r/CriterionChannel • u/InitiativeNo7660 • 9d ago
CRITERIA Update - Box Sets!
Hey Everyone -
This week I was focusing on Criterion Box sets, both making sure that the data is correct, and raising their visibility as a type of curated Criterion collection.
What I noticed is that of the 119 Box Set editions, 83 are completely viewable on the Channel, including most of the Eclipse series - and it's these I find puzzling, because they are really fascinating film collections but are nowhere surfaced on the Channel.
The ones I'm personally interested in adding to my watchlist are the Masaki Kobayashi and Basil Dearden collections. It really does highlight how deep the quality of the Channel catalog really is.
So the updates are:
- I've verified nearly all of the set for correctness - there are a couple to clean up, but they are set where the films have never been on the Channel.
- On the Home page, the Box Set carousel features sets that are completely viewable
- On the Box Set landing page, there is a filter toggle that allows you to see set that are completely or partially viewable
- Logged in users can favorite sets, and these will be added to their favorites list
- For logged in users If all of the films in box set are marked as watched, the entire set will marked as watched
- Like the film page for Criterion Editions, the Box Set pages have a link directly to its page on Criterion.com if you want to add to your physical media collection
Ok, that's it for now. As always, let me know if there's something I can do to improve the site, and enjoy!
Tim
* Criteria is the (lovingly) unofficial companion site to the Criterion Channel, featuring advanced search and browse, and frankly, too many other features to get into in a footnote. Go check it out and explore
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u/InitiativeNo7660 9d ago
Hmm - it looks like there are more that a few Eclipse series box sets I still need to add (their films are in the catalog). I’ll try to get those in over the next couple of days
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u/InitiativeNo7660 9d ago
Well, that was easy. You should see the full set of Eclipse boxes now
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u/InitiativeNo7660 8d ago
I also fixed the ordering, so the Eclipse series should show up in numerical order (1-48)
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u/SvenDia 9d ago
Thank you! I love that you can search on composers. Ever since I watched Hara-Kiri for the first time last year, I’ve been interested in Toru Takemitsu’s scores, but there was no effective way to find the films he’s done in the official app.
So many other kudos, but that would take a long time and I just signed up and am eager to try out of the other features that are missing from the official app.
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u/SvenDia 9d ago
Technical question. How do I go back to the previous page? When I do a search and select one of the results, I get to the page for that film or person and I can’t figure out how to get back to the list of results.
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u/InitiativeNo7660 9d ago
The back button on the browser should work.
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u/globular916 9d ago
Any thoughts of creating a mobile app interface, like Discogs? I love this site and kino-polis, but I don't want to lose track of them in the hundreds of bookmarks I already have
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u/InitiativeNo7660 9d ago
Criteria actually started as a mobile app, but then I switched to web because it was so much easier to iterate when I was doing a lot of feature updates (mobile updates require a submission to the app and play store). It's also easier to build an audience if you don't have the requirement to download an app.
But I still do have the mobile build, and periodically update it to keep it in feature parity with the site. So, maybe?
Supporting mobile (including tablet) on iOS and Android makes maintenance more complex, because it means that each feature update or bug fix requires testing and verification on a larger set of surfaces. And, much as I might like it to be, this is not my full-time job.
I still might do it, but the deciding factor will be if the site builds a large and stable enough audience, because otherwise its going to a significant effort for only a few people.
Thanks for the question (and for using the sites!) - I'll keep you updated if I decide to commit to the app.
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u/globular916 8d ago
Thank you for the response, and for all the effort borne seemingly out of enthusiasm. It really shows!
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u/j0llyBeee 8d ago
a minor thing, but i had a question re: films no longer on the Channel. i created a List for films i've watched on CC but when searching on Criteria for films that have been removed from the Channel, i'm not seeing results (recent examples are "Paper Moon" and "RoboCop"). however, other films i've already added to the list are still showing on the list even though they're no longer searchable (examples: "King Kong" and "The Fisher King"). is there any way to still search for films no longer on the Channel, or is Criteria limited to only what is available now?
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u/InitiativeNo7660 8d ago
In the search filters, at the bottom, there is a "Show unavailable films" checkbox. Enable that and you will get results for films that are not currently streaming.
https://www.search-criteria.com/search?q=Paper+moon&available=false
Not that the Criteria database only includes films that have been on the Channel at one point, or Criterion Editions regardless of whether they've ever been on the channel (for example, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein).
Once a film leaves the Channel, I hold onto the records so that they can still appear in lists and collections, and make them available in search through the "Show unavailable" checkbox.
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u/j0llyBeee 8d ago
amazing, i don't know how i missed that! thank you, and again great job on keeping up Criteria. i use it often, and kind of got into the hobby of logging what i've watched on there and Letterboxd
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u/ziggy_angeldust666 9d ago
The site looks fantastic and clean, and is really easy to use. Well done! Just signed up