We are pleased to announce the first annual Criterion Blogathon!

The blogathon will take place November November 16th to 21st, and I have the pleasure of co-hosting with two of my favorite bloggers and favorite people: Kristina from Speakeasy and Ruth from Silver Screenings. This is not their first rodeo, as they’ve hosted numerous fantastic Blogathons. Earlier this year they hosted the Great Villain Blogathon and the Beach Party Bash Blogathon. What’s great about these two is that they turn these Blogathons into events, which is what we are planning for November.

Just last year, The Criterion Collection celebrated their 30th anniversary. That’s an amazing accomplishment for a physical media label. They began with laserdiscs, transitioned to DVDs, and now are the top boutique label for Blu-Ray/DVD. They have established credibility with their film choices, ranging from mainstream classics to some of the best art films the world has ever seen. Today they continue to add to their library, adding modern auteurs and classic films. I’m of the opinion that they have something in their catalog that appeals to anyone with a passion for film and history.

This Blogathon is scheduled to take place over six days in November to correlate with the release of The Apu Trilogy and In Cold Blood. During the month of November, they are also releasing Code Unknown, Julien Duvivier in the Thirties, Ikiru and Don’t Look Back. We think that The Apu Trilogy is an important release for the history of film and we couldn’t pick a better time to celebrate the label.

How does this work?

If you are a blogger, you can choose any film or topic from the Criterion catalog. If you’re unfamiliar with Criterion releases, check out the links below for films offered in a variety of media:

Laserdisc
DVD
Blu-ray
The Eclipse Series
Hulu (Available to US users only.)
iTunes

You can also search Criterion for titles or people. Or just Google an actor/actress and Criterion.

We expect good participation, so we are not allowing duplicate entries with one exception. Any title that is going to be released in November is fair game. October releases do not count. (Sorry to everyone who wants to cover Mulholland Drive!) This is on a first-come, first-served basis.

You are welcome to write about a film, a director, an era, a DVD release, or anything that is related to The Criterion Collection. These do not have to be formal DVD reviews. You can write from whatever style or angle that you think appropriately covers the topic within the theme of your blog.

You can sign up by completing the form at the bottom of the page or clicking here. Please think of two good choices. You may not get your first choice and maybe not your second, but we hope that everyone can find a personally interesting topic to write about. With more than a thousand titles in the catalog, there are plenty to go around.

Please also keep the hashtag #criterionblogathon in the back of your mind. We’ll be using that on Twitter prior to and during the event. Maybe if enough of you sign up, we can even get it trending!

The Blogathon will take place for six days. Kristina, Ruth and Aaron will alternate posting recaps each day. We will separate the daily recaps by era and region, but we’ll get into that later.

One more thing: We ask that you try to upload your Blogathon posts in time for us to post it in that evening’s recap. If you post late, you will still be included, but probably won’t get as many readers.

We can’t wait for this mega blogging event!. Grab a banner and share it with your blog’s readers.

Any questions? Feel free to comment below.

Participants:

Aaron, CriterionBlues.com, The Apu Trilogy
Kristina, Speakeasy, In Cold Blood
Ruth, Silver Screenings, Ikiru