The Criterion Collection

[DandyDancing]

Originally Posted by dwk

the lionsgate titles were licensed from studiocanal and kino has picked up most of those. With a couple former criterion titles rumored to be back with criterion.

So, i think godard's films are with so many different companies (and he has made so many films) that at best an essential films of would be the only possibility.

1980-2000 godard set. Get it done

[Ned Brainard]

I'm calling it now - Criterion's first UHD release will be the complete oeuvre of Neil Breen.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by dwk

DukeTogo84, have you DM'd Geekgab to ask what the Criterion set was? WThey might be willing to tell you privately.

I'll send them a message right now. If they respond I'll let you know via PM.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Doing a bit of a 'catch-up' and noticed several posters remarking that they've received scratched or damaged discs in the mail. I've been remarkably lucky in this regard as I can only really recall one incident of trauma some years ago when a Criterion arrived with a broken corner on the case.

But the thought did cross my mind after reading the tales concerning the convoluted routes that USPS deliveries have taken (talkin' about you Ray!) that have left the posters mindful of the traveling gnome in "Amelie", whether all of the seemingly inexplicably unnecessary transferring and handling by the post office could be an issue. And if 'inexplicable' seems to be a reach here's the tracking history (read bottom to top) for my latest acquisition (hopefully), "Fanchon the Cricket", from Flicker Alley, due in on Friday. Basically LA to Vancouver...via Detroit.

[Show spoiler]
Jan. 16 9:41 pm
Item processed
Mississauga, ON

6:37 pm
Item has arrived in Canada and will be presented for review
Mississauga, ON

Jan. 13 5:59 pm
International item has left originating country and is en route to Canada
Uslaxa, USA

January 16, 2021, 9:41 pm
Arrived at Facility
CANADA
Your item arrived at a facility in CANADA on January 16, 2021 at 9:41 pm.

January 16, 2021, 6:37 pm
Processed Through Facility
CANADA

January 16, 2021, 6:37 pm
Customs Clearance
CANADA

January 15, 2021, 4:21 am
Departed
TORONTO, CANADA

January 14, 2021, 10:00 pm
Departed
DETROIT, UNITED STATES

January 14, 2021, 7:59 am
Departed
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES

January 14, 2021, 1:49 am
Arrived
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES

January 13, 2021, 5:59 pm
Processed Through Regional Facility
LOS ANGELES CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

January 13, 2021, 5:59 pm
Arrived at Regional Facility
LOS ANGELES CA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

January 13, 2021, 5:40 pm
Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending
LOS ANGELES, CA 90009

January 12, 2021, 12:16 pm
Arrived Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90051
Shipping Partner: RR DONNELLEY

January 12, 2021, 8:52 am
Departed Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90051
Shipping Partner: RR DONNELLEY

January 12, 2021, 8:41 am
Arrived Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90001
Shipping Partner: RR DONNELLEY

January 12, 2021, 2:54 am
Arrived Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90052
Shipping Partner: RR DONNELLEY

January 12, 2021, 1:39 am
Arrived Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90028
Shipping Partner: RR DONNELLEY

January 8, 2021, 4:58 pm
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
LOS ANGELES, CA 90093

I had one that got as close as Honolulu before it went back east about halfway across the mainland before it headed west again to Honolulu. That time it did make it to The Big Island for delivery.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I had one that got as close as Honolulu before it went back east about halfway across the mainland before it headed west again to Honolulu. That time it did make it to The Big Island for delivery.

Guess the 'Kona' and 'Kansas City' bins were just too close together?

[pepeandy]

Originally Posted by Reddington

I can see Criterion maybe releasing "new" titles on 4K where there is an appropriate master, but it's surely fanciful thinking to expect a dive through the catalog - with dozens of BD releases getting UHD upgrades. There are also all the business factors: Would Criterion release them as standalone titles, or 4K+BD? If the latter, would they then also produce a separate standalone BD? What would the SRP be (would have to be higher than $39.95; the price of a "standard" BD release)? Would they be discounted during Flash and B&N sales (let's be honest, these are the only times many people buy Criterion titles)? And so on.

What I also find interesting is the concept that 4K is "superior" to BD, when this forum is full of reviews of releases that indicate improvements are marginal at best, and endless posts debating HDR grading anomalies and other issues. Criterion already gets bashed by some for encoding/compression issues - so 4K releases will need to be nigh on perfect to avoid all that negativity.

I'm currently buying 4K+BD releases of titles I don't own (when the price is right), but still view BD as the mainstay of my collection. I'd be more than happy to see Criterion embrace 4K, but frankly, how many people outside a vocal minority of passionate collectors on sites like this are really clamouring for it to happen?

Ok...couple of things here to avoid misinformation to other collectors, if you are one of those who claim 4K UHD Blu Ray cannot be widely superior to Blu Ray, simply either you haven't seen the tech. functioning at it's potential yet or you are trying to convince yourself you don't need it (which is fine but it's def. not true). In fact, the great majority of great 4K Reviews on THIS site mention how there is a vast improvement when a film is shown in an original 4K scan and is usually hands down superior in so many ways to the previous HD Blu Ray version of it. Read the reviews yourself on 4K titles for: The Shinning, Blade Runner, Parasite, Scarface, Batman Returns, Alien...they even mention how the change is so significant, the film has never looked as good, ever. Even better than movie theatres screenings for classical films that have been restored. You'll RARELY find a "marginal at best" difference review and specially for older movies where there can be a complete revival of the film to say the least and I'm not even mentioning the audio capabilities eh.

Now is the 4K Blu Ray format kind of a luxury toy today? Yes and No. Yes, if you haven't even made the switch to 4k Tech, but No because the technology is more accessible than it's EVER been and will only get more and more accessible every time, even great players are far more accessible than ever. Also, the PS5 and Xbox Seriex X Consoles have included the format for the same reason, many gamers are Film collectors and this is their chance to gateway into the format now they have a decent catalog to start collecting.

Regarding Business factors for Criterion: I can see how you made your assesment about people mostly buying Criterion only on B&N sales, but that's actually incorrect. For starters the B&N sale is only for US customers and you can't even buy from them in Canada (I know because I live here). Sales at Criterion are consistent worldwide and people pay full price for their titles still. Now def. I agree Criterion 4k releases wouldn't be considered for this sale and that wouldn't even be a problem though. There's 4K editions from other houses selling well over $50 USD and trust me, I've seen enough collectors pre-ordering them on day 1 just to show them off on Instagram and that's only the ones I see but there's A LOT of people who buy things they "can't" afford, trust me they do..I even do all the time.

So again, I think we can't rule anything out with what we're seeing in growth for the 4k tech but nobody is saying one thing will replace the other at all, or that BD is not good enough, very far from it!I also will still collect in it and in fact I'm sure it will be the format that ends up with the biggest catalog of titles in great looking quality ever. But again 4K UHD is releasing titles nobody ever thought of seeing anymore being revived and some editions are sky rocket selling expensive because of people are buying them and seeing the benefit of looking at these films the way they've never been shown before. Cheers and happy collecting!

As an exercise, I invite you to find any decent physical store that hasn't grown A LOT in titles over recent time. Even in Mexico they are printing their own 4K UHD Blu Rays titles now same as in Europe.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by B-Rose22

My copy of War of the Worlds was scratched that I got from Christmas from the B&N 50% off sale. Just got my replacement copy the other day and it was perfect thankfully.

Personally I've been encountering scratched discs a lot within the past couple of months across the board from any company/distributer. Something tells me the quality control in the pressing or packaging stage is lacking right now, it is really frustrating.

I've been noticing it with Criterions as far back as the November 2019 B&N sale. I've learned to live it with in a couple cases where there were no playback issues with the disc. However, the 8 1/2 disc in my Essential Fellini set was quite beat up and takes a suspiciously long time to load, but there aren't any playback issues once the menu comes up. Am I really going to request a replacement copy of a ~$200 set over this? It's one thing to try to replace a standalone release in the hopes you'll get lucky with a fresher replacement copy. In fact, in the case of both Punch Drunk Love and L'Eclisse I got lucky with replacements.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by pepeandy

Regarding Business factors for Criterion: I can see how you made your assesment about people mostly buying Criterion only on B&N sales, but that's actually incorrect. For starters the B&N sale is only for US customers and you can't even buy from them in Canada (I know because I live here). Sales at Criterion are consistent worldwide and people pay full price for their titles still. Now def. I agree Criterion 4k releases wouldn't be considered for this sale and that wouldn't even be a problem though. There's 4K editions from other houses selling well over $50 USD and trust me, I've seen enough collectors pre-ordering them on day 1 just to show them off on Instagram and that's only the ones I see but there's A LOT of people who buy things they "can't" afford, trust me they do..I even do all the time.

What do you mean sales at Criterion are consistent worldwide when they don't actually ship beyond Canada?

[pepeandy]

Originally Posted by mande2013

What do you mean sales at Criterion are consistent worldwide when they don't actually ship beyond Canada?

Direct sales on their website, no. But that doesn't mean much. It's more an E-Commerce logistics decision actually.

You can buy Criterion even on Amazon UK, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, etc... plus by hundreds other physical outlets around the world who import and online around the globe.

[jonjanjohn]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I've been noticing it with Criterions as far back as the November 2019 B&N sale. I've learned to live it with in a couple cases where there were no playback issues with the disc. However, the 8 1/2 disc in my Essential Fellini set was quite beat up and takes a suspiciously long time to load, but there aren't any playback issues once the menu comes up. Am I really going to request a replacement copy of a ~$200 set over this? It's one thing to try to replace a standalone release in the hopes you'll get lucky with a fresher replacement copy. In fact, in the case of both Punch Drunk Love and L'Eclisse I got lucky with replacements.

I've noticed there are circular scratches within the inner ring (the part within the code bar/numbering) of a lot of my Criterion discs. Not sure if they came with them or due to some fault with my bluray player, but I was curious if anyone else had experiences with these?

So far no playback issues, and from the research I've done, people claim it's fine since there's no data being read in that part of the disc anyways. Would like to see if anyone could confirm that?

[blurayisnice]

Many Criterion titles on Amazon have been priced at $19.99 for months now. Is this a new standard price, or is this part of an ongoing (seemingly continuous) sale? Also, does anyone know whether Scorese's AFTER HOURS is still getting a Criterion release? There's still no blu-ray release and I am thinking of settling for the DVD.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Also, does anyone know whether Scorese's AFTER HOURS is still getting a Criterion release? There's still no blu-ray release and I am thinking of settling for the DVD.

I think there is a good 90% chance they will release it. The only issue is when?

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Many Criterion titles on Amazon have been priced at $19.99 for months now. Is this a new standard price, or is this part of an ongoing (seemingly continuous) sale? Also, does anyone know whether Scorese's AFTER HOURS is still getting a Criterion release? There's still no blu-ray release and I am thinking of settling for the DVD.

They price matched Barnes and Noble and just never stopped. No one knows either way. Hope they release After Hours at the same time as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

[dkelly26666]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

They price matched Barnes and Noble and just never stopped. No one knows either way. Hope they release After Hours at the same time as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Rumor has been for some time that they are releasing "Mean Streets" (which is already on BD), and that would be a golden opportunity for them to issue "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" on BD as a bonus to "Mean Streets". Like "Killer's Kiss" with "The Killing" from Kubrick.

But otherwise, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "After Hours", and "Bringing Out the Dead" all deserve their own stand alone releases, and yes it would be cool to get a couple in the same month.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by dkelly26666

Rumor has been for some time that they are releasing "Mean Streets" (which is already on BD), and that would be a golden opportunity for them to issue "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" on BD as a bonus to "Mean Streets". Like "Killer's Kiss" with "The Killing" from Kubrick.

But otherwise, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "After Hours", and "Bringing Out the Dead" all deserve their own stand alone releases, and yes it would be cool to get a couple in the same month.

I mean every movie seems to rumored from Criterion at some point. I would prefer Mean Streets to be lower on their list than the Scorsese’s that don’t have a release.

[mande2013]

When should I begin to worry about being blacklisted by Amazon for too many replacements? All but one order from Amazon US during calendar years 2019 and 2020 I've requested to have replaced. The track record for 2018 is a bit more stable (10 standalone blu-rays ordered but only one replaced). For 2019 and 2020 combined, on the other hand, the track record comprises 8 standalone releases (Criterion and non-Criterion) plus the third World Cinema Project set(which needless to say I also requested a replacement for). So that means one standalone blu-ray release ordered during those two calendar years I didn't request a replacement for. In 2021, I've only ordered the Essential Fellini set from them. The packaging for that one was fine, but I was tempted to try my luck since a few of the discs were a bit too visibly scratched for comfort, but I'm not sure what I should do.

And not all these replacements were due to damaged packaging although most of them were. A couple were to try my luck to see if I could get a less visibly scratched blu-ray.

P.S. In 2017 I ordered seven standalone releases in all and had two replaced (one for damaged packaging, one for a dubious disc). There were a few other instances where I received damaged Criterion packaging and just ordered the replacement packaging directly from Criterion, but that's not an option during the pandemic.

And this is all strictly in reference to the American Amazon site.

[RandomMan90]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Many Criterion titles on Amazon have been priced at $19.99 for months now. Is this a new standard price, or is this part of an ongoing (seemingly continuous) sale? Also, does anyone know whether Scorese's AFTER HOURS is still getting a Criterion release? There's still no blu-ray release and I am thinking of settling for the DVD.

I imagine After Hours is inevitable. Warner Bros hasn’t released it on their Archive label which leads me to believe Criterion has it.

[pepeandy]

Originally Posted by blurayisnice

Many Criterion titles on Amazon have been priced at $19.99 for months now. Is this a new standard price, or is this part of an ongoing (seemingly continuous) sale? Also, does anyone know whether Scorese's AFTER HOURS is still getting a Criterion release? There's still no blu-ray release and I am thinking of settling for the DVD.

After Hours and Mean Streets would be AMAZING!

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by mande2013

When should I begin to worry about being blacklisted by Amazon for too many replacements?

You could always, you know, find another retailer.

Maybe even one with higher moral standards than Amazon!

[DukeTogo84]

This was posted a few years ago:

"In a recent post discussing After Hours, a contributor for The Projection Booth podcast confirmed (via participants involved in the forthcoming release) that Criterion will release After Hours sometime this year.

If you doubt the source, Joseph McBride revealed on a recent Projection Booth episode that Criterion would be releasing The Other Side of the Wind, so I would argue that their credibility is very strong."

This was back in 2019. I do wonder what happened. I'm still confident Criterion will release this, but some sort of delay has occurred. This would be great to release with Bringing Out the Dead in the same month.