The Criterion Collection often works to define the canon of great cinema, but have they lost their core audience?

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/16275742

The Criterion Collection, a beloved film distribution company, was questioned by cinephiles this week because of their new deluxe box set.

Last week, Criterion announced a new collection, called CC40, which includes a box set of forty films. The films were chosen based on popular picks in their Criterion Closet series, in which actors and filmmakers choose five films from their film library to take home with them. The box set, which also includes “hundreds of hours of supplemental footage,” retails for $640, and arrives in November.

Reactions from Criterion fans varied. On the positive side, some suggested this could be a great resource for those looking to get into film, the box set serving as a film syllabus of sorts. Others noted this could be a good product for those who don’t know which films to watch or buy, as the choice has already been made for them. Some were simply excited by the news of a new Criterion release.

Many others were less than thrilled. The most common question asked by Criterion-heads was: “who is the audience for this box set?” Cinephiles noted that dedicated Criterion fans are likely to already own many of the films in the box set, while newcomers might not be inclined to drop $600 on movies if they’re just getting into film. “This is an incredible set for someone who has never bought a Criterion disc but now wants to spend several hundred dollars on them at once,” one user joked on X.

Others questioned the content of the box set. Many were shocked to see that none of David Lynch’s films were included in the collection, and legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was another omission bemoaned by fans. Some suggested that the curation of the collection seems “random,” noting that there appears to be little connection between the films.

Much of this criticism comes down to the question of audience, and how this collection might shift Criterion’s intended market. There is a sense of gatekeeping here in terms of who can—or should—get to own Criterions. “Feel like this set is for people who never heard of the Criterion Collection until their favorite celebrity did a closet video,” one X user noted, delineating a distinction between cinephile and celebrity stan. On Instagram, one user suggested the box set is intended for holiday shoppers, perhaps answering the marketing question.

The announcement

  • SmoodleDoodle@lemmy.world
    3·
    3 months ago

    Expensive but could just be a way of getting these disks out there in a first quick step. I don’t follow criterion very much at all. Maybe one or two movies for me. Some people though just collect in mass and just want it on their shelf to look cool. Same thing happens with vynl lol.

    I could be off mark though.

  • Drusas@fedia.io
    2·
    3 months ago

    Others questioned the content of the box set. Many were shocked to see that none of David Lynch’s films were included in the collection, and legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was another omission bemoaned by fans.

    Any set that doesn’t include Ikiru is garbage.

  • xyzzy@lemm.ee
    2·
    3 months ago

    I buy a lot of Criterion discs and I have absolutely zero interest in this set for all the reasons outlined in the article.

    I wish they would’ve put out multiple director sets that have never been released before instead as a celebration of 40 years. I can give them a list if they’d like.