The Criterion Collection

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by BobbyMcGee

Good to know. I've bought some used Eclipse boxsets used off of eBay that were pretty beat up. Those flimsy slipcovers wear out quick. One even has a cracked case. I am going to email them and see if they can send me replacements for free. Also have a John Cassavetes DVD set and the outer box is somewhat worn as well. Hmm...

Just write it out saying you recently received a damaged 'insert whatever it is' and if you could somehow get a replacement case/or box. Be sure to thank them and I have no doubt you will get some help. Space out the asking though, like wait a couple months in between asking for those Eclipse stuff and the Cassavetes replacement. I don't keep asking over and over, obviously would look rude to do that. Hope (they should) they get back with ya soon.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Never had that problem, and I have received I believe 4 sent to me at different times, dating back to like 2007 even for the expensive Berlin Alexanderplatz package that was destroyed by B&N. Criterion sent the entire box, with no questions asked, to me for free (the outer box not put together in an envelope and the inside was put in a box, so 2 packages arrived for 1 big replacement for free and I didn't even order that item from them). I would gladly pay $5 if one pays for plastic case replacements too.

Yeah, for me I think it's been 4 box set slipcases replaced through them (since back when they fixed the improperly sized Rohmer box), although I waited way too long to replace one (Robeson), and it ended up being in worse shape than the one I was trying to replace. Don't think I've replaced any digipak slipcases (yet).

They're my last resort, though. I have seen pretty much everything in terms of horrible packing practices from online stores, so the above is the very very tip of the iceberg in terms of what I've dealt with over the years. It can get pretty ugly.

obtw, the replacements were for items I didn't order from their online store...

[FilmBufffff]

Picked up Fantastic Mr. Fox today and when I checked the discs the dvd with the supplements on it was scratched to hell. I popped it in and it works so I'm happy but this it the worst I've ever seen a brand new disc look. The packaging is great though and I finally have my favorite Wes Anderson movie on blu-ray.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by fdm

Yeah, for me I think it's been 4 box set slipcases replaced through them (since back when they fixed the improperly sized Rohmer box), although I waited way too long to replace one (Robeson), and it ended up being in worse shape than the one I was trying to replace. Don't think I've replaced any digipak slipcases (yet).

They're my last resort, though. I have seen pretty much everything in terms of horrible packing practices from online stores, so the above is the very very tip of the iceberg in terms of what I've dealt with over the years. It can get pretty ugly.

obtw, the replacements were for items I didn't order from their online store...

Same here. All the replacements for packaging I have asked for came from purchases from B&N. Criterion's warehouse does an outstanding job with digipacks, for me at least and never had any damages (except plastic cases for some reason).

[zkirkland]

Fantastic Mr. Fox and Foreign Correspondent arrived undamaged. I just wish with the Fantastic Mr. Fox packaging that they didn't have the back information glued on there. Just a minor quibble.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by BAMJoe

I don't understand the hate for upgrades. I would rather that Criterion get them out before they lose the rights.

I love upgrades because there are so many fantastic Criterion titles on DVD that I would love to see now in high definition... I'm waiting on several hoping they come out on Blu-ray still. Patience is a virtue.

As for all the May announcements, I'm quite glad that Life Aquatic will be in a regular plastic case. Hooray!

[Meek12345]

The May release lineup looks good to me. Currently planning to purchase the following titles:

Red River!!!!: This is my top release for the month. Howard Hawks is one of my favorite directors and the Clift/Wayne pairing was unexpectedly awesome. I have never been a John Wayne fan, but I enjoyed his performance in this film. Wayne gave another great performance in The Searchers . Hmmm...I might be more of a John Wayne fan than I previously realized.

Anyhoo, I hope that Criterion will be able to release more films by Howard Hawks in the future. Scarface would be nice. Also, I wish Red River would come with a commentary, but I guess all of the interviews are supposed to make up for that.

I look forward to reading the Red River novel that will come with the blu. I enjoyed reading the Mr. Arkadin novel that came with that release before I watched the 3 different versions of the film.

Ace in the Hole: Just realized that I don't have any Kirk Douglas or Wilder in my collection. Need to remedy that with this release.

Overlord: Looks intriguing. Would this be a good blind buy?

[jayj15]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

Red River!!!!: This is my top release for the month. Howard Hawks is one of my favorite directors and the Clift/Wayne pairing was unexpectedly awesome. I have never been a John Wayne fan, but I enjoyed his performance in this film. Wayne gave another great performance in The Searchers . Hmmm...I might be more of a John Wayne fan than I previously realized.

John Wayne has been quite unfairly stereotyped by people as just playing "John Wayne" and every movie of his being the same. "Red River" and "The Searchers" are definitely two movies that I tell people to check out.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Yes. I've heard AK is going to be in the states appearing at some university where Criterion will meet him to do interviews.

Edit: He'll be at IU in April. Looks like a really cool program.

http://www.cinema.indiana.edu/?post_type=series&p=5661

Be still my beating heart! Koker Trilogy would be a dead cert for best of 2014 if it's released this year. Borowczyk, Herzog et al. would have to fight it out for second.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Good to hear other success stories by simply e-mailing Criterion about damaged packages. Also glad to see I'm not the only one getting damaged plastic cases. To even make an OCD argument, you know if you go look at your plastic case releases, the artwork could be damaged on some due to humidity. So, could go both ways on that front (for the OCD "everything needs to be perfect" posters). I really don't see why we can't go hand to hand on this issue. Most, on this forum, likes plastic cases. Some like digipacks. Criterion likes both. Let's live with it. E-mailing them to stop releasing something, I have not done (surprising to some on here I take it with my dislike for releases, which everyone has btw). Some want the digipack releases, others want plastic cases. Let's accept that.

Eh.

The whole issue stems from forcing 3 discs - these 1 + 2 releases are terrible. You don't think it's a little stupid for a blu-ray buyer to purchase a title they want - and end up with a package of *TWO* DVD's containing the same content as their ONE blu-ray? Just seems incomprehensible to have all these duplicated discs and wasted space, I don't think I've ever watched a DVD out of any combo pack ever. Not even once. What is the point?

An occasional digipack never bothered me. I just find it obnoxious that they have to change up almost ALL of their packaging to accommodate discs I don't even want.

Combo packs that come in a normal case don't bother me, I just have no use for them.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jayj15

John Wayne has been quite unfairly stereotyped by people as just playing "John Wayne" and every movie of his being the same. "Red River" and "The Searchers" are definitely two movies that I tell people to check out.

every time i hear "john wayne", i think of myself... cause my initials, j.w., stand for that too. lol...well, jonathan, not john...but its close enough, right?

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

They always respond if an item you order from them arrives damaged. I'm sure they get tons of emails asking them tons of different questions...maybe they can't take the time to answer each and every one. But in my experience, if you have a problem with an order (which is a completely different situation), they always address it.

And while I don't have a dog in the plastic/digi race, I will say that I've received several broken plastic cases, and no damaged digipacks. Then again, maybe it's because I usually buy the digipacks in person, so I can make sure they're not damaged. But yeah, Criterion has supplied me with new plastic cases when they've arrived broken. Free of charge. With expedited shipping. I'm sure they do the same for digipacks.




Common sense would suggest that one should email CC Customer Service about the damaged item, no? Do they really need to put up a big flashing neon sign telling you how to do that? When my items arrive damaged, I don't freak out because they don't have a specific link to email them about broken cases...I just email them and tell them that my case arrived broken, and they send me a new one.

They've never responded to me. They definitely don't always reply to their "help" address.

I sent them about 3 inquires over the last couple years about "damaged goods" (couple of replacement cases, in one instance to replace an unplayable disc on an Eclipse set) - not a single response.

To be fair, it was over items I purchased from Barnes and Noble - not from criterion directly. But they still never bothered to reply. I didn't care so much about the "case" issues. But I really should follow up on my unplayable disc, since it's been like 6 months since i emailed them.

[KrugerIndustrial]

Surprised that Someone in Love did not receive any extra supplements over the UK release (other than the booklet), considering the price difference. It has the same Making of-documentary and a trailer. Transfer wise these two will also likely be more or less identical. Not sure yet which one I will eventually get, as I kinda prefer the UK cover art as it uses the original poster(sans the stars). I'm glad that Zissou will be a single-disc upgrade.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by KrugerIndustrial

Surprised that Someone in Love did not receive any extra supplements over the UK release (other than the booklet), considering the price difference. It has the same Making of-documentary and a trailer. Transfer wise these two will also likely be more or less identical. Not sure yet which one I will eventually get, as I kinda prefer the UK cover art as it uses the original poster(sans the stars). I'm glad that Zissou will be a single-disc upgrade.

Definitely get the UK version, there's no point paying extra for an identical, or nearly identical product.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Definitely get the UK version, there's no point paying extra for an identical, or nearly identical product.

Plus it's only £8.24($13.76) on Amazon.co.uk at the moment.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

Problem with digi and cardboard releases is they get easy damaged. Not everyone has a b&n around the corner.

And criterion does not ship outside of the u.s and ca.

I asume most international customers use b&n and amazon to get criterion releases. And i had already some cases where amazon did not care for minor damages.

And sending something back to b&n and waiting for the replacement can take some time.

I from uk and order on amazon, if any case comes damaged I demand a refund and get it as they are selling the a s brand new, not ok condition, plus they don't take time to package them well, but most my damaged cases are the plastic ones, they get chipped, snapped and even knife wounds from customs, I've had. Ages dented digipaks but got a refund or replacement, the recent dual format have so far all come perfect condition.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Eh.

The whole issue stems from forcing 3 discs - these 1 + 2 releases are terrible. You don't think it's a little stupid for a blu-ray buyer to purchase a title they want - and end up with a package of *TWO* DVD's containing the same content as their ONE blu-ray? Just seems incomprehensible to have all these duplicated discs and wasted space, I don't think I've ever watched a DVD out of any combo pack ever. Not even once. What is the point?

An occasional digipack never bothered me. I just find it obnoxious that they have to change up almost ALL of their packaging to accommodate discs I don't even want.

Combo packs that come in a normal case don't bother me, I just have no use for them.

Hold on for a moment, I never said anything about liking dual format. I said I like digipack packaging (which has been and could be done for blu-ray only and dvd only releases). I'm no fan of dual format for the record. I would rather have a slim box of just blu-ray or dvd than a wider box of useless discs.

[KrugerIndustrial]

I would love to see Kontroll make its way to the collection one day. Superb Hungarian film.

[JoeBuck]

After reading some of this I also wanna weigh in and say I've never once received a damaged digipack in the mail and thats where I pretty much get all of my movies from.
Theres been a bit of wear over time and some little marks on the back or creases from being sandwiched between other titles on my shelf but its really no big deal as my plastic cases have been worn down too.

I HAVE however received a good few damaged plastic cases. My copy of Beauty And The Beast is all weird and closes funny and I've also received a couple of these:

[Show spoiler]20140219_023108.jpg

And these:

[Show spoiler]20140219_023317.jpg

Plastic cases really aren't some miracle of design either. I'll keep my digipacks thank you very much!

[ShellOilJunior]

The only time I've received a damaged package was a plastic case (Chris Marker set) from Criterion direct. I reported it and had a replacement in a few days. Another time I requested a replacement case for Bigger than Life and paid $5 for it. I had no problems paying because the case damage was my fault (it got caught near the hinge of a drawer).