I apologize in advance for gushing far too much, but my excitement is hard to contain. I stuck to only 6 Criterion releases during the previous DDD sale, and they all came in the mail today.

Renoir's Rules of the Game is nothing short of a masterpiece. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I can't wait to revisit the film. The packaging is elegant and suits the film perfectly. It's a great example of Criterion blending the old and classic with the new and cutting-edge. The amount of supplemental material on the first disc alone is a testament of Criterion's commitment to film, not to mention the packed second disc.

I popped in La Strada just to check out the supplements. A little on the lean side, with only an hour-long Fellini documentary, commentary and intro from Scorsese. But the film is beautifully restored. I forgot what a magical movie La Strada is. I had to turn off the film when Gelsomina was playing her trumpet at the convent, I was so overwhelmed with beauty.

Kagemusha isn't my favorite Kurosawa, but it is a terrific movie. I love Kurosawa's artwork and can't wait to watch the re-creation of the film through his paintings on disc 2. The book that comes with the set is elegant, once again featuring Kurosawa's paintings.

I really liked Jules and Jim when I saw it way back, via Fox Lorber's shoddy DVD. Some aspects of the story bothered me, so I didn't care for it as much as I could have, so it's always been somewhat of a disappointment. But, unlike most of the time when you feel the film has let you down, I feel like I've let Truffaut's work down by not liking it as much. But, scanning the film on disc 1 to check out the transfer, and pausing to listen to the song Jeanne Moreau sings in the house, I think I'm going to find it hard not to fall in love with the movie. Checking out the supplements on disc 2, there are SIX interviews with Truffaut, and numerous other goodies. When you add that to the two commentaries and the 30-minute documentary on the novel on disc 1, you've got one hell of a loaded package. It's no wonder Laura Truffaut was so pleased with the package.

Hoop Dreams is a landmark documentary, without a doubt. Not only is it important, it's infinitely fascinating to watch. As a single-discer, it's not as loaded with extras as the others, but what's here seems to be great. Especially true when you flip through the enclosed booklet and note the wealth of information contained and the care taken every step of the way.

Ugetsu is a great film, and even though it's the only film of his I've seen, it's great to have him represented in the collection. The film itself isn't perfect, and if you've seen the earlier Kurosawa films, you know how scratchy those prints are. But, the cleanup job here is phenomenal, and looks a million times better than the old VHS print I first saw. In addition, there's a 150-minute documentary on Mizoguchi. The packaging is, once again, beautiful. Each disc has its own small digipak case and the book (note I didn't say 'booklet') included is simply great as well, featuring reproductions of the short stories the film is based on.

YouWe can whine and whine all about how the discs are expensive and how much Criterion sucks for releasing X-movie, which you hated, but ignored Y-movie, which is the greatest thing ever put to celluloid. But, as the discs I got in the mail today confirmed, they are worth every penny.