Criterion Collection: why Parisians spend 50 euros on Blu-ray

The year is 2026. The price of coffee has gone up again. The metro is 2.50 euros a ticket. The January sales were disappointing, and everyone around you started the year with the same phrase: this time I’m really paying attention. And yet, this weekend, Theo spent 54 euros at Gibert Joseph for a Criterion edition of Le Samouraï, which he already owns digitally on two different platforms.

Theo isn’t irresponsible. Theo is just a cinephile. And in Paris, that’s almost a medical condition.

What exactly is the Criterion Collection?

For those with a normal social life, the Critérion Collection is an American label that reissues cinema classics such as Godard, Kurosawa and Bergman, as well as cutting-edge contemporary films in ultra-polished collector’s editions. Restored 4K image, booklets with critical essays, interviews with directors, additional extras that last longer than some films. The packaging is sober, the edge is black, the whole is beautiful.

In Paris, these records have become a form of cultural signal. You’ll find them in the homes of journalists, graphic designers, college professors and people who order vin nature without looking at the menu. Not on display, just there. On the shelf. As a matter of course.

In the current context, this hobby makes no sense. And yet…

Let’s be honest: between inflation that isn’t really coming down, rising charges and the end of the month arriving faster than before, many Parisians have reviewed their spending habits. We eat out less often. Vacations are postponed. We compare before we buy – cashback apps have never had so many active users in Paris.

And yet, the Criterion Collection is holding its own. Better still, it’s making progress. That’s because it’s part of a thoughtful, not impulsive, spending logic. You don’t buy a Criterion by chance. You choose it, you wait for it, you compare prices on platforms – some use digital marketplaces like Flepixin to find the best deals before ordering. It’s not compulsive spending. It’s almost like investing in one’s heritage, the cinephile’s version.

Physics as resistance to the digital age

There’s something profoundly Parisian about this resistance to all-digital technology. The city that keeps its booksellers, its record shops and its independent bookstores was not going to capitulate to streaming without a fight. Criterion Blu-ray is a bit like vinyl for the cinephile: no more practical, no less expensive, but infinitely more satisfying to own.

Streaming is also a real problem. Films are disappearing from catalogs. Subtitles are sometimes approximate. Picture quality varies depending on the connection. The Criterion edition is here. It will not be withdrawn for rights reasons. It won’t buffer at the climax of the film. It truly belongs to you.

One collection, one identity

Let’s face it: a Criterion shelf, that says something. Not in a pretentious way – well, a bit anyway – but mostly in a sincere way. It says that you have an active relationship with cinema, that you’re looking for works rather than content, that you’re the kind of person who reads the booklets included in the boxes. In Paris, where cultural identity is a social currency in its own right, this is far from insignificant.

What if your Blu-ray player has been gathering dust since 2022? That’s a detail. What matters is the intention.