The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

If I was still taking part in these 50% off sales, I'd 100% support James Daunt over Jeff Bezos.

[MifuneFan]

It looks like Criterion has now rebranded Janus Contemporaries to Criterion Premieres. Misericordia will be the first under this new name, releasing in September.

https://www.criterion.com/films/34686-misericordia

A web of secrets, suspicions, and desires ensnares the inhabitants of an insular French village in this tantalizing comic thriller from ever-audacious auteur Alain Guiraudie. Returning to his rural hometown to attend the funeral of the mentor he loved, enigmatic, sexually fluid drifter Jérémie (Félix Kysyl) stirs up long-simmering feelings of lust, jealousy, and rage among those he left behind—including the dead man’s widow (Catherine Frot), her hot-tempered son (Jean-Baptiste Durand), and a curiously protective local priest (Jacques Develay) with whom Jérémie forges a twisted bond. Amid the evocatively earthy milieu, Guiraudie constructs a slippery, continuously surprising moral universe where love and hatred, eroticism and violence, spiritual grace and mortal sin, are intimately entwined.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Meet the Filmmakers, a new interview with director Alain Guiraudie
• Trailer

MISERICORDIA - Official Trailer - YouTube

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It looks like Criterion has now rebranded Janus Contemporaries to Criterion Premieres. Misericordia will be the first under this new name, releasing in September.

I wonder if the other JC films will be re-released with the new name.

[Alvarius]

Order arrived. Two of three are fine. The Last Picture Show came shrink-wrapped. The lower-right corner of the plastic case is smashed, and the discs have scratches and fingerprints all over them.

EDIT: Just examined Foreign Correspondent. It too has minor damage. The bottom edge has a little piece of plastic hanging loose.

[Surge92]

Originally Posted by Alvarius

Order arrived. Two of three are fine. The Last Picture Show came shrink-wrapped. The lower-right corner of the plastic case is smashed, and the discs have scratches and fingerprints all over them.

From Amazon?

[Alvarius]

Originally Posted by surge92

from amazon?

Barnes and Noble.

EDIT: In case you're wondering, the three movies came in a brown cardboard-paper envelope. Some kind of thin corrugated padding inside, but nothing serious.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Coming into the thread to see if others are receiving the same from Amazon and finding, yup.

So, while I am used to at least some small scratches on most discs from Criterion (especially with the MADE IN MEXICO on stamp on the back), I received THREE discs from my order not in original packaging:

Two were in plastic bags with green text warnings and READY TO SHIP and the other was clearly reshrink wrapped and had fingerprints all over the book.

Not new product.

I'll be writing them to see if they can discount the used discs. If I want that shit I'll go to ebay

What a company!

EDIT: Amazon issued a $5 refund per repackaged product. Originally they just wanted to do $5 for all 3.

As two other discs came in original shrink but with scratches, they are sending replacements. If keeping track, that 5 dics in an 8 disc order with issues.

[moviemaker]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It looks like Criterion has now rebranded Janus Contemporaries to Criterion Premieres. Misericordia will be the first under this new name, releasing in September.

Originally Posted by Scottie

I wonder if the other JC films will be re-released with the new name.

I was wondering the same thing. Was looking at Eclipse Series but I imagine the license must be up for these. They still sell the DVDs at full retail price so who knows. So far it looks like they are only interested in new releases for Criterion Premieres.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Criterion got back to me regarding Goddard's Weekend.

They assured it was not going out of print but is currently "undergoing a packaging revision". . . whatever that means.

They said they don't have an ETA on when it will be back but I could check in later in the year.

But i bought a used copy in the meanwhile.

[TheZeppo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

But do I trust Amazon enough w/ their packaging is the question?

I've ordered from Amazon for many years now and have received very few damaged/ill-packaged discs from them. A few? Sure. But no more than any other retailer out there.

Their (non-abused) return policy is simple and fair in the event that an item sold and shipped by them has a problem along the way.

All this hype about every single shipment being marred in some manner or another is the equivalent of social media horseshitery in my humble opinion, and I've got around 5000 discs in my collection from retailers all over the world to evidence this plain and simple fact.

[DrasticHandprint]

Guys, the fingerprints and scratches on discs and booklets are really likely because Vantiva, the Mexico plant has incredibly crap QC. As others have noted, I get shrink and wraps of varying kinds from Amazon, Barnes and noble and criterion directly, plus missing stickers, and I have gotten these issues from more than just Criterion.

But that said, Amazon does have issues specifically with products because they share the same bin regardless of if it’s shipped by Amazon or FBA. Bootlegs are a big issue, especially with products like micro sd cards and shoes and the like, so one bad product can poison the well, so to speak. So I’m not saying rewraps can’t happen, but my first thought is really just vantiva is crap.

[MrGarmonbozia]

Ok, I pick up what you're putting down above poster but in my instance it was opened product placed in a plastic ziplock bag with green text on it saying READY FOR SHIPPING. "

[TheZeppo]

Oh....almost forgot. I've had my eye on this gem for ages as well, so I ordered this too.

Yet again, 50% off? Score!

[Techlet]

Originally Posted by Scottie

I wonder if the other JC films will be re-released with the new name.

And I wonder if we're any closer to getting 4K releases of this line.

[neonde]

Originally Posted by MrGarmonbozia

Criterion got back to me regarding Goddard's Weekend.

They assured it was not going out of print but is currently "undergoing a packaging revision". . . whatever that means.

They said they don't have an ETA on when it will be back but I could check in later in the year.

But i bought a used copy in the meanwhile.

I wonder what this means...they can't be converting to a standard case from a digipak, it was always a standard release...surely they can't be changing anything to the art cover?

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by neonde

I wonder what this means...they can't be converting to a standard case from a digipak, it was always a standard release...surely they can't be changing anything to the art cover?

Yeah, I found it perplexing. I mean if they did a 4k or a Goddard boxset they'd still keep Weekend as a single release option, right?

I've heard of them changing digipack to standard case but not in reverse so you got me.

[skinjob69]

I watched the Thief 4k over the weekend. Great film and the picture was excellent.

So far, out of 6 titles bought during this sale, 2 had scratches and one was covered in about a dozen very greasy fingerprints.

[Watershipdownisgood]

Speaking of Criterion any Italian Film suggestions? Also any other lesser known Japanese films I should check out. I currently do not own a single Italian title from Criterion at the moment.

The Japanese titles I own and most of these I've watched
Dreams
Kuroneko
Ikiru
Rashomon
Seven Samurai
Samurai Trilogy
Demon Pond
Throne of Blood
Three Outlaw Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Harakiri
Tokyo Story
Kwaidan
Yojimbo
High and Low

[MrGarmonbozia]

Originally Posted by Watershipdownisgood

Speaking of Criterion any Italian Film suggestions? Also any other lesser known Japanese films I should check out. I currently do not own a single Italian title from Criterion at the moment.

The Japanese titles I own and most of these I've watched
Dreams
Kuroneko
Ikiru
Rashomon
Seven Samurai
Samurai Trilogy
Demon Pond
Throne of Blood
Three Outlaw Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Harakiri
Tokyo Story
Kwaidan
Yojimbo

I'd add Onibaba
Sanjuro
High Low

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Watershipdownisgood

Speaking of Criterion any Italian Film suggestions? Also any other lesser known Japanese films I should check out. I currently do not own a single Italian title from Criterion at the moment.

Any Antonioni - L'Eclisse, La Notte, Red Desert (studies of alienation in urban environment) Le Amiche (uncharacteristic, almost soapy drama but very good)
Fellini - Essential Fellini box or at least 81/2 (surreal, autobiographical), La Strada (emotional drama)
De Sica - Bicycle Thieves, Shoeshine, Umberto D (Neorealist dramas, can be depressing)
Il Sorpasso - excellent satire and a young hunky Jean-Louis Trintignant