- 'The Closet' is a faithful recreation of the famous Criterion Closet
- Browse in full 3D (the correct option) or in list view (boo)
- Connects to the Criterion Channel for easy streaming
If you've always wanted to browse the Criterion Closet but haven't been able to because (a) it's in New York and (b) you're not a famous actor, then Redditor olievans has just the thing for you: the entire Criterion Closet in virtual 3D form, explorable right in your web browser.
You can can take a look at The Closet right in that link. It features 1,327 Criterion editions, all shelved in the order of their spine numbers, and you can pull each disc box out from the shelf to inspect the design more closely. You can also filter the collection by decade, director, country, language and more — the physical version can't do that.
If you're not familiar with the Criterion Closet, it's a library of the special-edition disc sets released the film distributor Criterion, which been releasing much-coveted discs with beautiful art, great extra features, and often unique high-quality restorations since the age of Laserdisc.
Since 2010, the real Closet has been a place where directors, actors and other well-known faces — from Martin Scorcese to Charli XCX — are filmed picking their must-see movies from the range.
Why it's fun to be in the Closet
The Closet is available in two flavors: a full 3D reproduction of the iconic closet, and in list form. The list is more functional but a lot less fun because you don't get the surprise of finding This Is Spinal Tap immediately next to The Seventh Seal.
The website is a really fun way to browse one of the world's best movie collections, and while there are a few issues — it's not really obvious how to get your mouse cursor back, so on my Mac I had to press Esc twice to return to the home page and escape the closet — it's beautifully done and the closest thing you'll get to the real thing without first getting some IMDb credits under your belt.
What I really like about this is the discovery element. The Criterion Collection is very wide-ranging, and that means you never know what's going to be next on the shelf: Paris, Texas (number 501) is followed by the Australian thriller Revanche (502) and the historical German romance Lola Montès (503).
That makes it feel very much like the Blu-Ray equivalent of crate digging for exotic vinyl records: the Criterion Closet is full of surprises.
A note from the Editor
Hello! Matt Bolton, Managing Editor for TechRadar's home theater coverage here. As a Blu-ray collector, I've decided to take the opportunity I'll never have in real life and give you my Criterion picks — as in, these are ones I actually own. I'm not going to give you a whole spiel about each one, don't worry — but I'll highlight why
- Anora — a chunky collector's edition, and the best way get a 4K version
- Blow Out — essential for the DTS-HD Master sound, and the 4K restoration
- I Know Where I'm Going — the first 4K restoration of a B&W cinematography classic
- In The Mood For Love — one of my favorite movies, in the highest quality
- Lost Highway — the only way to get it in 4K Dolby Vision with a new DTS-HD sound restoration
- Moonage Daydream — the only way to get this in both Dolby Atmos and uncompressed sound, shockingly
- The Power of the Dog — the only way to get it in the higher bit rate of Blu-ray
- The Red Shoes — one of the most incredible-looking movies of all time, in its best-ever restoration
- Thief — the best-looking version of Michael Mann's grittiest movie
Thinking of buying a new TV?
Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.