Top 10 Criterions

My brother says that collecting Criterion DVDs is like collecting wine. I agree, but would add that discs from The Criterion Collection are better than bottles of wine because they get better with age and can be enjoyed more than once. I've been collecting them for a while now. You might even call it an obsession. I'm not alone, as you can see here. In the spirit of those top 10 lists here are my top ten Criterions.

10. a gorgeous and well-appointed presentation of an unforgettable film...includes an audio commentary from one of my favorite film scholars Annette Insdorf

9. the best DVD menus ever and one of the most handsomely outfitted titles in the catalog...even includes a companion book of the Raymond Carver short stories the film is based on

8. quite simply a must have for any self-respecting film buff...I appreciate it more and more as the years roll on

7. a milestone in my early film education...black and white has never looked better, and the human condition has never looked bleaker

6. adoration is not too strong a word for how I feel about this witty film and Criterion's presentation of it

5. everything I know about Robert Bresson I learned from Criterion...includes a moving commentary from historian Peter Cowie ("all is grace")

4. permanently expanded my perceptions of the emotional possibilities of cinema and the technical possibilities of home video...romantic and haunting

3. my introduction to Bergman and Peter Cowie...and if memory serves my first Criterion acquisition

2. Criterion and Wes Anderson are a match made in heaven...every detail precisely and lovingly rendered

1. a film and restoration without equal...the crown jewel