Ive been reading this forum now for awhile and don't understand why Criterion are considered so important to have. Can someone explain?

Because they take classic films and do the best they can with them; tranfers extras, etc. Many of the films in the collection are the superior version or there is no other veersion available.

pwned!

seriously though criterion does it's best to have a director approved home video of the film and gather nice extras and great packaging.

then a film is officially a statistic in"the criterion collection"

Before posting a question on a well-worn topic such as this, you should run a search first, or at least consult the Frequent Topics thread at the top of the forum.

They take films that would normally never see the light of day on dvd because other studios see them as unmarketable and they give them great dvd treatment. That's pretty much the jest of it.

They also expand on just normal everyday average DVDs, i.e. Robocop, Sid and Nancy, Do the Right Thing...

I find it very frustrating when new members get told 'use the search' instantly. If we kept digging the same topics up again and again this place would suck

Topics as in thread topics, as opposed to subjects that have already been brought up. Threads from 4 years ago are generally outdated so people have every right to ask questions, ESPECIALLY if they are new here.

The subject of Criterions comes up about every other week, literally, not every four years.

Since new members tend to NOT read the basic FAQs, how would they ever know about the "search" function if they weren't told?

And your point really has no validity on this particular topic, since the nature of Criterion has not changed. For over 3 years I've seen the same answers in dozens of threads that asked the exact same question.

Criterion usually does fantastic work on their releases but they're overpriced.

This is why Criterion is awesome:

I'm sorry, I'm confused. You're saying that telling people to search for older threads sucks, that you'd prefer new people to keep coming in and re-hashing the same topics over and over but in new threads? That, somehow, that would be preferable to somebody finding the old threads, reading them, and, if their question isn't answered (which, I'm sure you'll agree, wouldn't be the case with "Why is Criterion good?"), they then follow-up within that thread. It seems the two options are:
1) Search the previous threads, find what you need, ask follow-ups if neccessary
/or/
2) Ask a question which has been asked a hundred times, get yelled at, maybe get answered, more likely get told "use the search"

Since you seem to, why do you prefer #2? I'd much rather have #1, but if the majority of users here would rather it were #2 ... actually, wait, this isn't a democracy, we have certain rules to follow so, even if the majority preferred #2, it'd still be against the rules.

I must just have a high level of patience because yes I honestly don't mind new threads with questions that have been asked several times.
I am a member of several other forums around the internet and its normal for questions to be repeated.
In terms of Criterions, its not the questions that I find repetitive, its the answers
"And your point really has no validity on this particular topic, since the nature of Criterion has not changed."
Yes, well not everyone has a shrine devoted to them

I don't mind answering repeated questions or helping out but the OP him/herself said they've been reading the forum "for awhile" so they should've seen plenty of "What's the deal with Criterions" threads AND threads where "search is your friend" is used many times.

I haven't been here that long (compared to others) and even I've noticed how often it comes up and a simple search would answer questions.

But, it's Friday... so I'm in a good mood...

Here are a couple threads for the OP to check out... HERE ...HERE

Please delete this thread.

didn't mean to start up an argument . If it's such a hassle to see the same thread a bunch of times don't read it. As far as search goes, minimum 4 word makes it tough to work

It's a minimum of 4 letters, not words.

c r i t e r i o n

9 letters. Should be very searchable.

CRITERION: Movies for people who think they know movies.

JZ1276,

Don't worry about the post. It's a new question for you, so that's all that matters. If anyone doesn't like it, they can skip the friggin' post. Or maybe they can watch their Criterion movie collection...

Criterion is over-rated in my opinion. You have to ask yourself. Just how much do I REALLY want to know about a movie. I mean, just watch the f**kin thing, laugh, cry, boo, whatever, and let it go. It's a goddamn movie.

Some people need to know what color underwear the actors were wearing at the time, the thoughts going through their brains, and By Golly Jeez, Criterion will get that info for you. Some people will actually sit through an entire movie again, JUST to hear the special audio commentaries. Ok. That's nice. Oh but wait, there are special inserts. Photos. Blah blah blah.

The BEST description of extras is on the back cover of Monty Python and the Holy Grail Special Edition. You have to get this DVD and when you read the back cover of the extras and features, you'll know what I mean.

...wow. This is one of the most backwards things I've ever read on the internet.

Good job?

Why are you picking on Criterion in this regard?
Many studio's release DVDs with an overkill of extras.

Exactly...because "Armageddon", "The Rock", "Robocop", "Silence of the Lambs", "Traffic" were such small, non-commercial films that would have never seen the light of day!

Sorry Jack, couldn't resist the opportunity to prove YOU wrong!

Don't forget Royal Tenembaums, Rushmore, and Chasing Amy.

Then, look about just every other title in the collection and you'll see what Jack means. Who else is going to release Black Orpheus, The Battle of Algiers, Band of Outsiders, Kwaidan, Ikiru, Rules of the Game, The Seventh Seal, Wages of Sin, The Red Shoes, 3 Women, etc, etc. They also make an effort to produce movies from different genres which I really respect. There is a movie for just about everyone in the collection.