Filed under: DVDs, Columns, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
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The Criterion Collection saved my life. It’s not as if I was shot in the chest only to have the bullet stopped by the ‘Grand Illusion’ DVD I keep over my heart at all times or anything like that (although everyone knows that the U.S. army used laserdiscs as shields during the Gulf War), but … Okay, the Criterion Collection never saved my life, but it sure played a role in shaping it.
A chance encounter with their initial ‘Seven Samurai’](http://www.moviefone.com/movie/seven-samurai/3334/main) disc some 11 years ago sparked a voracious and domineering appetite for film that – 500+ Criterion releases later – has still yet to be fully satisfied. That formative experience spurred me toward a number of film-related pilgrimages, including a quest to Ozu’s grave in Kamakura, Japan which became the basis of my college admissions essay. Criterion – as I would soon discover – has become a more reliable, expansive and cost-effective education than the most esteemed film studies programs.
With that fanaticism in mind, it’s my overwhelming pleasure to welcome you to Criterion Corner, a new monthly Cinematical column dedicated to the wide and wonderful world of the Criterion Collection.