The Criterion Collection

[kowski]

For the European Criterion Collectors:

Used to buy a my discs on wowhd when they were around 20€. A price now unheard of I know.

But where is the best place to buy Criterions BRs nowadays for a European customer?
Bought some discounted titles on amazon.com but w/ shipping + tax and the weak Euro the discs were still pretty expensive.

Is this my only option nowadays?

Thanks for your help

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by HipsterTrash

If Criterion could go ahead and finally release To's Heroic Trio & Executioners that would be great.

Gotta get more 2022 movies out right stat now first.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Gotta get more 2022 movies out right stat now first.

Sure I want Baumbach and Del Toro on the label but jeez. I just want some more Asian films. Crime thrillers, wuxia, martial arts action and/or samurai films.

[Show spoiler]Though I am a culprit too as I really want the other Wes Anderson films on the label - stat

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by HipsterTrash

Sure I want Baumbach and Del Toro on the label but jeez. I just want some more Asian films. Crime thrillers, wuxia, martial arts action and/or samurai films.

[Show spoiler]Though I am a culprit too as I really want the other Wes Anderson films on the label - stat

Baumbach shouldn't be encouraged more.

I don't think I'd mind so much if there weren't like 70 older things I know Janus has picked up that I'd love to get a disc of/check out while yet another super contemporary film comes out.

Or if they upped their slate to some kind of generally consistent ratio----3 old, 2 new, or 4 old, 1 new, or 4 old, 2 news, etc. etc, it might not feel as glaring.

[dvining]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Baumbach shouldn't be encouraged more.

I don't think I'd mind so much if there weren't like 70 older things I know Janus has picked up that I'd love to get a disc of/check out while yet another super contemporary film comes out.

Or if they upped their slate to some kind of generally consistent ratio----3 old, 2 new, or 4 old, 1 new, or 4 old, 2 news, etc. etc, it might not feel as glaring.

I'd like them to release faster on things that they don't actually restore. Their extras aren't exactly feature length documentaries. They're generally interviews in their offices, as far as I can tell, with some occasional commentaries and, of course, written essays.

I see little practical, process-related reason why they shouldn't be able to release 3-4 more titles a month if they put that energy on stuff that places like Toho or Mosfilm or George Eastman are actually restoring.

[kmhofmann]

Originally Posted by kowski

For the European Criterion Collectors:

Used to buy a my discs on wowhd when they were around 20€. A price now unheard of I know.

But where is the best place to buy Criterions BRs nowadays for a European customer?
Bought some discounted titles on amazon.com but w/ shipping + tax and the weak Euro the discs were still pretty expensive.

Is this my only option nowadays?

Amazon.com is the best option I know of.

[Luke B.]

Do you guys see Criterion releasing Call Me By Your Name in the future?
It would be great to have them releasing this title, imo it is pure art and simply one of the greatest love films ever made - I can only imagine the amount of extras plus booklet they could include in a release like this.

[jordan-r]

Originally Posted by Luke B.

Do you guys see Criterion releasing Call Me By Your Name in the future?
It would be great to have them releasing this title, imo it is pure art and simply one of the greatest love films ever made - I can only imagine the amount of extras plus booklet they could include in a release like this.

I can't imagine that. It just came out in Sony's 4K set (a standalone UHD from them would be nice), plus there's the Armie Hammer problem.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by HipsterTrash

If Criterion could go ahead and finally release To's Heroic Trio & Executioners that would be great.

I was about to come on here to post that. They are promoting Michelle Yeoh like crazy, but still haven't released Heroic Trio/Executioners. The theatrical showings are long done, and actually thought this would be released before Infernal Affairs, but it didn't happen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Criterion should release more titles a month even if they lack the features. It seems like Criterion and Kino are about par with staffing and budgets, yet Kino releases 4 times the amount of movies they do and their compression is even better than Criterion now.

[Sommerswerd]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I was about to come on here to post that. They are promoting Michelle Yeoh like crazy, but still haven't released Heroic Trio/Executioners. The theatrical showings are long done, and actually thought this would be released before Infernal Affairs, but it didn't happen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but Criterion should release more titles a month even if they lack the features. It seems like Criterion and Kino are about par with staffing and budgets, yet Kino releases 4 times the amount of movies they do and their compression is even better than Criterion now.

The main incentive for me personally in buying physical media over streaming are the extra features so if they start drastically cutting down on or eliminating the extras I am probably less inclined in buying the physical release. Criterion is not in the habit of doing re-releases so essentially what they put together for a physical release of a particular film is most likely what you are stuck with for the foreseeable future, at least in terms of the US.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Sommerswerd

The main incentive for me personally in buying physical media over streaming are the extra features so if they start drastically cutting down on or eliminating the extras I am probably less inclined in buying the physical release. Criterion is not in the habit of doing re-releases so essentially what they put together for a physical release of a particular film is most likely what you are stuck with for the foreseeable future, at least in terms of the US.

No one is saying there should be no features, but it doesn't have to be extensive. A video essay, a commentary, a nice box and booklet, and I think that would be fine for a lot of releases. It becomes harder and harder to get interviews with people that were involved with the older films as many are not around anymore. I'd take a Kino style release with very limited features, but extra picture quality and getting the films on disc.

[Nori]

Personally I don’t watch a lot of the special features but I appreciate when they’re there.

I agree with DukeTogo’s proposition of cutting down on features and increasing the number of releases per month instead.

There’s just too much ground to cover and Criterion has too many releases held back because of it. Not to mention the future of the physical formats are grim (number of potential customers perhaps declining). Might make more sense for them to put out more now during the years where there’s still a big enough market.

[HenryHill]

Still waiting on CC to release Freaks and Marat/ Sade.

[NeoNical]

I'm hoping to see a release of Olivier Assayas's Demonlover soon. Saw Janus Films posting screenshots on their Twitter and reminded me that they did theatrical for this a few years ago.

Also, completely unrelated, does anyone know if there are any US boutique labels interested in releasing Noe's Irreversible? I know the Straight Cut and original theatrical versions are still showing in theaters but was wondering if there were any rumors or so about any boutique label picking this one up. Criterion would be the most likely candidate although Arrow could also release it since they did Enter the Void and Climax in the UK (Lionsgate has only released Climax and MPI did Enter the Void in the US). I can't imagine Lionsgate doing a Best Buy steelbook release on Irreversible

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by kowski

For the European Criterion Collectors:

Used to buy a my discs on wowhd when they were around 20€. A price now unheard of I know.

But where is the best place to buy Criterions BRs nowadays for a European customer?
Bought some discounted titles on amazon.com but w/ shipping + tax and the weak Euro the discs were still pretty expensive.

Is this my only option nowadays?

Thanks for your help

I just bought a bunch of Criterion's from HMV.co.uk using a freight forwarder. On average, they were only 11 GBP each, which is like 12-13 euros I think. You will have to use a freight forwarder though because HMV doesn't deliver outside UK.

[jordan-r]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Also, completely unrelated, does anyone know if there are any US boutique labels interested in releasing Noe's Irreversible? I know the Straight Cut and original theatrical versions are still showing in theaters but was wondering if there were any rumors or so about any boutique label picking this one up.

Altered Innocence has it.

[jshaide]

In terms of contemporary Janus pick ups, I'm still waiting on some info, theatrical or otherwise, on the Lynch/Wizard of Oz doc which I'm very curious to watch!

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by jshaide

In terms of contemporary Janus pick ups, I'm still waiting on some info, theatrical or otherwise, on the Lynch/Wizard of Oz doc which I'm very curious to watch!

If you have a region free player it’s had a UK Blu-ray since December.



The UK theatrical release was quite limited to a handful of indies and ultimately I don’t think it would benefit that much from that format - as it’s an essay film extensively using clips from Lynch films and Oz and works by other directors (including, glaringly, the revisionist Fallen Angels remaster, and even several Disney films like Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Pete’s Dragon, and Joker). Plus I found it quite useful watching with subtitles considering so much is narration and clips. It’s quite episodic with a different filmmaker or critic addressing each section (Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher, John Waters, Karyn Kusama, Benson/Moorhead, David Lowery - Guy Maddin was supposed to record a section but pulled out). Ultimately beyond the clips being legally cleared as fair use and the bigger names involved, it’s not really that different in content to a YouTube video essay. It’s different to the on camera interviews and newly shot monochrome sequences in 78/52 mimicking the look of Psycho - in the insightful (though with occasional dropouts as it was recorded over the internet) commentary with Kim Newman on the disc, Philippe talks about it as his pandemic film, so the film was made remotely (his next film should be quite different too as it’s profiling William Shatner.) The only newly shot sequence in the film is the opening/closing shot with a drone in an opera house, revealing a microphone and green curtains.

As a portmanteau film some sections are stronger than others, Nicholson can be overly casual while Waters is incredibly endearing, while Lowery talks about Peter Pan which should be interesting with the Disney+ film coming up. There’s no real overall thesis and the chapters don’t always directly flow into each other, Lynch/Oz is an organising logic but often it deviates from Lynch’s work to just how The Wizard of Oz has been so influential to other films - with even the absurd notion every American film is a retelling of Oz in some way. Some arguments are more convincing than others while many are quite personal.

Though The Art Life got an individual release I would be surprised if this gets one, maybe it could be a feature paired with Lynch oddities like his web shorts or documentaries about him.

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

No one is saying there should be no features, but it doesn't have to be extensive. A video essay, a commentary, a nice box and booklet, and I think that would be fine for a lot of releases.

A lot of Criterion releases have been light on newly produced extras recently though, like India Song, Petite Maman, Romeo and Juliet. And they rarely seem to do commentaries now, though Hollywood Shuffle has one.

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

They are promoting Michelle Yeoh like crazy, but still haven't released Heroic Trio/Executioners. The theatrical showings are long done, and actually thought this would be released before Infernal Affairs, but it didn't happen.

Maybe they will do a release soon, it just hit Criterion Channel (as with EO) and Picturehouse in the UK are doing some screenings of The Heroic Trio next month, presumably through Janus.

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Since Cinema84 said I don't complain enough on this forum, I would say this is another wasted release by Criterion. I'd rather have new films to the format, like the new Pinocchio film. I felt that was a very good one.

Pinocchio technically already has had a Blu-ray release, just not a retail one, as an awards screener. Just not easy or affordable to get ahold of!

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The regular Fox release is fairly light on extras, so if they could add a commentary track from GDT along with other supplements (plus the B&W version on disc) then I think it'll be worth it. I think if it was up to GDT, he'd want all his films to be released by Criterion if he could (not unlike Wes Anderson, and Lynch). I wouldn't be surprised to see Pinocchio coming out on 4K from Criterion as well.

Plus Pan’s Labyrinth already had a studio Blu-ray release so I don’t think that would hold back Criterion from releasing it. And hopefully it means more 20th Century/Searchlight titles are on the table too (many exclusive to Hulu/Disney+ and Summer of Soul only on DVD.)

Originally Posted by Scottie

The Watermelon Woman (1996)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2111

This is welcome news as the remaster was only ever released on DVD.

[alexrinse]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

I just bought a bunch of Criterion's from HMV.co.uk using a freight forwarder. On average, they were only 11 GBP each, which is like 12-13 euros I think. You will have to use a freight forwarder though because HMV doesn't deliver outside UK.

I believe their eBay shop does, they have the same sale items. They wouldn't post to my current location, however, when I tried yesterday, but I believe other forum members have had success.

[NeilZ]

I know it's not going to happen but I wish Criterion would create a sub label just dedicated to Japanese cinema (even if it only had 1~2 releases per month). So many blu ray upgrades in line waiting for what feels like forever.