The Criterion Collection

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by speedracer5

I have the Sideways blu ray, but I would get the Criterion in a heartbeat. This is a great movie!

I would be so stoked if Criterion got their hands on this! We definitely need more Payne in the collection.

[Watershipdownisgood]

I have to agree I watched Walker last year and it was phenomenal amazing film controversial but still great. So I hope this happens this year.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I'm going to bet that Pat Garrett is coming this year. Either in June or November.

I certainly hope so. With True Lies and The Abyss out now, and we'll eventually have those in our hands, a new search for "Official DVD that's not on Blu-ray" begins now. Pat Garrett is certainly a top contender.

[Mr. Thomsen]

Someone mentioned a few pages ago that the Godzilla collection is indeed region locked to A for the US release and B for the UK release, even though the releases are identical.

Does anybody know whether the same goes for the Tod Browning's Sideshow Shockers collection? The US release is listed everywhere as region A, but I was wondering whether it might in fact be region-free or A+B, considering the age of the films, and that UK and US releases are otherwise identical.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Though posted in the scratched discs thread, wanted to pass this along here regarding a reply from Criterion when asking for replacements:

I wrote them on the weekend regarding the heavily scratched discs in the Complete Jacques Demy set. Along with the usual request of photos with name/date on art side of the discs and address to send replacements, they have added:

"Please send $12.00 USD to store@criterion.com via PayPal to help offset the cost of international shipping"

I have written back basically saying that this continues to be an ongoing issue with their product, defects and the manufacturing level, and asking customers (at least, outside of the US) to pay for them to correct this is certainly not a good look.

Considering there doesn't seem to be a fix for these manufacturing problems, if Criterions answer is to pay more for clean discs, this really ices their cake in my purchases from them.

This seems new. They've sent me replacements internationally before without asking for payment to offset the shipping cost.

[mclellandj]

The rise of people asking for new discs for scratches that don’t affect playback is going to have a cost passed along to the consumer. That is an obvious consequence to the actions of people unwilling to test discs to see if they play before demanding new product be shipped to them.

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

I'm going to bet that Pat Garrett is coming this year. Either in June or November.

Bet? You’ll get better odds at the track.

*but I hope you’re right

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by mclellandj

The rise of people asking for new discs for scratches that don’t affect playback is going to have a cost passed along to the consumer. That is an obvious consequence to the actions of people unwilling to test discs to see if they play before demanding new product be shipped to them.

Foregoing the argument that we shouldn't have to accept damaged discs AT ALL, multiple discs I have asked for replacements on have been affected by the now familiar scratches. 4k more so.

It's been hit or miss.

It's equally frustrating to see those scratches, pop in the discs for a spin and get it to freeze midway through a film.

Again, I never had issue with ANY Criterion disc prior to 2020. Since then, well over half (probably closer to 75%) arrive damaged.

Criterion should take responsibility for this, not us.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by mande2013

This seems new. They've sent me replacements internationally before without asking for payment to offset the shipping cost.

I'm thinking it is new. The poster below you probably has it right. The rise of more and more damaged product is giving way to more return requests and eating into their costs. (It's the same reason some of us are getting our accounts at Amazon flagged for repeated returns/replacements)

Criterion's replied to me yesterday regarding my asking why they are now requesting $16CDN for replacement discs (which is a good chunk out of, say, a $29.99 flash sale average single disc cost from Unobstructed View):

"This is their reply to me writing back that customers should not have to pay for shipping of replacements for these repeated manufacturing errors:

"Thank you for following up, though we do apologize for the frustration. We take your feedback to heart and have forwarded it to the appropriate parties for further review.

Please note, all the discs sold by us in North America are manufactured in Mexico, and this has been the case for a while now. The factory that has manufactured our discs for the last few decades consolidated and moved locations; the process is the same as it was in the US.

We're always happy to provide replacements for Criterion discs that are damaged at the manufacturing level or exhibiting playback issues, but it's worth noting that international shipping is $20-$30 per parcel, and we ask customers who do not make direct purchases from Criterion.com to help us offset some of this cost. Shipping for replacement discs and packaging is always free if the purchase has been made directly through our website."

That mention of the factory being consolidated and moved to a different location is interesting.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

I'm thinking it is new. The poster below you probably has it right. The rise of more and more damaged product is giving way to more return requests and eating into their costs. (It's the same reason some of us are getting our accounts at Amazon flagged for repeated returns/replacements)

Criterion's replied to me yesterday regarding my asking why they are now requesting $16CDN for replacement discs (which is a good chunk out of, say, a $29.99 flash sale average single disc cost from Unobstructed View):

"This is their reply to me writing back that customers should not have to pay for shipping of replacements for these repeated manufacturing errors:

"Thank you for following up, though we do apologize for the frustration. We take your feedback to heart and have forwarded it to the appropriate parties for further review.

Please note, all the discs sold by us in North America are manufactured in Mexico, and this has been the case for a while now. The factory that has manufactured our discs for the last few decades consolidated and moved locations; the process is the same as it was in the US.

We're always happy to provide replacements for Criterion discs that are damaged at the manufacturing level or exhibiting playback issues, but it's worth noting that international shipping is $20-$30 per parcel, and we ask customers who do not make direct purchases from Criterion.com to help us offset some of this cost. Shipping for replacement discs and packaging is always free if the purchase has been made directly through our website."

Bolded text is theirs, not mine.

That mention of the factory being consolidated and moved to a different location is interesting.

Have you tried contacting UV for a replacement?

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Have you tried contacting UV for a replacement?

In this instance, it was WOWHD though UV also requests the entire set returned, not just the damaged discs.

My personal purchase precedent has dictated that, when it comes to larger box sets with more discs, replacements sent often have DIFFERENT scratched discs resulting in reinitiating the process. It's annoying for single discs but more Russian Roulette for larger disc sets.

Writing to Criterion directly seemed to make the most sense when it came to say, 1 or two discs in a box set.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by mclellandj

The rise of people asking for new discs for scratches that don’t affect playback is going to have a cost passed along to the consumer. That is an obvious consequence to the actions of people unwilling to test discs to see if they play before demanding new product be shipped to them.

Adding: Seems like any other product that has some damage or use would sell at a discount.

Maybe Criterion should have ANOTHER closet marked AS IS like they do at IKEA.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

In this instance, it was WOWHD though UV also requests the entire set returned, not just the damaged discs.

My personal purchase precedent has dictated that, when it comes to larger box sets with more discs, replacements sent often have DIFFERENT scratched discs resulting in reinitiating the process. It's annoying for single discs but more Russian Roulette for larger disc sets.

Writing to Criterion directly seemed to make the most sense when it came to say, 1 or two disc in a box set.

Unfortunately, given your history with scratched discs, it would probably be best to just ignore them unless they are affecting playback. As you said, there really is no guarantee the replacement discs will be any better, so that fee could just be money down the drain.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Unfortunately, given your history with scratched discs, you're best to just ignore them unless they are affecting playback. As you said, there really is no guarantee the replacement discs will be any better, so that fee could just be money down the drain.

Agreed, however, Criterion states they inspect the discs before replacements are sent. In their defence, all replacements they've sent in the past contained no scratches, grooves or even fingerprints and played fine.

SIDE NOTE: I took the advice of another poster and not looked at the back of the discs before playing anymore. In this instance, Bay of Angels skipped causing me to check the disc. Seeing the scratches, I checked the others with only Young Girls of... having the scratches and thumbprint. I cleaned off the print and tried to play the disc. It skipped then froze about 30 min in.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Criterion states they inspect the discs before replacements are sent. In their defence, all replacements they've sent in the past contained no scratches, grooves or even fingerprints and played fine.

You should probably just buy all your discs at Criterion.com during their flash sales then, since they seem more willing to do no fee replacements for stuff ordered directly than a third party.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

You should probably just buy all your discs at Criterion.com during their flash sales then, since they seem more willing to do no fee replacements for stuff ordered directly than a third party.

Not always the most cost effective option here in Canada though, in some instances, cheaper than Unobstructed View. If I opt to go THAT route, I might just save up my Criterion Wish List wants over a year or so and do one bigger purchase as I have seen others post on over in the Canadian international shipping thread. It's not much of a savings, really, but certainly worth it if Criterion stands by sending replacements at no charge for their website orders.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Not always the most cost effective option here in Canada though, in some instances, cheaper than Unobstructed View. If I opt to go THAT route, I might just save up my Criterion Wish List wants over a year or so and do one bigger purchase as I have seen others post on over in the Canadian international shipping thread. It's not much of a savings, really, but certainly worth it if Criterion stands by sending replacements at no charge for their website orders.

Yeah, I think in the long run it'll be the better choice for you, especially since you can also eventually get a $50 certificate if you spend $500 (even if it takes years lol), which you don't get when buying elsewhere.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by mclellandj

The rise of people asking for new discs for scratches that don’t affect playback is going to have a cost passed along to the consumer. That is an obvious consequence to the actions of people unwilling to test discs to see if they play before demanding new product be shipped to them.

Maybe if they fixed the problem we wouldn't get scratched discs, that line of thinking goes both ways. In the case of a consumer, a new product should be new, not scratched, even if it works (for now).

[playing ketchup]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Foregoing the argument that we shouldn't have to accept damaged discs AT ALL, multiple discs I have asked for replacements on have been affected by the now familiar scratches. 4k more so.

It's been hit or miss.

It's equally frustrating to see those scratches, pop in the discs for a spin and get it to freeze midway through a film.

Again, I never had issue with ANY Criterion disc prior to 2020. Since then, well over half (probably closer to 75%) arrive damaged.

Criterion should take responsibility for this, not us.

This is the exact same story for me, even going back to DVDs and CDs, which I've owned and sold thousands of. Scratched discs straight from the manufacturer were literally unheard of, but over 50% of the Criterion I've purchased in the last few years have had multiple scratches. The industry shouldn't be gaslighting the customers. If scratches are now acceptable "as new" by the companies, then why do they even offer replacements? They could at least slap a sticker on the cover, "Gently used condition".

[DukeTogo84]

As I was driving to work this morning, for some reason Red Beard came to mind as it was one of my first Criterion DVD's and still shocked it doesn't have a Blu-ray. Then I started to think about Toho and really wonder what's up with them. I believe the last Toho titles Criterion released was Onibaba? What's also interesting is that I don't think Onibaba doesn't have a BD in Japan which I thought always had to be the case when it came to Toho films getting a release elsewhere.

Either way, Friday is almost here and wonder if Criterion go for a two month streak with a new Japanese title to HD on disc.