The movie selection on iTunes got an upgrade that should make critics and movie buffs everywhere quite happy — films from the Criterion Collection are now available. Right now, there’s over 40 films available for $14.99 to own, or $2.99 to rent, grouped into five generes: Essential Art House, Japanese Cinema, Cult Favorites, Documentaries, and American Indies. While this only covers a fraction of the hundreds of movies in the Criterion Collection, it’s still a good move for iTunes to highlight less commercial films.
Criterion Collection films come to iTunes, but without special features
Films from the Criterion Collection are now available to buy or rent, though they’re not available in HD unless you use an iPad or Apple TV. Also
Films from the Criterion Collection are now available to buy or rent, though they’re not available in HD unless you use an iPad or Apple TV. Also
What isn’t a good move is the lack of bonus features that Criterion’s original Laserdisc and eventual DVD / Blu-ray collections became known for — the purchase price gets you the movie only. It’s also worth noting that none of these films are available to purchase in HD; you only get HD if you rent on Apple TV or iPad. With over 100 Criterion films on Hulu Plus and several dozen available through Netflix streaming (certainly in high quality than iTunes SD), iTunes is probably not the holy grail for those who want to enjoy Criterion’s films on their computer.
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