I 'v heard alot about the Criterion collection and would love to get one. However I have not heard of a single one of them except Royal teninbaums. What type would be best for me? My DVD collection is disney Platinum, Warner brothers two-discs, Indianna Trilogy, west Side Story, back to the future, Die another day, spirited away and X-Men 1.5 and a few others. I wouldn't mind it being foreighn or subtitled. I am trying to get through the AFI 100 years list but I don't think any of them are criterion. Thanks for your help.

Some good mainstream Criterions are Chasing Amy, Beastie Boys Video Anthology (if you like them), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rock, Robocop, Silence of the Lambs, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Time Bandits, Rushmore, This is Spinal Tap, Traffic,

Criterion is a lot of foreign and classics. Most matching to your disney collection? probably SALO. you can get it cheap as well.

ok im lying. Skip Salo. YOu seem to like action. GO with the rock or Armageddon. Make sure you pick up chasing amy as well, if you want a great romantic comedy. Can't go wrong with some Kurosawa or hitchcock as well.

You can go to their website, www.criterionco.com to see the complete list.

They really cover all sort of types though certain ones definitely dominate. There're not a lot of recent and mainstream movies there. The few I can think of are The Rock, Armageddon, and Chasing Amy.

I suggest that you sign up with Netflix and rent several criterions to see what types of movies that you like. You can then buy them at either dvdplanet or dvdempire. I found this to be the most consistent and cost effective way to build my criterion collection.

I personally love Kurosawa movies and criterion has plenty of that. Their recent release of Ikiru is fantastic.

The Third Man and Silence of the Lambs both have Criterion releases (there might be more, but I just skimmed through the AFI list). Silence of the Lambs is out of print, but can be found for about $30 if you really want the Criterion version.

Do not go into the criterion collection without first being sure you enjoy the movies. I find Criterions not to be all that and a bag of chips.

Fishing With John- Simple but I wouldn't recommend it.

For what you have, I would recommend these CC basics:

The Rock
Armageddon
Chasing Amy
Silence of the Lambs (eBay is the best place, as this title is OOP).

I own all the above, as I have mainly mainstream tasts, but I also own The Killers, but I would avoid that one for your tastes, and stick with the above basics.

Good luck!

If you're looking to branch out a bit into the foreign/classic area of Criterion, Diabolique is a great choice. Subtitled, but a fantastic and extremely watchable "mystery/horror" story.

And The Seven Samurai is a great action pic (in my opinion, one of the greatest films ever made), with a commentary track that can help with your appreciation.

Wages of Fear is a decent suspense film as well...

TASTE OF CHERRY!!!

Can't go wrong with Hitchcock Criterion movies like Notorious and Rebecca.

I'd definitely add a vote for Notorious, but I would also second the suggestion that you get whichever Criterion you decide on because of the movie, not just because it is released by a certain company. Most other companies release DVDs with just as good as video/audio transfer, commentaries, and special features (even better in many instances) and cost a lot less.

Don't get the Rock and Armageddon just because a bunch of people here decided that your collection isn't intelligent enough or whatever. I wouldn't recommend touching either of those films with a ten foot pole, and most people here wouldn't give a crap about them except that they have that spine number.

Anyway, which of the WB two-disc sets do you have? They have a pretty wide range of releases, so that might help us narrow it down a little further.

But like I say in threads like this all the time, I can't imagine anybody not liking the Third Man, Notorious or Seven Samurai. Get those ones first (and make sure to get Notorious quickly because it just went out of print!).

Thanks topher, The Rock's my favorite movie.

Sarareku: The Criterion Collection, spine number 143 <3 [which is different from #143 The Obscure Object Of Desire]

But anyways, I looked at the list and I do not have obscure tastes [well, unless the random Mexican or French movie, and anime count as obscure] the ones that I liked were [or think I would like]

Already watched and like: Seven Samurai, Beauty and the Beast, Seventh Seal, Robocop, Lord of the Flies, Armageddon, Tokyo Drifter, Brazil, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Passion of Joan of Arc, Rushmore, The Magic Flute, The Last Temptation of Christ, Spartacus, Rashomon...

There a lot more...I've watched all these on TV or tape..so I am sure the Critrions are even better..

And, at the same time, don't skip on The Rock or Armageddon just because a bunch of people here decided that they are "beneath" what they think belongs in the Criterion Collection. Criterion has dedicated themselves to producing "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films". Within the genres of high action/adventure films, both The Rock and Armageddon had big impacts, with their "no holds barred", "high octane" approach. They led the way in that area and, for that, more than meet the standards that Criterion sets.


Back to your question . . . I think that Anblue's suggestion of Traffic might be your best bet. It is a great Criterion release of a very strong movie that is a good combination of mainstream film and that artistic quality that is usually noted in Criterion releases. If you like it, then step into some of the less mainstream ones. For the most part, you can't go wrong with the Criterion movies . . . they are, pretty much, an excellent collection of movies.

And God Created Woman would be a good choice. Watching Brigitte Bardot look sexy is easy for anyone.

Withnail and I is a funny movie

My WB are citizen Kane, Casablanca, Doctor zhavagio, singin in the rain, Treasure of the seira Madre and Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I saw traffic back a few years ago and would like to see it again. Also 7 Samuria looks nice and would bring some varitety to my collection. Any more ideas would be great though.

Most that I'd recommend have been mentioned, but here are a few others: THE VANISHING, DOWN BY LAW

I think the reason Criterion gave for releasing Armageddon and The Rock was to cover the summer blockbuster. That being said I would recommend:

Band of Outsiders - This is Tarantino's favorite movie I believe and the dance sequence in Pulp Fiction is inspired by a scene from this film. Incidentally his production company is named after the French title of this film (Bande a part).

Beastie Boys Anthology - Amazing collection of videos with different remixes and angles with which you can view the videos.

Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums - Some great dry humor here.

Charade - This is being re-released in April with a new anamorphic transfer so you might want to wait for this new release. This movie has it all, witty dialogue, suspense and the amazing Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, what more could you ask for.

Kwaidan - A collection of old Japanese ghost stories, the cinematography is amazing and the stories are very interesting as well.

That's all I can think of now, will try to add more if I think of any more.

"Rushmore", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", and "Last Temptation of Christ" would make excellent additions to your collection.

Well hey, if you like the movie then that's great. Good for you. I just get annoyed with all the people who defend them as being monumental and important films just because Criterion put out the discs and they have to justify having them in their collections. A lot of people would bash the hell out of both of those movies if any other studio had released the DVDs. I'm not saying everyone would, just that some of the people here would.

I guess it just seemed to me like the original poster was looking for recommendations of movies he didn't already know about. I'm sure he has heard about the Rock and Armageddon before, and if he wanted them in his collection he would already have considered them. It seemed sort of like a few people were saying "you have mainstream stuff in your collection so you probably won't appreciate these arty or foreign films much. There was an air of superiority coming from a couple of posts. Or maybe I just misinterpreted.

If you like "Citizen Kane", then definitely get "Third Man". It features Orson Welles in a really great performance and much of the movie feels like a Welles noir along the lines of "Touch of Evil" or "Lady From Shanghai". "Third Man" is one of the greatest noirs ever made, so I highly recommend it, especially for a Welles fan.

Also, from the selection of films you mentioned, I really think you'd like the three Hitchcock Criterions that went out of print: "Notorious", "Spellbound" and "Rebecca".

Yes, definitely go with The Third Man. Personally, I'm not as enamored with the Criterion Hitchcocks as much as I am with Vertigo or Rear Window, to name two. Also, if you like noirs, definitely take a look at M. It's got several things to recommend it - Fritz Lang's direction, which is a wonderful example of German Expressionism and a direct influence on Welles' work, Peter Lorre's first screen performance, and use of sound which was very advanced for its time. It's also just a plain good entertaining suspense story. Don't let the fact that it's in German put you off.