Jason Lefkowitz4d ago

Coming to the Criterion Channel in April: movies whose Criterion disc editions are long out of print. This is interesting because they’re not just presenting the movies themselves but the disc version’s extra features as well, which includes now-rare commentary tracks — including the first commentary track ever presented on home video, for Criterion’s 1984 LaserDisc edition of 1933’s King Kong.

Films included:

King Kong (1933)
High Noon (1952)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Harold and Maude (1971)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
The Elephant Man (1980)
RoboCop (1987)

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/9091-the-criterion-channel-s-april-2026-lineup

The Criterion Channel’s April 2026 Lineup

This month’s highlights include a collection of corporate thrillers, a survey of an emerging generation of trans auteurs, and a new installment of Adventures in Moviegoing with Mary Bronstein.

The Criterion Collection
Show threadJason Lefkowitz2d ago

Update: we have a trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlWLs0BtSu0

OUT-OF-PRINT CRITERION COLLECTION EDITIONS | Criterion Channel Teaser

YouTube
Show threadJason Lefkowitz2d ago

One of the fascinating things about really old commentary tracks is that they were recorded in a time when it was understood that only serious film nerds would ever listen to them, so the participants felt free to be more frank than they would normally have been in public. The DVD boom ended that, and commentaries have been as sanitized as any other bit of promotional ephemera for a long time. But the old ones can be really fun.

A good example of this is Ben Affleck's commentary track on Criterion's 1999 DVD release of ARMAGEDDON (1998), which he is still apologizing for

https://ew.com/ben-affleck-armageddon-dvd-criterion-commentary-best-work-of-career-11724131

Ben Affleck calls his 'Armageddon' DVD commentary his 'best work'

Ben Affleck calls his infamous DVD commentary for 'Armageddon' the 'best work' of his career: 'People approach me to talk about the commentary on this disc as much as they do movies that I've been in.'

EW.com
Show threadJason Lefkowitz

"In 1984 we only had two audio channels, so we could only do commentaries on mono movies. You would take your receiver and turn the balance knob to the left to get to the movie, and to the right to get to the commentary, and you could make your own mix by leaving it in between."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8cm3Z3mt5w

Did You Know Criterion Invented the Commentary Track?

YouTube
Apr 2 at 4:15pmWeb
Show threadAlex 1d ago
@jalefkowit Very clever use of technology for the time to achieve something unintended by the hardware designer.