TAXI 810 II

The Criterion Collection is a home distribution company which licenses, restores, and distributes "important classic and contemporary films". The Criterion Collection is considered one of the leading boutique Blu-ray labels, and release through the company is seen as "a mark of prestige for filmmakers", with filmmaker John Waters stating that a film being released by the company is "like getting a plenary indulgence from the Pope". While the Criterion Collection began releasing films originally on LaserDisc and VHS, it switched to DVD (and eventually Blu-Ray) in 1998. In 2019, the Criterion Collection launched Criterion Channel, a streaming service featuring films not officially released by the collection on physical media and not considered part of the collection. Likewise, films released by Janus Films, the Criterion Collection's parent company, on physical media are not considered part of the collection. The collection contains films from fifty-nine different countries, as well as several television miniseries.