With the HD home video format being around for awhile now, many of us have been wondering when Criterion would pick a side and go HD. However, with the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray only being decided recently, it made sense for them to be sitting on the sidelines and waiting it out.

However, now that the battle is over and Blu-Ray is victorious, Criterion has just announced that starting this October we can look forward to Blu-Ray DVDs from the best company in the business!

Obviously their roll out will be slow at first, but I’d imagine as the months progress we’ll see plenty of titles getting the day and date release on both formats, as well as some of their classic titles that they still have the rights to getting an extra release on Blu-Ray.

As of now, Criterion says the Blu-Ray pricing will be the same as the standard DVD pricing, which is awesome. The titles lined up for Blu-Ray so far are:

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

Also, they say alongside the DVD and Blu-ray box sets of The Last Emperor, Criterion will also release the theatrical version as a stand-alone release in both formats, priced at $39.95. The Blu-ray release of Walkabout will be an all-new edition, featuring new supplements as well as a new transfer. An updated anamorphic DVD of Nicolas Roeg’s outback masterpiece will be released at the same time.

If you’re a fan of Criterion this news is great. It’s also one more reason to go HD.

Finally, I cannot wait for the eventual release of “Hard Boiled” and “The Killer” on Blu-Ray. It might not be Criterion doing it…but it’ll happen soon enough.