GENERAL
DVDs
ONLINE
BLU-RAY
THE AUTEURS
GENERAL
1. What is the Criterion Collection?
The Criterion Collection is a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films on home video. Our editions often feature restored film transfers, commentary tracks, and other supplemental features that the company pioneered when it released its first laserdiscs, Citizen Kane and King Kong, at the end of 1984. Ever since, Criterion has been working closely with filmmakers and scholars to ensure that each film is presented as its maker would want it seen and published in an edition that will deepen the viewer’s understanding and appreciation of the art of cinema.
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2. Why is your website called an online cinematheque?
Criterion.com aims to be the most complete and up-to-date resource for anyone interested in Criterion Collection DVDs and Blu-ray discs. We’re also a company web store offering a great deal to dedicated Criterion collectors in North America. But the Criterion online cinematheque is much more than that. At criterion.com you can really learn about movies. Explore key filmmakers, movements, and genres. Check out clips, trailers, photo galleries, and hundreds of film essays by the world’s most admired cinephiles. You can even watch some of the movies right on the site. Showing a curated selection of movies, offering a resource to a community of film lovers, digitally archiving and presenting the artifacts of film culture—that’s why we call it the online cinematheque!
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3. How does Criterion decide which films receive the “Criterion treatment”?
We aim to reflect the breadth of filmed expression. We try not to be restrictive or snobby about what kinds of films are appropriate. An auteur classic, a Hollywood blockbuster or an independent B horror film has to be taken on its own terms. All we ask is that each film in the collection be an exemplary film of its kind. Of course we can’t just pick movies and put them out. The process of getting the rights to release a film can take years. Even if we want a film, we can’t work on it unless the film’s owners grant us the rights.
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4. How does Criterion decide which special features to include? And who contributes to them?
Each film release has a producer who oversees the entire process, from restoration to supplemental features to packaging. The producer researches available materials, conceives of original supplements, and decides which features truly add value to the appreciation of the film. We are fortunate to work with many great film directors, cinematographers, actors, scholars, and critics. We do not let market factors or an arbitrary quantity of supplements determine our decision for inclusion; rather it is on a case-by-case basis, serving the purpose of enhancing the viewer’s experience of that particular film.
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5. Are all Criterion releases presented in their original theatrical aspect ratio? Why does Criterion windowbox DVDs?
Every Criterion release features an About the Transfer section in the insert. Here you will find listed the aspect ratio of the film, along with information about the picture and sound elements from which it was transferred. We endeavor to present every film in its original aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio of height to width of the image), unless the filmmaker expressly requests a slightly different framing. What that means is that the Criterion brand is your guarantee that you’re getting the complete picture as the filmmaker intended. We present films that were shot in 4 x 3 Academy ratio windowboxed because almost all NTSC standard-definition television sets overscan the image, and a portion of it is cropped on all sides of the screen. So that no portion of the picture is missing when the DVD is played, we provide black around the picture in the hope that only the black is scanned. We do not windowbox Blu-ray or online movies.
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6. Do all Criterion titles have English-language subtitles? Does Criterion subtitle in other languages?
All our foreign-language titles have optional English subtitles. We do not subtitle in other languages because in almost all cases we only have the rights to publish our releases in the original language and/or an English version.
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7. What are the upcoming titles? And how can I make a title suggestion?
We announce all our upcoming titles on our website as soon as we can make them public. Also, we announce upcoming titles in our newsletter, which we encourage you to sign up for to get special offers and contest giveaways. Click
here to visit our sign-up page for more information. If you would like to suggest a title, please write to
suggestions@criterion.com. Though you will get an automatic reply, our acquisitions staff reads all the suggestions and appreciates hearing from you.
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8. What is the relationship between the Criterion Collection and Janus Films?
The companies share similar missions but focus on different markets. Criterion publishes DVDs and Blu-ray discs and spends most of its energy on the home video market. Janus handles theatrical and nontheatrical showings, as well as television and cable licenses. To learn more about Janus Films, please visit:
janusfilms.com.
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DVDs
9. What is the difference between Criterion, Eclipse, and Essential Art House?
The Criterion Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality, with supplemental features that enhance the appreciation of the art of film. Eclipse is a selection of lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics in simple, affordable editions. Each Eclipse series is a brief cinematheque retrospective for the adventurous home viewer. Essential Art House is exactly that: movie-only editions of the films you need to know, presented in beautiful digital transfers and accompanied by helpful liner notes. For the devoted cinephile, these are must-own fundamentals; for the novice film lover, this is precisely where to begin.
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10. Are the films in Eclipse series available separately?
Every Eclipse series includes two or more films, and they are not sold separately on DVD. They may be available for viewing separately in the online cinematheque, and if you watch a film from an Eclipse series online, your rental fee will count toward the purchase of the actual DVD set.
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11. Are Essential Art House films available separately?
Yes, with the exception of certain films that appear only in our fifty-disc
Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films box set. Most of the films available in the Essential Art House line are available in your choice of stand-alone editions—a movie-only Essential Art House edition or a full-blown Criterion Collection special edition. Some may be available in a Blu-ray edition as well.
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12. Does Criterion sell its DVDs and Blu-ray discs outside the United States? And what regions do they play in?
We only publish DVDs for the North American market, and our DVDs and Blu-ray discs are encoded region 1.
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13. Will Criterion rerelease its laserdisc collection, or any older titles that have gone out of print, on DVD or Blu-ray?
We would love to be able to rerelease all our laserdisc titles, however it isn’t always possible due to rights issues. We are continuously working on acquiring rights to films we want to include in the collection, including renewing rights for films we previously released on laserdisc, or for DVD titles that have gone out of print. Whether or not we can acquire those rights again, however, depends a lot on the rights holder, and each film is a different case.
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14. Who do I contact if I have a problem with my packaging or a technical issue with my DVD or Blu-ray disc?
Please send an e-mail to Jon Mulvaney at
mulvaney@criterion.com. We are happy to replace any defective DVDs or Blu-ray discs you have. And we appreciate hearing about any technical issues with our titles, as we care a lot about the quality of our products.
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15. Why do Criterion releases often cost more than other DVDs?
Our prices reflect all the resources we put into making each release a special release. Each release has a producer who finds the best supplemental features to help further the appreciation of the film, often producing original content. The technical staff ensures that we are working with the best original source materials and digital masters by performing rigorous visual and audio restoration processes.
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16. How can I tell if a Criterion release is a bootleg copy?
For the reasons stated above, it costs a lot of money for us to make a good DVD/Blu-ray edition, and we know Criterion discs are not inexpensive, but we feel they are a good value. If you can buy a Criterion disc at a price you think is absurdly low, it’s probably not a legitimate disc. Also, a good thing to do is to look for our copyright and make sure that the DVD or Blu-ray disc’s audio, video, and features specs match those that appear on our website. Although this cannot definitively determine a disc’s authenticity, you can feel safer if this information is consistent.
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17. Do you have a loyalty program for people who buy directly from your website?
We appreciate the loyalty of our customers, and we do offer a loyalty points program. Here’s how it works: every dollar you spend at the Criterion store (rentals included) earns you a point. When you get to 500 points, we will send you a $50 gift certificate. To take advantage of this, you must register for a customer account at checkout with a valid e-mail address, so we can keep track of your total and credit your account.
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18. Can I get a discount or credit for a previously purchased title that you have rereleased?
In general, we’ll only rerelease a movie when we’ve obtained access to new materials that can make a significantly better release. These could be new film elements or a new restoration, or some supplements that were unavailable when we first released the movie. We tried to offer a rebate program for second releases of DVDs, but it wasn’t successful. The participation was very low, and we couldn’t price it at a level that made economic sense without unfairly competing with our resellers.
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19. Who do I contact if I want to sell Criterion titles in my store or license films for television, nontheatrical screenings, or clips usage?
Please send all sales inquiries to Jon Mulvaney at
mulvaney@criterion.com. For other contact questions, please see our Contact Us page.
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20. Do you offer wholesale pricing?
For information on wholesale discounts, please contact Jon Mulvaney at
mulvaney@criterion.com. Wholesale sales are final and nonreturnable.
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ONLINE
21. I’ve never watched a movie online at the Criterion online cinematheque. How does it work? What does it cost? What do I get?
Watching movies at criterion.com is easy. Click on FILMS, choose a film, and click where it says “Watch movie $5.” You’ll be asked to enter a credit card, and for $5 you can watch the movie right in your browser or full screen, as many times as you want for a full week. For a year after that, we’ll keep a $5 credit on file for you and apply it to your purchase of that film on DVD or Blu-ray disc. Use it as a way to explore different parts of the collection, get a little daring, or just “try before you buy.” And best of all, each dollar you spend on online rentals gives you points in our loyalty program.
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22. What special software or equipment do I need?
To watch movies at criterion.com, you’ll need a PC or Mac that meets the following system requirements (see our TECH SUPPORT page for more details):
PC
- Windows XP with Service Pack 2, or Vista
- Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, or Firefox 2 or higher
- 1.2 GHz processor
- 512 MB RAM
Mac
- An Intel-based Mac with OS 10.4.8 or later
- Safari 3 or higher, or Firefox 2 or higher
- 1 GB RAM
General
- 4 GB free space on hard drive
- Broadband internet connection
- Adobe Flash Player 9.0 or higher
- JavaScript and cookies enabled
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23. Are all of your movies available online?
The online cinematheque is just starting out, so we’ve only got a few films online so far. We’ll keep rolling out new films on a continuous basis. To see a complete list of the films available for online viewing on the site, go to the FILMS page and click the ONLINE tab.
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24. Do I have to be online to watch the movie?
For now, yes, but our friends at the Auteurs are making improvements to the movie player application every day. In 2009, we expect to make movies available for viewing offline as well.
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25. I live outside North America. Can I still watch your movies online?
Generally, no. In certain cases, where we have rights outside North America, we will make our films available in other territories, but as a rule we are a North American publisher.
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BLU-RAY
26. Are Criterion’s Blu-ray discs region-encoded?
Yes. Criterion is licensed to sell most of its editions only in North America.
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27. I am a convert to Blu-ray. Should I stop buying DVDs? Will all your titles come out on Blu-ray?
If you love these films, keep buying DVDs. It is going to be quite a while before the Blu-ray marketplace can support many of the titles Criterion releases on DVD. For new releases, if we think a title has a shot at succeeding on Blu-ray, we aim to put out both editions at the same time, so you can make an informed choice.
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28. I want to replace my Criterion Collection DVDs with new Blu-ray editions. Do you have an upgrade program?
We offer a $20 Blu-ray upgrade program for customers who have already bought the equivalent edition on DVD. Just mail your disc, along with a check or money order for $20 (plus $5 shipping and handling), made payable to the Criterion Collection, to:
The Criterion Collection
Attn: Jon Mulvaney
215 Park Avenue South, Fifth Floor
New York, NY 10003
You can also pay by PayPal by making a payment to
store@criterion.com (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover welcome). Please include a printout of your Paypal receipt with your disc.
Be sure to include your U.S. or Canadian mailing address inside the package, as we cannot ship outside North America. Please also include your e-mail address in case we need to contact you. You can send in your disc for exchange anytime, but we won’t be sending out the Blu-ray discs until their release dates.
If you exchange multiple DVD editions at the same time, you only need to pay for shipping once. But your order will not be shipped until all the Blu-ray discs have been released.
We’ll mail the Blu-ray disc in a sleeve, and you’ll be able to place the new disc in your existing packaging. This offer only applies to “like” editions. For example, you can return disc 1 of the rerelease of
The Third Man but not the earlier, out-of-print edition.
If you have any questions about the Blu-ray upgrade offer, please e-mail Jon Mulvaney at
mulvaney@criterion.com. We reserve the right to change or discontinue this program at any time.
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29. Do Criterion Blu-ray discs cost more than DVDs?
Criterion’s Blu-ray editions will generally be priced to match our DVDs. It makes sense to us: High-definition mastering and restoration has been a part of our DVD production standard for years. And for our customers who might be on the fence about whether to buy DVD or Blu-ray, we thought the best thing we could do was take price out of the equation.
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THE AUTEURS
30. What is the Auteurs?
The Auteurs is an online movie theater and a new social experience. The Auteurs aims to be Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, and Venice, 365 days a year. Think of it as the place you go when you leave the dark of the screening room to find yourself among friends.
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31. What is the relationship between the Criterion Collection and the Auteurs?
We’re independent companies working closely together to create a hub on the web for fans of the finest that film has to offer.
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32. Can I watch Criterion films at the Auteurs? What are these festivals?
Each month, Criterion programs a free, advertiser-supported festival at the Auteurs screening room, focusing on a half-dozen films from the collection. You’ll be able to watch the films online at no charge, discuss them on the Auteurs forums, rate them, and recommend them to your friends. Films in the Auteurs festivals will also be available for rental, ad-free, on the Criterion site, and your rental fee will count toward your purchase of the DVD or Blu-ray edition.
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