nonametofame

We're all well aware of the amazing releases that have come out of this company, but what were some of their worse? Were there any movies they should not had included? Before some of you quickly point to Armageddon, what are some other less known titles that failed to meet expectations or should've been ignored from the start? In other words, which are some you personally would avoid and/or regret buying? Chime in with your thoughts

Al Padrino

I sorta regret buying Onibaba, just because I know I probably won't watch it again for a while, if at all. Stellar film with some great extras, but I still doubt it'll be a while until I go grabbing it off my DVD shelf.

Walter Neff

Some people would likely put "I Am Curious (Blue and Yellow)" in this category. I have no opinion about the films myself, as I haven't seen them...

Der Zorn Gottes

I don't think that The Pornographers warranted a Criterion release...it was certainly meant to be an HVE title at first, and among Imamura's work, it was relatively minor. And the disc is practically bare...a trailer and a small insert. If CC had released it in a box, among other early Imamura, there would have been no complaints...its really not a bad film, just a strange choice for the first Imamura entry in the collection. As far as films go, I haven't bought a film from the CC that I didn't like.

Kerborus

I have the entire collection and I have to say that 'Schizopolis' jumps right to mind. All flash and little substance, the movie seems made for people 'who get it' yet I never got it. Art for arts sake. Whatever. I just plain didn't like it.

PopcornTreeCt

You have the entire collection? Wow. As for the ones I have I would have to say I didn't much care for is the Antoine Doinel box set. 400 Blows is great, but the rest of the movies are just blah. Glad I was able to get the boxset for free because I would of felt really ripped off. I would also have to argue against the Lady Vanishes. Its lame, the 39 Steps was pretty well done but the Lady Vanishes just falls flat.

Coral

I purchased and immediately sold The Element of Crime.
I just hated this film. I found it extremely boring.

Salo - I'm not going to start a debate on it.

Carnival of Souls - Not a terrible film, but it really didn't need to be in the collection.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising - Annoying film.

Hopscotch - No idea how this got into the collection.

X

The Rock is by far my biggest Criterion regret.

Tarantino

Although I haven't seen it, the Tokyo Olympiad just looks laaaaame...

SideShow

Classy Tarantino, apparently pre-judging stuff is cool. Except, you know, it's not.

I didn't enjoy Kwaidan, Tunes of Glory or Ali: Fear Eats the Soul- though I love most of Fassbinder's other films.

msbailey

I was gonna call you a horrible name, but I thought better of it. You should really watch the movie. It's great.

darkside

Salo was terrible. I sold it back when it only went for $150 on ebay (I paid $30 at a store when it first went OOP)

Sisters bored me to tears and I sold it as well.

I still have Element of Crime even though I didn't enjoy it, but its probably going to end up on Ebay as well.

I also felt Hidden Fortress was the worst Kurosawa film I have seen though it was still decent. I just didn't get into it the way I do with his other films.

I have to admit those are about the only ones of the many I have bought that I didn't enjoy.

lcnickell

the rock & traffic. BLAH

gcbma

I'd like to get my money back on the Royal Tenenbaums that I bought as a blind buy. P.U. That was a lamer if I ever saw one.

The quality and features could have been been on a few others: e.g., Diabolique.

Plus, I bought and opened "Brazil" before I realized it not anamorphic. Watch out for those.

gcbma

With all due respect, I thought the Lady Vanishes was quite good. Though as far as flat goes, Brief Encounter couldn't get much more dull, and that got put in my for sale stash that I need to get rid of one of these days.

Almost forgot another disappointment in that collection: Although I LOVE Monty Python's Life of Brian, I thought the Criterion release was rather poor. The sound and video were both dreadful.

chente

Alphaville for me. I'm glad I rented it rather than blind buy it. It was unfortunately the first Goddard film I saw and I had to struggle to get through it. I gave him another chance with Band of Outsiders which I really enjoyed. I'm seen Contempt also which I wasn't that impressed with while watching but ended up thinking about it for days. I eventually went back and listened the commentary which made me appreciate it a lot more.

I also didn't like Spellbound movie-wise but will admit that it is a fantastic edition.

Some people don't like Sisters but I think it is great cheesy fun. Same with Shock Corridor.

Jah-Wren Ryel

As has been said in other threads, Criterion doesn't necessary pick movies to release because they are "good" but rather because they are "important" in some way. It is possible to appreciate a film which you dislike but still under stand its place in history.

DVDFreaker

Really? I do have the Criterion collection and I thought the transfer and audio is fansastic.

X

Yeah, The Rock was "important" to their bottom line.

That's the only reason I gave them a pass on it.

Tarantino

I pre-judge stuff all the time. Catwoman, well...I'll never see it, because to me, it looks lame. Same with say, Garfield. Or Cat in the Hat. Or countless other movies.

tommyp007

I love that movie!

Mike Lowrey

It may just be me but I find the whole Criterion Collection to be way over-rated. The majority of the films in the collection I wouldn't want to see anyway. In fact, I haven't heard of of a great majority of them.

It seems that the genre of films that Criterion chooses to do, I have absolutely zero interest in. Great films or not, I just don't like certain genres.

And another thing, why on earth would Criterion even bother putting out a non-anamorphic release? That's sacriledge is it not?

onebyone

Onibaba I didnt like at all. It is the first Criterion I ever purchased that I ended up selling.

X

I think it's ok to love it (even though I don't). There are tons of worse "stinkers".

But I don't think it's ok for it to be a Criterion.

bmello

I never thought I would ever expand my movie watching beyond popcorn flicks but over the years I've purchased a bunch of Criterion DVDs on a blind buy due to great internet deals, etc. and have really enjoyed quite a few of them.

Many of these were released 4-5 years ago.