I have roughly $300 in Best Buy store credit, and I would like to work on building my Criterion collection a little bit.. Here is what I currently have..

Chasing Amy
Pickpocket
Life Aquatic 2-Disc
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
The Vanishing
Night & Fog
The Royal Tenenbaums

I would really like to build on the collection more because I really love the threatment they give the movies... So I'm asking for recommendations for some titles that I'll actually be able to find on the shelf at Best Buy. A few titles I know I want already but I cannot find locally are Brazil, M, Naked Lunch, Rushmore, and Lord of the Flies. As for my likes and dislikes, I am into horror and crime films and I'm not really into samurai / martial arts films.. Hope some of you can help!

Almost forgot, I already have Young Mr. Lincoln on preorder, and will be buying Harlan County, USA as soon as it becomes available.

I would recommend the following:

Le Trou (French prison movie)
The Wages of Fear (French suspense movie, very tense)

The above are really AMAZING films.

I would also recommend:

Au hasard Balthazar (same director as Pickpocket)
Il Posto (and if you like it, get I Fidanzati which is by the same director)
The Shop on Main Street (A very brilliant, moving and funny Czech movie that focuses on a small group of people during the Nazi occupation. It reminds me of an old Czech version of Life is Beautiful).

Check out the following links:

Sampling of Criterion Horror titles
Sampling of Criterion Crime titles

edited to add: aside from those above, Ikiru is a personal favorite.

you seem to only like mainstream, so go with
"The Rock"
"Armaggedon"
"Spartacus"
"Straw Dogs" (but I think that would be a stretch at BB).
"Videodrome" (horror-ish)
"Traffic"

i don't think they have too much crime and 0 horror that you would find today. i was going to say "Ran" but you said you don't like samurai and thus you are missing out on classics!

Pickpocket is mainstream?

no, but when 6 out of 7 are...you do the math.

Spartacus
In the Mood for Love - If you can find it on the shelves.

Most Dangerous Game
Blob
Carnival of Souls

those are my recommendations
also when they say "main-stream" he said only being able to find some on the shelves.

Hoop Dreams
Battle of Algiers

Do The Right Thing
Hoop Dreams
In the Mood for Love
M
Traffic
Wages of Fear

There's always Best Buy's site, which for the word "Criterion" lists over 200 results.

It's not that I like mainstream titles more so than anything else, it's just that those were the only titles I just happened to have without specifically going after Criterions. It's hard to justify spending $30 on a DVD to my wife if she hasn't even heard of it, but I'm looking to expand my horizons now that I have credit to play with. At any rate, I've printed out the thread, and will be taking it with me to the store! I'll let you all know what I got.

Thanks!

The Third Man. Fits your description, isn't obscure, and is a very safe choice. Buy it, great movie.

Yes, I agree. The Third Man is classic suspense. Graham Greene screenplay starring Orson Wells, you can't go wrong.

I strongly recommend Picnic at Hanging Rock if you want to see a great mystery/suspense.

I wouldn't really call Picnic at Hanging Rock a suspense in the traditional sense. It's a very well made movie, if a bit slow at times (or as the box puts it, "lyrical"), but it's not a detective noir or a mystery movie... It might be mysterious, but it's very non-traditional. Still recommended.

Well, Best Buy had a dismal selection of Criterions... This is what they had..

My Own Private Idaho
Naked
Le Samourai
Bad Timing
Bad Sleep Well
Naked Lunch
Shoot the Piano Player
An Angel at My Table
Ran


So, I picked up Naked Lunch, Shoot the Piano Player, and Ran.. RAN was the only suggestion on here that anyone made that they even had in stock which kind of sucks. Yes, I know it is a samurai movie and I don't typically like them, but I figured what the hell and bit the bullet and bought it. I wanted to use some of the credit up today because I had one of the 10% off coupons. I will probably spend the rest online. I'm also going to bookmark this thread for the next DDD 20% sale. I read the synopsis of some of the titles suggested here on IMDB, and I'm excited to check them out!

Truffaut and Cronenberg are both on my list of favorite 10 directors, so I hope you enjoy both.

Gimme Shelter is fantastic. Also Beastie Boys. If you're buying Criterion just to be buying Criterion, you should at least check those out.

Do the Right Thing
Seven Samurai
Ran
The Seventh Seal

Ikiru for God's sakes. Ikiru dammit.

If i had to choose one Id say Wages of Fear. I remember the first time I was watching it it got me so nervous and shakey. I don't know if it was the mood I was in or what, but no movie has ever done that to me to that degree. On the old criterion release, on the back, it says "One of the most nerve-wracking and exciting films ever made" man o man does that statement hold true.

I second VIDEODROME. Pick that up immediately. INSOMNIA is a great title too.

just saw "The Third Man" because of this thread...excellent movie! I just wish Orson Welles did many more classics similar to his achievements in this and CK. to me it would seem like his career was a waste.

Orson Welles didn't happen to direct The Third Man but yes it is a very good film nonetheless. I am going to recommend films no one else recommended so I guess I am nuts. I recommend John Cassavetes: Five Films (best thing I own and will ever own), George Washington, and Peeping Tom. Not that these are very accessible, they just happen to be my overwhelming favorites. Throne of Blood and Rushmore (especially since you have the other Anderson's) could be thrown in that category as well.