THE CRITERION COLLECTION

The criterion collection released over 300 laserdiscs starting in 1984 untill its final release Armageddon on the 16/03/1999. When buying a criterion laserdisc you are getting some of the best films coming from the best source materials ,cleaned and restored to look their best. Criterion helped make letterboxed ratio standard and for the first time viewers were given extras such as trailers, commentaries, documentaries, alternate endings, deleted scenes etc.
The criterion collection offers a great variety of mainstream , classic and world cinema films and has established a huge following amonst film collectors worldwide.
The criterion collection has introduced me to so many great films that I otherwise would never have seen such as wages of fear and more recently withnail and I and dr strangelove , if ever Im not sure what film to watch I often turn to my criterion collection and try something different. Seven samurai being another film that I would never think to watch but seeing it in the criterion collection and reading all of the great reviews Im sure it wont be too long before I watch that one too.

I agree, CRITERION are very good indeed.

At the moment my CRITERION total is rather low...I only have 4. They being...

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Robocop was a part of a collection of 55 LDs and is the stripped down CC version, for people who don't want the extras. It's a shame, it does not have the unique commentary that never made it to the regular DVD boxed sets. However, it did make it onto the CRITERION DVD which I have.

The other three I chased deliberately. CE3K has been a life long favourite of mine so was a must-buy. Kong was CC#2 and has the first running commentary track ever recorded, and the film itself is just Hollywood legend. I had, upto this point, never purchased Train Spotting on any format. But I did want it and the CC version became available (along with the CC Kong, and from the same seller too) and I don't know if it was just timing, or people just happened to not be paying attention....but I won them both at 99p each!!!! I still cannot believe it

My CC collection has germinated and is now growing, slowly but steadily.

The Criterion ROBOCOP Unrated Director's Cut (198) is an absolute joy. You should really try to get hold of one if you can. Not only does it restore all the supposedly "excessively violent" shots (they're not THAT violent and hey, we're talking comic book violence here) but the screen-specific commentary is spot on. It's one of most informative and entertaining commentaries ever - as you'll know if it's been transferred to the DVD edition. It's wonderful that something as OTT and schlocky (my opinion, btw, you may not agree) is still given the same respect as some obscure art house or foreign language movie. Good on yer, Criterion.

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I have to admit that, while it would be wonderful to collect ALL Criterion LDS, there are some titles in their list which I just couldn't stomach - literally. John Waters' PINK FLAMINGOS and Pasolini's SALO: THE 100 DAYS OF SODOM are just two movies I've seen that I wish I hadn't so they won't be in my collection, even in their splendid Criterion editions.

About a year ago I had The game criterion laserdisc and I was offered what I thought was a good price and sold it thinking another would come along , well it never did Im still looking for it and regret selling it. I think The game is possibly the rarest of all the criterion collection and is one of the most sought after laserdiscs.

HERES A FULL LIST OF CRITERION LASERDISCS

The Red Balloon and White Mane Albert Lamorisse 1952 N/A N/A (Janus) 8.1
Sonatine Takeshi Kitano 1993 N/A — 7.5
Switchblade Sisters Jack Hill 1975 N/A — 6.4
Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941 001 — 8.6
King Kong Merian C. Cooper 1933 002 — 8
The 39 Steps Alfred Hitchcock 1935 003 056 8
The Lady Vanishes Alfred Hitchcock 1938 004 003 8.1
The Third Man Carol Reed 1949 005 064 8.5
Swing Time George Stevens 1936 006 — 7.7
High Noon Fred Zinnemann 1952 007 — 8.3
Invasion of the Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956 008 — 8
The Magnificent Ambersons Orson Welles 1942 009 — 8
The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman 1957 010 011 8.4
The Hidden Fortress Akira Kurosawa 1958 011 116 8.1
Lola Montès Max Ophüls 1955 012 503 7.3
Black Orpheus Marcel Camus 1959 013 048 7.5
Shock Corridor Samuel Fuller 1963 015 019 7.7
Help! Richard Lester 1965 016 — 7
The Graduate Mike Nichols 1967 017 — 8.2
It's a Wonderful Life Frank Capra 1946 018 —
Blade Runner Ridley Scott 1982 019 —
A Hard Day's Night Richard Lester 1964 020 —
Mr. Hulot's Holiday Jacques Tati 1953 021 110
Sabotage Alfred Hitchcock 1936 022 —
Secret Agent Alfred Hitchcock 1936 023 —
Young and Innocent Alfred Hitchcock 1937 024 —
Grand Illusion Jean Renoir 1937 025 001
The Asphalt Jungle John Huston 1950 026 —
12 Angry Men Sidney Lumet 1957 027 —
The Night of the Hunter Charles Laughton 1955 028 541
La strada Federico Fellini 1954 029 219
Forbidden Games René Clément 1952 030 318
A Night at the Opera Sam Wood 1935 031 —
Scaramouche George Sidney 1952 032 —
Pygmalion Leslie Howard and Anthony Asquith 1938 033 085
Vengeance is Mine Shohei Imamura 1979 034 384
Fellini Satyricon Federico Fellini 1969 035 —
The Producers Mel Brooks 1968 036 —
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 1943 037 173
Black Narcissus Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 1947 038 093
The Three Penny Opera G. W. Pabst 1931 039 405
The Princess Bride Rob Reiner 1987 040 —
Tunes of Glory Ronald Neame 1960 041 225
The Horse's Mouth Ronald Neame 1958 042 154
Shoot the Piano Player François Truffaut 1960 043 315
Monterey Pop D. A. Pennebaker 1969 043 168
Show Boat James Whale 1936 044 —
North by Northwest Alfred Hitchcock 1959 045 —
Adam's Rib George Cukor 1949 047 —
Blowup Michelangelo Antonioni 1966 048 —
Rashomon Akira Kurosawa 1950 049 138
The Rules of the Game Jean Renoir 1939 050 216
Singin' in the Rain Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen 1952 052 —
Forbidden Planet Fred Wilcox 1956 053 —
Zulu Cy Endfield 1964 054 —
Darling John Schlesinger 1965 055 —
Paths of Glory Stanley Kubrick 1957 057 538
The Wizard of Oz Mervyn LeRoy 1939 059 —
2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick 1968 060 —
L'avventura Michelangelo Antonioni 1960 062 098
The Killing Stanley Kubrick 1956 064 —
The Blob Irvin Yeaworth 1958 065 091
The Adventures of Robin Hood Michael Curtiz 1938 066 —
Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa 1954 067 002
The Graduate Mike Nichols 1967 068 —
Blade Runner Ridley Scott 1982 069 —
The River Jean Renoir 1951 070 176
8½ Federico Fellini 1963 071 140
West Side Story Robert Wise 1961 072 —
Casablanca Michael Curtiz 1942 073 —
Some Like It Hot Billy Wilder 1959 074 —
Ghostbusters Ivan Reitman 1984 075 —
Floating Weeds Yasujiro Ozu 1959 076 232
The Naked Kiss Samuel Fuller 1964 077 018
Lawrence of Arabia David Lean 1962 078 —
Shampoo Hal Ashby 1975 079 —
Five Easy Pieces Bob Rafelson 1970 081 546
Red Beard Akira Kurosawa 1965 082 159
Miracle in Milan Vittorio De Sica 1951 083 —
Children of Paradise Marcel Carné 1945 084 141
Wild Strawberries Ingmar Bergman 1957 085 139
Smiles of a Summer Night Ingmar Bergman 1955 086 237
Annie Hall Woody Allen 1977 093 —
Jour de Fête Jacques Tati 1948 094 —
The Great Escape John Sturges 1963 095 —
La Cage aux Folles Edouard Molinaro 1978 096 —
Rebecca Alfred Hitchcock 1940 098 135
Burn! Gillo Pontecorvo 1969 099 —
Notorious Alfred Hitchcock 1946 100 137
Mon Oncle Jacques Tati 1958 101 111
Lolita Stanley Kubrick 1962 103 —
Yojimbo Akira Kurosawa 1961 105 052
Throne of Blood Akira Kurosawa 1957 106 190
Umberto D. Vittorio de Sica 1952 107 201
Sex, Lies, and Videotape Steven Soderbergh 1989 108 —
Taxi Driver Martin Scorsese 1976 109 —
The Lacemaker Claude Goretta 1977 112 —
That Obscure Object of Desire Luis Buñuel 1977 113 143
Ikiru Akira Kurosawa 1952 114 221
King of Hearts Philippe de Broca 1966 115 —
Summertime David Lean 1955 116 022
Tokyo Olympiad Kon Ichikawa 1965 117 155
Silverado Lawrence Kasdan 1985 118 —
Kwaidan Masaki Kobayashi 1964 119 090
Raging Bull Martin Scorsese 1980 120 —
Confidential Report A.K.A Mr. Arkadin Orson Welles 1955 121 322
Last Tango in Paris Bernardo Bertolucci 1972 122 —
The Big Chill Lawrence Kasdan 1983 123 —
Dr. No Terence Young 1962 124 —
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg 1977 125 —
The Devil and Daniel Webster William Dieterle 1941 126 214
Wages of Fear Henri-Georges Clouzot 1953 127 036
Beauty and the Beast Jean Cocteau 1946 128 006
Parade Jacques Tati 1974 129 —
49th Parallel Michael Powell 1941 130 376
From Russia with Love Terence Young 1963 131 —
Goldfinger Guy Hamilton 1964 132 —
Bad Day at Black Rock John Sturges 1955 133 —
Knife in the Water Roman Polanski 1962 134 215
Here Comes Mr. Jordan Alexander Hall 1941 135 —
Arsenic and Old Lace Frank Capra 1944 136 —
Lady for a Day Frank Capra 1933 137 —
Diabolique Henri-Georges Clouzot 1955 138 035
The Last Picture Show Peter Bogdanovich 1971 139 549
Carnal Knowledge Mike Nichols 1971 140 —
Carrie Brian De Palma 1976 141 —
Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941 142 —
Dr. Strangelove Stanley Kubrick 1964 143 —
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Terry Gilliam 1989 144 —
Tootsie Sydney Pollack 1982 145 —
Midnight Cowboy John Schlesinger 1969 146 —
The Harder They Come Perry Henzell 1973 147 083
Sunday Bloody Sunday John Schlesinger 1971 148 —
The Fisher King Terry Gilliam 1991 149 —
Boyz n the Hood John Singleton 1991 150 —
Akira Katsuhiro Otomo 1988 151 —
Letter from an Unknown Woman Max Ophüls 1948 151 —
The King of Kings Cecil B. DeMille 1927 152 266
Breathless Jean-Luc Godard 1960 153 408
Blackmail Alfred Hitchcock 1929 154 —
Spartacus Stanley Kubrick 1960 155 105
Peeping Tom Michael Powell 1960 156 058
The Tales of Hoffman Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 1951 157 317
The Last Metro François Truffaut 1980 158 462
Jason and the Argonauts Don Chaffey 1963 160 —
Secret Honor Robert Altman 1984 161 257
The Golden Coach Jean Renoir 1953 162 242
French Cancan Jean Renoir 1955 163 243
Fallen Idol Carol Reed 1948 164 357
Jules and Jim François Truffaut 1962 165 281
The Silence Ingmar Bergman 1963 166 211
Monty Python and the Holy Grail Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones 1975 168 —
The Man Who Fell to Earth Nicolas Roeg 1976 169 304
Green for Danger Sidney Gilliat 1946 170 375
The Burmese Harp Kon Ichikawa 1956 171 379
The 400 Blows François Truffaut 1959 173 005
Ugetsu Kenji Mizoguchi 1953 174 309
The Player Robert Altman 1992 175 —
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto Hiroshi Inagaki 1954 176 014
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple Hiroshi Inagaki 1955 177 015
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island Hiroshi Inagaki 1956 178 016
Damage Louis Malle 1992 182 —
Bram Stoker's Dracula Francis Ford Coppola 1992 183 —
Robinson Crusoe on Mars Byron Haskin 1964 184 404
Lord of the Flies Peter Brook 1963 185 043
Confidentially Yours François Truffaut 1983 187 —
Edward II Derek Jarman 1991 189 —
Richard III Laurence Olivier 1955 190 213
The Silence of the Lambs Jonathan Demme 1991 192 013
The Makioka Sisters Kon Ichikawa 1983 195 567
Brazil Terry Gilliam 1985 196 051
RoboCop Paul Verhoeven 1987 198 023
The Emperor Jones Dudley Murphy 1933 202 370
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs Bertrand Blier 1978 203 —
Evergreen Victor Saville 1934 204 —
Cries and Whispers Ingmar Bergman 1973 207 101
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom Pier Paolo Pasolini 1975 209 017
Polyester John Waters 1981 210 —
The Killer John Woo 1989 211 008
Repulsion Roman Polanski 1965 212 483
Salt of the Earth Herbert Biberman 1954 213 —
Man Bites Dog Rémy Belvaux 1992 215 165
Bodies, Rest & Motion Michael Steinberg 1993 216 —
Sanjuro Akira Kurosawa 1962 218 53
Menace II Society Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes 1993 219 —
Othello Orson Welles 1952 220 —
Osaka Elegy Kenji Mizoguchi 1936 221 Eclipse Series #13
Andrei Rublev Andrei Tarkovsky 1966 222 034
Sansho the Bailiff Kenji Mizoguchi 1954 223 386
Two English Girls François Truffaut 1971 225 —
The Last Laugh F. W. Murnau 1924 226 —
The Prince of Tides Barbra Streisand 1991 227 —
L'avventura Michelangelo Antonioni 1960 228 098
She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee 1986 229 —
Fellini Satyricon Federico Fellini 1969 230 —
Short Cuts Robert Altman 1993 231 265
The Hidden Fortress [CLV] Akira Kurosawa 1958 232 116
Cat People Jacques Tourneur 1942 233 —
Naked Mike Leigh 1993 234 307
Woman Next Door François Truffaut 1981 236 —
I Know Where I'm Going! Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1945 237 094
This Is Spinal Tap Rob Reiner 1984 238 012
Throne of Blood Akira Kurosawa 1957 239 190
Sid & Nancy Alex Cox 1986 241 020
Ashes and Diamonds Andrzej Wajda 1958 242 285
Soft Skin François Truffaut 1964 243 —
David Holzman's Diary Jim McBride 1968 244 —
Hard Boiled John Woo 1992 245 009
Through a Glass Darkly Ingmar Bergman 1961 246 209
Halloween John Carpenter 1978 247 —
Brief Encounter David Lean 1945 248 076
The Red Shoes Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1945 249 044
A Night to Remember Roy Ward Baker 1958 250 007
Winter Light Ingmar Bergman 1962 254 210
Autumn Sonata Ingmar Bergman 1978 255 060
Dersu Uzala Akira Kurosawa 1974 256 —
Rome, Open City Roberto Rossellini 1946 257 497
Henry V Laurence Olivier 1944 258 041
Hobson's Choice David Lean 1954 259 461
F for Fake Orson Welles 1975 260 288
Three Cases of Murder David Eady 1955 261 —
Great Expectations David Lean 1946 262 031
In Which We Serve Noel Coward 1942 263 —
La Ronde Max Ophüls 1950 264 443
The Importance of Being Earnest Anthony Asquith 1952 265 158
Do the Right Thing Spike Lee 1989 266 097
Oliver Twist David Lean 1948 267 032
Amarcord Federico Fellini 1974 270 004
Pulp Fiction Quentin Tarantino 1994 271 —
The Magic Flute Ingmar Bergman 1975 273 071
Alphaville Jean-Luc Godard 1965 274 025
Coup de Torchon Bertrand Tavernier 1981 275 106
Fires on the Plain Kon Ichikawa 1959 276 378
The Virgin Spring Ingmar Bergman 1960 277 321
Variety Lights Federico Fellini 1950 279 081
Odd Man Out Carol Reed 1947 280 —
Once Were Warriors Lee Tamahori 1994 282 —
Akira Katsuhiro Otomo 1988 283 —
The Killer John Woo 1989 284 008
The Atomic Cafe Kevin Rafferty 1982 285 —
Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? Bae Yong-Kyun 1989 286 —
Blood for Dracula Paul Morrissey 1974 287 028
Flesh for Frankenstein Paul Morrissey 1973 288 027
Blood of a Poet Jean Cocteau 1930 289 067
Belle de jour Luis Buñuel 1967 290 —
Dodes ka-den Akira Kurosawa 1970 291 465
The Horse's Mouth Ronald Neame 1958 292 154
Scenes from a Marriage Ingmar Bergman 1973 293 229
Sword of Doom Kihashi Okamoto 1966 294 280
I Am Cuba Mikhail Kalatozov 1964 295 —
Hamlet Laurence Olivier 1948 296 082
Seven David Fincher 1995 298 —
Tristana Luis Buñuel 1970 299 —
Waltz of the Torreadors John Guillermin 1962 300 —
Dead Presidents Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes 1995 301 —
The Earrings of Madame de... Max Ophüls 1953 302 445
The Magician Ingmar Bergman 1958 303 537
El Cid Anthony Mann 1961 304 —
Dead Ringers (film) David Cronenberg 1988 305 021
This Sporting Life Lindsay Anderson 1963 306 417
Stranger Than Paradise Jim Jarmusch 1984 307 400
Hard Boiled John Woo 1992 308 009
Diva Jean-Jacques Beineix 1981 309 —
Halloween John Carpenter 1978 310 —
RoboCop [CLV] Paul Verhoeven 1987 311 023
The Entertainer Tony Richardson 1960 312 —
Swept Away Lina Wertmüller 1975 313 —
The Silence of the Lambs [CLV] Jonathan Demme 1991 314 013
The Return of Martin Guerre Daniel Vigne 1982 315 —
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Melvin Van Peebles 1971 316 —
Montenegro Dusan Makavejev 1981 317 —
The League of Gentlemen Basil Dearden 1959 318 Eclipse Series #25
This Is Spinal Tap [CLV] Rob Reiner 1984 319 012
The Princess Bride Rob Reiner 1987 320 —
Big Deal on Madonna Street Mario Monicelli 1958 321 113
Crimes and Misdemeanors Woody Allen 1989 323 —
Purple Noon René Clément 1960 324 —
Trainspotting Danny Boyle 1996 325 —
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies Martin Scorsese 1995 326 —
Supercop Stanley Tong 1992 327 —
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Jacques Demy 1964 328 —
The Life of Oharu Kenji Mizoguchi 1952 329 —
The Long Good Friday John Mackenzie 1980 331 026
Early Summer Yasujiro Ozu 1951 332 240
The Rock Michael Bay 1996 334 108
Shine Scott Hicks 1996 335 —
The English Patient Anthony Minghella 1996 336 —
Evita Alan Parker 1996 337 —
Olympia I and II Leni Riefenstahl 1938 338 —
Withnail and I Bruce Robinson 1986 339 119
How to Get Ahead in Advertising Bruce Robinson 1989 340 120
Pink Flamingos John Waters 1972 341 —
Z Costa-Gavras 1969 342 491
Breaking the Waves Lars von Trier 1996 343 —
Nostalghia Andrei Tarkovsky 1983 344 —
Vivre Sa Vie Jean-Luc Godard 1962 345 512
Five Corners Tony Bill 1987 346 —
Mona Lisa Neil Jordan 1986 347 107
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Pedro Almodóvar 1988 348 —
Crash David Cronenberg 1996 349 —
Sling Blade Billy Bob Thornton 1996 350 —
Walkabout Nicolas Roeg 1971 351 010
The Last Temptation of Christ Martin Scorsese 1988 352 070
Life of Brian Terry Jones 1979 353 061
Time Bandits Terry Gilliam 1981 354 037
Breaker Morant Bruce Beresford 1980 355 —
M Fritz Lang 1931 356 030
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Philip Kaufman 1988 357 055
Victim Basil Dearden 1961 358 Eclipse Series #25
The Night Porter Liliana Cavani 1974 359 059
Chasing Amy Kevin Smith 1997 360 075
Branded to Kill Seijun Suzuki 1967 361 038
Tokyo Drifter Seijun Suzuki 1966 362 039
Vagabond Agnès Varda 1985 363 074
Cléo from 5 to 7 Agnès Varda 1962 364 073
The Game David Fincher 1997 365 —
Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson 1997 366 —
Double Suicide Masahiro Shinoda 1969 367 104
Good Morning Yasujiro Ozu 1959 368 084
Onibaba Kaneto Shindo 1964 369 226
Stray Dog Akira Kurosawa 1949 370 233
The Bad Sleep Well Akira Kurosawa 1960 371 319
Dead Ringers David Cronenberg 1988 372 021
Brazil Terry Gilliam 1985 373 051
High and Low Akira Kurosawa 1963 382 024
Picnic at Hanging Rock Peter Weir 1975 383 029
Armageddon Michael Bay 1998 384 040


Any recommendations anyone ?
I would say wages of fear , sling blade but I have seen quite a few of these great films and it would be hard to pick a favourite.
Has any one seen the seven samurai ?, its not the type of film I would normally watch but Im going to give it a go after reading the great reviews.

Nice work typing that lot out there Admin. Must have taken a while.
I've got 16 CCs but I'd love to get a hold of Boogie Nights, the Game, Armageddon, Taxi driver and Robinson crusoe on mars (classic film).

Some of you with early Criterion editions will already know this, but the company had a unique way of dealing with side-breaks. They'd fade-to-black at the end of Side 1 then, at the start of Side 2, they'd fade in but 4 or 5 seconds earlier, thus repeating the last frames of Side 1. That way, you got a better sense of continuity and felt you weren't actually missing anything. I don't think any other LD releasing company ever did that.

It was a great idea, again showing respect for both the film-makers and the viewers (but it created its own problems if you were trying to copy a laserdisc to another medium, eg tape or DVD-R). However, they stopped doing it on later releases, particularly CAV-only editions. I wonder why.

Im far too lazy to type it all , I managed to copy and paste it off the internet.
Good luck with The game very very rare , Armageddon was released in limited quantities and is getting quite rare but there are still a few around. Robinson crusoe on mars was fetching around £100 but now you seem to be able to buy it for around £30 - £50 not sure why this is but it could be because it is now available on dvd.
would like to see which criterions you have and what is your favourite ?

Admin wrote:

would like to see which criterions you have and what is your favourite ?

All this talk of the wonders of The Criterion Collection is making me regret having recently traded in a batch of ten Criterion laserdiscs but, after a neck-straining scan of my LD spines, I still have the following discs left in my collection:

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD
THE BLOB
BLOOD FOR DRACULA
BRAZIL (CAV Box)
DIABOLIQUE
EL CID
FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN
THE GRADUATE
HALLOWEEN
THE LACEMAKER
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
MONTEREY POP
THE NAKED KISS
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
PEEPING TOM
THE RED BALLOON & WHITE MANE
ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS
SHOCK CORRIDOR
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
SLING BLADE
SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY
THIS IS SPINAL TAP
TRAINSPOTTING
2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY (CLV)
VICTIM
WITHNAIL AND I

And which is my favourite? I'd usually be expected to say 2001, having gone on and on about how important it is (blah blah) for so many years, but I must admit I really enjoy SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and I also find ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS a stunning picture.

And why have I got rid of any Criterion LDs at all? Mainly because I've bought identical editions on DVD (such as LORD OF THE FLIES) which I can watch through my AV projector on to my projection screen (LDs aren't so good for this), or simply because I'm not so keen on the film (such as CRASH) and probably won'y ever watch it again.

While we're at it, don't forget that, even though Criterion set the benchmark, there were others who followed with equally prestigious editions. Elite Entertainment and Roan were just two companies who put out splendid LD Special Editions. Elite's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD won laserdisc awards and plaudits from the director and from Stephen King. These companies tended to specialise in cult genre titles rather than Criterion's "classic and important contemporary films" but nevertheless they were serving film fans and laserdisc enthusiasts alike with superb products. I'll post a thread tomorrow about key releases from these and other companies.

Just having a scan through, my criterions are:

Pulp Fiction
Seven
The Seventh Seal
Red Beard
From Russia with Love (iwth the banned commentary- found it online for $10)
Man Bites Dog
Sling Blade
Flesh for Frankenstein
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python's Life of Brian
This is Spinal Tap
The Player
Chasing Amy
Trainspotting
Robocop
The Silence of the Lambs

Not sure I have a favourite. Maybe Life of Brian. Got some good commentary tracks on it and a pretty good doco. Love the Robocop cover. Also, picked up Spinal Tap off of ebay, opened it up and the inner sleave is signed by Harry Shearer. Nice.

I've not currently got any Criterions on laserdisc and I only have one (Solaris 1974) on DVD, but I am very tempted to get some. What would people recommend? I'm tempted by Close Encounters of the Third Kind Special Edition as you can program your player to play either the Theatrical or Special Editions, does anyone have any reviews of this release?

HippieDalek wrote:

I've not currently got any Criterions on laserdisc and I only have one (Solaris 1974) on DVD, but I am very tempted to get some. What would people recommend? I'm tempted by Close Encounters of the Third Kind Special Edition as you can program your player to play either the Theatrical or Special Editions, does anyone have any reviews of this release?

As wonderful as the Criterion edition of CE3K must be, I think it has to be beaten by the 3-disc "Collector's Edition" from Columbia TriStar. It's a stunning boxed set. This Spielberg-sanctioned edition - the third version to be released on laserdisc - combines both the Theatrical and the Special Editions in one seamless continuous movie, running for 140 minutes, so you don't have to program your player.

Further to that, there's 140-minutes' worth of extras including the 100 min. doc. "The Making Of..." and TONS of other stuff across 6 sides. The remastered 5.1 audio is breathtaking and the entire release is a THX LaserDisc. Having owned the earlier versions of this movie, I have to say that this one takes the proverbial biscuit.

Here's a link to a review of the identical 2-disc DVD release. I have both and I find the laserdisc easily to be the match, if not superior, to the DVD.

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I certainly wouldn't hesitate in adding the Criterion edition to your collection (there's one available now in the Dinodisc store) but if ever the chance comes to get the Collector's Edition I'd jump at it. There's none available on eBay (they're all just the 'Special Editions') but there's one from DaDon's Rare Laserdiscs in the US at the moment for $50 ($40 for registered members). Here's a link for info:

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It would be worth keeping an eye out for this one in the future.

laserkb wrote:

As wonderful as the Criterion edition of CE3K must be, I think it has to be beaten by the 3-disc "Collector's Edition" from Columbia TriStar. It's a stunning boxed set. This Spielberg-sanctioned edition - the third version to be released on laserdisc - combines both the Theatrical and the Special Editions in one seamless continuous movie, running for 140 minutes, so you don't have to program your player.

Thanks for the info. For me it's one of those odd films that I've never had the chance to just sit down and watch, I always miss the start or the end. I've probably seen it all just never in the right order, so I am slightly confused about which version is best. I know that for the Special Edition they tagged on the space ship ending, but I also heard they removed a lot of the characterisation of the main character. Has this been fixed in the Collector's Edition?

I'm also interested in the Criterion version for the novelty of their approach to issuing both films, an idea well before its time yet is used on loads of DVD releases today.

I only have Chasing Amy but it's fantastic. The picture and sound are amazing and there's a bunch of great features including a hilarious and informative commentary from Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier, etc.

I only have one at the moment,it is "The Rock" and it is brilliant
the picture and sound are amazing.

Admin wrote:

The Red Balloon and White Mane Albert Lamorisse 1952 N/A N/A (Janus) 8.1
Sonatine Takeshi Kitano 1993 N/A — 7.5
Switchblade Sisters Jack Hill 1975 N/A — 6.4
Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941 001 — 8.6
King Kong Merian C. Cooper 1933 002 — 8
The 39 Steps Alfred Hitchcock 1935 003 056 8
The Lady Vanishes Alfred Hitchcock 1938 004 003 8.1
The Third Man Carol Reed 1949 005 064 8.5
Swing Time George Stevens 1936 006 — 7.7
High Noon Fred Zinnemann 1952 007 — 8.3
Invasion of the Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956 008 — 8
The Magnificent Ambersons Orson Welles 1942 009 — 8
The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman 1957 010 011 8.4
The Hidden Fortress Akira Kurosawa 1958 011 116 8.1
Lola Montès Max Ophüls 1955 012 503 7.3
Black Orpheus Marcel Camus 1959 013 048 7.5
Shock Corridor Samuel Fuller 1963 015 019 7.7
Help! Richard Lester 1965 016 — 7
The Graduate Mike Nichols 1967 017 — 8.2

Admin, when you listed the complete Criterion laserdisc releases these first titles (above) had figures at the end such as 8.1 and 7.7. Are these part of the catalog numbers or something else? They look like ratings of some kind. Can you shed light in the darkness?

Slightly off topic I know, but what's the general consensus on Criterion's DVD releases?

I've only got the one Criterion DVD (Solaris) and I have very mixed feelings about it. Even though the picture quality is great they've tampered with colour/black and white changes throughout the film and even moved the intermission. Now I hear they've added blue tinting to the black and white scenes of the BluRay release...it's started to get like a George Lucas Special Edition.

From what I've read and heard from other people who have more experience with Criterion than I do they take great pride with presenting the director's original film in the highest quality and untampered, so I am surprised at how they've treated my favourite film.

Have any of their other releases been affected like this, be it laserdisc, DVD or BluRay?

Sorry that turned into more of a rant than I meant it.

laserkb wrote:

Admin wrote:

The Red Balloon and White Mane Albert Lamorisse 1952 N/A N/A (Janus) 8.1
Sonatine Takeshi Kitano 1993 N/A — 7.5
Switchblade Sisters Jack Hill 1975 N/A — 6.4
Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941 001 — 8.6
King Kong Merian C. Cooper 1933 002 — 8
The 39 Steps Alfred Hitchcock 1935 003 056 8

Admin, when you listed the complete Criterion laserdisc releases these first titles (above) had figures at the end such as 8.1 and 7.7. Are these part of the catalog numbers or something else? They look like ratings of some kind. Can you shed light in the darkness?

The numbers next to them are the ratings on imdb , I was going to do a top 10 film review of the criterion collection.