Walk into the home of almost any serious film lover and you will find a shelf of clear-spined boxes, each with a small number on the side. That is the Criterion Collection, the American home-video label that has spent four decades treating films the way record collectors treat first pressings. For many people it is the gateway to world cinema: Akira Kurosawa, Wong Kar-wai, Agnès Varda and David Lynch, all restored, annotated and packaged like art books.
It can also be intimidating. There are well over a thousand titles, several formats and a whole culture of spine numbers, closet visits and half-price sales. Here is how Criterion works, what the numbers mean and how to start a collection without overspending.
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What the Criterion Collection is
Criterion has been publishing films since 1984. In its own words on the Criterion Collection site, the company is dedicated to "important classic and contemporary films from around the world" in editions with the highest technical quality and original supplements, presented the way their makers would want them seen. In practice that means new restorations, often supervised by the director or the cinematographer, plus interviews, documentaries, essays and commentary tracks that help you understand what you are watching.
The company started on laserdisc, the large optical discs that were the collector's format of the 1980s and early 1990s. Its first releases were Orson Welles's Citizen Kane and the original King Kong, and the laserdisc of King Kong is often cited as the first home release with an audio commentary. Criterion moved to DVD, then Blu-ray, then 4K Ultra HD, and it also runs a streaming service, the Criterion Channel, which launched in April 2019.
Spine numbers, explained
Every Criterion release gets a number printed on its spine, and collectors use those numbers to shelve, track and talk about the collection. Spine number 1 is Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion, the label's first DVD. The numbers run roughly in release order, so a shelf arranged by spine becomes a strange and wonderful timeline, with Japanese samurai epics next to American independent films and French new wave classics.
A few rules help. When Criterion upgrades a film to a new format, the new edition usually keeps the original spine number. Box sets get a single number for the set. And not everything Criterion sells has a number: some special releases and lower-priced lines sit outside the main sequence. Completists chase every number, but there is no need to. The numbers are a fun way to organize, not a checklist you owe anyone.
The closet
One reason Criterion became a cultural phenomenon rather than just a disc label is the closet. At its New York offices, the company keeps a closet packed floor to ceiling with its releases, and it invites directors, actors and musicians to step inside and pick what they want to take home. The resulting Closet Picks videos have become a format of their own, part shopping spree and part film lesson, with guests explaining why a film matters to them. Hundreds of visits are archived on Criterion's site, and they are one of the best ways to find films you would never have discovered on your own.
Formats: DVD, Blu-ray and 4K
Criterion still sells DVDs for some titles, but Blu-ray is the standard for most of the collection. In 2021 the company announced its first 4K Ultra HD slate, led by Citizen Kane and including David Lynch's Mulholland Dr., and it has steadily added 4K editions since. Most 4K releases also include a Blu-ray of the film and the supplements, so they are a safe choice even if you do not have a 4K player yet. If you only own a regular Blu-ray player, buy Blu-ray. If you have a 4K TV and player, the 4K editions are worth the extra money for films with rich color and detail.
Five places to start
There is no wrong first Criterion, but these five show off what the label does best:
- Seven Samurai (The Criterion Collection). Akira Kurosawa's 1954 epic about farmers who hire seven warriors to defend their village is the template for countless action films and still one of the most exciting movies ever made.
- In the Mood for Love (The Criterion Collection) 4K. Wong Kar-wai's 2000 film about two neighbors in 1960s Hong Kong is all color, music and longing, and it looks extraordinary in 4K.
- Chungking Express (The Criterion Collection) 4K. Wong's earlier, looser film, two stories of lovesick cops, is the perfect companion and an easy watch for newcomers.
- Paris, Texas (The Criterion Collection). Wim Wenders's 1984 road movie, with Harry Dean Stanton and Ry Cooder's slide guitar score, is a German director's haunting portrait of the American West.
- Mulholland Dr. (The Criterion Collection) 4K. David Lynch's 2001 Hollywood dream, part of the first 4K slate, is the one to put on when you want to argue with friends until 2 a.m.
How to shop Criterion
Criterion releases are not cheap at full price, so timing matters. The company runs its own sales and occasional flash sales on its site, and some booksellers and retailers hold regular promotions on Criterion titles, most famously a long-running half-price sale at Barnes & Noble that collectors plan their year around. Box sets often work out cheaper per film than single releases, and used copies hold up well because Criterion packaging is sturdy. Check the edition before you buy, since older DVDs and newer Blu-ray or 4K editions of the same film can differ a lot in picture quality and extras.
Most of all, buy what you will actually watch. A Criterion shelf is at its best when it reflects your own taste rather than a list. Start with a director you already like, follow the supplements to the films that influenced them, and let the collection grow from there.
Criterion is not the only label rescuing films from obscurity. Boutique labels have revived cult oddities like New York Ninja and Spookies, and if horror is your way in, our A24 horror starter guide covers the modern side. Collecting physical media has a lot in common with collecting records, too, as our guide to Record Store Day shows.
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