The Criterion Collection at Reeves

Over the past few years, the DVD collection at Reeves Memorial Library has grown by leaps and bounds.  Much of the growth has been due to a generous donation of over 1,000 new items. One area of the collection that deserves to be highlighted is the large number of titles released by the Criterion Collection.

For those unfamiliar with the Criterion Collection, it is "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films ... dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements" (description taken from the Criterion website).  If standard DVD and Blu-ray releases are sirloins and New York strip steaks, Criterion releases are filet mignon.  Their catalog currently includes over 900 titles, spanning a wide range of genres and featuring both American and foreign films, from mainstream hits to indie films.  Many of their releases provide cinema buffs with their first chance to see a film that had previously been unavailable for many years.

One great feature of their releases is the superb cover art, which has inspired a slew of fan-created fake Criterion covers that have been posted in a popular tumblr.

Reeves Memorial Library currently has about 140 Criterion titles available.  Recent additions include Charlie Chaplin's classic The Gold Rush, the landmark Holocaust documentary Shoah, and the hallmark French New Wave film Pierrot le fou.

If you're a Criterion fan, you can visit their website and set up a My Criterion account, which allows you to create lists of your favorite films, and to keep track of the Criterion films that you've seen.  Many of these user-created lists are featured on the Criterion Collection website.  Reeves Memorial Library has a My Criterion account that we use to keep track of the titles that we own, as well as our wish list for future purchases.  We also have a list of recommended teachable films from the collection, "Criterion in the Classroom."

Check out the Criterion Collection at Reeves Memorial Library and discover some of the greatest films ever made.