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What are the most essential/must own Criterion releases?


There are several hundred Criterion Collection releases and they can be pricey, so most of us can't afford them all. Which Criterion releases do you consider must buy? Here are my list of the 15 most essential/must own Criterion releases: (in alphabetical order)

8 1/2
Bicycle Thieves
Breathless
City Lights
The Graduate
House
La Dolce Vita
M
Nashville
Persona
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The Red Shoes
Salo
Sansho the Bailiff
Seven Samurai

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I would love to have them all but I can't afford it.

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Some other Criterion releases that I recommend that I have picked up since this was posted:

Arsenic and Old Lace 1944
Do the Right Thing 1989
Double Indemnity 1944
Eve’s Bayou 1997
For All Mankind 1989
The Girl Can’t Help It 1956
Hedwig and the Angry Inch 2001
The Last Waltz 1978
The Piano 1993
WALL·E 2008

Any one else have any Criterions they recommend?

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I OWN SEVERAL OF THESE TITLES ON NON CRITERION RELEASES...WHAT DO THE CRITERION RELEASES OFFER BEYOND THE STANDARD RELEASES?

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Some of them have a new remastered and improved picture quality and some have additional, new special features (such as interviews or audio commentaries).

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ONE OF THESE DAYS I AM GOING TO HAVE TO START BUYING THIS BOUTIQUE STUFF...I LOVE SPECIAL FEATURES.

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Yes, the boutique labels are great. Criterion is my favourite.

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I USED TO GO TO BEST BUY WEEKLY AND DROP BIG MONEY ON NEW SHIT...ONE TIME I BOUGHT THE ALIEN QUADRILOGY AND THE SLEEPAWAY CAMP RED CROSS BOXSET ON THE SAME DAY...SPENT MY WHOLE PAYCHECK...EVER SINCE MY DAUGHTER CAME ALONG WE ONLY REALLY PICK UP THINGS IN THE WILD AND ON THE CHEAP...QUANTITY OVER QUALITY...DAMN THOUGH...I WANT SOME OF THESE NEW FANCY PANTS RELEASES.

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Cat People (1942)
Diabolique (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Peeping Tom (1960)
The Innocents (1961)
Carnival of Souls (1962)
Repulsion (1965)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Blow Out (1981)
Videodrome (1983)
The Vanishing (1988)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

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Good list!

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I agree with Allaby's list. Allaby is wise and I follow his recommendations.

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