The Criterion Collection

[Eschenpod]

Wow that didn't last long, glad I didn't hesitate.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Bradsdadg

Looks like it is back up in price. Nice snag for anyone who didn't have it though

Holy crap, that was quick!

Glad I didn't hesitate.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by Eschenpod

...glad I didn't hesitate.

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Glad I didn't hesitate.

The fact that both of you guys replied so quick with the same phrase kinda scares me a little lol

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

The fact that both of you guys replied so quick with the same phrase kinda scares me a little lol

To be honest, it kinda scared the hell out of me too after I posted and then scrolled up.

[Eschenpod]

Great minds.

[jw007]

I was shocked to see this thread "closed" earlier... I wonder what happened? Maybe down for repairs?

[FrameFecker]

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by jw007

I was shocked to see this thread "closed" earlier... I wonder what happened? Maybe down for repairs?

Seems like there was a very long message by Criterion that some user posted on this thread that was about the George Floyd Protests. And there were a few people that were commenting on it but the quotes were so long that it took so much space to scroll down especially on your phone just for a message that we already read once so no need to scroll down an entire quote for.

The problem is already solved but sadly a user was banned recently but possibly not for the reason that was stated above.

[jjlikesonions]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

branding. history.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

Criterion is basically where most film fanatics go to when they need to find essential world cinema. Without them, we wouldn't have had so many films being unreleased from the minds of Bergman, Fellini, Kurosawa, Renoir, etc. And without them, a lot of good films probably wouldn't be introduced as much as Criterion did. It's a library filled with some of the best foreign films and includes some of the best packaging and supplements to go along with a complex or powerful films (Not all films have good supplements like Sword of Doom (1966) or have good packaging like All About Eve (1950).)

But I can see your point. Everyone basically has a boner for Criterion because the last 15 years, they have done all solid releases and there's so little of their releases that are horrible and skipped. Most films that they have released always get great scores on Blu-rayDOTcom and CriterionforumDOTorg (I will not post links to the websites in case if it breaks the thread rules). The video and audio quality normally ranges from a 4.0 to a perfect 5.0 on this website often (Even though many audiophiles aren't a big fan of Criterion's audio work. One big controversy of the Criterion treatment) and their supplements normally range from 3.5-5.0 which is nearly better than most releases that companies release today. Most companies would release barebone or 3 supplements at max including trailer, commentary, and deleted scenes (And Blu-ray previews if that counts). But Criterion always goes up and beyond with interviews, commentaries, trailers, behind the scenes footage, and a chunky booklet (Most of the time).

And because they have done so well with many of their releases, blu-ray fans are in love with their work and always wanting them to release certain films to blu-ray (Most of them being either cult classics or modern films). But I feel like people are giving Criterion too much praise for their work. StudioCanal and Arrow Video can both beat Criterion at their own game if they were given the good A/V restoration and the rights to a lot of supplements. A good example of Criterion being worse than these two companies would be if Criterion released a blu-ray version of Robocop, it would probably look like a digipak with a good sized booklet and a very cool looking inside. The A/V would be great and the supplements will be decent. However, Arrow Video would also do the same thing they did but would go as far as giving it a box set release with small-sized posters and an actual box sized set instead of a slim digipak with a booklet and disc. And Arrow also gave it a Steelbook for fans who are not fans of the box set or the regular release. StudioCanal also has done the same thing too when it came to packaging but they have already upgraded to 4K UHD and they have done a lot of good restoration. (Arrow just moved to 4K UHD a few days ago)

Now I'm not saying that Criterion always loses when a newer release of a movie comes out (Belle De Jour is a good example. Criterion - Great release but from 2012, StudioCanal - New 4K restoration but major compression issues and from 2017. Le Samourai Criterion - Uses outdated DVD transfer. Bad encoding but still acceptable. Pathe (Different company I know) - New remastering, horrible encoding and bad compression issues and worse than Criterion surprisingly) But at this age in the world of home video, Criterion is lagging behind on their formatting (A lot of people are requesting for 4K already) but they often release really wonderful blu-rays every year. I still think that they are fine at this point and because they have 4 boxsets coming up, I feel like they are going to have one hell of a year despite none of them being 4K UHD sadly.

Is Criterion overrated? Kind of. But Criterion has done so much hard work for the past 15 years or so that they should be praised because they're still going and because they have so much passion for their work and customer service, they're doing so well and I highly doubt they will go out of business for quite some time. SIDE NOTE: r/Criterion is not a good subreddit IMO. Mostly bad memes and collections but no actual thought-provoking discussions.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by jw007

I was shocked to see this thread "closed" earlier... I wonder what happened? Maybe down for repairs?

Some comments concerning current events were removed.

[Reddington]

Svet's take on the upcoming release of Tokyo Olympiad:



One of my absolute favourites in the collection. Brilliant filmmaking. The BD version in the box set lacks the extras, so I'll be picking this up on release (well, in the B&N sale that hopefully will follow shortly thereafter ).

[BaronVH]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

Because they release quality editions of catalog and foreign films that never would see the light of day. You think we would ever get a top notch Diabolique? Dragon Inn? His Girl Friday? Speedy? Most people may not know the massive influence that His Girl Friday has on modern comedies that still hasn’t been successfully duplicated, although attempted many times. Probably wouldn’t have Psycho without Diabolique, and we know what Psycho influenced. Why ask the question in the first place?

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

So you visit a thread dedicated to a distributor/label and their releases, what did you expect to find? A lot of people who don’t like it discussing why they don’t like it?

I will say that given their prices, I wish Criterion’s releases were 2-disc sets, one disc dedicated to the feature, one disc for the extras... as DVD Special Editions or Collector’s Editions used to be. I only have a small handful of Criterion releases (though I do have a wishlist for the next sale), but whenever I look them up on this site, I’m often surprised when they have average bitrates, presumably to make room for the extras. I’m less into extras than I used to be, and will always prefer higher quality PQ through the encode and the bitrate over extras. Like anything in life, it’s down to preferences and YMMV. (As a minor technical nitpick, I also don’t particularly agree with putting their distributor/label logo at the front of the movie itself, instead of being a separate title in a playlist sequence.)

If you read their mission statement, I don’t deny their success in “publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world” which is the reason for many people to like them, but I don’t agree that they always do so “in editions that offer the highest technical quality.”

[borntorun_intheusa]

I still love Criterion and will buy 99% of what they put out and I've noticed they've gotten better with their artworks. There was a point where I was buying a lot of titles that had really poor artwork. There's still the occasional stinker like that art for Come and See which in my opinion is a bad representation of the film or Marriage Story which is...just the original poster...

However, titles like Taste of Cherry and Tokyo Olympiad look really solid.

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

Go to their site, take a look at their catalog, see their bonus features, and you'll know why.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by FrameFecker

Knowing it’s the internet, why does everyone here seem to have such a boner for criterion?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I enjoy Criterion releases for several reasons. The most important reason is that they provide access to movies that I'd likely have never seen had it not been for them. Not all of these movies are my favorites and some of them I don't even like. But I like a lot of them. Plus, Criterion provides these films with superb PQ. I'm deaf, so the AQ doesn't matter to me, but that too is supposedly excellent.

The only negative I have about Criterion is that they have not embraced the deaf community. The subtitles they provide for English language films is the bare essential. And they don't provide any descriptive captions, such as gun shot, footsteps, etc. Additionally, most of their extras are not captioned. Their excuse is that they can't afford it. I'm calling BS on that. I'm an attorney and I'm looking into ways that I can force their hand on this.

But other than the subtitle issue I really like Criterion and the Criterion Channel is fantastic.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

So you visit a thread dedicated to a distributor/label and their releases, what did you expect to find? A lot of people who don’t like it discussing why they don’t like it?

It is the Internet, so I do kinda of expect that as sad as that is.

Visit any popular TV series thread and likely half the posts are from people who despise the show -- 'S1 was great, but the stupid writers had no idea what they were doing from then on" (for the next 7-10 seasons the same posts)

[koberulz]

That can be fair, though. I get really annoyed when a TV show I like gets replaced by a completely different show that just happens to share the same name and cast. House went from being a funny medical show to a depressing soap opera that sometimes involved medicine, Chuck went from being a comedy about a guy who had all this secret intel in his head but no actual espionage skill to a drama about a regular spy, etc.

[ilenewoodsfan99]

Really tempted to get Tokyo Olympiad. Looks like a great documentary.