We hope you like it. We couldn’t have built it without our friends in Palo Alto, the Auteurs. There are still a few kinks to iron out, so please be patient with us while we get it right. You’ll find plenty of new things to do at the new criterion.com, and some old favorites making a comeback. To help you find your way around, Jason Polan, our friend with the pen, made us this little orientation video.
Categories: Announcements, Video
35 Comments
Tue 25 Nov at 09:51 AM
jamesonnephi
That’s one more giant step ahead…of me.
Tue 25 Nov at 12:17 PM
Great ideas!
You might be able to compete with piracy with this approach
Tue 25 Nov at 04:38 PM
jw bolton
i like the instructional videos. very much a tribute to lee lefever’s “commomcraft”.
Tue 25 Nov at 10:44 PM
Tom
You guys just keep pushing the boundaries for what is possible with film distribution/releasing. If it wasn’t for companies like Criterion the great films of world cinema would long have been forgotten and/or lost.
Great idea!
Wed 26 Nov at 01:19 AM
Jose Joao
congratulations for the great ideas!
Wed 26 Nov at 01:49 AM
omichalek
It is symptomatic to see real progress happening elsewhere than in hands of the big recording “industry”. I hope Criterion will continue in direction that gives people better access to the movies and not opposite.
One last thing though, is this not an US-only thing, right?
Wed 26 Nov at 02:13 AM
Will
The future is now!
Wed 26 Nov at 02:22 AM
Shawn
I don’t think I would be able to see straight after going through that much permanent ink fumes. Fantastic new site though! Viva la Cinematheque
Wed 26 Nov at 02:53 AM
AV Club
This is a totally rad demo and idea! Thank you for all of your hard work.
Wed 26 Nov at 03:05 AM
T.J. Royal
About the nicest looking, most concise introduction I’m seen for a Web site. Actually makes me want to check back to the site often to see what clips are going to be streaming, what written content is going to be added, and maybe even to check out a $5 rental if I get a hankering to watch Ivan’s Childhood or Symbiopsychotaxiplasm.
Wed 26 Nov at 05:48 AM
jrb
Wow…what a lovely and bold new website. I can’t wait to check back often.
Wed 26 Nov at 05:50 AM
Kevin
Brilliant! And I completely agree with SHAWN re: the ink fumes.
Wed 26 Nov at 07:11 AM
Alison
This is so so so great.
Wed 26 Nov at 08:14 AM
s.
Congratulations, this is exactly the sort of forward thinking we have come to expect from you guys, but I must admit, all of this came as a massive pleasant surprise to me.
My only negative comment is in regards to international licensing. I wish you could get the rights to more international territories. I tried to ‘rent’ a movie this morning only to find that the majority of titles are limited to viewing in Northern America. I live in Australia and would love to have unlimited access this ‘online cinematheque’ but can’t. I was quite disappointed find this out, but completely understand why it isn’t possible (at least at this stage).
Please make this a serious consideration going forward.
Best regards,
sj.
Wed 26 Nov at 10:15 AM
Solaris
OK, international film licensing is a complicated matter. So it is frustrating but no big surprise that most of the rentals are restricted to US residents.
But that Criterion is not able to ship a coffee mug from the store to any other country but US and Canada is completely beyond me!
I’d hoped that this shipping policy would have changed with the new site, but no luck :-(
Wed 26 Nov at 02:47 PM
Mustafa
This is so great, I love the digital rental idea. Pure genius, fairly priced and most of all, progressive! Between this site and The Auteurs, my winter break is going to be magical. Thank you!
Wed 26 Nov at 03:20 PM
Michael
I can honestly say this is one of the coolest, most innovative ideas in releasing digital content out there. Kudos to you all!!
Wed 26 Nov at 03:54 PM
Stephen
The new site looks fantastic! I am thankful for The Criterion Collection. Wishing for a few more titles in my stocking this year.
Wed 26 Nov at 06:18 PM
Matthew Bradley
The new site is fantastic. The layout is very easy to navigate and it feels so vibrant and alive. The previous incarnation feels static in comparison. Posting the essays online is a welcome addition for those who have to rent and may not get the full package. Having select films available for download is what I always felt the collection is truly about: getting the greatest films of all time available for everyone. Keep up the great work. I can’t wait to see what you guys will come up with next!
Thu 27 Nov at 06:01 PM
Mark Kaiser
Dear Criterion,
It really saddens me to have to begin with negative criticism.
If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!
It’s reasonable to remodel a web site now and then, but it’s incomprehensibly mysterious to make it worse. You need to know that the overwhelming majority of visitor activity on a site like this is for checking out the list of products (=your dvd:s) and to be updated on the new releases. It may not seem that important to you because you’re on the inside of things, but believe me it is to the ones on the outside – the customers. It’s a classic pitfall when building a website, therefore one might expect you to know it. But: The list of films is still there but it’s less accesible and need more clicks, while to stay updated on the new releases is now near impossibla at a single glance. It really is NOT difficult to improve a site withous sacrifcing those basic functions. Therefore: why, why, why…???
Sincerely
/Mark
Sat 29 Nov at 03:10 AM
Todd Sklar
this makes me happier than anything else in life. this is just phenomenal. endless thanks.
Sat 29 Nov at 02:28 PM
SYLVIA ANTONIER-SCHER
WHEN WILL " VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED" BE PUT ON DVD? AND HOW ABOUT “VIENNA 1900”, THE DRAMATIZED SHORT STORIES BY ARTHUR SCHNITZLER WHICH WERE AIRED BY PBS IN THE 1960’S? AND THE LITTLE-KNOWN “THE BACHELOR” WITH MIRANDA RICHARDSON IN A DUAL ROLE? THE LIST GOES ON AND ON…
Sun 30 Nov at 09:41 AM
marclze
the new site is amazing! the whole concept is new and revolutionary! props to all of you guys!
Sun 30 Nov at 11:25 PM
sally
What a waste of Paper. But it is an interesting idea.
Mon 01 Dec at 06:31 PM
Chorch
The rarest treasures of cinema finally available online … for those living in the U.S.
Sad greetings from Germany :(
Tue 02 Dec at 04:28 PM
Christian
Please, please, PLEASE make this available outside of the US, and seriously consider offering a subscription model. I would love to be able to pay a monthly fee to watch anything I like in your collection, or to get a set of tokens per month allowing me to see certain films.
Wed 03 Dec at 12:12 AM
Georg Boch
AWESOME!!!!!!!
Wed 03 Dec at 06:36 PM
Jack
Congratulations! this is an awesome site.
Thu 04 Dec at 02:13 PM
Karlos
The new site is indeed a fascinating work of design, and I’m thrilled to see an increase in written materials available in the blog/current section. However, I’m sad to see that availability for international customers is still curtailed – I guess I can see the sense in your website not shipping discs overseas (even if they still find their way abroad in other ways), but why would a distributor not want you having universal online rights? Madness, I tell you.
Sun 07 Dec at 08:44 PM
Steve Rhodes
I’m sure that Criterion would love to be able to get the worldwide rights forever for all
their films, but that isn’t the way things work now.
So unless you have a lot of capital to invest in them, so they can try to buy those rights for films they
choose in the future, there is not much you or they can do.
Wed 10 Dec at 09:48 AM
Crisan
Hi
I was wondering if I can buy films if I am based in Bucharest Romania?
Nice day
Marian
Wed 10 Dec at 10:03 AM
Gwenda Helsham
What ! Only two Orson Welles ! May I put in a special request for you to put on DVD Chimes at Midnight , Welles’s masterful study of the character of Falstaff by combining Excerpts from Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V to give a definitive rendering of the character which could become indispensible to any teacher of Shakespeare. Please, please,, please ! If you do I would be an immediate purchaser as undoubtedly so would many others, not only teachers but admirers of his great talent.
Sun 14 Dec at 08:38 PM
Michael Danziger
That was a great clip. Really nicely done.
I must voice my commiseration with the other international customers. Despite all the talk of “universal” and “global community” and all that, it’s a real pain to obtain Criterion discs outside the US and the auteurs has a rather weak collection of free streamable movies internationally as well.
We ex-pats and non-Americans have been waiting for a long time…but it looks like we’ll have to wait even longer.
Sat 20 Dec at 10:37 PM
brad harris
well done peter…..looks amazing.
Wed 24 Dec at 03:59 PM
Jon Wagner
Excellent presentation……..
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