Maybe the single biggest release of Criterion’s post-Laserdisc era and they fucked it up. As you may have heard by now, their Blu-Ray of a little movie called Citizen Kane went to press with a significant mastering error, where three-fourths of the movie are grey, low-contrast mush. At least the 4K disc is unaffected by this and Criterion has already offered a disc replacement program, rather than taking the Kino route and just refusing to admit the problems at all (feel free to pick up Kino’s 4K of the 70s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, though!). Still, I find this news so troubling that it’s encouraged me to do what I was already going to do and make this post mostly about Uncut Gems. The usual arguments about Criterion’s increasing reliance on big-name new releases apply here, but contemporary movies rarely come more plainly deserving of canonization than Gems, Criterion is just stating the obvious about its already high stature rather than putting prestige gloss on solid enough streaming movies. That being said: where the fuck is my Meyerowitz Stories Criterion already?

All or Nothing (Severin)
Butter on the Latch & Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (Oscilloscope)
Citizen Kane 4K (Criterion)
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (Shout Factory)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers 4K (Kino)
Lullaby of Broadway (Warner Archive Collection)
Menace II Society 4K (Criterion)
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (Arrow)
Uncut Gems 4K (Criterion)