Pasolini 101 (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

box arrived in good condition. whew

This box is sheer beauty and contains all his early masterpieces. Highest possible recommendation.

I can't begin to fathom why Criterion, a top-tier publisher, would encase their highly esteemed work in thick cardboard sleeves that hold the discs so securely you have to choose between man-handling the optical disc surface or ripping through the overly thick, stiff sleeves. It's like purchasing gold ingots, but nobody has the tumbler's code. I mean, the packaging is first class except for this inscrutable miscalculation. Are you thinking of getting the set? If so, Immediately find enough conventional Blu-ray cases to house all nine discs. Next, know that you'll be tempted to throw your vaunted purchase against a wall, or take scissors to the sleeves. Don't, just don't. In fact, cover the area you'll be working over with a sizable microfiber towel to catch any dropped disc. Marshall all your patience and perform a little ginger probing. How wide can you open the sleeve? What's the minimum amount of pressure you can apply to the very edge of the disc with thumb and forefinger, and keep your grip while successfully removing the disc from within its prison? You're going to think about getting that letter opener and a hammer but, don't. Just don't. I can almost guarantee you'll get fingertip prints on the optical surface. Can't be helped, but have some high-quality wipes for glasses and lenses (I like the CareTouch brand) and wipe smudges with a light pressure and a motion starting at the center of the disc's optical surface and moving directly to the edge --less chance of incidental scratches interfering with the laser's tracking.

9 Films of Pasolini made in the 1960s. All Bluray discs. 4K restoration in 7 films. 2K in some. Lovely strong boxset from criterion.

I bought this on a whim in my ongoing effort to expand my knowledge of cinema. While I'm glad to have done so, I can't recommend any of these films. They are droll, to put it kindly. I'm sure some might regard them as classics, but I found each a chore to sit through. The pacing is inconsistent and some of the stories lacking in clarity. The actual Criterion Collection product couldn't be better, though. The box is beautiful and the packaging efficient. It comes with a nice booklet about the films. I'll keep it mostly just to say I sat through all of these films and have a keepsake from this time in my life. I imagine if you love Italian Cinema then that's a different story and you'll probably love them. But it you're just a fan of cinema in general you might struggle to enjoy these.

This is a review of the $130 Criterion "Pasolini 101" box set, with emphasis on the packaging and presentation. Let’s start with the obvious: Pasolini 101 and no Salo? That’s a bit like doing “Kubrick 101” and leaving out 2001 A Space Odyssey. Whether or not it’s controversial, it’s arguably his most well-known and important work. It’s bizarre, misleading, and ultimately disappointing—especially if you're buying this to explore Pasolini with someone else (as I was). Next: packaging. Other reviews are correct—this is cheap cardboard sleeves, and not even good ones. The discs are crammed into tight paper pouches that scratch the surface on first removal. If you care at all about the condition of your media, you’ll need to rehouse all the discs immediately, or risk damaging them just by watching them. To make it worse, the entire thing was shipped in shrink wrap with no box protection. Amazon apparently thought the collector’s box was a shipping container. Mine arrived dented, peeling, and visibly bruised, as an item with no shipping box would be. For $130, this is pathetic. I can’t imagine anyone spending the full $250 MSRP and feeling good about it. Compare this to the Bergman box set, which is massive, includes way more films, better packaging, and costs only slightly more. Pasolini 101 feels like a corner-cutting exercise dressed in prestige branding. Criterion should be raising standards for film preservation—not mimicking cut-rate, mass-market box sets. As Deleuze and Guattari put it, with every surplus value extracted, there’s an equivalent flow of stupidity. This release is a great example. Cutting corners here didn’t just cheapen the product—it cheapened the brand. Criterion, of all labels, should know better. Unless they seriously reissue this with proper packaging and include Salo, I’m returning it. A wasted opportunity and a truly disappointing experience.

Not "complete", but this is an excellent collection of the filmmaker's work. My only sadness is that they were not released in 4K, because this is the direction the video format is moving. One of the films included is already out in 4k. Soon others will follow. My other issue is the sleeve design. Why are they still doing this? Soft wipes are needed to avoid this problem.

The disc sticks to the paper pack so hard that it takes me quite a while to pick out just ONE disc. Come on Criterion, such a crappy design for a big company.

Passolini made some masterpiece.