Criterion's "100 Years of Olympic Films"

I have a feeling it will be reissued by itself in a few years. I didn't find out about it until it went OOP, and didn't want to pay that much for it. After watching it last night, it would have been worth the money, but I am happy to have it on BD with the rest of the set.

 

I snoozed on Tokyo Olympiad too, figuring it would be around indefinitely. When I found out it was going OOP, it was still available in a few places, so I placed an order with an online vendor I'd used many times in the past. Turns out they weren't able to fulfill the order, as their inventory system was apparently not good enough to display real-time info when you placed an order, and they didn't actually have it in stock. By the time I found out about this, it was already out of stock everywhere else I could've gotten a copy earlier. I still have the Criterion CAV laserdisc box set, and I did manage to catch a screening of a new 35mm print on a huge screen some time later, which I highly recommend to anyone who ever has a chance to do likewise.

As to the new Olympic set, I'll eventually get it when I'm able to get a deal that's 50% off. Not sure if it will be available in next summer's Barnes & Noble sale, but the Zatoichi box was, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Given the high price and the niche appeal, I don't expect it to sell out quickly, so it should be around for a while.

 

It is $221 on Amazon at the moment. Still a lot of money, but a good deal.

 

As much as I love Criterion, it kind ticks me off that their biggest-ever box set is dedicated to a subject as utterly banal and asinine as sports. Surely there could've been another group of films more deserving of this mega-set treatment? Definite pass for me.

 

I miss Ben Johnson...

 

To each his own. I used to despise sports when I was growing up, and viewed the "jocks" I knew in high school as symptomatic of a lot of what was wrong with society. But as with most everything else in life, there are positive and negative aspects, and I subsequently gained a much greater appreciation for that which I once disdained. I recommend Michael Novak's classic book "The Joy of Sports" - it might lead you to reassess your dislike for "sportsball", as the millennial haters often refer to it.

 

I’m not much of a sports person, but this release doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I have no desire to be a Criterion completist, so I’m happy to pass on this.

I have given some thought to your question, though, and I honestly can’t think of a film series larger than Zatoichi (which we already have, and I love) that is worthy of a Criterion release.

James Bond? Not IMO.

Carry On? Love them, but no.

Hopalong Cassidy? Nope.

 

I've had a word with Criterion and they have agreed to run each potential release past you for approval before moving forward, as clearly you know best. How dare they release something you don't like. Shocking.