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Do You Really Need to Upgrade? My Honest Take on Criterion 4Ks

20th & 21st Movies

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I’m taking a casual look at my Criterion Collection 4K upgrade philosophy — what I choose to upgrade, what I pass on, and how I approach titles released first by Arrow, Kino, BFI, or the studios themselves.

Along the way I’ll share examples from my collection, including Criterion 4Ks like Blow Out, Thief, and Mulholland Drive, plus why I’ve skipped upgrades for films like Night of the Living Dead and The Seventh Seal.

I’ll also touch on non-Criterion titles like The Dark Knight Trilogy and how 4K compares to Blu-ray in terms of picture quality and HDR.

At the end of the day, it’s about enjoying the movies — the format is just the medium.

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20 Comments

@20thand21stMovies Creator 1 year ago Pinned

Upgrading to Criterion 4K can be amazing — but not every title is essential to upgrade. In this video, I share my philosophy on when I upgrade, when I skip, and how other labels like Arrow, Kino, and BFI fit into the mix.

👉 More Criterion reviews: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVZ6Inj30MIy_nYlkAiu_lKCXwc0mLeKd&si=zoQCmN9KyPJUo1Ms
👉 Studio reviews: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVZ6Inj30MIxe8YDRYogmQVPNnTtucK1U&si=TggqHO08aVsV7BNe

What about you? Do you upgrade every Criterion release, or stay selective like I do? Drop your thoughts below — I’d love to hear how you approach upgrades!

@LiesThatBind 1 year ago

I will update to 4k from a DVD. For blurays I tend to not upgrade unless it's a movie I absolutely adore.

@VividMiddle 1 year ago

black and white 1080p is usually fine for me, and a 1080p from a 4k scan usually is good enough for me.

@midlevelmedia 1 year ago

I find myself upgrading less Criterion blurays than any other labels. Mostly because I'm usually very impressed by the blu-ray quality and they don't add anything in terms of new features or packaging to really entice me to jump to their new 4Ks. I'm pretty sure the only one I've upgraded is Night Of The Living Dead. Nice video James and appreciate your insight here!

@Tomhyde098 1 year ago

When I upgraded my tv to an OLED and got a UB-820 I slowed down a lot on upgrading 4K movies. The tv/player combo does a phenomenal job upscaling regular Blu-rays. I now only upgrade to 4K if I absolutely love the movie or if it’s a new release I just opt for the 4K/Bluray combo

@ProtonPackGuy 1 year ago

I’m not sure if anyone else has commented, but Goodfellas was a very early 4K disc. Due to the HDR implementation and the newness of the format, most reviewers at the time complained that the disc was too dark- not really knowing that the reason was because their late 2010’s TVs simply didn’t reach a high enough nits to really display the film properly. (This situation also happened with Gremlins)

The disc has been reevaluated plenty over the last few years, and it now has a much better reception and considered one of the better studio releases. It’s well worth the upgrade, especially considering you can usually get it on Gruv fairly cheaply.

@mattouderkirk 1 year ago

Your video inspired me to rewatch Punch-Drunk Love, but this time on 4K. Made me cry, just like last time

@ellyhails 1 year ago

I think I follow a similar philosophy where I will only feel the need for the 4K upgrade with a movie I absolutely adore. Mulholland Drive for now is the only one I’ve double dipped on, but I might have to do the same for The Breakfast Club and Fire Walk With Me as they’re 2 of my all-time favorites

@island007100 1 year ago

Great discussion. For me, the difference going from DVD to Blu-ray is significant, while the difference between Blu-ray and 4K is much more subtle, especially on a screen that is not huge (I have a 55" screen). Another point worth noting is that some of Criterion's 4K upgrades (such as "Picnic at Hanging Rock", "In the Mood for Love" and "Paris, Texas") have gotten less-than-stellar reviews for things like grain and color timing, with some reviewers suggesting that the Blu-ray presentations are actually superior.

@chebrubin 1 year ago

This content creator is fantastic

@Kafkaesque25 2 months ago

Great topic!

@BanjoDaddy 1 year ago

I cannot wait for my High & Low 4K to arrive on Tuesday. I’m going to watch that, then check out Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest as a double feature.

I also have the This is Spinal Tap 4K coming on the 16th because I couldn’t believe they brought it back. I’ll have to retire my DVD copy now.

@MakingTarantinoThePodcast 1 year ago

Loved hearing you talk about this. I do sometimes have a hard time with when to buy a 4k. Sometimes I do it by rewatchability. And yes you are good to just keep your Goodfellas.

@garyharper2943 1 year ago (edited)

Love Punchdrunk Love, but I kept the superbit dvd, for nostalgic reasons. You really need the dark night trilogy in 4K, the imax scenes are worth it.

@donjaun540 1 year ago

Thank you for your videos. 👌

@ed00001 1 year ago

I agree with your reasoning. Another question I ask (if I don't yet have the movie) is it worth spending a little extra to have it on 4K, and the answer is almost always yes.

@pete49327 1 year ago

Excellent topic James, much enjoyed.

@jeremyvannay 1 year ago

I come across your Channel in my recommandation and love it, your presentation of those films is excellent. Thank you I will subscribing, best regards from Switzerland.

@rruiz138 1 year ago

Great video. My original thought process was to eventually upgrade all my stuff to 4K. I was prioritizing my upgrades based on the movies I loved the most (Blue Velvet, Dazed and Confused, etc.).

After watching your video, I will likely take on your approach to upgrades. I felt like, in a sense, I was doing this already but now it makes it crystal clear that I don’t necessarily need to upgrade every single thing I have.

An example for me, A Clockwork Orange. I have a blu-ray copy (got it signed by Malcolm McDowell last month at a convention) of it and heard mixed reviews on the 4K release. From that perspective, I’m satisfied with my blu-ray copy of A Clockwork Orange.