The Criterion Collection

[trobrianders]

Never realised discrot was as big a problem with Criterion blus in my collection as it's turned out. Criterion have just kindly sent out 11 replacement discs to me:

8 1/2
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Stagecoach
Vivre sa Vie
Wings of Desire
Howards End
Le Cercle Rouge

Below is a full list of titles they're replacing (unless the letters BVDL appear on the shiny side):

The confirmed potentially affected Blu-ray titles are:
8 1/2
Bigger than Life
For All Mankind
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Monsoon Wedding
Monterey Pop
Paris, Texas
Revanche
Ride with the Devil
Sanjuro
Seventh Seal, The
Stagecoach
Summer Hours
Vivre sa Vie
Walkabout
Wings of Desire

Days of Heaven - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Howards End - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Le Cercle Rouge - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Pierrot le Fou - the version released 2008-2010 is out of print but affected discs are still being replaced with our 2020 version of the release

Obviously contact them first about it.

[Matt89]

Criterion is really great about replacing packaging, booklets, rotted discs, etc. (and even for OOP titles). It's one of the best things about their customer service. Few boutique labels compare.

And while not officially on the list, my blu-ray of Blow Out just so happened to rot a few years ago now and while I had to mail the disc back to them, they replaced it for me free of charge.

I also just got an email the other day that they're finally sending out replacement packaging for two damaged digipaks that I received during their most recent flash sale. My digi of Scanners was also damaged in a move years ago, and they're even replacing that for me as a courtesy, which is really nice of them.

They're certainly not perfect when it comes to encoding a lot of their blu-ray discs lol, but their customer service is pretty amazing.

~Matt

[andantelise]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Never realised discrot was as big a problem with Criterion blus in my collection as it's turned out. Criterion have just kindly sent out 11 replacement discs to me:

8 1/2
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Stagecoach
Vivre sa Vie
Wings of Desire
Howards End
Le Cercle Rouge

Below is a full list of titles they're replacing (unless the letters BVDL appear on the shiny side):

The confirmed potentially affected Blu-ray titles are:
8 1/2
Bigger than Life
For All Mankind
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Monsoon Wedding
Monterey Pop
Paris, Texas
Revanche
Ride with the Devil
Sanjuro
Seventh Seal, The
Stagecoach
Summer Hours
Vivre sa Vie
Walkabout
Wings of Desire

Days of Heaven - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Howards End - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Le Cercle Rouge - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Pierrot le Fou - the version released 2008-2010 is out of print but affected discs are still being replaced with our 2020 version of the release

Obviously contact them first about it.

Originally Posted by Matt89

Criterion is really great about replacing packaging, booklets, rotted discs, etc. (and even for OOP titles). It's one of the best things about their customer service. Few boutique labels compare.

And while not officially on the list, my blu-ray of Blow Out just so happened to rot a few years ago now and while I had to mail the disc back to them, they replaced it for me free of charge.

I also just got an email the other day that they're finally sending out replacement packaging for two damaged digipaks that I received during their most recent flash sale. My digi of Scanners was also damaged in a move years ago, and they're even replacing that for me as a courtesy, which is really nice of them.

They're certainly not perfect when it comes to encoding a lot of their blu-ray discs lol, but their customer service is pretty amazing.

~Matt

Where do you all have your discs stored?

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by andantelise

Where do you all have your discs stored?

LOL on bookshelves in my living room.

To be fair, I only had two Criterion titles rot on me: Blow Out and the first pressing of Pierrot le fou. Otherwise, I haven't really had many discs rot on me. Some early Lionsgate ones (which were prone to rotting) and those two Criterions.

I've upgraded so many titles in my collection over the years that I probably got rid of a ton before they succumbed to disc rot.

~Matt

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by Matt89

Criterion is really great about replacing packaging, booklets, rotted discs, etc. (and even for OOP titles). It's one of the best things about their customer service. Few boutique labels compare.

And while not officially on the list, my blu-ray of Blow Out just so happened to rot a few years ago now and while I had to mail the disc back to them, they replaced it for me free of charge.

I also just got an email the other day that they're finally sending out replacement packaging for two damaged digipaks that I received during their most recent flash sale. My digi of Scanners was also damaged in a move years ago, and they're even replacing that for me as a courtesy, which is really nice of them.

They're certainly not perfect when it comes to encoding a lot of their blu-ray discs lol, but their customer service is pretty amazing.

~Matt

Yes they've always been good with my queries. My copy of Le cercle rouge had the letters BVDL on the underside but rotted neverthless and they are replacing it along with the others. My copy of Pierrot le fou from 2009 (with color tints restored) looks like it's going the way of discrot but I didn't want to give it up just yet because I was concerned it would be replaced by a 2020 disc (with tints removed like Studiocanal's own release, which I have already). But I hear Criterion have already withdrawn their 2020 release and are now replacing/going to be replacing, with tints restored in accordance with Coutard's originally approved transfer.

[Matt89]

Originally Posted by andantelise

What the hell then? I'm going to start inspecting all my collection.

The Criterion discs that rotted were all pressed at a certain plant, I believe that was the reason behind it, not the way you store them. They traced all affected discs to a certain plant that were pressed in the late 2000s. There are a ton of Warner DVDs that suffer from this too, and all discs affected were pressed during a certain timeframe (I believe it was also mid-late 2000s). They weren't sealed very well, so eventually they succumbed to disc rot.

Disc rot really isn't something that's super common with blu-rays, thankfully.

~Matt

[jw007]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Huh.

It would have never even dawned on me to judge somebody by the size of their collection. If anything, shouldn’t the quality of films owned, and not the sheer volume, be the illuminating point?

I can peruse somebody’s physical media library to see what they enjoy. What genres they love, which directors resonate with them. From that, I can find a commonality with them. When I see someone posting, being able to view their collection gives me a bit of perspective where they’re coming from.

I could have probably made it another five years on here, and not known that was a thing.

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

Yup this 100% happened to me, and continues to happen in general. People on this site love to put themselves on pedestals when they're looking to put someone else down for totally unrelated reasons and use their collection size and/or contents, time since joining Blu-ray.com, being subscribers to certain Retailers/Boutiques, etc as a "holier than thou" start off point. I've even been judged for owning/not owning certain movies and it's like ok and? Did you pay for them?

Also no offense but quality of films shouldn't be something to judge someone by either tbh. Like I'm over here crying about a lack of Pink Flamingos 4K release. And some people have like the complete Fast & Furious Family Saga so to each their own.

I know a dude who loves Showgirls as much as I do, except he owns like every release of it and I only own the original slipcover Blu-ray "titty disc" release (the current 4K releases have colors that suck, so I haven't upgraded). I saw someone once make a disparaging comment on his collection based on that and one other thing and I'm like way to waste 3 minsof your life to look at someones collection to make a snide comment and make yourself feel better about whatever shortcoming you have (whether you realize it or not).

Gatekeeping will always exist with any hobby. Just don't let it get to you because it's literally sad that someone chooses to be an a*shole about it.

I agree with both of you.

The problem we see in this forum is related to Gamification.

This website gamifies collectors and makes it appear like users are in a competition or a game to see who has the highest ranking, or most complete blu-ray collection, and uses point scoring (ie. Trading Score) as well as rules of play!

Naturally, when your culture revolves around a website that labels and ranks members based on their number of postings, then sometimes we also equate the size of collections to higher rankings as well.

The gamification of collecting is nothing new though. It hearkens back to the deep-rooted human drive to collect and acquire things. However, now when you have a platform to showcase all of your precious collectibles, combined with rankings, scores, and avatars, you end up having people who further the game of collecting with hierarchy and status.

In this way, those who have the most (quantity) outweighs the best (quality), because games are all about numbers anyway. The higher the score, the better you must be!

I used to show off all my Criterion blu-rays on here during sales but now I don't because 1) I don't buy them anymore due to lack of funds, 2) I no longer have my collection in my possession due to international constraints, 3) I've grown weary of taking photos of my own collection, and 4) I prefer streaming nowadays more than buying/playing blu-rays (which relates to point #2 as I moved overseas and no longer have my collection here).

Anyway, as long as this website is a "game", competition will continue. And that's what causes people to act self-righteous and self-entitled, because they have more blu-rays than any of us, and thus they're one of the elite members here (in their view).

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by jw007

4) I prefer streaming nowadays more than buying/playing blu-rays

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Good, he knows all about me anyway by now.

Alexa: What movie should I watch tonight?

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by jw007

I agree with both of you.

The problem we see in this forum is related to Gamification.

[Show spoiler]This website gamifies collectors and makes it appear like users are in a competition or a game to see who has the highest ranking, or most complete blu-ray collection, and uses point scoring (ie. Trading Score) as well as rules of play!

Naturally, when your culture revolves around a website that labels and ranks members based on their number of postings, then sometimes we also equate the size of collections to higher rankings as well.

The gamification of collecting is nothing new though. It hearkens back to the deep-rooted human drive to collect and acquire things. However, now when you have a platform to showcase all of your precious collectibles, combined with rankings, scores, and avatars, you end up having people who further the game of collecting with hierarchy and status.

In this way, those who have the most (quantity) outweighs the best (quality), because games are all about numbers anyway. The higher the score, the better you must be!

I used to show off all my Criterion blu-rays on here during sales but now I don't because 1) I don't buy them anymore due to lack of funds, 2) I no longer have my collection in my possession due to international constraints, 3) I've grown weary of taking photos of my own collection, and 4) I prefer streaming nowadays more than buying/playing blu-rays (which relates to point #2 as I moved overseas and no longer have my collection here).

Anyway, as long as this website is a "game", competition will continue. And that's what causes people to act self-righteous and self-entitled, because they have more blu-rays than any of us, and thus they're one of the elite members here (in their view).

I didn't bring this up because I don't want to offend people, but I've rarely ever posted a list of my new purchases here because I honestly don't understand the "game". Entering my collection here serves all the purposes mentioned, and I've exported it for insurance purposes as well. If anyone really wanted to know what I've been buying or something I'm interested in, they can freely check my collection here, but no one has ever mentioned it to me, so I assume they don't. I appreciate Discogs as well, and without these crowdsourced databases we wouldn't even know all that exists out there. I contribute entries and updates to the database because others have done that for me, and that's how this works. You give and you get. But as far as the rest is concerned, I've entered my collection for myself.

That certain member has argued with others before and defensively told me in the Kino thread that my collection here is made up, that I didn't buy anything in the Kino sale and therefore my opinions are less valid, and that they spent $200 and therefore should be more respected than me. I don't enjoy stooping to their level, but I responded with all of my Kino receipts from the last several years and they not only shut up for a while, but deleted some of their posts. You'd think that'd be embarrassing enough for them, but when it's just a game there's always someone new they can attempt to belittle. Good thing they're ignoring all of us now.

I own movies to watch movies. I don't care about slipcovers, cover art, or any of the other packaging bells and whistles, nor do I care how many movies other people buy or don't buy. These movies are for me and me alone and I enjoy discussing them, but I don't care who doesn't like them, how I buy them, when I buy them, or where I buy them.

[dvining]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I didn't bring this up because I don't want to offend people, but I've rarely ever posted a list of my new purchases here because I honestly don't understand the "game".

I just see it as a bit of fun. It's not a competition, just a celebration of what we've added to our collections. A celebration of film in a small and personal way.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by dvining

I just see it as a bit of fun. It's not a competition, just a celebration of what we've added to our collections. A celebration of film in a small and personal way.

In the case of some studios with large collections and wide sales, it can be helpful to see what others bought. But at times it's just the same 8-10 titles posted over and over again, with few people even commenting on them at all, so hard to know the reach or effect. Just like holidays, people have they own ways of celebrating.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

In the case of some studios with large collections and wide sales, it can be helpful to see what others bought. But at times it's just the same 8-10 titles posted over and over again, with few people even commenting on them at all, so hard to know the reach or effect. Just like holidays, people have they own ways of celebrating.

I don't care for most of the list making. When someone asks for recommendations one could pull 10 titles from a hat and probably do well with Criterion.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by jw007

I no longer have my collection in my possession due to international constraints.

jw007, I believe that this comment is the root of your dismay.

Was it constrained by "Customs?"

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

jw007, I believe that this comment is the root of your dismay.

Was it constrained by "Customs?"

Handcuffs.

[RCRochester]

I don’t make my collection public because it’s nobody’s business what I own and I really don’t care what any of you own either. I find it tedious whenever there’s a sale wading through posts of stock images of titles people ordered. I do, however, like checking out the post your most recent haul thread because it is kind of interesting seeing the actual items in hand that people have bought and that thread seems to be non-judgmental about what people buy.

I never had any dealings with JWFord until he started posting crap about others on here and trying to boast about how he supports companies better by posting all the shit he bought and I’m encouraged that his clown show act was shot down by people not willing to put up with his childish nonsense.

[Jaymole]

I decided to take my collection off from view because I got too many asinine and snarky comments from posters. I kept it in view before because I thought it may help people who browsed it in making them aware of certain films... it was definitely not to show off.

[dkelly26666]

I've never made a 'Collection' on here, because I've literally got many thousands of titles and would never, ever have the time or patience to do that. And I don't care to.

If others do, that's fine.

But the notion that it's indicative of whether or not you're qualified to speak about a certain label is just silly.

[koberulz]

It doesn't take that long, if the barcodes are in the database. A lot of my Australian DVDs aren't listed in my collection here because their barcodes aren't and I can't be bothered.

There have been a few times "this is what I ordered in the sale" posts have either alerted me to something in the sale that I was interested in, reminded me of something I wanted to pick up but forgot, or made me aware of a film I'd not previously considered.

In terms of Criterion's customer service: they replaced a Warners DVD of The Asphalt Jungle with a Blu-ray copy, free of charge. Now that's service.

[thebalconyfool]

Originally Posted by dvining

I just see it as a bit of fun. It's not a competition, just a celebration of what we've added to our collections. A celebration of film in a small and personal way.

Same here, exactly. I always enjoy seeing what people buy, especially when I know we have similar tastes. It will often spur me on to look further into a movie I may have otherwise overlooked. It's a shame that some see it as some ridiculous competition or as something to judge someone on. That's honestly depressing.