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| Company type | Private |
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| Industry | Motion picture video production |
| Founded | 1984; 41 years ago (1984) |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S.[1] |
Area served |
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Key people | |
| Products | |
| Owner | The Voyager Company (1985–1997) Steven Rales (2024–present) |
Number of employees | 40[1] |
| Divisions |
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| Website | criterion |
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simplyCriterion) is an Americanhome-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films".[3] A "sister company" ofarthousefilm distributorJanus Films,[4] Criterion serves film and media scholars,cinephiles[5][6] and public and academic libraries. Criterion has helped to standardize certain aspects of home-video releases such asfilm restoration, theletterboxing format for widescreen films and the inclusion of bonus features such as scholarly essays and documentary content about the films and filmmakers. Criterion most notably pioneered the use ofcommentary tracks. Criterion has produced and distributed more than 1,200special editions of its films inVHS,Betamax,LaserDisc,DVD,Blu-ray andUltra HD Blu-ray formats and box sets. Many of these films and their special features are also available via The Criterion Channel, an onlinestreaming service that the company operates.[7]
The Criterion Collection is considered the leadingboutique Blu-ray label.[8][9]
In the United Kingdom, Spirit Entertainment handles distribution of Criterion titles since October 2023. In Canada, their releases are distributed by Unobstructed View since 2019, after their deal withEntertainment One expired that year.
The company was founded in 1984 byRobert Stein, Aleen Stein andJoe Medjuck, who later were joined by Roger Smith. In 1985, the Steins, William Becker and Jonathan B. Turell founded theVoyager Company[10] to publish educationalmultimediaCD-ROMs (1989–2000),[10][11] and the Criterion Collection became a subordinate division of the Voyager Company, with Janus Films holding a minority stake in the company, and decided to expand its product on videocassettes and videodiscs.[12] In March 1994,Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH bought 20% of Voyager for US$6.7 million; the four founders each retained a 20% owner's share.[10]
In 1997, the Voyager Company was dissolved (Aleen Stein founded the Organa LLC CD-ROM publishing company), andHoltzbrinck Publishers sold the Voyager brand name, 42 CD-ROM titles, the Voyager web site and associated assets to Learn Technologies Interactive, LLC (LTI).[13] Stein sold 42 Voyager titles to LTI from his Voyager/Criterion company share. The remaining three partners, Aleen Stein, Becker and Turell owned the Criterion Collection company,[13] which has a business partnership withJanus Films and had one with Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) until 2005, whenImage Entertainment bought HVE.[14] On November 4, 2013, it was announced thatSony Pictures Home Entertainment would handle distribution.[15] In May 2024, Janus Films and Criterion were acquired bySteven Rales.[4]
In 1986,Charles Benton founded Home Vision Entertainment (HVE), the home-video division of Public Media Inc. (PMI), which he had previously founded in 1968. The HVE company sold, advertised, marketed and distributed Criterion Collection DVDs, and also sold its own HVE brand of DVDs (co-produced with Criterion), includingThe Merchant Ivory Collection[16] and the Classic Collection, a joint venture between Home Vision Entertainment and Janus Films. The latter enterprise published HVE imprint films, for which Janus Films owned the video rights, but which were unavailable from the Criterion Collection; however, Criterion published the Classic Collection films. In 2005, Image Entertainment bought HVE making it the exclusive distributor of Criterion Collection products until 2013.[17]
The Criterion Collection began to providevideo-on-demand (VOD) in partnership withMubi (formerlyThe Auteurs) in 2008. In February 2011, Criterion began switching its VOD offerings exclusively toHulu Plus.[18] In November 2016,FilmStruck, a film streaming service fromTurner Classic Movies, succeeded Hulu as the exclusive streaming service for the Criterion Collection.[19] Some Criterion films were streamed byKanopy. On October 26, 2018,Warner Bros. Digital Networks andTurner announced that FilmStruck would shut down on November 29.[20] Criterion stated in a blog post that it was "trying to find ways we can bring our library and original content back to the digital space as soon as possible".[21]
On November 16, 2018, Criterion announced the launch of the Criterion Channel as a standalone service, wholly owned and operated by the Criterion Collection, in the United States and Canada. Some of the VOD service's offerings are also available on theHBO Max streaming platform.[22]
British film magazineSight & Sound revealed in its April 2016 issue that Criterion would be expanding its releases to the United Kingdom.[23][24] The first six titles were released on April 18, 2016.
TheCriterion Closet is a film closet containing every title distributed by Criterion. Criterion regularly uploads videos of prominent film directors and actors (such asMartin Scorsese andPamela Anderson) selecting films from the closet on their officialYouTube channel.[25]
The Criterion Collection video company pioneered the correct aspect-ratioletterboxing presentation of films, as well as commentary soundtracks, multi-disc sets, special editions and definitive versions. These ideas and the special features introduced by the Criterion Collection have been highly influential, and have become industry-wide standards for premium home video releases.[citation needed]
With its eighth LaserDisc release,Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Criterion introduced the letterbox format, which added black bars to the top and bottom of the4:3 standard television set in order to preserve the originalaspect ratio of the film.[26] Thereafter, Criterion made letterboxing the standard presentation for all its releases of films shot in widescreen aspect ratios.[27]
The Criterion Collection's second LaserDisc title,King Kong (1933), was the debut of the scene-specificaudio commentary[28] contained in a separate analog channel of the LaserDisc,[29] in which American film historianRonald Haver spoke about the production, cast, screenplay, production design and special effects.[30] He also provides commentary on the LaserDisc editions ofCasablanca (1942),Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941),Singin' in the Rain (1952) andThe Wizard of Oz (1939). Typically, the chapter-indexed commentaries are exclusive to the Criterion releases and their initial DVD reissues; they became collector's items when the original studios reissued titles previously licensed to Criterion, regardless of whether new commentary tracks were produced.
The Criterion Collection began in 1984 with the releases ofCitizen Kane (1941) andKing Kong (1933) on LaserDisc, the latter's source negatives courtesy of theLibrary of Congress.[31] The company later became known for pioneering the "special edition" DVD concept containing bonus materials such astrailers, commentaries, documentaries,alternate endings anddeleted scenes.[32] The success of these releases established the special-edition version in the DVD business. In 2006, taking advantage of advancedfilm-transfer andfilm-restoration technologies, Criterion published higher-quality versions, with bonus materials, of early catalog titles such asAmarcord (1973),Brazil (1985) andSeven Samurai (1954).
Originally, Criterion released art, genre and mainstream movies on LaserDisc such asHalloween (1978),Ghostbusters (1984),Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992),Armageddon (1998) andThe Rock (1996). Increasingly, the Criterion Collection has also focused on releasingworld cinema, mainstream cinema classics and critically successful obscure films. Using the best available source materials, the company produced technologically improved and cleaner versions, such as those forThe Passion of Joan of Arc (1928),M (1931),Children of Paradise (1945),The Third Man (1949),Seven Samurai (1954) andAmarcord (1973). Almost every title contains film-cleaning and film-restoration essays in the booklets, while some even have featurettes comparing the restored and unrestored images.
Some previously licensed Criterion Collection titles, such asThe Harder They Come (1972), are now commercially unavailable as new product, and are only available in resale (used) form. Titles such asRoboCop (1987),Hard Boiled (1992),The Killer (1989) andRan (1985) became unavailable when their publishing licenses expired or when Criterion published improved versions, such as those forBeauty and the Beast (1946),M (1931),The Wages of Fear (1953) andSeven Samurai (1954). As of October 2023,[update] over 200 of the 384 titles from the List of Criterion Collection Laserdisc releases have been re-released.[33]
Another example is the filmCharade (1963), which had become apublic-domain property for lacking the legally-requiredcopyright notice. Criterion produced a restored edition under license fromUniversal Pictures for the initial edition and for the lateranamorphic widescreen re-release edition of the film.[34][35]
Periodically, Criterion releases material on DVD and Blu-ray disc licensed from the studios with whom the company had previously dealt (such as Universal's andTerry Gilliam's 1985 filmBrazil); these new releases are generally undertaken on a case-by-case basis.[36]
Criterion released its firstWalt Disney Pictures title,Andrew Stanton'sWALL-E, in 2022. This was not the result of an ongoing deal betweenDisney (who has maintained a relationship with the distributor for titles fromTouchstone Pictures and, since 2019,20th Century Studios) and Criterion, but rather licensed as a one-off, with Stanton approaching Criterion and "wanting to be part of the club".[37][38]
All Criterion titles are numbered, which is shown on the bottom of the spine of the packaging. Though the bulk of Criterion's catalog is of live-action films, they have also released animated films (such asAkira,Fantastic Planet,Fantastic Mr. Fox andWALL-E), television series (such asTanner '88,Fishing with John and select episodes ofI Love Lucy andThe Addams Family) and music videos (Beastie Boys Video Anthology).
The Criterion Collection began publishingLaserDiscs on December 1, 1984, with its release ofCitizen Kane, until March 16, 1999, withMichael Bay'sArmageddon (#384).[39] Three of the company's early titles (The 39 Steps,The Lady Vanishes andThe Third Man) were also issued on VHS and Betamax. These were Criterion's only releases on those formats—other Janus/Criterion titles were often released to VHS through Home Vision Entertainment.[citation needed]
Criterion entered the DVD market in 1998 with a reset numbering system, beginning withSeven Samurai, spine #2 (Grand Illusion, #1, was delayed for a year while restoration was underway on a then-newly-found camera negative). As with its laserdiscs, Criterion's early DVD editions of widescreen films were presented in the letterbox format, but Criterion did notanamorphically enhance its discs for16:9 monitors until mid-1999 with its release ofInsomnia (#47).[40]
Criterion was slow to expand intohigh-definition releases, partly because of theHD format war betweenBlu-ray andHD DVD.[41] Once Blu-ray emerged as the industry-standard high-definition home-video format, Criterion began to release Blu-ray editions of select films from its collection, beginning with the Blu-ray release ofWong Kar-wai'sChungking Express (#453) on December 16, 2008.[42][43]
Despite the emergence of Blu-ray as the industry-standard high-definition format, Janus/Criterion continues to support the DVD format. Most of their new Blu-ray releases accompanied by a standard-definition DVD version and/or a 4K version (see below). Previous releases are regularly revised and upgraded for the newer formats. "Dual format" packages that contained both DVD and Blu-ray discs were briefly experimented with[44] between November 2013 with their release of theZatoichi boxset (#679), up through September 2014 withAll That Jazz (#724), in response to negative customer feedback.[45]
Aside from the core catalog, the company has also released films through its Essential Art House,Eclipse,Merchant Ivory and Janus Contemporaries lines, as well as a few releases outside of any product line. Many of these releases have also been collected and sold in various box sets.
In early 2016 for the first time in its history, Criterion announced it would begin releasing its catalogue outside of the US and Canada (earlier international Criterion titles such as the Japanese LaserDisc ofBlade Runner were licensed to other companies). In partnership withSony Pictures Home Entertainment, releases began to be distributed with the launch of six titles in the U.K. during the month.[46]
Criterion's DVD releases are a mixture ofNTSC-standardRegion 0 (region-free) andRegion 1 DVDs. Blu-ray discs areRegion A-locked in North America orRegion B-locked in the United Kingdom (though there are exceptions).[47] However, when SPHE moved to Elevation Sales in the UK, the distribution moved to Spirit Entertainment.
On August 11, 2021, Criterion announced that it would begin publishing titles on theUltra HD Blu-ray format in November 2021. All Criterion Ultra HD Blu-ray releases will include both an Ultra HD Blu-ray copy and a regular Blu-ray copy of a film (with all the special features on the regular Blu-ray), with select releases includingDolby VisionHDR andDolby Atmos. The first such releases were announced on August 16 for a November 21 release:Citizen Kane (#1104, returning to the collection for the first time since 1992),Mulholland Drive andMenace II Society. The company also releasedThe Red Shoes,A Hard Day's Night andThe Piano on Ultra HD Blu-ray disc.[48][49] The 2019 filmUncut Gems (#1101), which was previously planned for a remastered Blu-ray release in October 2021, was delayed until November in order to also give the film an Ultra HD Blu-ray release.[50]
After forays in providing titles from the Collection as streamingvideo-on-demand (VOD) in partnership with other companies –Mubi (formerlyThe Auteurs, 2008),Hulu (2011–2016)[18] andTCM'sFilmStruck (2016–2018)[19] – Criterion titles found themselves without an online home when FilmStruck announced it would be shutting down on November 29, 2018. The company stated in a blog post that it was "trying to find ways we can bring our library and original content back to the digital space as soon as possible".[21]
A month later, Criterion announced their own standalone subscription service, The Criterion Channel, available to subscribers in the United States and Canada. The service began on April 8, 2019.[51] The Channel's offerings include rotating playlists, temporarily licensed films (and some television offerings) from a variety of studios and rights holders alongside streaming editions of Criterion Collection releases replete with special features. The Channel also hosts some original content, including academic overviews and curated introductions as well as featuring some Janus-owned titles that have yet to be released on physical media. Criterion maintains a close relationship withWarner Bros. Discovery's streaming platformHBO Max, which frequently also houses Criterion-released titles.
Hulu is looking to court movie buffs to its subscription Plus offering, announcing Tuesday that it has acquired streaming rights for hundreds of classic films from The Criterion Collection. [...] Hulu Plus will soon be the only place old movie buffs will be able to catch Criterion titles.
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