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Criterion

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:
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.

222 of 636 films match · Page 5 of 12

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

Director: Arthur Penn

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Caps by BR user Donald McDonald. The encode looks absolutely spotless even in the highlights and without Dolby Vision filling anything in.

Best Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Criterion is entirely unfiltered and sounds significantly more detailed than previous tracks, see Blah-ray.

Director: Wes Anderson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray is best, but has surrounds 3 dB too loud

Director: Claude Sautet

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion and Coin de Mire are both based on the same new 4K restoration. They have close quality, but Criterion has thiner and less blocky grain, with better retention in dark areas. It was therefore preferred.

Audio Notes:

Criterion and Coin de Mire are both based on the same new transfer which is superior to the old master. But, again, the audio of Criterion has much higher dynamic range than that of Coin de Mire and was preferred.

Director: John Waters

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Additional Info:

Criterion 4K is in director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.66:1.

Director: Tsui Hark

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Martin Scorsese

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

(same as all tracks since the DVD)

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps

Video Notes:

Phenomenal disc, and perhaps the single greatest testament to NexSpec's positive 180 this year. Highlights are beautifully handled and grain structure is fully intact in areas where NexSpec's (and Pixelogic's) encodes would frequently fall apart in 2025 and before then. Criterion BD encode also looks to be robust from linked caps, save for this one frame: https://slow.pics/c/cMjMefmi

https://slow.pics/c/qQbJum0H

https://slow.pics/c/C3kJJZg0

Director: John Huston

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see nic's review "fantastic restoration, beautifully graded with tasteful HDR and solid encoding"

Audio Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray from nic: "4.0 audio is brilliantly detailed, rich and spacious without audible filtering or processing"

Director: Jacques Tourneur

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: David Cronenberg

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray caps and HDR analysis video by The HDR Dissector.

Director: Carl Franklin

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Carl Franklin

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Jane Campion

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Budd Boetticher

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Additional Info:

Indicator Blu-ray has better presented extras plus additional unique extras.

Director: Gus Van Sant

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Arturo Ripstein

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Director: Ken Russell

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see caps

Director: Wes Anderson

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see Chris's review

It's a conservative regrade over previous Blu-ray https://slow.pics/c/CyqhRf9W

Director: Jacques Audiard

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray see Chris's review

Director: Michael Curtiz

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Audio Notes:

(caveat: has a slight error)

Director: Héctor Babenco

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

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