The Criterion Collection

[pd89]

I really don't understand how these discs are passing QC.
It literally looks like someone is purposely grabbing the discs facedown and rubbing them against the table...This came directly from Criterion and has been the same issue with almost every disc I've ordered for a long while...

Miller's crossing....

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by pd89

I really don't understand how these discs are passing QC.
It literally looks like someone is purposely grabbing the discs facedown and rubbing them against the table...This came directly from Criterion and has been the same issue with almost every disc I've ordered for a long while...

Miller's crossing....

[Show spoiler]

Jesus, Tom!

EDIT: I see your Miller's Crossing and raise you a Local Hero. That's not my fingerprint either.

IMG_1923.jpg

[pd89]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Jesus, Tom!

I am honestly just fed up to the point where I'm just going to stop purchasing from Criterion anymore and just utilize their streaming service.

I just went through my other purchases and noticed this wonderful case without the box being crushed.

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

......

Thumbs Up for the Irony meter!!!

[cgurley]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Other than a few states in the NE, all orders should be coming out of KY so everything from everyone is in one place.

I think what you ordered is more important that anything. My order of a dozen was placed b/w 12:00 and 12:01 and still waiting -- all newer release items.

Question for the masses -- has anyone who ordered Hard Day's Night 4K in their order gotten shipment notice? This is the one item I can seen holding up many people if the replacement items haven;t been delivered to the warehouse yet.

My order of 4 titles that included the Hard Day's Night 4K finally shipped today.

The shipping notice said:
We would like you to know that your backorder/special order has shipped!

Didn't say backorder or out of stock for anything when I placed the order. Thought the sale was only good on in stock items, anyway.

[pd89]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Jesus, Tom!

EDIT: I see your Miller's Crossing and raise you a Local Hero. That's not my fingerprint either.

Attachment 273715

Ugh...

I asked Criterion and they said each disc is handpicked and inserted by someone.

Look, I've had discs with these type of scratches and they play fine, but c'mon. This should not be appearing on a premium product....I have a higher percentage of flawless used discs from RedBox and Blockbuster (when they were going out of business) than I do with Criterion...

I'm going to reach out to Criterion and see if they can replace it. It's just a cumbersome process to purchase something and go through the process to get it replaced.

[JupiterMission]

Originally Posted by bergman864

Using a phrase like "overly diverse" signifies to me that you're upset that they're releasing a certain type of film that you dislike without pointing out why you dislike it (for fear that you'll be called out on it).

What exactly where these "overly diverse" films you think Criterion should stop worrying about?

I can't speak for Neil at all, and I understand you reading racism into "overly diverse," but speaking for myself I don't like "diversity" or "inclusion" as a standard taking priority over "quality." I think a lot of people try to make that point and come off as racist, or anti-LGBTQIA2S+, misogynist, etc. That may indeed be their true motivation, but there are legitimate issues to have with valuing diversity over quality.

The two things I'll try to get ahead of on that point are 1) The Criterion Collection is not the end all be all mark of quality, even if some people want to think it is. And 2) everybody has their own idea of what makes a film high quality. All of that is debatable, and people will land where they will, but what I'm trying to say is that I don't think it's inherently bigoted to notice and discuss when a company explicitly shifts its brand from "the mark of quality" to "the mark of inclusion and diversity and also quality." There are bigoted ways to discuss it, but there are also legitimate gripes to be had.

Not that anybody asked, but one thing I thought was annoying about the NYT and Criterion equity controversy was I don't really remember anybody giving Kino credit at the time. Kino Lorber has (and had at the time) a tremendously diverse (in all kinds of ways) output, and nobody had to bend their arm to achieve it. It made the equity criticism feel spoiled and insincere - complaining when you aren't getting what you want, but not appreciating where you are. I think Criterion was only in the sights because it - like the Oscars, or various universities, or whatever - carries (rightfully or not) prestige, and that's all the activists really care about anyways. Not movies, not physical media, just prestige, politics, and power.

Anyways. Hopefully we'll get Red Beard soon.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by pd89

Ugh...

I asked Criterion and they said each disc is handpicked and inserted by someone.

That's a perfectly acceptable answer, but since when did they stop wearing protective gloves during that step? Clearly something is being introduced here by someone that is causing scratching.

Originally Posted by pd89

I'm going to reach out to Criterion and see if they can replace it. It's just a cumbersome process to purchase something and go through the process to get it replaced.

Same.

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by Freddie_Quell

This is what it looks like to be something else than middle class.

You would know, with that 2,500+ movie disc collection. Tell us more.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

Tell us more.

I just swipe and cross my fingers nobody comes knocking later

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by cgurley

My order of 4 titles that included the Hard Day's Night 4K finally shipped today.

The shipping notice said:
We would like you to know that your backorder/special order has shipped!

Didn't say backorder or out of stock for anything when I placed the order. Thought the sale was only good on in stock items, anyway.

Nothing was listed a backordered during the sale and wouldn't have been on sale if they had.

I'm assuming since it was outside the 2-3 day shipping estimate, it got an autobot email. I went to check my mail after reading yours.

Anyway my order of a dozen including Hard Day's Night 4K also now shipped.
Even with a 4 day delay (not a problem in the least), that's still faster than half my Amazon Prime orders from the last 2 years for in-stock items.

[JasonMichael]

Originally Posted by JWFORD

Sweetie. If I have to spell it out for you, then you will never get it.

In other words, you don't have the vocabulary to explain.

[NeilZ]

Originally Posted by bergman864

Using a phrase like "overly diverse" signifies to me that you're upset that they're releasing a certain type of film that you dislike without pointing out why you dislike it (for fear that you'll be called out on it).

What exactly where these "overly diverse" films you think Criterion should stop worrying about?

I thought it would pretty obvious what I was referring to. A certain article written by the NYT intended to bully Criterion into submission using the usual social justice tactics employed on so many companies these days.

Since JupiterMission phrased it better than I could, I’ll just quote that passage from his post:

Originally Posted by JupiterMission

After the New York Times article using the social justice mafia-style tactics ("nice label you got here, would be a shame if anything happened to it") came out a couple years ago, Criterion has stated many times that they've given certain types of films higher priority, feeling that they've been wrongly ignored in the past. Only so many films can be released in a given month, so this means that other types of films are given lower priority. Some people love the new standards, others don't.

As a fan of Criterion from back in their early days that article has been a bane in my existence. I’m all for a larger output of lesser known films, but for it to be done the way it has (basically by humiliating the label) and done at the detriment of the old favorites (namely many Japanese films) many of us old time Criterion fans have been longing for blu rays of is truly a tragedy.

That being said I’m glad for those who love these newer releases. Me I’ll be sitting tight hoping for them to ride through this and hoping that they eventually resume something looking more like what I used to expect from them.

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I think I can sum up these past few pages.

“Criterion isn’t releasing enough of what I want and too much of what I don’t want”.

Thing I don't understand, and seems to be absent from any criticism of CC is their unwillingness to release more than 5x movies a month. WTF is stopping them from scaling up + doing 80x releases a year?

[jkoffman]

I don't know why some people take movie companys' business so personally, but just to offer a counterpoint to this back-and-forth, I buy movies I want from whoever sells them. I have no blacklist.

[NeilZ]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I don't know why some people take movie companys' business so personally, but just to offer a counterpoint to this back-and-forth, I buy movies I want from whoever sells them. I have no blacklist.

I agree with this sentiment.

The problem with Criterion is that they often “sit” on the rights for movies for years and years, preventing others in the US from releasing them. Didn’t used to be a problem for me because they used to release things in an efficient manner for the longest time.

[The Great Owl]

I apologize if this has been addressed before in the thread, but…

I ordered the Citizen Kane 4K during the Flash Sale and just received the item that has the UPC Code for the first pressing. Is there a way to tell if the disc inside is a corrected disc before I go to all of the trouble of sending for a replacement?

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by NeilZ

I agree with this sentiment.

The problem with Criterion is that they often “sit” on the rights for movies for years and years, preventing others in the US from releasing them. Didn’t used to be a problem for me because they used to release things in an efficient manner for the longest time.

That’s true, but certainly other companies could be doing that as well, and again, there’s nothing we can do about it. I feel the same way about poring over predictions because I’m only interested in movies I can actually buy once they’re released.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

Thing I don't understand, and seems to be absent from any criticism of CC is their unwillingness to release more than 5x movies a month. WTF is stopping them from scaling up + doing 80x releases a year?

I really think Criterion could easily do this. Maybe scale down on some features or do some upgrades and use those old features.

I think one issue might be that they want to seem more exclusive and that their selection is more limited to the "prestige" title they are often associated with. I don't know.

Either way, they really need to release more titles since they are hoarding so many that could be released by others.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I apologize if this has been addressed before in the thread, but…

I ordered the Citizen Kane 4K during the Flash Sale and just received the item that has the UPC Code for the first pressing. Is there a way to tell if the disc inside is a corrected disc before I go to all of the trouble of sending for a replacement?

The corrected BD disc has “Second Pressing” printed on the disc itself, along the outer edge.