The Criterion Collection

[Fox12]

So, the criterion collection is having a nifty 50% off sale at all Barnes and Nobles. This brings their films to the low, low price of $20. For their cheaper films of course. I bought Yojimbo and Eraserhead, which were incredibly nice, but I still can't believe how expensive their films are. Some were over $100.

What's your opinion of Criterion? Are they just dirty, shameful price gougers? Are they introducing modern audiences to classic films? Are their products worth the price they ask for? Have you ever bought any of their films? If so, what's your favorite film in their catalogue? General discussion about your opinion of this publisher.

 

[Marter]

Uh, I have like 200 Criterion Collection films/sets. Big fan of the restoration/special features/availability of lesser-seen films.

Not a big fan of the usual price; I always wait for sales like this.

 

[Chanticoblues]

They're great. Of course they're expensive, but it's hard to think of many other home distributors that put as much care in to their packaging and features. A bunch of their releases even have other full-length films packaged with them that don't get more than a bullet point on the back of the box.

I end up seeing a lot of them through the library since I'm in Canada (can't get Netflix DVD, Hulu, or...); I'd recommend you American peoples take up that free trial for Filmstruck, which is a new streaming site from Criterion and TCM. It has a pretty good collection, including a good amount stuff that's out of print or has never been released in Region 1.

That said, I've never bought one. If I want to see a Criterion film, I'll borrow it or see it in a theater, since I'm lucky enough to live in a city that screens classic films year round.

Edit: THAT said, I do have criticisms about some of their choices. I'd like to see them continue making Eclipse series, which were really valuable at shining a light on lesser known or marketable films. A lot of their more recent additions aren't that interesting to me, and I'd like to see them be more exploratory. It's still very centered on America, Western Europe, and Japan.

 

[Aerevolt]

There's a "Criterion Collection" genre on Hulu. I'd say that alone is worth the monthly fee. I've gotten to see a lot of movies that I wouldn't really be exposed to. Netflix is kind of a wasteland for art house pictures, and TCM doesn't have a wide variety of world cinema.

 

[BaronVH]

So, the criterion collection is having a nifty 50% off sale at all Barnes and Nobles. This brings their films to the low, low price of $20. For their cheaper films of course. I bought Yojimbo and Eraserhead, which were incredibly nice, but I still can't believe how expensive their films are. Some were over $100.

What's your opinion of Criterion? Are they just dirty, shameful price gougers? Are they introducing modern audiences to classic films? Are their products worth the price they ask for? Have you ever bought any of their films? If so, what's your favorite film in their catalogue? General discussion about your opinion of this publisher.

They absolutely are not shameful price gougers. All of their films have a very low demand due to being esoteric, art-house, film school, or cult-classic films. Plus, they are lovingly restored to closely resemble the original theatrical presentation with tons of extras. Because there just is not the demand for foreign language del Toro or Carol Reed films, they have to charge a premium. I bet the profit margin are their releases are much, much below the typical release. As a movie nut, I adore Criterion. Their MSRP for a single film is $30-40. Barnes & Noble has two 50% off sales a year, Amazon runs sales, and Crieterion has several sales throughout the year for those not willing or able to pay the MSRP. What's more, their customer service is top notch. I had damaged packaging, and got a personal email from an employee with a prompt fix. None of their films are $100. That is for box sets. They sometimes go out of print, and eBay prices can go way up. That is not their MSRP, however. If you are a casual movie fan and see a movie they release that you like, it is an easy decision to buy one of their releases, even double dip. If you are a serious film nut, I don't need to say anything to you, since you have been dealing with them since the laser disk days. For people that show up to the multiplex with no idea what movie to watch and think streaming on Netflix is good enough, they might not be for you. Don't blind buy one of their films, as some are certainly not crowd pleasers, but for those that like serious or experimental films, you may be shocked at how amazing some of them are. For example, Diaboliques was a huge influence on Psycho and may be much better. Almost all of Akita Kurosawa movies have been remade several times including one that influenced a small, insignificant film called Star Wars. Clearly, I am on a rant, but the Criterion Collection is the single best thing to serious film lovers out there. Most studios would never bother to release the movies they put out, and, if they did, they would be low quality transfers with no extras. Now if they would just release the Hong Kong John Woo films or Ran on blu-ray, I would be content.

 

[Fox12]

So, the criterion collection is having a nifty 50% off sale at all Barnes and Nobles. This brings their films to the low, low price of $20. For their cheaper films of course. I bought Yojimbo and Eraserhead, which were incredibly nice, but I still can't believe how expensive their films are. Some were over $100.

What's your opinion of Criterion? Are they just dirty, shameful price gougers? Are they introducing modern audiences to classic films? Are their products worth the price they ask for? Have you ever bought any of their films? If so, what's your favorite film in their catalogue? General discussion about your opinion of this publisher.

They absolutely are not shameful price gougers. All of their films have a very low demand due to being esoteric, art-house, film school, or cult-classic films. Plus, they are lovingly restored to closely resemble the original theatrical presentation with tons of extras. Because there just is not the demand for foreign language del Toro or Carol Reed films, they have to charge a premium. I bet the profit margin are their releases are much, much below the typical release. As a movie nut, I adore Criterion. Their MSRP for a single film is $30-40. Barnes & Noble has two 50% off sales a year, Amazon runs sales, and Crieterion has several sales throughout the year for those not willing or able to pay the MSRP. What's more, their customer service is top notch. I had damaged packaging, and got a personal email from an employee with a prompt fix. None of their films are $100. That is for box sets. They sometimes go out of print, and eBay prices can go way up. That is not their MSRP, however. If you are a casual movie fan and see a movie they release that you like, it is an easy decision to buy one of their releases, even double dip. If you are a serious film nut, I don't need to say anything to you, since you have been dealing with them since the laser disk days. For people that show up to the multiplex with no idea what movie to watch and think streaming on Netflix is good enough, they might not be for you. Don't blind buy one of their films, as some are certainly not crowd pleasers, but for those that like serious or experimental films, you may be shocked at how amazing some of them are. For example, Diaboliques was a huge influence on Psycho and may be much better. Almost all of Akita Kurosawa movies have been remade several times including one that influenced a small, insignificant film called Star Wars. Clearly, I am on a rant, but the Criterion Collection is the single best thing to serious film lovers out there. Most studios would never bother to release the movies they put out, and, if they did, they would be low quality transfers with no extras. Now if they would just release the Hong Kong John Woo films or Ran on blu-ray, I would be content.

I've been extremely pleased with them thus far. The technical and packaging quality is fantastic. Considering I only paid $20, I think I got off quite good. I've been trying to collect the kurosawa films, but I've bought a few of their other films as well. I've been trying to get into experimental films lately anyway. I don't think I can stomach yet another blockbuster.

 

[BaronVH]

Now if they would just release the Hong Kong John Woo films

I read somewhere that Hong Kong was terrible at preserving their prints, which makes remastering the films difficult to impossible. I was so desperate to find a good copy of The Killer that I imported the Fortune Star version from HK, which looks okay, but it could be much better. Japan got a beautiful looking Blu-ray transfer of Hard Boiled and people are wondering where it came from and why it's not being sold elsewhere. It has no English subs. Someone was nice enough to upload that version, uncompressed, with custom English subs and the original mono soundtrack from the laser discs (the 5.1 track apparently isn't as clear), but the link appears to be gone now.

Yes, the blu-ray releases of those are basically DVD quality. The question is what print/negative did they use for the Criterion DVDs? That was a million years ago, but a good negative and 4K scan could make them the best they have ever been. The other hurdle is somebody may have picked the rights, and my obsession has not been severe enough for me to research that. I know that is the holdup for Ran, as it was given a new transfer, and the rights issue has held that up. It even got a theatrical release.

 

[KissingSunlight]

I bought a Criterion Collection of Armageddon for $4. I really thought Criterion was nuts for picking this movie. It wasn't a great movie. However, it was a lot better than I thought it was.

Overall, any movie that gets the Criterion treatment is worth checking out.

 

[BaronVH]

I bought a Criterion Collection of Armageddon for $4. I really thought Criterion was nuts for picking this movie. It wasn't a great movie. However, it was a lot better than I thought it was.

Overall, any movie that gets the Criterion treatment is worth checking out.

They used to obtain licenses of more crowd pleaser films in years past. I recall reading somewhere that Benjamin Button helped them financially, as I am sure the Michael Bay films did. It seems like they are now almost exclusively in the art house area with several directors cooperating like Wes Anderson and Guillermo del Toro. While I have hundreds of Criterion films, I don't think I would ever recommend a blind buy. For example, I am not a fan of Lars van Triers, as I personally find his films way too depressing, but there is no denying his talent, and others may really appreciate them, I am sure. I love great foreign films, and they are the best in the business for that. They also tend to get crowd pleasers that have been forgotten, like Speedy and the soon to be released His Girl Friday.

 

[Fox12]

I bought a Criterion Collection of Armageddon for $4. I really thought Criterion was nuts for picking this movie. It wasn't a great movie. However, it was a lot better than I thought it was.

Overall, any movie that gets the Criterion treatment is worth checking out.

They used to obtain licenses of more crowd pleaser films in years past. I recall reading somewhere that Benjamin Button helped them financially, as I am sure the Michael Bay films did. It seems like they are now almost exclusively in the art house area with several directors cooperating like Wes Anderson and Guillermo del Toro. While I have hundreds of Criterion films, I don't think I would ever recommend a blind buy. For example, I am not a fan of Lars van Triers, as I personally find his films way too depressing, but there is no denying his talent, and others may really appreciate them, I am sure. I love great foreign films, and they are the best in the business for that. They also tend to get crowd pleasers that have been forgotten, like Speedy and the soon to be released His Girl Friday.

Hmm. I would love to see someone blind buy Salo and Antichrist. Although, if you blind buy a film called Antichrist, I guess you deserve what's coming.

 

[KissingSunlight]

If I am on the fence on whether or not I would buy a movie or not. I would more likely buy it if it's a Criterion Collection version of the movie.