complete Criterion collection

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Rocker, Apr 16, 2011.

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  1. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I did see a difference, but not enough to convince me that BR's are worth it. And my eyes are perfect.
     
  2. Laibach

    Laibach Forum Resident

    On the question of what Criterion titles I own, at present time I only have Michael Douglas' The Game, which I recently watched and was really impressed with the sound and picture quality, much superior to my old DVD of the movie.

    I know that at some point in the early 2000s I also had Ballad of a Soldier, a very moving, almost heartbreaking Soviet movie, but I don't remember what I did with this DVD, I may have sold it, or abandoned it during a move, anyway I need to repurchase the title, the better if there's a bluray of it.

    At the moment there's two other items in my Criterion wishlist: Carlos and A Christmas Tale. Shallow Grave is another I may order.
     
  3. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I sort of remember that boxset collection. Too expensive and lavish for me to consider more than briefly/fancifully.

    I did eventually buy the Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films box set, though. I was disappointed when the discs only included the films, but none of the extras of the regular DVD editions on Criterion.

    Craig.
     
  4. fuzzface

    fuzzface Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lebanon, MO
    I have a lot more than I though I did:
    Beauty and the Beast
    Brazil (blu)
    Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
    Do the Right Thing
    Dazed & Confused
    Cronos (blu)
    The Game (blu)
    Haxan
    The Hidden Fortress
    House
    Jigoku
    The Lady Vanishes
    The Last Temptation of Christ
    M
    Naked Lunch
    Onibaba
    Rififi
    Salo
    Sanjuro
    Sansho the Bailiff
    Seven Samurai (older version and newer deluxe version)
    The Third Man
    The Thief of Bagdad
    Vampyr
    Videodrom
    Wages of Fear
    Yojimbo

    And I'm ashamed to say I haven't even opened some of them... Just too much stuff to get through! Though I am trying!
     
  5. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I have that as well. Good way to pick up a bunch of classic titles, but like you say, no bonus features. Many have been re-released on Blu-ray now.

    Thankfully, I got it for much cheaper than its currently going for.

    I put together a spreadsheet to keep track of the titles I had and the format because I was buying too many duplicates on the used market, and it looks like I have 365 titles. All the more reason to avoid the 1/2 off sales and watch what I have.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2014
  6. RelayerNJ

    RelayerNJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Whippany, NJ
    I only have a few, but This is Spinal Tap is one of them. That's essential. :) And why the hate for Chasing Amy!!?? It must be a Jersey thing.
     
  7. SMcFarlane

    SMcFarlane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal
    You guys are animals! I thought I had quite a few titles but my paltry 39 pales in comparison. Not jealous as I really like the list I have; though I am very impressed by how many of you have a lot!

    1. Amarcord (Federico Fellini) DVD
    2. Army of Shadows (Françoise Bonnot, Jean-Pierre Melville) DVD
    3. Au Revoir Les Enfants (Louis Malle) DVD
    4. Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica) DVD
    5. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson) DVD
    6. Crumb (Terry Zwigoff) Blu-ray
    7. Danton (Andrzej Wajda) DVD
    8. David Lean Directs Noel Coward (David Lean) Blu-ray
    9. Do The Right Think (Spike Lee) DVD
    10. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch) DVD
    11. Grey Gardens (Ellen Hovde, et al) DVD
    12. Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino) Blu-ray
    13. I Married a Witch (Rene Clair) Blu-ray
    14. Insignificance (Nicolas Roeg) Blu-ray
    15. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Stanley Kramer) Blu-ray
    16. Jules And Jim (François Truffaut) DVD
    17. Kes (Ken Loach) Blu-ray
    18. My Life as a Dog (Lasse Hallström) DVD
    19. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders) Blu-ray
    20. Purple Noon (René Clément) Blu-ray
    21. Quadrophenia (Franc Roddam) Blu-ray
    22. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay) DVD
    23. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa) DVD
    24. Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) Blu-ray
    25. Shoah (Claude Lanzmann) Blu-ray
    26. Tess (Roman Polanski) Blu-ray
    27. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut) Blu-ray
    28. The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski) DVD
    29. The Game (David Fincher) Blu-ray
    30. The Kid with a Bike (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne) Blu-ray
    31. The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci) DVD
    32. The Last Metro (François Truffaut) Blu-ray
    33. The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger) Blu-ray
    34. The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice) DVD
    35. The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (Roberto Rossellini) DVD
    36. The Tin Drum (Gary Don Rhodes, Volker Schlöndorff) DVD
    37. The Wages Of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot) Blu-ray
    38. Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg) Blu-ray
    39. Yi Yi (Edward Yang) DVD
     
    johnnyyen likes this.
  8. Avenging Robot

    Avenging Robot Senior Member

    I have about 300+ (including many that I haven't even unwrapped). I was able to get the following Blu Rays at Barnes & Noble's 50% off sale:
    A Hard Day's Night
    The Complete Monterey Pop
    Rosemary's Baby
    Quadrophenia
    Gimme Shelter
    The Killing
    Crumb
    Paths of Glory
    Harold and Maude

    Nowadays, due to streaming etc. I rarely buy physical product unless its' something I love and will watch multiple times.

    I feel that Criterion gave me an unofficial Phd in film studies and I will be forever grateful for the work they did on the Passion of Joan of Arc which sparked my interest in them just after I got my first DVD player.

    I have been warned that once you watch something, you cannot unwatch it, so I have never bought/seen Salo although I am a huge fan of Pasolini's The Gospel According to Matthew.
     
  9. lbangs

    lbangs Senior Member

    How did I not know about this release?

    I guess I can add one to my collection soon...

    Shalom, y'all!

    L. Bangs
     
  10. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    I'll never understand how a film buff could deprive himself of a proper homer theater, which would include a professionally calibrated plasma, a blu ray player, nice prepro, multi channel amp and speakers. Is it the max $5,000 investment for a pretty nice set-up? Is it failure to appreciate the lossless soundtrack? Failure to appreciate picture quality in general? Failure to grasp that without this minor effort that there is no chance to see and hear what was intended?
     
    White_Noise likes this.
  11. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Sage advice. Salo is one of the few films I wish I could wipe from my memory. It haunted me for months after my one and only viewing, and even now, years later, I cannot think of it without feeling physically sick.

    If you enjoy Pasolini's early work, Mamma Roma comes recommended; there's a nice two-disc Criterion DVD edition.
     
  12. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Salo is the one title that is at the bottom of my "upgrade" list.

    I worked in video sales way back when Salo first came out in Criterion DVD in 1999 and had a stack of them in my hands at one point. When it was going for $$$, I use to wish I'd bought that stack to sell (but not to watch again!).
     
  13. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I would love to have a proper home theater someday, but right now I can't afford it, nor do I have the space.
    Someday, though....
     
  14. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Understandable. It's the thought that counts. And the preparation (learning what's out there, saving, etc). I'll wager that blu-ray will have quite an impact on you once you experience a decent set-up in the comfort of your own room.
     
  15. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    You could probably go as low as $2500 for a moderately sized TV, solid A/V HDMI receiver, basic Blu-ray player, and good speakers. I think all told, my current setup is under $3K and light-years beyond what I had ten years ago for more money; I think I paid pretty close to $2500 for the Sony TV that's currently taking up space in the garage.
     
    jh901 likes this.
  16. SMcFarlane

    SMcFarlane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal
    Yep, I think for a lot of people space for a "proper" home theatre is a limiting factor. Space is expensive! Consequently, many of the home theatre set-ups are a series of sub-optimum compromises resulting in sub-optimum home theatre experience. Perhaps many home theatre rooms are tasked with doing double, triple or quadruple duty diluting the experience maybe. I have a dedicated room but the triangle shape and the small size eliminates the ability of having a 5.1 or 7.1 system so I've compromised and have a plasma and sound bar + sub. It's good enough for me honestly.
     
  17. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    Get caught up with the notion of perfect and one will end up with nothing. See my profile. Got that HT 3.1 stuffed in a small room for now and the experience is rather nice. Pro calibrated plasma plus a soundbar is even a nice start if space is super tight.
     
  18. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    A few minutes ago, I stumbled across an Essential Art House (Criterion) DVD of Pygmalion (1938) in a thrift/recycling shop ... for $1.00. The disc has smudges, but is probably playable (I've seen rental discs that looked far worse but still played). Also, it still had the clamshell case, booklet inside, and the outer insert. In other words it appears all the pieces were still there.

    I passed it up, even though I see that it's selling new for $17.98 on Amazon. Screenplay by Bernard Shaw. Film editing by David Lean. It's got the goods!

    My rationale for passing on it - aside from the fact that I already have the standard Criterion DVD in my collection, which I see is out of print - is that I have my Hulu Plus subscription so if I really wanted to watch it I could just stream it.

    Of course, if I'd stumbled across any Criterion Blu-Ray for $1.00, this story would end differently...

    Craig.
     
  19. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    It's getting to point where I already own such a large portion of the Criterion Collection that I don't get to add new titles to my library very often. I buy most of my Criterion discs from a local used shop, but the occasions when a title I still need actually shows up are getting pretty few & far between. For example, right now they've got about 120 used Criterion discs in their inventory, which sounds like a lot.... but I don't need any of them! :p
     
  20. DreadPikathulhu

    DreadPikathulhu Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I'd have to look but I think I'm just under 1/2. I still see plenty of used discs on the shelves, but unless they are blu-ray I'm just not interested anymore. I only buy the new titles when they are in the annual half-off sales.

    At some point they're going to have to end it. They've pretty much run out of "important classic and contemporary films" and labels like Shout Factory and Arrow are doing a better (and cheaper) job on the genre sci-fi/horror films.
     
    driverdrummer likes this.
  21. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Do you have a list of titles and/or spine numbers that you need? I'd be curious to see it.

    Back in the early 2000s, I harboured dreams of a complete Criterion Collection, but Hurricane Katrina wiped out all possibility, and desire, of pursuing that goal. Since then, I've cherry-picked the titles I wish to own, firstly on DVD and then on BD.

    The one label I own everything by is Masters of Cinema. I have every BD, all of the OOP titles on DVD, all of the steelbooks, box sets, the lot. I started collecting MoC at the right time, and didn't pay over the odds for more than a handful of titles. For those just getting into the label now, it's not so easy.

    Any other MoC completists here?
     
  22. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    There are about 100 titles that I still need, give or take, depending on whether or not you count re-issues. I'll try and post the list sometime this weekend. :)
     
  23. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    Some of their choices are truly mystifying. They seem to have every Nicholas Roeg and Wes Anderson picture, but nothing from Kubrick after "Strangelove". SMH...
     
    longdist01 likes this.
  24. htom

    htom Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    If the studio owning the films (all of them Warner Bros. for Kubrick after 1964, even 2001) has no interest in licensing the title out to Criterion, then why is there any surprise? The 2001 laserdisc was almost certainly licensed from MGM back in 1988.

    Wes Anderson is also a fan of the Collection, meaning he can facilitate the process of licensing, especially given his films have never been huge moneymakers and probably low priority for video release by the original studio. Other directors like Terrence Malick or Whit Stillman are likely in the same position, taking more of an active part in Criterion's release of his films.

    Nicolas Roeg has exactly five films released by Criterion. That doesn't include Performance, Eureka, or anything past 1985's Insignificance, so that's at least 8 features not in the Collection.
     
  25. Beet

    Beet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn
    La Dolce Vita is the only one I own.
     
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