One thing you may or may not know about me – actually, I’m going to assume you don’t know this, because this is the first time I am really talking about it here – is my deep love of physical media.
I know what you’re thinking: “Oh great. Another person who writes about movies and who wants to tell you about why he loves Blu-ray. He wants to show us all of the DVDs he owns, doesn’t he? I bet he’s proud that he still has his 1995 Star Wars VHS box set” And…well, yeah. To all of that. There’s reasons why I love this stuff. But no, I won’t deep-dive into what I own and why it’s so important to me today. Maybe one day. I reserve the right to subject you to that at a later date.
But as a collector of tangible copies of movies, I am going to talk about one of my favorite events of the year: The Criterion Collection Barnes & Noble November sale.
For the uninitiated, The Criterion Collection is an organization that licenses and releases a collection of arguably the most important films ever made. They curate a fantastic library of movies from all over the world, from all eras of filmmaking. They also go to great lengths to ensure the versions they distribute are the most beautiful available – often sourcing only the purest prints and putting them through huge restoration processes. On top of that, the special features bundled with the movies often go far and beyond anything you’ll ever get from your standard retail releases. Simply put, Criterion is the Rolls Royce of home video releases.
With all the bells and whistles mentioned above, Criterion movies tend to come with a higher price tag than standard releases as well. So, throughout the year, Criterion will hold a few flash sales on their website as well as 50% off sales at Barnes & Noble in July and November. At the time of publishing this, we’re just little over a day away from November 1st and that means we are still waiting on official word about the sale. Historically, it’s a 50% off sale on Criterion Collection movies at Barnes & Noble – both online and in-store in the US. In recent sales, some other retailers like Amazon and Target also honored the discount as well.
I tend to only buy Criterion movies during the November sale each year. I save up each year and then I go nuts. For me, the November Criterion sale signals the true start of the holiday season.
I want to share some of the releases I am most excited about picking up this year. Some of them are new additions to the Criterion library, but many are mainstays that have been out for some time. I’d love to hear what other people are considering picking up this season as well. But here’s mine, in no particular order…
Videodrome – the 1983 David Cronenberg sci-fi classic that taught me at a young age (probably too young) that horror doesn’t have to be traditional movie monsters or slashers with a vendetta against camp counselors and babysitters. It’s an over-used term, especially when describing Cronenberg films, but Videodrome is body horror at its finest. I later discovered his other movies like 1986’s The Fly, which is the more well-known film. But this one holds a special place in my heart. This is the one that first made me simultaneously think “Ew!” and “This is terrifying!” and “I think I love this movie!” all at once. I was a seriously warped kid. But I turned out okay. I want to be very clear: just because I watched this as a kid does NOT mean you should let your kids watch this. I don’t think my parents knew I ever saw it, and they would have been furious if they found out. Whoops.
Did I have a VHS copy of this movie as a kid? Yes. Do I (still) own my DVD copy of this movie? Yes. Do I also own it on Blu-ray? …Yes.
Am I going to buy the Criterion edition of this movie? YOU BET! It’s not inconceivable to understand why this movie continues to be worth every penny I pay time and time again just to see it in a slightly more modern format. With Criterion, we also get a ton of interviews, audio commentary, and a video diary filmed by Cary Elwes on set, just to name a few of the features. If you already own this movie, chances are you love this movie. And if you love this movie, there’s no doubt that you’ll want to add the Criterion edition to your library.
This three-movie collection of director Tod Browning’s pre-code films Freaks, The Unknown, and The Mystic offers audiences a chance to see some of the darkest sides of the early film industry. Admittedly, I haven’t seen The Unknown or The Mystic – they aren’t exactly widely-distributed films. So owning copies of those is appealing, but the real draw here is the movie Freaks. In this 1932 movie that was critically panned in its time for being exploitative and grotesque, Browning used real circus sideshow performers in the film. And fact is, it is difficult to watch at times because of the realities of the way these people got treated – both in the film and in real life. But what 1932 audiences missed was that the film was not exploitative, but rather a sharp social class commentary. Browning, a circus performer himself before going into filmmaking, took aim at the poor treatment of the sideshow characters; he portrays them as sympathetic and human, in contrast to the deplorable other characters in the film. Freaks is just as painful to watch as it is hauntingly beautiful. It shows that even nine decades ago, filmmakers worked tirelessly to show humanity and beauty in places others choose to ignore. I am looking forward to revisiting Freaks as well as seeing the other two films in this collection.
I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t get emotional the first time you saw Wall•E. It seems a little odd and dare-I-say-it, a bit of a sell-out to add a Disney/Pixar film to The Criterion Collection. But c’mon, this movie transcends the art of filmmaking and is a work of beauty all its own. That little machine has more humanity than most characters in the history of cinema. And that is a hill of garbage I am willing to die on.
The story is elevated by the realization that Disney/Pixar didn’t just create a dystopian setting, but are also warning us of where we are headed if we stay on our current trajectory as a society. It is one of the most poignant stories they have ever told. And let’s not kid ourselves, the visuals are gorgeous. This was Pixar’s art department at its finest. The Criterion version contains a 4K remaster with Dolby Atmos audio approved by director Andrew Stanton. I bought the Criterion edition as a gift for a friend last year which we immediately watched together. I was absolutely floored at the uptick in already-perfect visuals this new remaster gives us. I knew immediately that it was only a matter of time before I get my own copy.
This is it. The big one. The first fifteen original Godzilla films in one amazing set, with a new high-definition remaster. It also includes the American re-release of the original 1954 Godzilla with Raymond Burr shoehorned into the film to convince us he was there the whole time! This set also includes archival interviews with cast and crew from across the 1950s through 1970s. For me, this collection is worth it alone to finally own a copy of 1963’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, which is nearly impossible to find anywhere else, at least here in the US. The few versions I have seen of it over the years were so poor that I thought there would never be a good copy available to the public here. In more recent years, I thought there’d never be any copy available – it seemed forever caught up in legal limbo. But, the good people at Criterion worked their magic. This Godzilla collection comes packaged like a tall, thin hardbound book that is going to look great on my shelf. I’ve been holding off on buying this for a few years due to the high cost, but I’m getting to the the point where I just need to go for it. Even if I purchase nothing else during this upcoming sale, I am absolutely acquiring this.
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