The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

I'll just leave this here:

[Show spoiler]

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

You mean you just want your favorites upgraded instead of mine...

I don't think any film is important in and of itself. People imbue films with importance but beyond that they are nothing but celluloid, digital files, plastic on the shelf, and ways for people to make money off of other people.

Importance really comes down to demand and profit so I think Eastwood films would be pretty important projects if Criterion could ever get the rights to them.

A number of the films you've listed already have good Blu Ray releases. There are lots of films that have never even made it to Blu Ray or have awful current releases and need the remastering far more.

I don't agree with the idea of just putting good films out on the Criterion label for the sake of it. Should come down to a number of factors, namely whether they're available in the US market, their historical/cultural importance, condition of the film in current state and possibility for restoration etc. I'm not at all enthused by Dr Strangelove, for instance, when we could feasibly have seen Eyes Wide Shut remastered or Barry Lyndon 4K restored in 1.66 instead.

[sxerunner]

My Sophomore English class is wrapping up their unit on Macbeth today. Been watching the Fassbender and Stewart versions throughout the lesson as a visual aide (they surprisingly love the latter). I think I'll show them Throne of Blood as a special bonus, they loved the sound of "Macbeth but with samurais".

[BurningAstronaut]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I'll just leave this here:

[Show spoiler]

ORDERED!!

Saw this when I clicked on their tweet promoting the last day of their Amazon sale. Tried to pass on the good word on the Criterion forums.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I'll just leave this here:

[Show spoiler]

I ordered Chungking Express last week when it was first put on sale for $39.95, and my order is still "Not Yet Shipped" with an arrival date of April 5 through April 13, along with a couple of other Amazon orders of mine.

Amazon has been doing this a lot lately. They hold my orders hostage for a while, and then they ship them all together in one big package.
Those of us who do not have Amazon Prime have pretty much been getting a dick in the ear from the company over the past year or so.
No harm, no foul, though, as long as I get the orders within a reasonable time frame.

I'm hoping that Amazon will discount me the price from $39.96 to $28.05 if it stays this way by the time my order is shipped.

[kylec123]

Originally Posted by BurningAstronaut

ORDERED!!

Saw this when I clicked on their tweet promoting the last day of their Amazon sale. Tried to pass on the good word on the Criterion forums.

Is this release rare or something?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by kylec123

Is this release rare or something?

It's OOP, and often goes for $80-100 on ebay

[kylec123]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It's OOP

Ah. RIP. Just bought it. I've been meaning to watch this movie for like 10 years.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I'll just leave this here:

[Show spoiler]

Thanks. I cancelled my $39.95 order from last week that won't ship, and replaced it with a $28 order that won't ship.

But, you know, no harm in trying!

[BurningAstronaut]

Originally Posted by kylec123

Ah. RIP. Just bought it. I've been meaning to watch this movie for like 10 years.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. One of Wong Kar Wai's best.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Amazon has been doing this a lot lately. They hold my orders hostage for a while, and then they ship them all together in one big package.
Those of us who do not have Amazon Prime have pretty much been getting a dick in the ear from the company over the past year or so.
No harm, no foul, though, as long as I get the orders within a reasonable time frame.

They've been doing that to my orders, too. I'm really disliking it. So much so that I cancelled some of my pre-orders (Bicycle Thieves and In a Lonely Place) and will wait for the B&N sale to get them.

[Nuck Horris]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Nearly everything you listed already had a BD release. The last thing Criterion needs to do is add more re-releases to their library. Films previously not available on BD in the US, and upgrades of their DVD's should be their priority.

Like I said, profit is the real priority. Just because some films are only available on DVD or VHS etc. doesn't mean that they should or will release them. It's a business and I'm sure they do quite a bit of marketing and sales research before deciding on a re-release or new release. There are also rights issues involved... If they had the money they would probably buy the rights to a lot of bigger films which in turn could fund the release of that obscure Thai hand puppet horror movie only 175 people have ever heard of... Money also pays for the people who do the actual restorations, artwork, etc. If they make more money then they can hire more people and work on more films. We all want to see the obscure stuff released and the DVD upgrades but they would run the business into the ground if that's all they did...

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies. If that doesn't work I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices by 2020... or lowered prices by cutting down on the deluxe packaging more or even the special features.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Like I said, profit is the real priority. Just because some films are only available on DVD or VHS etc. doesn't mean that they should or will release them. It's a business and I'm sure they do quite a bit of marketing and sales research before deciding on a re-release or new release. There are also rights issues involved... If they had the money they would probably buy the rights to a lot of bigger films which in turn could fund the release of that obscure Thai hand puppet horror movie only 175 people have ever heard of... Money also pays for the people who do the actual restorations, artwork, etc. If they make more money then they can hire more people and work on more films. We all want to see the obscure stuff released and the DVD upgrades but they would run the business into the ground if that's all they did...

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies. If that doesn't work I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices by 2020... or lowered prices by cutting down on the deluxe packaging more or even the special features.

Yes I'm sure revenue data from 9 years ago is still accurate . I'm sure Criterion is doing quite well at rhe moment, and will be doing even better going forward with their UK deal in place. Also if profit is your argument then suggestions like Bird and Tightrope aren't going to do anything.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Like I said, profit is the real priority. Just because some films are only available on DVD or VHS etc. doesn't mean that they should or will release them. It's a business and I'm sure they do quite a bit of marketing and sales research before deciding on a re-release or new release. There are also rights issues involved... If they had the money they would probably buy the rights to a lot of bigger films which in turn could fund the release of that obscure Thai hand puppet horror movie only 175 people have ever heard of... Money also pays for the people who do the actual restorations, artwork, etc. If they make more money then they can hire more people and work on more films. We all want to see the obscure stuff released and the DVD upgrades but they would run the business into the ground if that's all they did...

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies. If that doesn't work I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices by 2020... or lowered prices by cutting down on the deluxe packaging more or even the special features.

Profit is *a* priority for Criterion, but not *the* priority. A look over what they have already released shows that pretty quickly. They long ago mastered the art of releasing a few films that they know will sell well (Wes Anderson, David Lynch, The Graduate) so they can afford to release films they love and not lose sleep over how many copies they sell.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Like I said, profit is the real priority. Just because some films are only available on DVD or VHS etc. doesn't mean that they should or will release them. It's a business and I'm sure they do quite a bit of marketing and sales research before deciding on a re-release or new release. There are also rights issues involved... If they had the money they would probably buy the rights to a lot of bigger films which in turn could fund the release of that obscure Thai hand puppet horror movie only 175 people have ever heard of... Money also pays for the people who do the actual restorations, artwork, etc. If they make more money then they can hire more people and work on more films. We all want to see the obscure stuff released and the DVD upgrades but they would run the business into the ground if that's all they did...

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies. If that doesn't work I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices by 2020... or lowered prices by cutting down on the deluxe packaging more or even the special features.

Don't forget licensing fees. I really have no idea, but I'm guessing that a high-profile film such as The Graduate or Tootsie costs more to license than The Honeymoon Killers, for example. That impacts the profit margin, too. Criterion has been at this a while and they seem to know what they're doing.

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

Like I said, profit is the real priority. Just because some films are only available on DVD or VHS etc. doesn't mean that they should or will release them. It's a business and I'm sure they do quite a bit of marketing and sales research before deciding on a re-release or new release. There are also rights issues involved... If they had the money they would probably buy the rights to a lot of bigger films which in turn could fund the release of that obscure Thai hand puppet horror movie only 175 people have ever heard of... Money also pays for the people who do the actual restorations, artwork, etc. If they make more money then they can hire more people and work on more films. We all want to see the obscure stuff released and the DVD upgrades but they would run the business into the ground if that's all they did...

Janus apparently only had a revenue of $6 million in 2007 and Criterion only has 40 employees so I think the math says we will continue to see more 'bigger films' and brand new films released to increase profit rather than smaller films which may not even sell 500 copies. If that doesn't work I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices by 2020... or lowered prices by cutting down on the deluxe packaging more or even the special features.

But bigger films don't really need to be on the Criterion label IMHO. They release one every so often like Armageddon and The Rock to generate cash to keep restoring films that would otherwise be lost to time. I have no doubt that putting the Anderson films and something like The Graduate (all fine to great films) help them generate cash to keep doing what they are for foreign or much older films.

[Nuck Horris]

If you want current revenue data then send me $29 so I can get the report... I never said 2007s data was the same as 2015s but Manta estimates their annual revenue at $2.5 to 5 million. And I think any Eastwood film would bring in more money than the obscure ones. Bird never even had the blu-ray treatment.

Yes, profit is *the* priority for any business owner that wants to keep their business, it has to be. Just because Criterion releases look nice doesn't mean the people behind the company aren't in it to make a living.

In reality, movie sales everywhere have been and are declining and I expect that to continue. Buying a plastic thing will become less and less important and an unnecessary expense for most people. Streaming will likely replace physical media, especially for the younger generations. Distributors like Criterion probably won't even exist by the time I'm 60. The only way to see all of the rare stuff will be through the used markets and streaming...maybe.

I expect this country to be a wasteland by 2116. People will be eating cats and radioactive potatoes in their mud huts, not watching movies. Dust covered Criterions will line the shelves of the long dead consumers whose ghosts will stare at them wishing they didn't spend half their lives gazing at a box in their living rooms.

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

If you want current revenue data then send me $29 so I can get the report... I never said 2007s data was the same as 2015s but Manta estimates their annual revenue at $2.5 to 5 million. And I think any Eastwood film would bring in more money than the obscure ones. Bird never even had the blu-ray treatment.

Yes, profit is *the* priority for any business owner that wants to keep their business, it has to be. Just because Criterion releases look nice doesn't mean the people behind the company aren't in it to make a living.

In reality, movie sales everywhere have been and are declining and I expect that to continue. Buying a plastic thing will become less and less important and an unnecessary expense for most people. Streaming will likely replace physical media, especially for the younger generations. Distributors like Criterion probably won't even exist by the time I'm 60. The only way to see all of the rare stuff will be through the used markets and streaming...maybe.

I expect this country to be a wasteland by 2116. People will be eating cats and radioactive potatoes in their mud huts, not watching movies. Dust covered Criterions will line the shelves of the long dead consumers whose ghosts will stare at them wishing they didn't spend half their lives gazing at a box in their living rooms.

As long as Kevin Costner is there to deliver the mail we will be alright!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

If you want current revenue data then send me $29 so I can get the report... I never said 2007s data was the same as 2015s but Manta estimates their annual revenue at $2.5 to 5 million. And I think any Eastwood film would bring in more money than the obscure ones. Bird never even had the blu-ray treatment.

Yes, profit is *the* priority for any business owner that wants to keep their business, it has to be. Just because Criterion releases look nice doesn't mean the people behind the company aren't in it to make a living.

In reality, movie sales everywhere have been and are declining and I expect that to continue. Buying a plastic thing will become less and less important and an unnecessary expense for most people. Streaming will likely replace physical media, especially for the younger generations. Distributors like Criterion probably won't even exist by the time I'm 60. The only way to see all of the rare stuff will be through the used markets and streaming...maybe.

I expect this country to be a wasteland by 2116. People will be eating cats and radioactive potatoes in their mud huts, not watching movies. Dust covered Criterions will line the shelves of the long dead consumers whose ghosts will stare at them wishing they didn't spend half their lives gazing at a box in their living rooms.

I don't think I would do well in a world like that.

I see myself riding around on the back of a motorcycle, chained to the waist of my red mohawk-having, shoulder pad wearing protector.

The days would be long and brutal.

And the nights...the nights would be cruel.

...so cruel.

On the bright side, I've always wanted to be a blonde.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I don't think I would do well in a world like that.

I see myself riding around on the back of a motorcycle, chained to the waist of my red mohawk-having, shoulder pad wearing protector.

The days would be long and brutal.

And the nights...the nights would be cruel.

...so cruel.

On the bright side, I've always wanted to be a blonde.

Can I be the other guy?