The Criterion Collection

[yamiiguy]

I'm sure most of you know Criterion, one of the best distributors in the world, but I couldn't find a thread to discuss their titles in general so here we are. They've just announced their April slate which includes the terrific Harold and Maude. Anybody got a favourite Criterion?

[Mickeyfan1990]

I'm still waiting for Brazil to get a new Blu-Ray treatment from Criterion.

[yamiiguy]

I'm sure they'll get round to it eventually. They probably have to wait until about a year after the Universal edition

[UmbrellaFish]

For the past few years I've been wanting to buy Criterions, but everytime the sales would run around, I'd be out of moola. This Christmas I was given a boxset of Essential Arthouse pictures, so I was glad for that. Sometime, however, I'd really like to get my hands on Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast BD.

[yamiiguy]

I'd have to recommend Night of the Hunter if you haven't seen it already. It's fantastic.

[UmbrellaFish]

I'd have to recommend Night of the Hunter if you haven't seen it already. It's fantastic.

No, I've not seen it, thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to look it up sometime.

[my chicken is infected]

Cocteau's Beauty And The Beast and Dreyer's The Passion Of Joan Of Arc and Vampyr are not only superb films, but their Criterion treatments are superb as well.

[yamiiguy]

I'd say that The Passion of Joan of Arc is a candidate for best film of all time. It is a prime example of the power of cominena and Falconetti's performance is sensational.

[disneyboy20022]

A Night to Remember is coming to Blu ray from Criterion. The DVD has been OOP, which amazingly I found the dvd that is OOP at a yard sale.


Needless to say, I have it pre-ordered on amazon


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

[my chicken is infected]

They're also releasing a new 2-Disc DVD. I think the contents are mostly the same as before, but with the addition of a Swedish documentary with survivors and, I imagine, anamorphic enhancement for the film.

[SpringHeelJack]

Very pleased to see that "Harold and Maude" is finally coming to Criterion, though I really would have liked to have some of the deleted scenes included. I suppose the footage just must not exist anymore. I myself only own one Criterion Blu-ray ("Charade") and on DVD ("My Own Private Idaho," which I will probably rebuy once it gets a Blu-ray release), but I've had "House" on my wishlist since I've seen it and there's several titles including "Brazil" that I'd get once they get HD releases.

[yamiiguy]

House has to be the most bizarre film I've ever seen!

[SpringHeelJack]

I saw it for the first time not too long ago on the recommendation of a coworker. One of the reviews I read described it as J-Horror meets "Pee-wee's Playhouse" which I think sums it up pretty well. I can only imagine how much more I'll like it when I'm drunk.

Though in all seriousness, there is a visual style to the movie I find very interesting, and some of the low-key special effects still end up looking neat (I love the brief uses of animation in particular).

[singerguy04]

I've been really interested in picking up some of these titles on blu-ray. To be honest, what's been holding me back is that I've never seen many of these titles and it would all be a blind buy. I guess I should assume though that if Criterion released it, then it must be great! Still, my wallet doesn't like blind buying films anymore.

I am REALLY looking forward to picking up Godzilla though (once I find it, I might have to go with amazon though...)! Godzilla, Batman, Star Wars, Disney, and Power Rangers were pretty much my childhood.

[yamiiguy]

Criterion's releases are all good, top-notch releases but the films themselves aren't necessarily good. The majority are but just look at Armageddon, The Rock and the recently released Tiny Furniture. It depends on your taste in film though I suppose, they've got something for everyone. I think they have a number of titles on Hulu and Netflix if you have a subscription. For a blind buy, Night of the Hunter comes highly recommended from me.

[my chicken is infected]

I like the Eclipse series as well. They don't have the bonus materials or restoration efforts of typical Criterion discs, but I give them props for releasing films that wouldn't otherwise get released.

I do wish Disney would form a relationship with Criterion. They've let them handle some of their Touchstone and Hollywood films on DVD, but plenty of films in the Disney catalog would benefit from Criterion. That'd be the best way to give us Song Of The South on DVD and Blu-Ray.

[Barbossa]

I'm waiting for them to release The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou on Blu-Ray.

And, I'm surprised There Will Be Blood hasn't made the Criterion Collection. Just picked it up today on Blu-Ray. Can't wait to watch it again.

[Little Red Henski]

My favorite Criterions are The Passion of Joan of Arc, Red Beard, The Virgin Spring, Rashomon, and A story of Floating Weeds. I wish Disney would sub-license Only Yesterday to Criterion. That film and Grave of the Fireflies are the 2 animated films that I think would fit perfectly with the rest of Criterion's catalog.

[yamiiguy]

Happy Valentine’s Day!

We wanted you to be the first to know that starting at noon EST tomorrow, February 14, all in-stock Blu-rays and DVDs will be 50% off the suggested retail price (SRP). Just enter the promotional code SWAK on your shopping cart page at Criterion.com to apply the discount.

To thank you for making a My Criterion wish list, we’ve placed $10 of store credit in your account. To redeem it, just choose the “Apply my account credit to this order” option on the payment page during checkout.

[PixarFan2006]

That sounds cool, if only I didn't have to be a member.