The Criterion Collection

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Also, with the WCP boxset, there is only three blu-rays, yet the box is priced at $125. If they hadn't went the dual format route, it would have likely been released with an MSRP of $80 like their other three disc set (Three Colors, Trilogy of Life, Qatsi).
.

The WCP box has 6 movies in it vs. 3 in each The Three Color and Qatsi sets.
It wouldve cost $125 regardless of the dvds or not as they charge per film, not disc.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Unrelated, does anyone know what's going on with ImportCDs? They've jacked the prices on all their Criterion titles and none of my January titles have shipped, even though all are listed as in stock. I placed my order right at the beginning of the month. I've not had an issue with them before, but this doesn't look so good.

Originally Posted by smoss469

All I know is that they've raised their prices 20% or more on anything I had any interest in buying. With their crappy shipping and higher prices they've lost my business.

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i had to open a paypal case for my throne of blood pre-order, since it has not been shipped as well. and i got no answer from customer service (did write them 3 times and their facebook page)...

never again, worst customer service ever..

I'll throw in my two cents, although my situation doesn't suck as much as Brandon's or Mansinthe's...

About two weeks ago, all of the out of print Criterion's excluding The Third Man and The Man Who Fell To Earth were shown as being "in stock and ready for shipment" at $31.96 each. I was pretty sure something wasn't quite right with that, but I ordered Le Cercle Rouge and Last Year at Marienbad and kept my fingers crossed. I figured that, at worst, maybe they'd try to "right a wrong" and give me a $5 credit or something... So, the orders showed up as pending transactions on my credit card, but disappeared 2 days later. The orders are still listed as open orders on their web site. I inquired with customer service 2 times and figured that they would own up to some kind of mistake.. I got no reply.

maybe a disgruntled programmer sabotaged their web site or something.. who know?!

[momaw]

Originally Posted by chickfila3766

I started watching Stromboli and the subtitles at the bottom are cut off. I've played with my ratios on both my set and the player and nothing seems to fix it without significantly distorting the image. This isn't the first Criterion I've had trouble with. Same issues with the extras on To Be Or Not To Be. I didn't mind so much as the subtitles were just on the extras so I watched it distorted. But this is an issue with the primary movie and I'm frustrated. Thanks.

My player (oppo) has options that allow subtitles to be re-positioned onscreen (not adjust aspect ratio but actual location of subtitles). Once I put in a disc and was getting cut off subtitles like you describe. It turned out that somehow those settings had gotten out of whack. I readjusted them and the subtitles were fine. Perhaps your player has similar options regarding subtitle placement?

[SidneyFalco]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I'll throw in my two cents, although my situation doesn't suck as much as Brandon's or Mansinthe's...

About two weeks ago, all of the out of print Criterion's excluding The Third Man and The Man Who Fell To Earth were shown as being "in stock and ready for shipment" at $31.96 each. I was pretty sure something wasn't quite right with that, but I ordered Le Cercle Rouge and Last Year at Marienbad and kept my fingers crossed. I figured that, at worst, maybe they'd try to "right a wrong" and give me a $5 credit or something... So, the orders showed up as pending transactions on my credit card, but disappeared 2 days later. The orders are still listed as open orders on their web site. I inquired with customer service 2 times and figured that they would own up to some kind of mistake.. I got no reply.

maybe a disgruntled programmer sabotaged their web site or something.. who know?!

They are possibly the worst company when it comes to customer service. I doubt I'll order from them again, unless they have a REALLY good deal.

[The Bronx Bull]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my Top 10 Blu-ray releases of 2013, with the disclaimer that this list could be quite different the next time I post it...

Laura
On the Waterfront
Skyfall
The Enforcer (1951)
The Big Combo
La Notte
Niagara
Ultimate Gangsters Collection: Classics (Little Caesar / The Public Enemy / The Petrified Forest / White Heat)
The Right Stuff
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

10 Honorable mentions:

Ministry of Fear
The Hitch-Hiker
Seconds
Eyes Without a Face
Hell's Half Acre
To the Wonder
Two Men in Manhattan
City That Never Sleeps
A Man Escaped
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Owl, did you pick up Two Men in Manhattan at a reasonable price? I checked Amazon, but it's about $37.50 at the moment. Being a huge fan of Melville, I have a desire to check this one out.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

Owl, did you pick up Two Men in Manhattan at a reasonable price? I checked Amazon, but it's about $37.50 at the moment. Being a huge fan of Melville, I have a desire to check this one out.

Dang, it was about $23 a few days ago, should've bought it then.

It's $21 at DeepDiscount right now.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

Owl, did you pick up Two Men in Manhattan at a reasonable price? I checked Amazon, but it's about $37.50 at the moment. Being a huge fan of Melville, I have a desire to check this one out.

Originally Posted by smoss469

Dang, it was about $23 a few days ago, should've bought it then.

It's $21 at DeepDiscount right now.

I bought mine for 16.98 last Thursday. PM me and I'll tell you where to get one for $19.

I'm glad to help you guys, but last time I posted about two Hitch Criterions for $34, a "silent" member scooped them up in like a minute. rather just share a good deal w/ people I know... well, indirectly so in an online sort of way. :-)

[smoss469]

I paid $21 for it just now, added something cheap that I wanted to get the free shipping!

Are these retail sites or "for sale" classified sites for those prices?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by smoss469

I paid $21 for it just now, added something cheap that I wanted to get the free shipping!

Are these retail sites or "for sale" classified sites for those prices?

retail sites

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Just arrived, I loathe the packaging. It's terrible. They overstuffed the disc holder so much and it's improperly shaped that it doesn't even fit fully in the sleeve! (Bottom left corner of the crappy picture shows it sticking out).

Seriously, if they can't do a better job than this, I'm going to seriously think about skipping future releases.

Glad I'm not the only one.

The thing looks like it's going to explode in my case.

[Visco.]

I have a $25 amazon gift card and I'm about to buy Thief even though I can get it cheaper if I wait...

But I just can't.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by smoss469

All I know is that they've raised their prices 20% or more on anything I had any interest in buying. With their crappy shipping and higher prices they've lost my business.

Yep, this is likely my last time dealing with them. They were my go to place for buying new Criterion releases during non-sale times, but this all seems a little sketchy.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Visco.

I have a $25 amazon gift card and I'm about to buy Thief even though I can get it cheaper if I wait...

But I just can't.

I keep talking myself into not getting it yet.

[Visco.]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

I keep talking myself into not getting it yet.

It's. Too. Damn. Hard. (That's what she said)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Unrelated, does anyone know what's going on with ImportCDs? They've jacked the prices on all their Criterion titles and none of my January titles have shipped, even though all are listed as in stock. I placed my order right at the beginning of the month. I've not had an issue with them before, but this doesn't look so good.

Speculation has been running wild about this in the Olive Films thread. I'm glad that I placed my bulk orders of Olive titles back when the prices were still low.

The next batch of film noirs from Olive start rolling out in April, so I'm hoping that prices will be lower by then. If not, then I'll be giving the piggy bank a nice workout.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

Owl, did you pick up Two Men in Manhattan at a reasonable price? I checked Amazon, but it's about $37.50 at the moment. Being a huge fan of Melville, I have a desire to check this one out.

I ordered Two Men in Manhattan for $23 from ImportCDs back in September.

I wrote a User Review for Two Men in Manhattan, because I was impressed with the film. It's one of Melville's lesser efforts, meaning that it's better than the best efforts of most directors. It's Melville's tribute to New York City and to American film noir.

If you like the look of the Criterion title, Sweet Smell of Success, then you'll find a lot to enjoy with Two Men in Manhattan. Both movies bring 1950s-era New York City right into your living room.

[greekak229]

Thief will indeed be in my next batch of orders, once I stop my UK importing buying spree, whenever that may be.

[hustlermane]

Not a member, but an occasional lurker at Criterion Forum, and their poll for the best releases of the year (and many other categories) has been tallied up for those who are interested. Slightly surprising results: http://criterionforum.org/forum/view...2793&start=150

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

The WCP box has 6 movies in it vs. 3 in each The Three Color and Qatsi sets.
It wouldve cost $125 regardless of the dvds or not as they charge per film, not disc.

Not the case. Look at the Bergman/Rossellini set. Three films set comprised of four discs that retails for $100 instead of $80.

[pro-bassoonist]

Tess Blu-ray REVIEW



*One of the supplemental features on the Criterion release is actually slightly longer than its French counterpart from the Pathe release. I am unsure exactly why - it has more/some mixed content.

**The color scheme also matches that of the Pathe release.

Pro-B