Criterion

636 films on Best BluraysBest video release: 222 in 4K405 in HD9 in SD38 more for audio only19 more announced

Best 4K release by tier:

Excellent
141
Solid
55
Superior Imports
1
Good Imports
1
Good in DV Only
1
Disappointing
3
Worse Than BD
1

Based in United StatesFounded 1984criterion.com (opens in a new tab)

Films where Criterion's release is the pick. How picks are made

Based in New York, Criterion has released classic and contemporary films since 1984, giving each title a spine number and adding commentaries, essays and supplements. Many discs use new restorations it supervises, and 4K UHD releases began in November 2021. North American Blu-rays are Region A locked, with a smaller Region B UK line since 2016; Janus Films is a sister company, and Steven Rales has owned both since 2024.

405 of 636 films match · Page 9 of 21

By format

List

Films where Criterion's release is the pick. How picks are made

The Last Command (1928)

Director: Josef von Sternberg

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion Blu-ray although MoC OOP Blu-ray looks similar, it's likely slightly worse

Best Audio:

Only the MoC edition has the Gaylord Carter organ score from the old VHS/LaserDisc release while Criterion has only the orchestral score by Robert Israel and electronic/percussion score by Alloy Orchestra.

4.0

The Player (1992)

Director: Robert Altman

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

4.0

Chess of the Wind (1976)

Director: Mohammad Reza Aslani

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Carlotta France Blu-ray

Additional Info:

Carlotta has French subtitles only; Criterion is part of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 4

4.0

Italianamerican (1974)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray Scorsese Shorts

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

4.0

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)

Director: Les Blank

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Les Blank: Always for Pleasure Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

4.0

Häxan (1922)

Director: Benjamin Christensen

Best English-Friendly & Video:

UK Radiance Blu-ray or OOP Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Additional Info:

France Potemkine Blu-ray has exclusive extras and scores

4.0

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Director: Orson Welles

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion 4k restoration

Best Audio:

1989/1993 Criterion LaserDisc

3.9

Pickpocket (1959)

Director: Robert Bresson

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray/Criterion Blu-ray (preference)

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

BFI and Criterion BDs are same restoration, but BFI is much darker and Criterion is much brighter. Unsure which is correct.

3.9

Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)

Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion, 4k transfer

3.9

Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)

Director: Sergei Eisenstein

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion DVD

Best Video:

France Bach Films

Video Notes:

France Bach Films has Blu-ray

3.9

La Ciénaga (2001)

Director: Lucrecia Martel

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion, 4k transfer

3.9

Pandora's Box (1929)

Director: G.W. Pabst

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

3.9

Faces (1968)

Director: John Cassavetes

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion = BFI

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · DVDBeaver (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion = BFI, both HD resto: source

3.9

Freaks (1932)

Director: Tod Browning

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

3.9

Written on the Wind (1956)

Director: Douglas Sirk

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion is new 2K restoration, but wrong aspect ratio (1.85:1 instead of AR 2.00:1)

3.9

Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Director: Monte Hellman

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Less bitrate but MoC uses too much DNR

3.9

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Not sure about foreign

3.9

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

Director: John Cassavetes

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

BFI suffers from Quicktime Gamma Bug see caps

3.9

Stromboli (1950)

Director: Roberto Rossellini

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion or BFI Blu-ray?

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion

Video Notes:

Criterion darker and more contrast than BFI and Plaion Germany see cap https://caps-a-holic.com/c_list.php?c=2461

3.9

The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)

Director: Roberto Rossellini

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly:

Criterion DVD or unreleased restoration

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · film-foundation.org (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

New resto, no Blu-ray https://www.film-foundation.org/francesco-giullare-di-dio-kj

3.9

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