The Criterion Collection Gift Set 2004 (Amazon.com Exclusive)

Amazon.com

For this unprecedented collection of Criterion Collection DVDs, it's easier to talk about what's not in the massive collection: namely, a few future releases and several films that have had the rights returned to the original studio. But that's only 20 titles out of the 261-title library (as of fall 2004). Criterion set the standard in Laser Discs in the first digital age. Although other studios create some great DVDs, no one has matched Criterion for consistently producing fabulous-looking, extras-laden films on DVD, especially if your thing is classic or international films. The care in print and sound quality is a marvel. Something like the 1932 comedy Trouble in Paradise shouldn't look like it was made yesterday. The reconstruction of the original 1928 print of The Passion of Joan the Arc is legendary. Subtitles are always new and reexamined for translation; original aspect ratios and sound design are carefully presented.

Being about "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films," Criterion has developed relationships with many top directors, including Steven Soderberg (Traffic), Terry Gilliam (Brazil), David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers), and Robert Altman (Short Cuts). The extras are not fodder from the publicity train, and often outside sources round out the retrospection of the film. What other company would conceive of presenting Truffaut's Antoine Doinel series this way? The label is so strong, film mavens often buy the next Criterion disc without knowing anything about it (ever heard of Onibaba, The Ballad of a Solider, or the Orphic Trilogy?). Either they know they are getting a history in film, or they don't want a gap in the numeric order of releases (plus Criterion discs hold their value better than most DVDs). Either way, this collection is the ultimate way to quickly start your cinema library, be it for your organization, office, or suddenly bigger home collection. As you ponder over the striking cover art or read a printed essay, know this: all classic films--and many contemporary ones--dream of being a Criterion disc. There is no better digital fate. --Doug Thomas

From the Back Cover

Now available for the first time, The Criterion Collection is proud to present its prestigious collection of films together in one gift set! Totaling 282 discs, The Criterion Collection Holiday 2004 Gift Set consists of all of their published DVDs through October 2004 (except for the out-of-print editions): that's 241 titles on 282 discs and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. This much sought after collection of films is the most significant archive of contemporary filmmaking available to the home viewer. Included in this set:

These out-of-print titles are not included: Beauty & The Beast (Original Release, Spine # 6), The Bank Dick; Blood For Dracula; Dead Ringers; Flesh For Frankenstein; Hard Boiled; How To Get Ahead In Advertising; The Killer; M (Original Release, Spine #30); Notorious; Playtime; Rebecca; Robocop; Salo; Sid & Nancy; The Silence Of The Lambs; Spellbound; Straw Dogs; The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, The; and This Is Spinal Tap.

About The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films, is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. Criterion began with a mission to pull the treasures of world cinema out of the film vaults and put them in the hands of collectors. Now in its 20th year, all of the films published under the Criterion banner represent cinema at its finest.

The Criterion Collection DVD Process
The foundation of the collection is the work of such masters of cinema as Renoir, Godard, Kurosawa, Cocteau, Fellini, Bergman, Tarkovsky, Hitchcock, Fuller, Lean, Kubrick, Lang, Sturges, Dreyer, Eisenstein, Ozu, Sirk, Buñuel, Powell and Pressburger. Each film is presented uncut, in its original aspect ratio, as its maker intended it to be seen. For every disc, we track down the best available film elements in the world, use state-of-the-art telecine equipment and a select few colorists capable of meeting our rigorous standards, and take time during the film-to-video digital transfer to create the most pristine possible image and sound. Whenever possible, we work with directors and cinematographers to assure that the look of our releases does justice to their intentions. Our supplements enable viewers to appreciate Criterion films in context, through audio commentaries by filmmakers and scholars, restored director's cuts, deleted scenes, documentaries, shooting scripts, early shorts, and storyboards.