The Criterion Collection

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by rkish

Hey Pat! ENJOY the Silent Naruse...a great collection of films!

If you like those films (and I know you have a region free player), you should consider the BFI Naruse DVD set (still available). Unfortunately, the MoC Naruse set is OOP and you'll only find it on EBay for big bucks.

I just made a check on Amazon.uk, do you mean this one

Naruse: Volume One (Repast / Sound of the Mountain / Flowing) [Masters of Cinema] [DVD]

That would be a very expensive order as it would come to $175 CAN

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

That is a good question. I think only a person who as ever deal in these type of negotiation might now. It's possible studios might impose a higher fee for an International code since it prevent them from making a deal with another distributor somewhere else. I think a studio would prefer making multiple deal in order to make more money. One deal with Criterion might limit the amount of money they make. Unless studios get a cut for each sales of a Blu-ray made? If that is the case it does not matter.

I believe that this is exactly the case. It makes sense to charge more if you're going to cede more.

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by octagon

I wonder if Criterion has a more active role in the region locking than we might sometimes think. They seem pretty averse in general to any kind of overseas commerce. They won't even ship replacement cases outside the US.

Maybe they just don't want the headaches (though that seems less and less likely as our global village shrinks) but maybe there are some tax or regulatory benefits to being completely domestic.

I'm sure they have to region lock a lot of their releases but I wonder if they choose to region lock the rest.

I think they're just trying to avoid the headache entirely, I'm sure plenty of their releases could be region free if they wanted to. But it's easier to be on the safe side than wasting time trying to find out what the licensor wants or is willing to allow, plus they don't have to bother with hundreds of e-mails asking for the region locking status with every new announcement.

I did get my White replacement earlier this week though, so kudos to them for that. Speaking of which, are Criterion.com gift certificates transferable? I got one but have no use for it for obvious reasons, anyone want it?

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by retablo

Then it's not a bother at all, and anyone who think so is making up excuses, I guess.

For me it's more about the additional expense. Considering these Eureka titles are basically the same or less than a Criterion makes it not so much of a concern. My impression from the CD and DVD days were that imports were like $50+ after factoring in exchange rate and expensive shipping. Maybe that impression was wrong, or maybe blu-ray imports are cheaper than the older formats of the past (recent exchange rates also help U.S. buyers importing from Europe or UK).

Also there's still the issue with getting packages overseas. The guy above pointed out it takes 30 days for B&N to deliver right across the border to CANADA - it's a chronic problem with them. Now that might be a B&N problem. It might not be a really huge problem overall and not with Amazon.co.uk or Eureka or whoever, but at the very least the package has to go through more hoops to get there - and if there is an issue a return might be prohibitive.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

For me it's more about the additional expense. Considering these Eureka titles are basically the same or less than a Criterion makes it not so much of a concern. My impression from the CD and DVD days were that imports were like $50+ after factoring in exchange rate and expensive shipping. Maybe that impression was wrong, or maybe blu-ray imports are cheaper than the older formats of the past (recent exchange rates also help U.S. buyers importing from Europe or UK).

Also there's still the issue with getting packages overseas. The guy above pointed out it takes 30 days for B&N to deliver right across the border to CANADA - it's a chronic problem with them. Now that might be a B&N problem. It might not be a really huge problem overall and not with Amazon.co.uk or Eureka or whoever, but at the very least the package has to go through more hoops to get there - and if there is an issue a return might be prohibitive.

I usually get international orders from Amazon.uk in around 7 days or less (to the US). And shipping is only a few dollars. Usually I can get the MOC/Arrow titles for cheaper than a Criterion, because the price point over there is lower (especially after the Amazon discount). Just look at the Harry Potter complete set ($40 for the UK edition, $80+ for the US edition). Or Bond 50 ($130 UK vs $200 US). I'll gladly pay a couple extra dollars in shipping to save that much money.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Also there's still the issue with getting packages overseas. The guy above pointed out it takes 30 days for B&N to deliver right across the border to CANADA - it's a chronic problem with them. Now that might be a B&N problem. It might not be a really huge problem overall and not with Amazon.co.uk or Eureka or whoever, but at the very least the package has to go through more hoops to get there - and if there is an issue a return might be prohibitive.

Actually all my orders from the UK all arrive within 10 days. I just received Ben-hur and I got it in 8 days. I really don't know what is the deal with B&N orders and why they take so long to arrive. Like I said before I don't worry about it since after all these years I am use to it. Even ordering from Hong Kong never take's more then 14 days to get to me here in Montreal.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by octagon

I wonder if Criterion has a more active role in the region locking than we might sometimes think. They seem pretty averse in general to any kind of overseas commerce. They won't even ship replacement cases outside the US.

Maybe they just don't want the headaches (though that seems less and less likely as our global village shrinks) but maybe there are some tax or regulatory benefits to being completely domestic.

I'm sure they have to region lock a lot of their releases but I wonder if they choose to region lock the rest.

They could just make their titles region free, but continue "avoiding headaches" by shipping domestically only. Amazon would be there to pick up the slack.

Of course being in the US it wouldn't really benefit us unless it meant that UK or other European labels also made more of a move towards region free. I honestly don't know which way the trend is going here. I just like the idea of more availability/openness. (who wouldn't?)

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by retablo

I usually get international orders from Amazon.uk in around 7 days or less (to the US). And shipping is only a few dollars. Usually I can get the MOC/Arrow titles for cheaper than a Criterion, because the price point over there is lower (especially after the Amazon discount). Just look at the Harry Potter complete set ($40 for the UK edition, $80+ for the US edition). Or Bond 50 ($130 UK vs $200 US). I'll gladly pay a couple extra dollars in shipping to save that much money.

try ordering your Eureka / MoC titles directly from them, they ship worldwide FREE!! And they are at least the same price as Amazon UK (if not lower) and you buy from the company directly so they get more of your money to invest in more titles

FYI - they are also putting 'Island of Lost Souls' & many other titles out in a Limited Edition steelbook (already pre-ordered)

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I think (pure speculation here of course) that region lock is impose on Criterion. The way I see it I think they would always prefer to have region free since that would increase the sales. Criterion as a very good reputation on retoration (from most people) so a lot of customes from Europe or Asia would probably go for the Criterion version if it were available instead of another one.

Like I said, pure speculation on my part however.

On Criterions FAQ page, they state this.

12. Does Criterion sell its DVDs and Blu-ray discs outside the United States? And what regions do they play in?

We only publish DVDs for the North American market, and our DVDs and Blu-ray discs are encoded region 1.

I think a fair assumption would be that it is Criterions policy and not a licensing issue.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

try ordering your Eureka / MoC titles directly from them, they ship worldwide FREE!! And they are at least the same price as Amazon UK (if not lower) and you buy from the company directly so they get more of your money to invest in more titles

FYI - they are also putting 'Island of Lost Souls' & many other titles out in a Limited Edition steelbook (already pre-ordered)

I will check that out!

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by retablo

I usually get international orders from Amazon.uk in around 7 days or less (to the US). And shipping is only a few dollars. Usually I can get the MOC/Arrow titles for cheaper than a Criterion, because the price point over there is lower (especially after the Amazon discount). Just look at the Harry Potter complete set ($40 for the UK edition, $80+ for the US edition). Or Bond 50 ($130 UK vs $200 US). I'll gladly pay a couple extra dollars in shipping to save that much money.

Believe me, I've checked out that thread "Titles that are cheaper on Amazon.co.uk than Amazon.com".

I've been tempted a few times on things like the Dirty Harry collection and Planet of the Apes (which have "packaging" issues in the U.S. version, but more standard cases in UK). At the end of the day I've just been waiting for deals on U.S. versions rather than buying the import. For now I think I will look towards titles that are just not available in U.S. at all. Which is why my first order was those Eureka titles (with the understanding they are basically the UK equivalent of the Criterion Collection) Maybe if I get more accustomed to it, I will also more casually shop for "deals" on UK/EU websites without really thinking twice about it.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by jcs913

On Criterions FAQ page, they state this.

12. Does Criterion sell its DVDs and Blu-ray discs outside the United States? And what regions do they play in?

We only publish DVDs for the North American market, and our DVDs and Blu-ray discs are encoded region 1.

I think a fair assumption would be that it is Criterions policy and not a licensing issue.

It could be a little of both... like I asked, if worldwide licensing is more expensive (and I don't know anything about that), then Criterion could just be paying for Region 1 only... therefore it could be both Criterion policy AND a licensing issue. I don't know though, but it seems logical in a way.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by retablo

I will check that out!

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=179234

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by retablo

It could be a little of both... like I asked, if worldwide licensing is more expensive (and I don't know anything about that), then Criterion could just be paying for Region 1 only... therefore it could be both Criterion policy AND a licensing issue. I don't know though, but it seems logical in a way.

I know that there are separate licenses for blu-ray and DVD. Criterion has commented years ago that when some early releases when blu-ray just came out (Dillinger is Dead, Night Train to Munich, etc..) did not get a blu-ray release, as the license for the blu was either not available or they did not want to purchase it. As for the region-coding, I believe it's just policy.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

try ordering your Eureka / MoC titles directly from them,...

Are they even taking direct orders now?

If so, they're hiding those links pretty well (or I'm just st00pid which we can never rule out).

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by octagon

Are they even taking direct orders now?

If so, they're hiding those links pretty well (or I'm just st00pid which we can never rule out).

The sale ended last week, so they took their order page down.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I could have, but that wouldn't have been as fun for me! Anyway, I apologize for teasing you.

Next up: puppies and rainbows.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I could have, but that wouldn't have been as fun for me! Anyway, I apologize for teasing you.

That's ok. I figured you were. I was just being snarky in return.

Originally Posted by octagon

Next up: puppies and rainbows.

Good thing you didn't say ponies, we don't want this to turn into a Brony thread. I'm surprised no one has done fake Criterions for MLP:FIM, given the popularity of it.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I could have, but that wouldn't have been as fun for me! Anyway, I apologize for teasing you.

My oh my! What is happening to this thread, everyone so polite now.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

My oh my! What is happening to this thread, everyone so polite now.

Well my excuse is wine. I'm almost done one bottle of wine coolers, and I'm ready to start another. I'm staying here this weekend due to the 30 cm of snow coming, so I'm pulling an all-nighter to catch up on my PVRs. I'm rewatching Brigadoon first.