What's The Deal with The Criterion Collection?

Hey Everyone! I am T-Rex and today I am taking a look at the criterion collection. I am looking at this film collection and seeing if it is worth it. This is my review of these blu ray's and seeing if they are worth the price. All thoughts in this review are my own. Anyways I hope you enjoy the vidoe!

If you liked the video you can leave a like! Also if you want to see more of my video's in the future you can subscribe and then you'll never miss any of my future videos. What are your thoughts on the criterion collection? Let me know down below in the comment's section I'd love to hear it! Anyways I got some cool videos coming soon. And when those come out I'll see you then. Bye!

[IamT-Rex]

Let me know your thoughts on the criterion collection and which ones should I get next!

[bentertainmentproductions]

The Criterion Collection is perhaps, in my definition, the saving grace for cinephiles who are becoming sick and tired of sequels, remakes, reboots, and superhero movies. Not saying we aren't getting anything cinematic anymore, but if you really want to get some fresh air, willing to put down the phone down for a bit, and immerse yourself into in depth pieces projecting iconic imagery and sometimes universally themes than I couldn't recommend Criterion more.

Here are a few I'd recommend.
-Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa)
-Brazil (Terry Gilliam)
-Come and See (Elem Klimov)
-8 1/2 (Federico Fellini)
-Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Caring and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick)
-High and Low (Akira Kurosawa)

[hunterdean]

Criterions are always between $20 -$35 on Amazon year round. Barnes & Noble has terrible prices on ALL of their physical media.

[jerrycalva]

Most people buy criterion discs during the 50% off sale because of the absurd regular prices

I think they did that on purpose because it sort of feels like an event because you have to wait months to get them

[jnanamyotherapy]

Criterion Collection created the concept of boutique brand for blu-rays, much like how people pay a premium just for a Hugo Boss branded T-shirt. The market has the choice of going for something special, over something standard. Also, Criterion has a group called Janus that is involved in film restoration, so Criterion can ensure quality in their releases.

[omegashenron]

The $50 for a criterion is because of all the effort that goes into making the extras and packaging. Expecting a criterion to be the same price as a regular bare bones blu ray is a little unrealistic. Although I do agree $50 is a bit much and that it should be $30-$40 at the most.

[jcole]

As someone that owns around 800 Criterion releases (collected over 10 years), always, always, always shop the sales.

[milesallarie]

I have the criterion collection for a night to remember and it's a standard blue ray case but came with a pretty thick booklet on the real history of the ship and movie and the actual sound quality and visual quality of the movie looks timeless

[nicolasdavidson]

Stumbled onto this video randomly so this will probably get buried, but I’m going to try to explain the appeal Criterion to me.

-First off one of the big things they do is restoration. You don’t really need this for their newer films, but having a restored version of older and rarer films is so nice. Especially foreign movies that don’t have good and readily available translations.
-The physical copy is apart of the appeal. It’s like people collecting Vinyl records it’s outdated but it’s nice. the amazing picture and aesthetic is lovely to see on a shelf. They aren’t just movies they are collectors items. They also come with plenty of bonus features like you mentioned which are great to further analyze/understand the film.
-Also like you said, nobody I know buys these at full price unless they have money they can just throw around. Criterion has regular sales throughout the year and then some flash sales which is when most people get them.
-Also I feel physical media is becoming more popular lately with streaming services going to shit. And while criterion’s expensive it has a guarantee of quality.

Sorry if this came out a mess

[thomasdrysdale]

A movie critic who hasn’t seen Citizen Kane or Seven Samorai

[nickbundt]

The restoration and film scanning process is why they are $40. For some films they literally travel around the world to bring together copies of the film (some that could literally burst into flames in not properly stored), find the proper equipment to scan them digitally, and piece together the film from all the copies to make a cohesive visual look (because all physically film will be developed slightly different, so they look slightly different). Then, they painstakingly remove any other defects digitlaly, frame by frame. Its quite remarkable. I recommend watching one of their restoration docs on youtube. They are doing the film worlds most grueling and necessary work.

[DetectivePhatWeedington]

One of my friends introduced me to The Criterion Collection in 2020 since I wanted to rebuild my dad's movie collection. Now I have a bookshelf full of them. Thanks, Dumbs.

[lozu]

It’s the same that when people pay $300 for a pair of tennis shoes when they can pay $20 for a pair at Walmart

[njt]

I use the Criterion Collection as a resource for films I should watch. I've never purchased one.

[storyteller]

Criterion streaming is only $11 a month. IMHO, it's a much better bet monetarily than the physical objects--not to mention it has a lower carbon footprint. You've experienced the awe of buying and opening a well-produced DVD. Now you can use method acting to put yourself in the mindset of total focus when you stream.

I'm an old lady. I was introduced to classic foreign movies when PBS had a Criterion series when I was a teen in the early 70s. I own Criterion's Les Enfants du Paradis and M--gorgeous!--but I did buy them before streaming became available.

[toneriggz]

Years ago, they came up with a line of DVDs called Essential Art House. These were stripped down versions of certain releases. No bonus content or amazing booklet. Just the remastered movie for a more affordable price. Back then, I bought the Essential Art House versions of Rashomon and The Hidden Fortress.

[beastialmoon]

The way I see it, the $50 price is to cover for all the interviews, commentaries, and the restoration process that a lot of these films have to go through. I personally just wait for the bi-annual half-off sale, but I think the msrp is entirely fair with how much work goes in to these packages.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of my dad's favorite movies and I loved getting the Criterion edition for him so we have something to share.

[SamDavies]

As I'm based in the UK, I'm glad that a vast array of excellent classic films and world cinema - aren't locked behind a extortionate pay wall. I like Criterion, but their prices are predatory - having to wait for a bi-annual 50% off sale to get a handful of films is ridiculous to me.

[pepsiforbread]

The $40 price pales in comparison to the old laserdisc days where some very special editions of titles like Akira, Hard Boiled, The Killer, Se7en, Pulp Fiction and Goldfinger could cost you a whopping $80-124

[kimmathis]

Most of those movies have been available and in good quality too. Especially the more recent ones didn't require any restoration to be done. So I am supposed to pay an extra $ 20 for fancy packaging with new artwork and a booklet that tells me how to understand the film – a good movie should speak for itself. I won't debate that there are some true gems to be found, but overall it is a business model. How else could they give a 50 % discount on a regular basis without going bankrupt?