criterion will ever release films such as Sullivan's Travels(Arrow)and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse(Eureka) on blu. Arrow and Eureka (Masters of Cinema) appear to have high quality releases.

My favorite brand is Panasonic, so I priced a region free player on Amazon. It currently costs $199, so i might be unable to get that one anytime soon. Do you all know of any adequate region free players for under $100?

Well, I guess I could wait to see if Criterion will upgrade certain films before the end of the year instead of spending money on a new player. Although, there are non-Criterion films such as Arrow's 25th Anniversary remasterd edition of Cinema Paradiso and an upcoming French release of The Big Heat that are very tempting as well. Also, I'm hoping that Criterion will release Don't Look Now soon or I may go with the U.K. release by Optimum/StudioCanal.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I got one from DVDworldUSA for like £60 at the time - only needed to spend extra £6 on plug to sort voltage crap out lol

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I got one from DVDworldUSA for like £60 at the time - only needed to spend extra £6 on plug to sort voltage crap out lol

I still kick myself that I did not bring my Region 2 player from the UK

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Don't mean to send you away, but there's a Region Free Bluray player recommendations thread that would probably be a better place to ask.

I'm sorry. Thanks for the link to the Region Free Blu-ray Player thread.

[brandon_260]

This morning I decided to revisit Red Desert after having Antonioni stuck in my head since my Thursday night screening of L'avventura (which looks beautiful in 35 mm).

Red Desert was my introduction to Antonioni's work about ten months. At the time, I wasn't watching it because I wanted to explore what the director had to offer, but because it came with high recommendations from people whose tastes I typically trust. Without knowing what I was getting into with Antonioni, in terms of themes, pacing, "plot," etc., my judgement of the film was rather clouded and my initial reaction was fairly muted and unfair.

Since then, I've explored much more of Antonioni's body of work, spanning eight films from La signora senza camelie to Identificazione di una donna. With the understanding of who this director is and what he has to offer, my second viewing of Red Desert ended on a much more positive note. This film applies and builds upon the incredible techniques developed by Antonioni while developing his incredible trilogy that precedes this film. I've come to the conclusion that, of the eight works I've seen, Red Desert is far and away the greatest masterpiece (though not the only masterpiece) Antonioni has crafted, and, with this viewing, I believe that Antonioni has replaced Ingmar Bergman as my all time favorite director, even though the number of works I've seen by the latter is double that of the former.

Sorry if you read all that.

[SammyJankis]

I almost fell asleep during my first viewing of Red Desert (which was also my first Antonioni.) After checking out his more accessible films (Blow Up, namely), I revisited it a year or so later. It's amazing that I now seemed to be on his wavelength completely and how everything that previously seemed mundane and self-indulgent now seemed entirely fascinating and successful.

It's my favorite Antonioni and it would most certainly land somewhere in my top ten.

And that Monica Vitti..

[Visco.]

I've had my copy of Red Desert sitting out since I bought it during the flash sale.

It looks absolutely beautiful and I should probably get around to watching it soon.

[brandon_260]

Yes, absolutely top 10 material. For me, it now easily sits alongside Persona, Hiroshima, Mon Amour, and Antonioni's own L'avventura as one of the greatest films ever made.