In 1998 I purchased a new computer with a DVD player. There weren't many releases in those days and my appetite was never satiated by the limited mainstream releases. So, I started to look elsewhere and found myself exploring Asian cinema. This would lead me to The Criterion Collection’s DVD releases of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai and John Woo’s The Killer and Hard Boiled.

I didn’t have a mentor to guide me through the history of world cinema. I studied film at university, but the curriculum was somewhat limited and only offered a glimpse at what was begging to be seen. So, I turned to The Criterion Collection to fill in the gaps. This would lead to something of an obsession (an understatement if I’ve ever heard one). For the next decade I religiously tracked down every release. I’m a bit behind these days, but I’m always adding.

Here's a look at the details from their press release.

CC40 - Celebrating Forty Years of the Criterion Collection

This monumental forty-film box set celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection by gathering an electrifying mix of classic and contemporary films, and presenting them with all their special features and essays in a deluxe clothbound, slipcased edition. CC40’s eclectic selection includes the releases most frequently chosen by the hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, and other movie-loving luminaries who have visited Criterion over the years, as documented in our popular Closet Picks video series. Neither a historical survey nor a top-forty compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology reflects the cinematic joys and inspirations of the creative community that makes the Criterion Collection possible.

The films: 8½ (1963), Tokyo Story (1953), All That Jazz (1979), Bicycle Thieves (1948), Repo Man (1984), Naked (1993), Jules and Jim (1962), Being There (1979), Weekend (1967), Yi Yi (2000), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Pickpocket (1959), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), On the Waterfront (1954), Do the Right Thing (1989), Ratcatcher (1999), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Mirror (1975), Barry Lyndon (1975), Safe (1995), Seconds (1966), His Girl Friday (1940), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Y tu mamá también (2001), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Love & Basketball (2000), Night of the Living Dead (1968), Ace in the Hole (1951), 3 Women (1977), The Red Shoes (1948), Down by Law (1986), La Ciénaga (2001), Wanda (1970), House (1977), Sullivan’s Travels (1941), The Battle of Algiers (1966), A Woman Under the Influence (1974), Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Persona (1966), In the Mood for Love (2000)

49-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURES

Digital restorations of all forty films • Hundreds of hours of supplemental features • Alternate soundtracks and dubbed tracks • Audio commentaries • Extensive documentaries and making-of programs • Interviews with casts and crews • Outtakes and deleted scenes • Trailers and TV spots • English subtitles and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • Selection of Criterion Closet Picks videos • And more! • PLUS: Deluxe packaging with a lavishly illustrated 216-page book featuring essays on the films by critics, scholars, and authors