when a Criterion doesnt seem like a Criterion

With the looming december release of WHITE DOG , i got to thinking about the Criterion discs that have thus far been released that had no criteria to be a criterion release. Although I am anxiously waiting the release of WHITE DOG - it was mediocre at best, a classic case of not living up to its mystery. I am all for Paramount catalog titles being released but the only one released thus far that deserved a criterion treatment has been ACE IN THE HOLE. In place of IF..., I would have put LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR and substituted HANDLE WITH CARE for THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. But, leaving the Par/Criterion releases out of it-why oh why did ARMAGEDDON and THE ROCK as well as THE BLOB get the royal treatment? Which Criterion releases do you believe did not deserve this boutique label? What is The criteria in Criterion?

Re: when a Criterion doesnt seem like a Criterion

This thread actually started in my office when a customer of mine and myself got to talking about movies. She-now a 40/50 something soccer mom-regaled me with her glorious past life of her being apart of the original MTV pioneers (she had something to do with the origin of the spaceman logo of the time-so , literally-a pioneer)-which was in and unitself very cool to me but than she told me of her days at Criterion and how wondrous it was to work there for bonafide movie buffs as ourselves because they had think tanks and handpicked which movies would fit the prestiguous label. Any number of classics we all can name were on that list and she went on to say that no film was really out of their grasp-if they really wanted it. The only times rights isssues would come into play or studios would become involved would be when they truly wanted something like a Woody Allen collection(oh! what plans they had for those!)-but pretty much everything else was up for grabs. During her tenure she pursued MERRY CHRISTMAS MR LAWRENCE and wanted it apart of an Ogisa package ; she wanted ONE FROM THE HEART and APOCALYPSE NOW as well as THE GODFATHER films (about the only dvd's paramount proper does as well as Criterion). All they did was talk film-great films-all day. nirvana to many of us here.
The point of my thread here is not to say that there is not a bouttique place for THE BLOB, ARMAGEDDON and MEN AND MONSTERS -but grouping them with The Kurowsawa films and the Bergman films just seems to dilute the boutiqueness of it-Do we see costume jewelery in the window of Tiffany's? A MacDonald's hamburger on the menu of The Four Seasons? No-because than we would say to ourselves Where is the magic of visiting these places and if we did visit them and saw these items we could get for a fraction of the cost anywhere-why bother? When Paramount comes out with an exceptional release such as THE GODFATHER I rejoice and say to myself- "Wow-they came up to a Criterion level!" Using Criterion as a high water mark. But when Criterion releases a subpar release that seems like it came from a major (very rare i must admit)-it trashes their boutique name. Putting too much garbage into a pristine reservoir qwill make the drinking water very distasteful and after a while you will turn to bottled water. Has Criterion-lite forced us to drink sparkling water for $25 when for $50 we drank-and indulged-in Moet champagne? For a small investment I was able to say i owned a Criterion labeled library and felt a tiny bit special. Now-sprinkled amongst the glistening numbered spines on the top shelf of my bookcase are films i cannot have long conversations about through the night with a colleague, a friend or a date. Now-at the point in my life where I can ponder the secrets of WILD STRAWBERRIES and feel the anguish of A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE- I must also glance at Ben Affleck in a uniform leftover from CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.
I love all movies-popcorn ones as well as arthouse. But there should be an unpolluted area where they can be proudly displayed . As when I close my eyes and reach for any book on my leather bound volumes I do not pull out a sidney sheldon-I would expect the same from Criterion. That doesn't mean i do not have sidney Sheldon novels strewn around, nor PLANET OF THE APES dvd's. Only that theres a place for everything and everything in its place. DVD's are the greatest format for movie lovers and there's room for all kinds. If not-they would be part of an Elite group.....but that is another DVD company altogether.

Re: when a Criterion doesnt seem like a Criterion

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. All of the films published under the Criterion banner represent cinema at its finest. In our seventeen years, we've seen a lot of things change, but one thing has remained constant: our commitment to publishing the defining moments of cinema in the world's best digital editions.

I agree about everyone has the right to buy or not to buy or one man's THE BLOB is another mans CRIES AND WHISPERS. However-keeping sentiments out of this-the paragraph above culled from the Criterion website mentions "important classic" films. You have to admit some are far from important classics-thus straying from their original criteria.