The Criterion Collection

[TheHumanTornado]

Are you sure its not UPS?

[White Dang]

Originally Posted by bsitg

Well, I appreciate all the opinions of others. I'll take all the information I can get when researching a movie and deciding whether or not to buy, especially when that movie costs $20 or $25.
12 Angry Men
Anatomy of a Murder
Badlands
Blow Out
The Game
The Night of the Hunter
A Night to Remember
On the Waterfront
Paths of Glory
Repo Man
Rosemary's Baby

You'll take all the info you can get? Don't forget the Number ONE research method...watching the film...
12 Angry Men - On Youtube
Anatomy of a Murder - On Youtube
Rosemary's Baby - On Netflix
I'll stop there...

[bsitg]

Originally Posted by White Dang

You'll take all the info you can get? Don't forget the Number ONE research method...watching the film...
12 Angry Men - On Youtube
Anatomy of a Murder - On Youtube
Rosemary's Baby - On Netflix
I'll stop there...

Yep, if I was on the fence, I would watch the film (or at least part of it). Did that with The Killing and decided not to buy. Did that with Night of the Hunter and decided I had to have it.

Not sure what you are insinuating, but the three movies you mention, no brainer must have's for me. 12 Angry Men is such a terrific film that if a DVD could wear out, my copy would have worn out a long time ago. Of the 11 films I purchased, only one am I taking a chance on - Repo Man. I ultimately purchased it because in the end I think I will enjoy it and be able to rewatch it. If not, I'll sell it and make my money back. The other 10 I plan on watching many times.

[ccg1978]

Still waiting on Last Year at Marienbad to ship from Amazon!!!

[rockstarnati]

Most of my blu-ray purchases and all of my Criterion purchases have been blind buys. I've yet to really be let down. And if I ever am, I can always sell it. If it's not available on a service I already have access to (Netflix Instant, Amazon Prime, DirecTV), I'll blind buy it. Renting is simply not an option, especially for Criterions. I'll admit though, I've never thought to watch movies on YouTube. I'm different than most people though. If I watched the film on Netflix first, I probably wouldn't buy the blu-ray at all. I'd rather discover something new. During these Criterion sales, I like to buy one and sell it to buy another. It's a vicious cycle. It really is to each their own. But some people have a hard time grasping this. Personally, I don't worry about how other people spend their money. If I did, this forum would drive me crazy.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

I own MoC's steelbook of Island of Lost Souls but there's so many great looking special features on Criterion's... The MoC release is so light by comparison. I may need to grab Island of Lost Souls next sale for those special features.

[ccg1978]

Paths of Glory and the Hitchcock Blu's are the only Criterion's I've ever blind-bought. I knew they would be good as they are from my 2 favorite directors. Netflix discs, YouTube or Hulu is the way to go if you aren't sure.

[MitchA17]

Great review of Safety Last!. It'll be quite an emotional shift for Dr. Atanasov to review Shoah (which he should probably start watching right away due to that run time).

[The Bronx Bull]

As someone who blind-buys Criterions quite frequently, I vehemently disagree with the sentiment of some of the previous posters that blind-buying is not a good practice. I first started by selectively choosing certain Criterion titles - films I knew, loved, and wanted to own; gradually, I branched out to genres that I never thought would be of interest - older comedies, film noir, silent films, etc. In no other way would my film tastes have been altered as much as they have from blind-buying new titles. It's the thrill of opening the film, popping the disc into your blu-ray player, and enjoying the highest quality representation of that film - letting the new experience unfold before your eyes. A venture into the unknown, if I may, but a venture that has been recommended by countless others and deemed "significant" enough for your eyes. When you're done, you can enjoy the ample features, commentaries, and galleries that Criterion provides - and, lastly, re-experience the film all over again in the future or with your friends/family, since you own the disc.

YouTube does not offer that experience, and the assumption that any one of us is able to screen every single Criterion movie prior to buying is false. That being said, Hulu is a great resource, and well worth the money. I'm the type of guy that will watch a Criterion film on Hulu, enjoy it substantially, and then buy the BD later on at the B&N sale.

[silentblu]

Originally Posted by ccg1978

Still waiting on Last Year at Marienbad to ship from Amazon!!!

Still hoping for it. Not counting on it.

[redrunner97]

The only Criterion I picked up was VideoDrome.
I want to get A Night to Remember and 12 Angry Men...
and I will eventually.

[Abdrewes]

Bronx Bull, we are on the same page. It's awesome knowing what you are watching is of the highest quality (most of the time). I was watching Ballad of Narayama this weekend and the viewing experience would have less enjoyable if it were not in HD. They knocked it out of the park in transfering such a visually sumptuous film on BluRay.

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

As someone who blind-buys Criterions quite frequently, I vehemently disagree with the sentiment of some of the previous posters that blind-buying is not a good practice. I first started by selectively choosing certain Criterion titles - films I knew, loved, and wanted to own; gradually, I branched out to genres that I never thought would be of interest - older comedies, film noir, silent films, etc. In no other way would my film tastes have been altered as much as they have from blind-buying new titles. It's the thrill of opening the film, popping the disc into your blu-ray player, and enjoying the highest quality representation of that film - letting the new experience unfold before your eyes. A venture into the unknown, if I may, but a venture that has been recommended by countless others and deemed "significant" enough for your eyes. When you're done, you can enjoy the ample features, commentaries, and galleries that Criterion provides - and, lastly, re-experience the film all over again in the future or with your friends/family, since you own the disc.

YouTube does not offer that experience, and the assumption that any one of us is able to screen every single Criterion movie prior to buying is false. That being said, Hulu is a great resource, and well worth the money. I'm the type of guy that will watch a Criterion film on Hulu, enjoy it substantially, and then buy the BD later on at the B&N sale.

I agree with you. I started buying Criterion BDs in 2011 when the July B&N sale kicked in. Prior to that, I've never heard of Criterion and what brought my attention to it was that some reviews were comparing Black Swan (which I like very much) to The Red Shoes so I started doing some research on that film and that brought me to Criterion. Since they were on sale I blind bought eight films (The Red Shoes, The Night of the Hunter, The Great Dictator, M, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro) based on reviews and general opinion on these films and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Now I have more than 50 Criterion titles most of which have been blind buys and I haven't regret buying any of them.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I really enjoyed Orpheus and am considering picking up Beauty and the Beast next sale. Prior to watching Cocteau's Orpheus I didn't have a lot of interest in it but I was blown away. How would you say Beauty and the Beast compares?

Beauty and the Beast is one of the best live-action versions of a fairy tale ever. If you liked Orpheus I think you'd like BatB as much or better, it has a similar visual style, the same kind of in-camera special effects that are relatively simple to do but still have a very distinctive look (mostly these are film played backwards). Those two very hard-to-define qualities of pacing and mood are perfect. Buy with confidence

[octagon]

Originally Posted by rockstarnati

Personally, I don't worry about how other people spend their money. If I did, this forum would drive me crazy.

The outside world wouldn't be much kinder to you either.

Exhibit A: The Cubs are averaging over 30k paid attendance per game. And that's low for them.

People spend their money how they want. It doesn't have to make sense to me.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

As someone who blind-buys Criterions quite frequently, I vehemently disagree with the sentiment of some of the previous posters that blind-buying is not a good practice. I first started by selectively choosing certain Criterion titles - films I knew, loved, and wanted to own; gradually, I branched out to genres that I never thought would be of interest - older comedies, film noir, silent films, etc. In no other way would my film tastes have been altered as much as they have from blind-buying new titles. It's the thrill of opening the film, popping the disc into your blu-ray player, and enjoying the highest quality representation of that film - letting the new experience unfold before your eyes. A venture into the unknown, if I may, but a venture that has been recommended by countless others and deemed "significant" enough for your eyes. When you're done, you can enjoy the ample features, commentaries, and galleries that Criterion provides - and, lastly, re-experience the film all over again in the future or with your friends/family, since you own the disc.

YouTube does not offer that experience, and the assumption that any one of us is able to screen every single Criterion movie prior to buying is false. That being said, Hulu is a great resource, and well worth the money. I'm the type of guy that will watch a Criterion film on Hulu, enjoy it substantially, and then buy the BD later on at the B&N sale.

Agree 1000%. As I see it you can only expeience a film the 1st time once and I want that one time to be the best as far as PQ/AQ. Plus I never pay retail price for Criterion's. Another thing is Criterion's maintain their value over time unlike most Blurays. If I decide a film is not for me I can usually sell it for the majority of what I paid for it. So in those rare cases where I do not like a blind buy I'm out less then a few dollars. its a win-win for me.

[SilentDawn]

The Red Shoes and House have arrived in the mail today!! Going to watch House tonight, so pumped to finally see it.

[White Dang]

Haha. Well this talk about blind buying is a very heavy one.

Maybe I'm just resentful of the fact that my limited budget has forced me to only grab what I have already seen and deemed to be in my taste. For you others, you might have a much broader budget as well as scope in taste...one that can essentially be summed up by saying "anything in the Criterion Collection." For that I applaud you.

[ultlife2013]

Blind buying feels great, just trying a film that you heard was great and sounds like a great movie is totally awesome. It feels good to just throw caution to the wind. All of my collection of criterions have been blind buys and they've all been good in their own ways. I think my favorite blind buys have to be between playtime and le cercle rouge, for very different reasons of course.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Blind buying feels great, just trying a film that you heard was great and sounds like a great movie is totally awesome. It feels good to just throw caution to the wind.

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

As someone who blind-buys Criterions quite frequently, I vehemently disagree with the sentiment of some of the previous posters that blind-buying is not a good practice. I first started by selectively choosing certain Criterion titles - films I knew, loved, and wanted to own; gradually, I branched out to genres that I never thought would be of interest - older comedies, film noir, silent films, etc. In no other way would my film tastes have been altered as much as they have from blind-buying new titles. It's the thrill of opening the film, popping the disc into your blu-ray player, and enjoying the highest quality representation of that film - letting the new experience unfold before your eyes. A venture into the unknown, if I may, but a venture that has been recommended by countless others and deemed "significant" enough for your eyes.

YouTube does not offer that experience,

In other words, the sole advantage over getting film education through rental is that you're addicted to the adrenaline. Which, psychiatry tells us, is how most addictions happen.
Maybe you feel it's a "good" addiction in that it doesn't have "harmful" effects like gambling, horse racing, alcohol or thrillseeking, but it doesn't exactly seem that way to other readers for whom $29.95 isn't as disposable.

(And like gambling addiction, has that same rationalization, where, don't worry, you have a system where you'll get your money back for every loss, so it all evens out...)

and the assumption that any one of us is able to screen every single Criterion movie prior to buying is false. That being said, Hulu is a great resource, and well worth the money. I'm the type of guy that will watch a Criterion film on Hulu, enjoy it substantially, and then buy the BD later on at the B&N sale.

If you can screen even half your future purchases on Hulu, that's half your money saved, and no loss of "Eye-opening film discovery at home". Knowledge SHOULD be free, and only bad experiences paid for.