Collecting Criterion

[Matt]

If you want the glossy black cases with the 4K UHD logo, you want “Viva Elite” cases. There are probably many places to get these cases, but Vinegar Syndrome sells two-disc 4K cases for $3 each

Criterion only sells single-disc clear Scanavo cases. Powerhouse/Indicator sells the two-disc Scanavo cases for $3, but you can only buy two at a time and only if you’re also buying one of their actual disc releases as well.

[hearthesilence]

I always watch the film before the supplements. But if I've already seen the movie, even if it was on a lesser format like a censored airplane viewing, I'll often go straight to the extras, THEN revisit the film. (If there's a commentary track, I'll probably watch the film again with the commentary on.)

FWIW, I'm actually not too perturbed by "spoilers" because so many famous films were already "spoiled" for me long before I saw them, but often times I'll find that supplements will have bits that aren't fully understood if you haven't watched the film for context. By the same token, it's nice to watch a film again after you've seen the supplements as they may illuminate something you may have missed.

[therewillbeblus]

I know I revisit films more than the average person, but almost every time I put on an old favorite I'm looking for leisure and not an academic study experience, at least during the moment of watching. I also like to form my own analyses each time I revisit a film, so even if context could help, it may influence the subjective reading I had in this moment in time and quell that creative process. It's very rare that I'll post anything here or really think deeply on a film if I watch the extras/commentary in conjunction with that viewing - whether that has to do with inhibiting imagination or draining cognitive resources, who knows

[FrauBlucher]

A lot of times for me the supplements increase the value of the film. If I like the film the extras could make me love the film. If I’m lukewarm about a film the extras make me at least appreciate it. If I hate a film I won’t even bother with the extras.

If I love a film but don’t own the disc, will watch the supps right away once I do pick up the disc.

[Computer Raheem]

For me personally, I have to watch all the features before feeling "finished" with a release. That includes not just supplements, but also the entire booklet (which can get quite dense depending on the release!), any extra trinkets included, etc. I view it the same way I view finishing a video game: even if I'm "done" with the story, I cannot consider myself done with it unless I've completed every quest and objective, no matter how minor. Of course, this makes getting through certain releases difficult: getting through the release of A Brighter Summer Day took an entire week, simply due to how daunting the actual film was, even outside of Tony Rayns' commentary on top of that. But it makes dwelling into each release more rewarding than just watching it only to watch.

[ianthemovie]

After a period of some years where I was buying a lot of discs and neglecting to watch them, I made a conscious effort to reconnect with my collection by choosing one film each week to revisit; I like to start by watching the film and then spend the next several days going through the special features and the booklet, as well as any relevant books that discuss the film.

In some cases I'll also curate my own "bonus features" that aren't officially on the disc, for example watching Su Friedrich's short film Damned If You Don't in conjunction with Black Narcissus, Room 237 with The Shining, Making The Misfits with The Misfits, an episode of Shudder's docuseries Cursed Films, etc. When possible I'll modify the packaging of my Blu-rays to accommodate these additional discs that I want to keep together with the main feature. Consolidating/repackaging discs when possible--or merging various versions of a single title like Rayon Vert mentioned--saves shelf space, and it's also satisfying to feel like I've essentially created my own special edition of a given title.

[Rayon Vert]

In some cases I'll also curate my own "bonus features" that aren't officially on the disc, for example watching Su Friedrich's short film Damned If You Don't in conjunction with Black Narcissus, Room 237 with The Shining, Making The Misfits with The Misfits, an episode of Shudder's docuseries Cursed Films, etc. When possible I'll modify the packaging of my Blu-rays to accommodate these additional discs that I want to keep together with the main feature. Consolidating/repackaging discs when possible--or merging various versions of a single title like Rayon Vert mentioned--saves shelf space, and it's also satisfying to feel like I've essentially created my own special edition of a given title.

That's great.

More show and tell... I do a similar thing in terms of Word doc files I keep to accompany my collection. Under each film title I'll have the commentaries, documentaries, interviews, etc., grouped together, regardless of which discs they come from.

Since I bring this up I might as well just share what it looks like since I also create in the Word file(s) a visual "box" with info and pics (screenshot and dvd/blu-ray cover) for each film. It's arranged according to film director or film genre depending (or series, e.g. Astaire and Rogers musicals). I say "it's" but there's 5 arranged chronologically, which printed out turns into 5 huge 2-inch book binders (I no longer print it out because it's too expensive!), chronologically set out per 12-or-13 or so year "film generation" (up through the end of the 1970s). Here's a small example I've selected at random (Melville) with one random page for the "film boxes" and the other one for the disc contents under the films. Example.

And if for example there's, say, a documentary on a Melville disc that's about Melville in general rather than the specific film, I'll put that in another category called "General", at the top heading for that director. (p.s. Please ignore the "rating" I give each film since it's meaningless. A "B" and above is usually a masterpiece, and it's just shades of personal preference and they change with each viewing. The info here also doesn't include what's come out since in terms of upgrades that I haven't had the time yet to look into and add.)

I also alter the "film box" according to the aspect ratio of the film. Example. (1.33 is equivalent to 1.37, I don't make a fuss!)

[Rayon Vert]

Another general collecting/purchasing question. Does anybody fall into the trap of buying something twice? I don't have those problems with upgrades because I've got a list and I scratch them off as I purchase them, but for "new" films (Indicator's The Line Up being one example) I sometimes forget I purchased it and get it again. I'm trying to devise a system so that doesn't happen.

A problem is that I don't include the unwatched pile from the rest of the collection so they're not properly stored so I can see them.

[therewillbeblus]

I think people have discussed inventory systems in other threads, and I’m interested too- moving soon, and won’t have the ability to display my collection on all walls encasing my living space, will need to create a storage system, etc. I’ve been privileged thus far to have everything in eyesight to avoid double dips

[tenia]

I maintain an Excel file with all my purchases (etc) since I started buying/getting DVDs, and I keep a copy on my phone, so if I'm in a store and am unsure, I can check.
I'm lucky enough to have a good-enough memory of everything I own, but been trapped a few times with movies I forgot were in boxsets I already owned (but luckily enough, I realised that once home before unwrapping them).
What is interesting though is kind of forgetting individual titles I purchased through multi-buy sales, which I then stopped to purchase, since it meant I was buying stuff by sheer force of volume and wasn't even remembering I buy them. Meaning I'd have never bought them if not through sales, and that's how forgettable most of those movies are.

[Rayon Vert]

My "collection", meaning what I own, can be broken down into and sorted into these different spaces/areas/piles (there may be others but these are the ones I can think of right now):

1) blu-rays I've seen, own and keep
2) DVDs that don't have a blu-ray upgrade yet that I've seen, own, keep and have recently enough watched (around the time the most recent 1930s project list got started)
3) blu-rays/DVDs with multiple editions (that I can't fit into one packaging, otherwise they go into Area 1)
4) DVDs that don't have a blu-ray upgrade yet that I've seen, own, keep and that I plan to rewatch (unless they get upgraded before) so that I can "re-grade" them
5) DVDs I've seen and own but have put aside because there's a blu-ray upgrade I own or that has been announced and that I might or might not keep
6) blu-rays I've seen and own but have put aside because there's another blu-ray upgrade (or other version with tempting extras) I own or that has been announced and that I might or might not keep
7) blu-ray upgrades I've purchased (of films I've seen) but haven't watched yet
8) blu-rays of films I haven't seen
9) DVDs of films I haven't seen
10) big-enough boxsets that don't fit into the cabinets
11) all the discs I own but I want to get rid of and never do (unless I give them away to friends) - I don't officially consider those as part of my "collection" and they're just thrown together any which way into a big closet.

It's been Area 8 that's been giving me trouble. And I'm seriously trying to limit purchases of 8 and 9, but it's tough with these limited editions coming out and then OOP discs/boutiques closing/film catalogues going off into the ether (Fox).

Among all of that I have zero organization - director, year, alphabetical title, whatever - so it's hell when I'm looking for something. . (Like, oh I'll buy the Radiance blu ray of Thieves Like Us, like I did today, but now I have to retrieve the Kino disc from Area 1 (or course finding it is the hell part) and move it into Area 6.

It would even more hellish if I started collecting 4K. One reason I'm not doing that anytime soon.

[flyonthewall2983]

My collection is in a bit of disarray, but in my next place I plan on getting new shelves. I’m thinking of separating them a bit more different than before, instead of just all alphabetical I’m going to separate. Movies (by the boutiques I have bought from, and then just studio releases, each in alphabetical/numerical order), music (of which there are almost as much, at least the ones not in odd shapes that don’t fit in those shelves, or the ones in more conventional cd cases), and the few complete tv series I have at the end.

[Matt]

I recently reorganized my collection, now in the following order:

The following take up two wide IKEA Billy bookcases:
1. All DVDs - alphabetical
2. Criterion Blu-rays and UHDs - alphabetical
3. Odd-sized Criterion box sets (Bergman, Varda, Pasolini)

In a third bookcase:
3. Multi-film box sets - multi-director, followed by single-director alphabetical by last name
4. Second Run Blu-rays - alphabetical
5. All other Blu-rays and UHDs- alphabetical

I don’t have enough UHDs yet to feel compelled to shelve them separately.

I keep a Google spreadsheet of everything I own (exported and cleaned up from the dearly departed DVD Aficionado), and a Google doc of a wishlist.

Sounds like a lot to keep track of, but I’ve never bought anything a second time and everything looks nice on the shelves.

[jheez]

I maintain an excel spreadsheet with everything, which maybe isn't the most efficient, but I've been doing it forever and it works. I also rate films, record viewing, and notes on there.

I have some Billy bookcases for my display titles. These are organized by country (although I lump all the English titles together), then year.

For stuff that doesn't fit on my shelves, I organize it by decade and find that works really well when I'm looking for something.

I used to use banker boxes on Home Depot HDX plastic garage-type shelving (the deeper model fits up to 20 banker boxes - 4 per shelf).

I'm switching over to Tarifold DVD sleeves stored in DVD storage bags that fit under my bed for English language films. Each bag is a decade, then it's further organized by year. For unique packaging or slipcovers I want to save, I don't use the sleeves for those titles and just put them in the DVD bags. Box sets go in the appropriate decade bag, unless they span multiple decades, in which case they get their own box.

Foreign language films are still in banker boxes organized by country ("A-China", etc), which makes it easy to browse if I'm in the mood for something like a French New Wave film or spaghetti western.

[hearthesilence]

I finally got around to opening my B&N shipment and three of the four items have pretty serious scratches on the disc(s) - mostly in terms of the number of scratches with one UHD title actually scuffed up across a quarter-sized area. (Surprisingly, the multidisc Apu trilogy is the one that seems fine.) Overall the worst I've gotten by a wide margin, which is surprising because I thought Criterion was getting better in that regard. To be fair, it's reportedly a problem with the facility putting these together, not just Criterion, but I've yet to encounter it with other U.S. labels. My guess is the packaging - the titles in question have the digipaks with the hard plastic hubs, and they can be trickier to load quickly, especially the ones that stack dual-formats, whereas other labels tend to use the standard soft plastic amaray cases which have no obstructive pieces that could scratch a disc. I still have a few weeks to play them and check for problems before the exchange cutoff lapses, but this is partly why I've been buying more from UK boutiques.

[ryannichols7]

I am notably meticulous about the copies I buy, and it's insane just how many copies in store at B&N had wildly aligned inner sleeves, often damaging them. they don't line up with the plastic sleeve and you end up getting tears before you even take the shrinkwrap off. there's always been copies like this, but I feel like it's more than usual. as is the shrinkwrap being stuck to the case. maybe I'm just being particular but I'm noticing this stuff more. thankfully didn't see any disc scratches but everything I got (Apu, Fear and Loathing, Devil+Daniel, Princess Bride) had trays thankfully

I don't know why none of the US labels have adopted the shrinkwrap that the UK labels do, with the silver-colored Blu-ray lettering and easy to open wrap. Arrow and Indicator sell it with their US editions (that you can see at B&N!) so there's little reason Criterion, Kino, WAC, etc can't do the same

maybe this is all pendantry!

[hearthesilence]

The misaligned inserts used to bug me too, but truth be told, I'm fine with it now as I've pretty much accepted the inserts were going to get some wear and tear eventually. Unless the damage was egregious, like getting water logged, stained or torn, I'm okay with it. For example, you may notice that over time, the circular tray in the case leaves a big impression on the back of the insert. That's the type of thing a comic book collector or even a record collector might find undesirable, but to me that's unavoidable.

FWIW, I noticed another design flaw with stacking the dual format discs - the McCabe & Mrs. Miller UHD I got that was scuffed up actually got those scratches from the button for the disc stacked underneath it. Just the pressure of popping the UHD back in can press it against that button underneath, and I guess just from movement it can spin and scrape that button. Anyway, I can't leave it in there because it's only going to scrape against it more and more, but it's pretty annoying. It's possible it's just this particular case - maybe it was poorly manufactured? - because they have other titles packaged like this and I don't recall getting discs this scratched, but I guess I'll have to check them the next time I open them up. There are better ways of packaging dual-formats and multi-discs, and I wish they'd go back to them.