Episode 218 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2025

In our annual episode focusing on The Criterion Collection’s releases from the past year – and there’s a lot to celebrate! – we’ve assembled a panel of CriterionCast regulars to share our favorite releases of 2025. David Blakeslee from Criterion Reflections hosts this discussion, which also includes Aaron West and Brad McDermott.

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Episode Notes

Aaron’s List

• Favorite Cover/Packaging: I Know Where I’m Going by Thinh Dihn
• Favorite Releases
  1. Anora
  2. The Grifters
  3. Flow

Brad’s List

• Favorite Cover/Packaging: Altered States by Richey Beckett
• Favorite Releases
  1. Eyes Wide Shut
  2. Born in Flames
  3. Return to Reason: 4 Films by Man Ray

David’s List

• Favorite Cover/Packaging: The Wages of Fear by Juan Esteban R.
• Favorite Releases
  1. Eclipse Series 47: Abbas Kiarostami – Early Shorts and Features
  2. Sorcerer
  3. Él

Criterion 2025 Factoids

• 82 Total Releases (including Janus Contemporaries/Criterion Premieres, Eclipse 47, and Wes Anderson Archive)
• 50 new spine numbers (The Mother and the Whore #1245 thru David Byrne’s American Utopia #1294, though House Party #1287 was delayed until 2026)
• 25 Upgrades/Reissues of previous spine numbers (including Laserdiscs)
• 16 Standard Upgrades from Blu-ray to 4K
• 2 Blu-ray to 4K Upgrades were new packages (Wages of Fear, Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
• 4 In-print DVDs to 4K Upgrades
• 4 OOP DVDs returned, 3 to 4K Upgrades, 1 to Blu-ray
• 11 of the new spine numbers released in DVD format
• Only three-format (4K/BR/DVD) releases of 2025 were:
• The Mother and the Whore
• The Wages of Fear
• Anora
• Shoeshine
• Flow
• David Byrne’s American Utopia

Episode Credits

• Brad McDermott ( Instagram / Letterboxd / Gallery)
• Aaron West ( CineJourneys / Substack )
• David Blakeslee ( TikTok / Website / Facebook / Letterboxd )

Past Favorites of the Year Episodes

• Episode 216 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2024
• Episode 215 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2023
• Episode 214 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2022
• Episode 213 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2021
• Episode 212 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2020
• Episode 202 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2019
• Episode 195 – Criterion Collection Favorites of 2018
• Episode 189: Criterion Collection Favorites of 2017
• Episode 180: Criterion Collection Favorites of 2016
• Episode 167: Criterion Collection Favorites of 2015
• Episode 152: Our Favorite Criterion Collection Releases from 2014
• Episode 145: Our Favorite Criterion Collection Releases from 2013
• Episode 135: Favorite Criterion Collection Releases of 2012
• Episode 108: Our Favorite Criterion Collection Releases of 2011
• Episode 63.5: Top Criterion Collection Releases of 2010