Criterion Collection on DVD. Recommendations please.

Black Narcissus
Branded to Kill
Brazil
Cries and Whispers
High and Low
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Rebecca
The Red Shoes
Rushmore
Seven Samurai
Shock Corridor
Wages of Fear

Also highly recommended--I haven't seen all of these specifically on Criterion, but they're great (or at least very interesting) movies:

Band of Outsiders
Contempt
Diabolique
Double Suicide
Elements of Fear
The Grand Illusion
The Hidden Fortress
I Know Where I'm Going
K(w)aidan
The Lady Vanishes
Last Temptation of Christ
M
Rashomon
The Shop on Main Street
Seventh Seal
Straw Dogs (when it comes out in March)
Time Bandits
The Vanishing (original movie)
Wild Strawberries
Yojimbo

High and Low, one of my favorite s, looks *fantastic*.

I keep thinking about picking up the CC version of 'The Rock' because I wonder WTF every time I see it and my curiosity just keeps growing and growing.

Also: Tokyo Drifter. Fucking GREBT or whatever the kids are saying these days. I wish CC would go back and do all of Wong Kar Wai's flicks. And some anime, too.

I'd also recommend the new Trouble in Paradise Criterion DVD as it is not only a wonderful film, but an additional Lubitsch film (a silent one) is tacked on. Likewise Under the Roofs of Paris: a great film, and the DVD also includes René Clair's Paris qui dort. Really it depends what your tastes are. My favorite Criterion is the Dreyer box set, but I understand many people would find his later films too slow, or what have you.

If you see the three Jacques Tati Criterions, snatch them up. They are not only wonderfully films and nice DVDs (all with additional short Tati films), but they are now '"rare," having recently gone out of print.

Also, be on the lookout for a 2-DVD set of films by Stan Brakhage, coming out in February I believe.

Also love Sullivan's Travels, Hidden Fortress, Le Trou, Le Million and Vagabond. I AM PSYCHED to see that they're releasing Band Of Outsiders

1) Kurosawa's "Ikiru"
2) Bunuels's "Exterminating Angel"
3) Powell & Pressburger's "Tales of Hoffman"

and (not that it will ever happen, but...) Peckinpah's "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia".

hmm. why not? I wouldn't be surprised at all if this were Criterion'd.

Pretty much my thought. To my sheer delight, I've been able to find a number of Critierion releases used...at a local outlet of the Wherehouse, no less! (Picked up Black Orpheus there recently.) This is especially important in that the one problem with the company are their ridiculously high prices new -- have they ever offered an explanation as to why? I've seen just as fine discs (mastering, bonus stuff, etc.) from small companies at much cheaper prices.

Because the expense of licensing the films, obtaining the best available prints, doing digital restoration, etc. is very high. Not to mention hiring someone to do new subtitles as they often do, plus all the bonus materials that come with many of their releases. I think their DVDs look and sound on average much nicer than those from such companies as Fantoma, etc. I think Fantoma tends to license more obscure films, and the costs are lower as a result. Anyway, Criterions aren't really much more expensive than, say, Kino's DVDs, which tend to be mastered poorly by comparison.

Believe it or not, Ikiru and Tales of Hoffmann are each set to be released sometime in the next 18 months.

(*crossing fingers* Now, you know I'm hoping my luck holds and I get the job I'm up for, just so I can say I've a budget to break!)

Oh, beyond sweet.

Recheck that catalog again, Nichole -- Sid and Nancy has been OOP for a while. There are a number of DVDs no longer available (the John Woo selections, the original Spinal Tap release)...

my faves are
contempt
band of outsiders
hiroshima, mon amour
discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie
george washington
ratcatcher

i am sure there are more i cant think of

According to the CC discussion board, they might re-release The Seven Samurai as a 2-disc (from better sources), which is both great news and sucky news 'cause I HAVE THE OLD ONE-DISC, DAMMIT.

I really love the Brakhage collection, more than I thought I would (though I might never watch The Act of Seeing... ever again, except to gross people out, which actually I did a few days ago). If you take stills from Dog Star Man, then you have a year's worth of 4AD album covers (and that year would be 1984). According to Brakhage, Eye Myth was made over the course of one year. One year! For a 9 second film! The transfer looks great, but maybe some of the source materials could've been in better shape. I mean, Mothlight had all sorts of crud on the film that they didn't sweep off, like grass, insect parts, etc.! (heh. *grin*)

Aside from a few commentaries and making-ofs - especially if it's an in-depth thing, like the Three Colors trilogy - I don't care about extras. I'd much rather have a $24.95 one-disc version of Brazil w/ the Criterion transfer and a commentary or two than the $50+ three-disc box set.

the criterion release i saw most recently (and loved more than anything i've seen lately): band of outsiders

I've had ridiculous luck with a number of Criterion releases turning up used in my neck of the woods -- most recently, Andrei Rublev and The Third Man.

As for prices/extras: keep in mind that Criterion has to license the rights to these films and then does their best to work with the top of the line prints, people, and equipment to make the best transfers possible. This costs a lot of money for discs that generally don't exactly fly off of a standard retailer's shelves. That is why the discs are expensive, not the extras. The extras are added both because the hard-core cineastes appreciate them and because they help justify the price a bit more. But most of those extras cost very little extra to produce or obtain. It's the transfers themselves that are the largest expense. Take Playtime, for example. It's going to be re-released in a few months, but the delay is because they have finally gained access to a 65mm telecine machine - something that is extremely rare and not at all cheap. The transfer will be that much better for it, but if you think that the CC is raking in the dough, I can assure you that they are not.

That all being said, don't trust the prices on the official site. I highly recommend buying through Deep Discount DVD, who generally have the best prices on most titles and offer free US shipping.

Oh, and just as a matter of point, Straw Dogs also just went out of print last week.

My girlfriend gave me Criterion's Band of Outsiders for our 4-year anniversary. Great gift.

Sentimental Value already announced as part of the regular collection. I wonder if they're doing the same for the others, or if they'll just be "Criterion Premieres?"

"Criterion Premieres" are Janus licenses, with that range originally called "Janus Contemporaries".

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fleaked-cover-of-the-k-pop-demon-hunters-criterion-v0-xr5rzonqfclg1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dba189d006be5ecf5ebb41d3962dfda52c1d3b85b

Ah crap. See it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Letterboxd/comments/1rd0fzf/leaked_cover_of_the_kpop_demon_hunters_criterion/

Flash sale tomorrow!

Criterion already announced that "The Elephant Man" is coming back to the collection in 4K. In the meantime, though, I've been reading some weird contradictions about the transfer. StudioCanal released the movie in 4K a couple of years back, with a Lynch-approved Fidelity in Motion transfer. Now in the months leading up to the Criterion release the movie has popped back into a few theaters for screenings of what is being blurbed a "new 4K restoration." So ... newer than the one a couple of years ago (which looked great)? Similarly confusing, the (new?) transfer being released by Criterion is *also* being advertised as director approved, but lacks Dolby Vision (for those that care about such things), which means that whether or not there was a new restoration, it's still a slightly different from the *previous* Lynch-approved StudioCanal 4k transfer. Apparently Criterion corrected a slight/subtle error in the original negative, maybe that's what makes it "new"? I imagine the new disc will look exactly the same, lol, but who knows.

Just watched my Criterion Last Train to Munich this past weekend, and now I need to get the Lady Vanishes which Munich is apparently a riff on (including a couple characters who show up in both, which is entertaining)

re: Elephant Man, the world of 4K physical releases is exhausting... releases that use the same "4k scan" do all kinds of other shit so you never know what you're gonna get until someone online does a comprehensive comparison

re: Elephant Man, the world of 4K physical releases is exhausting... releases that use the same "4k scan" do all kinds of other shit so you never know what you're gonna get until someone online does a comprehensive comparison

Your remastered post looks the same to me.

the second one is in Dolby Vision, your browser must not support it

Maybe they got James Cameron’s people to yassify the Elephant Man.

Elephant Man, now with 100% more rotoscoping

Pleased to see Stray Dog in 4K! The Shochiku release has only Japanese subtitles. I hate Criterion’s cover art but the film is fantastic.

!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2KsC-HJWjY

Might as well swing big!

ooh that's great.

I'm taking my teens to see 2001 in 70mm in a couple weeks. This will be their first Kubrick experience.

oh for the love of god, I have been laboriously buying the 4Ks thinking the rights had Balkanised to the point where an omnibus box is no longer practical

It's unclear if these will be new transfers or have new special features or if they just licensed the WB stuff. It's rumored "Lolita" is the only of these editions that will be available separately, but who knows.

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/9000-the-complete-kubrick

there it is

Cute that the catalog number is (HAL) 9000. And Fear and Desire is officially expunged from the canon.

Only $500! Who could possibly say no?

$300 in November at B&N. I'll get one.

Fear and Desire is in there on the Killer's Kiss disc along with some other early short films

Yeah, I'd consider that at 50% off. I have The Shining, 2001 and Clockwork Orange on 4k already, but the only reason I have those is that they were super cheap, like $11 or whatever. And I do have Strangelove and Barry on blu-ray, but that would mean those would be upgrades.

what about Shape Of Fear tho (original 70-min cut, included on Kino’s 2024 Fear & Desire release after a print was found in 2023)

only twelve movies listed on the page and the description says thirteen movies and three shorts, so maybe it's in there?

I'll wait to make sure that the encoding's all good. All the best ones already have standalone 4K's, and I never felt a need to own copies of the rest. If there's no upgrade, I'll likely pass.

It seems like the kind of thing one buys and leaves out on the table so guests can see that you are the kind of person who owns such a thing.

my brain was poisoned by the early web design/apple fan/etc blogosphere that loved nothing more than breathlessly posting "perfect shots" -- I guess the 2026 version would be people doing the "pure cinema" thing but as a joke-- and it was Kubrick stuff an overwhelming amount of the time

strongly resisting checking whether john gruber has commented on this upcoming criterion release

xp right next to the 14-disc Cecil Taylor box

only twelve movies listed on the page and the description says thirteen movies and three shorts, so maybe it's in there?

no Fear & Desire is the 13th — Indiewire’s rundown lists alt cuts for The Shining and his first short but not F&D

As f.hazel pointed out, "Fear and Desire is in there on the Killer's Kiss disc along with some other early short films" which is good to know - I didn't realise each disc was clickable to see the contents!
Seriously wondering if I'm just done with Kubrick now - having bought the white 4:3 DVD box, DVDs of the ones not in the box (incl. the US cut of The Shining), the black 16:9 DVD box, the blu-ray "book set", F&D bluray, individual Criterion blurays of six films, and individual 4Ks of five films. And the Archives book. At this point it's more like knowing a better version is out there is some kind of irritant. But I will presumably talk myself into it at some point.

I already have EWS and Barry Lyndon but thankfully resisted 4ks of any of the others so I can just about justify having this as an object. Looks great. And all movies I'm liable to throw on repeatedly.

Yes they are worlds to visit, for sure.

I'd buy the Wes Anderson one before I got this one but would really like a Wim Wenders documentaries box set

As f.hazel pointed out

I tried to say ‘as noted’ but zing select-all-d & wldn’t let me click in!

Special features largely revealed:

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/9000-the-complete-kubrick

4K restorations of director Stanley Kubrick’s thirteen features and three shorts, with their original soundtracks alongside the 5.1 mixes, restored and remastered

Kubrick’s international version of The Shining

New 4K restoration of Vivian Kubrick’s behind-the-scenes documentary Making “The Shining”

New audio commentaries featuring filmmaker Lee Unkrich (editor of the book Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”) and author Michael Benson (Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece)

New conversation between novelist Jonathan Lethem and film historian Kevin Wynter on Kubrick and authorship

Unseen Lolita screen tests with actors James Mason and Sue Lyon and rare Full Metal Jacket behind-the-scenes footage

Archival interviews with Alexander Singer, Christiane Kubrick, Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, George C. Scott, Peter Sellers, Sue Lyon, Scatman Crothers, Kelvin Pike, John Alcott, Wendy Carlos, Douglas Trumbull, and Steven Spielberg

Documentaries including Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001), directed by Jan Harlan and narrated by Tom Cruise; Kubrick by Kubrick (2020), told in Kubrick’s own words; Staircases to Nowhere (2013, expanded 2026), about the making of The Shining; and Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes (2008), about the trove of archival materials left behind by Kubrick

Deluxe packaging illustrated with rare photographs, artwork, and documents annotated by Kubrick himself, all housed in a singular box inspired by the director’s legendary archive

An essay by author and critic Nathaniel Rich

Just posted on criterionforum.org:
Eclipse 5: The First Films of Sam Fuller Blu-ray
Welcome II the Terrordome Blu-ray
The Shout Blu-ray
Christiane F UHD
The Silence of the Lambs UHD
GDT's Frankenstein UHD

I thought Silence of the Lambs already had a 4K release?

(on Criterion, specifically)

No, Kino had released it in 4K in the US, Arrow in the UK. The Kino transfer was apparently screwed up, the Arrow looks great, but of course Criterion has some great legacy supplements.

Janus Films and Criterion have acquired all rights in North America to CAMERON WINTER AT CARNEGIE HALL, the new concert film capturing the sold-out solo performance of the Geese frontman in December of 2025. The film was directed and shot on 35mm and 16mm film by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another) and the music was recorded and produced for the film and previously announced Live Album by music producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Grammy winner for albums with Vampire Weekend and Adele). The film is co-produced by filmmaker and actor Benny Safdie (The Smashing Machine) and produced by Sara Murphy, Erica Frauman and Maggie Ambrose.

An exclusive North American 35mm tour of CAMERON WINTER AT CARNEGIE HALL begins on November 20th. The prints will be made by Fotokem in Los Angeles, supervised by the filmmakers.

Well that's not the One Battle After Another followup I had been hoping for.

One Gaggle After Another?

Unpleasant Voice

Hard 8... point 9 on pitchfork

Well that's not the One Battle After Another followup I had been hoping for.

I wasn’t excited about two ppl from Radiohead performing a song for the Mercury Music Prize as a follow-up to Inherent Vice, but tbf I also never watched it

lol poly