i’m almost positive it was Band of Outsiders. i know it was the first one i bought. i’m pretty sure i picked it up because A Bande Apart and the Tarantino production company connection…if you can call it that. at the time, i’d been staring at Criterion for a long time but never bothered to buy anything, since i hadn’t seen most of the films and they weren’t cheap. i’m glad i did, even if Band of Outsiders isn’t the strongest film by Godard available. its still entertaining and pleasent, and not a bad start for the price.
I think it was probably Oliver Twist. Which I haven’t seen in years, and remember very little of.
Down by Law written and directed by Jim Jarmusch
Alphaville. I watched it and I realized that it was way ahead of its time. Way ahead.
Man Bites Dog, even though I wish it wasn’t.
I bought Vengeance is Mine, not knowong anything about Criterion, just because I liked the artwork. Now I own close to 100 Criterion DVD’s.
A Fire Within
Seven Samurai, I believe.
The Red Balloon. Before it was a “Criterion” film it was a tattered film shown in the gymnasium/lunch room at a school that didn’t have a screen that was wide enough, so it was shown against the white wall. I was in 4th grade and I was completely absorbed in the story despite — or perhaps because of — the limited technical surroundings. That movie takes me back not just to the film, but to the day.
I watched Seven Samurai in 7th Grade, don’t know if it was the criterion though, probably not. So the first one was probably “The Life Aquatic”, I liked that the box art was reversible.
I think it was Salesman (1968) by Maysles brothers. And it blew me away.
Purple Noon on Criterion Laser Disc
Brazil, and then Wild Strawberries. I was hooked!
Probably, Chasing Amy was the first I saw… not knowing why I was paying $40 for a DVD, but after watching 8 1/2 and hearing my film professor on the commentary, I realized how much I was paying for with bonus materials… forever a collector, now.
black narcissus
life aquatic by wes anderson was the first one i rented there could of been ones before it but thats the first one that was criterion
I’ve been hooked since first seeing “Seven Samurai” about 11 years ago now…
Most likely Seven Samurai. Thought it would’ve been The Grand Illusion by Jean Renoir.
Chasing Amy actually. I didn’t even know what Criterion was at the time.
I watched Chasing Amy first and thought it was brilliant. Sadly, at the time, I didn’t know what Criterion was. The first movie that I watched that I knew was a Criterion, though, was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Savvy
I think it was CITIZEN KANE on laser disc. Not the great three disc set they put out, but a simpler before that.
Seven Samurai
“Two-Lane Blacktop” as a Criterion release, “Rushmore” as a regular film.
On DVD, it was Charade. On LaserDisc, . . . either Ghostbusters or The Silence of the Lambs.
Chasing Amy
Fritz Lang’s M, I’d never seen anything like it.
Grand Illusion maybe?
Time Bandits
Chasing Amy, I think.
Chicago Movie Blogger
The Seventh Seal