As any other self-respecting cinephile should, I hold The Criterion Collection in the highest regard. I can think of no other institution that has instilled such a widespread introduction to international cinema with such consistent quality and grace. Quite simply, for the home video generation The Criterion Collection is our Cinematheque Francaise.
Arguably the greatest features of The Criterion Collection (if one discounts the films themselves) are the in-depth essays that accompany each release. These essays, written by some of the greatest critics on the cinema, constitute a brilliant canon of film history. The day will surely come when they are all collected in an edited volume but until then we have the website for accessing a majority of these archived pieces. Therefore the Criterion website is a wonderful resource for those looking into this film history and a place where one can enjoy some of the greatest writing on film that the internet has to offer.
The Current is the journal-like section of this website and it usually contains the following: either the aforementioned essays that accompany specific film releases, special supplementary essays on these films as online exclusives, repertory roundups that report on cinematheque activities from all around the world, the “Three Reasons” video series used to promote upcoming releases, and various bits of poster art or special photographs.
In layout and intent the Current does a bit of mimicking of MUBI’s The Notebook (which has been recently redesigned and now boasts a visual flair that is equal to the Current), though it really cannot compete due to the lack of regularly-updated essays and a variety of regular contributors. Because of this lack of consistency the comments section is almost always a letdown, as no dialogue is ever able to evolve and grow. Though at least now readers have the ability to comment directly on a page whereas before comments had to pass through a mysterious screening process that seemed to be very idiosyncratic and limited.
The “Three Reasons” series are promoted like video essays but play as something like Criterion-specific movie trailers. However, they are well-made and almost always interesting, if only short and simple. One can see this series expanding to a more elaborate style of video essay, maybe to accompany the great critical writing included with each release. This would be valuable to begin taking more advantage of the great critical minds that collaborate with The Criterion Collection, also because the video essay has yet to see a standard-bearer of excellence, which Criterion could easily serve as.
The Current is a nice place to visit but ironically enough, not regularly, as it is not designed to be a timely rundown, other than the regularly scheduled Friday repertory reports. A few monthly check-ins should serve their intended purposes well. As such the value in this website, aside from its aesthetic pleasures, is chiefly in its archival use. This is not a limitation, as The Criterion Collection wholly satisfies its market segment in this way and carves out a space (and brand) that few can compete with. As demonstrated, there is still room for growth and development and we can hope to see Criterion take full advantage of the potential that their unique online space has to offer.
http://www.criterion.com/current/posts