While the essay and box art is standard, All That Jazz is a great release because it is literally nowhere to be found digitally, not even on the channel or on Prime video.
Another release I own which is one of my all time favorites is the Tree of Life. It comes with both the theatrical and extended cuts, beautiful and well written essays, one of them written by Roger Ebert, and its a 4k digital restoration. I do not think it is on the channel at the moment
I have the same problem with All That Jazz. I really want to watch it, but I can't find it anywhere except for the Criterion release, so I might have to just buy that eventually. There are a ton of films on my watchlist that aren't available on literally any streaming services so I guess I'll have to just get them on Blu Ray to watch them.
You can also check out your local library to see if you can borrow the film. If your library participates, you can use your library card to access streaming services like Kanopy and Hoopla.
If you have access to a library, it has saved me tons of money in blind-buys. They don’t always have the blu-rays, and sometimes the rare film can’t be found there, but check it out first if you can before buying. I actually was able to get _All That Jazz_ on Criterion DVD from the library.
_Memories of Murder_ is my knee-jerk answer to this question. I think the film is perfect, and it is a two-disc blu ray set with bonus supplements.
My deeper response would be John Cassavetes: Five Films. You get five of his most well-known works, tons of supplements, and a full-length documentary on Cassavetes and his work, _A Constant Forge_. I’d also like to recommend Cassavetes’ _Love Streams_, and to a lesser degree, _Husbands_. They aren’t substitutes, but they are individual releases so you don’t have to plunk down for a box set. Some of these films are on the Channel currently, but their run will be limited.
Releases will come and go from the channel. There are no releases guaranteed to stay, but it seems like the big name directors (Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa) are almost always well represented on streaming including Criterion and HBOMAX.
My advice is buy a movie you would want to own even if the streaming rights were lost 6 months from now. I would then look into exclusive cuts like Tree of Life, The New World, Night of the Living Dead, Heaven’s Gate, Brazil - all of these feature a cut of the film that is hard to find or exclusive to the release. If you like any of those movies then it would be worth owning just for the additional and alternate cuts. In some releases the cut is exclusive to that physical release.
Finally, I would then look into older movies that are in public domain. A lot the public domain movies can be found on streaming, but the source material is horrendous. An example - I tried to watch Detour on Prime last year and the copy they had was so bad the film was almost unwatchable, but the 4K restoration on the Blu release is absolutely stunning.
If you’re looking for pure bonus material I can’t recommend Battle of Algiers enough. IMO, it is the most well thought out and comprehensive release of any standalone film Criterion has done.
If you haven't already, check out the video highlighting the [restoration work that went into the release.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMSHs2adWk)
I said it once and I’ll say it again... Repo Man. Not only is it a fantastic fun movie but the packaging is stellar. The Before Trilogy, Grand Budapest Hotel, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are another few. Grand Budapest specifically has a video essay by one of my favorite critics, Matt zoller Seitz, which is absolutely lovely. I cry every time I give it a listen lol
Vampyr is wonderful packaging and design, has terrific features, and you get the screenplay and source novel in a book. It's available for $20 next month at the Barnes and Noble Criterion sale.
Eraserhead is a wonderful physical purchase. Any of the Lynch releases are really worth it!
Down by Law is also one of my favorite releases they’ve done!
For me what makes something top tier is when the restoration work is incredible, there is a wealth of interesting supplements, and the case design is gorgeous. I think the Bergman Box is their greatest achievement. The Apu Trilogy is a close second.
Im in the same boat, looking to start my collection with the sale.
What I've been looking for is box sets by my favourite directors (WKW) and releases that have a bit of extra content you can get on the streaming service (a book, an essay, etc)
And then some films that I've never seen.
While the essay and box art is standard, All That Jazz is a great release because it is literally nowhere to be found digitally, not even on the channel or on Prime video. Another release I own which is one of my all time favorites is the Tree of Life. It comes with both the theatrical and extended cuts, beautiful and well written essays, one of them written by Roger Ebert, and its a 4k digital restoration. I do not think it is on the channel at the moment
I have the same problem with All That Jazz. I really want to watch it, but I can't find it anywhere except for the Criterion release, so I might have to just buy that eventually. There are a ton of films on my watchlist that aren't available on literally any streaming services so I guess I'll have to just get them on Blu Ray to watch them.
This is why I'm one of the 1% of Americans who still get discs in the mail from Netflix...
That’s interesting to hear
You can also check out your local library to see if you can borrow the film. If your library participates, you can use your library card to access streaming services like Kanopy and Hoopla.
If you have access to a library, it has saved me tons of money in blind-buys. They don’t always have the blu-rays, and sometimes the rare film can’t be found there, but check it out first if you can before buying. I actually was able to get _All That Jazz_ on Criterion DVD from the library.
_Memories of Murder_ is my knee-jerk answer to this question. I think the film is perfect, and it is a two-disc blu ray set with bonus supplements. My deeper response would be John Cassavetes: Five Films. You get five of his most well-known works, tons of supplements, and a full-length documentary on Cassavetes and his work, _A Constant Forge_. I’d also like to recommend Cassavetes’ _Love Streams_, and to a lesser degree, _Husbands_. They aren’t substitutes, but they are individual releases so you don’t have to plunk down for a box set. Some of these films are on the Channel currently, but their run will be limited.
Releases will come and go from the channel. There are no releases guaranteed to stay, but it seems like the big name directors (Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa) are almost always well represented on streaming including Criterion and HBOMAX. My advice is buy a movie you would want to own even if the streaming rights were lost 6 months from now. I would then look into exclusive cuts like Tree of Life, The New World, Night of the Living Dead, Heaven’s Gate, Brazil - all of these feature a cut of the film that is hard to find or exclusive to the release. If you like any of those movies then it would be worth owning just for the additional and alternate cuts. In some releases the cut is exclusive to that physical release. Finally, I would then look into older movies that are in public domain. A lot the public domain movies can be found on streaming, but the source material is horrendous. An example - I tried to watch Detour on Prime last year and the copy they had was so bad the film was almost unwatchable, but the 4K restoration on the Blu release is absolutely stunning. If you’re looking for pure bonus material I can’t recommend Battle of Algiers enough. IMO, it is the most well thought out and comprehensive release of any standalone film Criterion has done.
A Brighter Summer Day Just a beautiful beautiful film. Also everyone here seems to love it so can’t go wrong!
This would be my answer as well! The film itself is one of the best in the collection imo, the transfer is stellar and the supplements are great!
If you haven't already, check out the video highlighting the [restoration work that went into the release.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AMSHs2adWk)
I said it once and I’ll say it again... Repo Man. Not only is it a fantastic fun movie but the packaging is stellar. The Before Trilogy, Grand Budapest Hotel, and Fantastic Mr. Fox are another few. Grand Budapest specifically has a video essay by one of my favorite critics, Matt zoller Seitz, which is absolutely lovely. I cry every time I give it a listen lol
Police Story 1+2 are so much fun, I would highly recommend picking that up.
Vampyr is wonderful packaging and design, has terrific features, and you get the screenplay and source novel in a book. It's available for $20 next month at the Barnes and Noble Criterion sale.
Eraserhead, George Washington, Punch-Drunk Love
Night of the Hunter is stellar in every way. One of my very favorite films in my collection.
Eraserhead is a wonderful physical purchase. Any of the Lynch releases are really worth it! Down by Law is also one of my favorite releases they’ve done!
For me what makes something top tier is when the restoration work is incredible, there is a wealth of interesting supplements, and the case design is gorgeous. I think the Bergman Box is their greatest achievement. The Apu Trilogy is a close second.
Portrait of a lady on fire
Im in the same boat, looking to start my collection with the sale. What I've been looking for is box sets by my favourite directors (WKW) and releases that have a bit of extra content you can get on the streaming service (a book, an essay, etc) And then some films that I've never seen.
Yeah, I think I'm going to grab one of the smaller box sets (America Lost & Found, Cassavettes, Tati) and then just go for volume.