I’ve gone head-first into the tank for Blu-ray ever since I broke down and bought a player last year. And despite a high retail tag in most quarters, Amazon.com remains the number one spot for finding the best deals.
Criterion has slowly been putting together a rather varied slate of titles on Blu, from Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” to Gregory Nava’s “Norte” to David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which will be hitting store shelves tomorrow. Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” hits next month, which has me doubly excited, but frankly I’ve been a touch disappointed with the output so far. Where’s the Malick stuff fer cryin’ out loud?
Amazon has now partnered with Criterion to give you a say in their release schedule allowing customers to vote for the next Criterion Blu-ray release. A list of five possible titles has been offered up:
Together with the Criterion Collection, we’re offering customers the unique opportunity to select an upcoming Blu-ray release from the Criterion Collection. From now until May 25th, select from Au Revoir Les Enfants, Down By Law, Howards End, Kwaidan, and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The winning title will be released later in 2009.
My vote went to Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” but I wasn’t totally impressed by that quintet of possibilities. Regardless, I’m glad Criterion is in the HD fold and I’m sure the company will continue to deliver, as always.