Can the celebrated Criterion Collection make a splash in the UK?

The label famed for licensing classy classic and contemporary cinema comes to Britain in April - but what impact will it have?

For most UK-based film buffs, the Criterion Collection - a label dedicated to releasing lavishly packaged, bonus feature-laden DVD and Blu-ray editions of classic and contemporary cinema - holds an exotic, covetable status. Since the company's launch in 1984, its products have only been available in the US and Canada, forcing Brits to pursue often costly workarounds.

Over a decade ago, after investing in a multi-region DVD player, I purchased my first Criterion disc - an imported copy of Neil Jordan's grimy London noir Mona Lisa - for the princely sum of 39.99 from the The Cinema Store, a one-stop film-buff hub on the West End's Upper St Martin's Lane. The subsequent rise of online purchasing has made it easier to get hold of cheaper Criterion discs from abroad, but has also contributed to the downfall of specialist outlets such as The Cinema Store, which closed in January this year.