The Criterion Collection

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Considering how many hundreds of films Criterion still has rights to on DVD (i.e. no one else can likely release them), that means many of us have to wait years and years for some of our favorite films to come out.

Yeah, that's the sticking point to me -- if they're not going to release "The Lady Eve" or "My Man Godfrey" any time soon, I'd rather they just let go of the rights. Or lease them out temporarily or something.

To me it just seems backwards to the Criterion mantra to place priority over a movie that at least has an accessible or even decent release before over something that has been hard to see in the past.

That's a fair point. My thing is, there are probably 10-15 DVD only releases that I still want to buy. So I have to consider how likely it is that they will be upgraded any time soon. Like, I'm not going to buy "La Strada", that is certain to be released on Blu at some point by somebody. But some of them are even still priced at $40 for a DVD! That's crazy. I'd love it if there was some way that they could indicate the likelihood of pending upgrades -- like, "Hopscotch" or even (unfortunately) "Tunes of Glory" I'd assume would rate pretty low, where something like "The Bad Sleep Well" or "Knife in the Water" seem practically inevitable.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

Which post did Aki post about this? Did he go into detail? Really confused about this.

He just made a general comment.

Originally Posted by Akijama

The deal with Warner killed the upgrades. Simple. They're churning out WB titles like crazy.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The way I see it, a Criterion upgrade at most fills in 1 out of 5 (or 6) slots. The other 4 (or 5) going to completely new stuff for Criterion. So that's a mere 12 upgrades a year in an ideal scenario. Considering how many hundreds of films Criterion still has rights to on DVD (i.e. no one else can likely release them), that means many of us have to wait years and years for some of our favorite films to come out.

We're already to April without one upgrade, so that now leaves 8 remaining months, and you know we'll be lucky if more than half of those months get an upgrade. 2016 had just 7 DVD to BD upgrades.

It's not like anyone that's unhappy with the lack of upgrades is demanding Criterion focus just on them. Upgrades make up a very small portion of releases to begin with, but it's now even smaller than that, and it may even become completely non-existent later on. Many of us became huge fans of Criterion during the DVD era, and as such, many of our favorite films are in their collection (mine are). So I don't really think it's asking too much for them to reserve 1 slot out of 5 (or 6) for an upgrade, even if it were every other month

Is it possible that the upgrades just don't sell nearly as well as new additions to the collection? If that's the case, it's hard to fault Criterion for focusing on what sells.

I wonder what their sales are like for their dvd only titles?

[llj]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Is it possible that the upgrades just don't sell nearly as well as new additions to the collection? If that's the case, it's hard to fault Criterion for focusing on what sells.

I wonder what their sales are like for their dvd only titles?

One could also argue that if sales were the only thing that mattered, they shouldn't be releasing ANY old or obscure films in the first place...

I think it really depends on a title to title basis. In general, I feel like a movie with at least a fanbase would be more likely to sell than something lesser known in their back catalogue. These WB titles would likely sell a lot better than, say, an upgrade of Brian De Palma's Sisters would. On the other hand, Wes Anderson stuff probably sells better than old WB titles or Sisters would.

I have my doubts that the Eclipse line really sold all that well.

[Desslok]

Another month with no Dragon Gate Inn. I'd really like it to pair with A Touch of Zen.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Desslok

Another month with no Dragon Gate Inn. I'd really like it to pair with A Touch of Zen.

Impoooort :P

[llj]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Impoooort :P

We know Criterion has it. All a matter of when. I'm confident that it won't take 7 years like it did with A Brighter Summer Day.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Is it possible that the upgrades just don't sell nearly as well as new additions to the collection? If that's the case, it's hard to fault Criterion for focusing on what sells.

I wonder what their sales are like for their dvd only titles?

I'd be surprised if many of their upgrades aren't some of their bestselling titles. Some of their new acquisitions are also very niche, so I can't imagine those selling more than most of the films already in the collection. Part of the problem is that Criterion has to wait (or are waiting) on newer restorations for some of their titles, but there are certainly some that are readily available. Somethng like Le Samourai for instance would sell truckloads, but there's no proper restoration of it available. Even in that case, a Digital restoration from Criterion's own HD source that used to make the DVD would still be welcomed at this point.

I think the deal with Warner is definitely one of the main reason for the switch. Rather than investing the money into the upgrades, they've put it towards the licensing of Warner's stuff. There was a drastic drop off in the amount of upgrades after they started releasing Warner titles on a regular basis.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by Desslok

Another month with no Dragon Gate Inn. I'd really like it to pair with A Touch of Zen.

You want my Masters of Cinema copy? I'm trying to unload.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I'd be surprised if many of their upgrades aren't some of their bestselling titles. Some of their new acquisitions are also extremely niche, so I can't imagine those selling more than most of the films already in the collection. Part of the problem is that Criterion has to wait (or are waiting) on newer restorations for some of their titles, but there are certainly some that are readily available.

I think the deal with Warner is definitely one of the main reason for the switch. Rather than investing the money into the upgrades, they've put it towards the licensing of Warner's stuff. There was a drastic drop off in the amount of upgrades after they started releasing Warner titles on a regular basis.

I'm not sure I'd call some of their recent releases niche.

But Warner titles have been long awaited for ages now, and there are a wealth of things in their catalogue that need to come out and now that there is finally an outlet for their releases I think I just want that boat to keep on sailing as long as it needs to. Cause there are some serious possibilities with this thing.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Desslok

Another month with no Dragon Gate Inn. I'd really like it to pair with A Touch of Zen.

I wonder if there will be a box set similar to Yojimbo/Sanjuro with both A Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn.

[SlickDamian]

Looking forward to Rumble Fish.

[llj]

Originally Posted by jshaide

I'm not sure I'd call some of their recent releases niche.
.

Many aren't, but there are a few lesser knowns (to most) every 2 months or so.

I think Something Wild and Black Girl are pretty niche. Same with I Knew Her Well.

[Brad1963]

Really? The influx of Warner titles is killing the upgrades? How about perhaps they are not fast on upgrading the remaining DVD titles because either ....

1. Criterion is waiting for better elements or 2k / 4k restorations.

2. Title was a poor seller and no Blu is planned.

3. They are trying to space the upgrades out a bit in order to focus on new to the label titles.

But honestly, it is not some conspiracy because of WB. That is just plain silly.

[Desslok]

Originally Posted by jshaide

You want my Masters of Cinema copy? I'm trying to unload.

Thanks. But not multi-region at the moment.

[Desslok]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I wonder if there will be a box set similar to Yojimbo/Sanjuro with both A Touch of Zen and Dragon Inn.

I'm surprised they didn't do just that and release both at the same time.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I'd be surprised if many of their upgrades aren't some of their bestselling titles.

My heart wants to agree with you, but I still see so many people in places like B&N not only buying dvd only CC titles, but buying dvd copies of CC titles that are available on blu.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Is it possible that the upgrades just don't sell nearly as well as new additions to the collection? If that's the case, it's hard to fault Criterion for focusing on what sells.

I wonder what their sales are like for their dvd only titles?

Well they went back to regular releases after changing to dual format because they were probably loosing sales from the DVD only crowd.

Hard to imagine how much people still buy Criterion DVDs considering most of us here have been on blu-ray for years and years.

But still considering all their old catalog was already purchased by the DVD only crowd, I imagine there is not much sales of those titles anymore since the blu-ray crowd is not going to touch those either.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Is it possible that the upgrades just don't sell nearly as well as new additions to the collection? If that's the case, it's hard to fault Criterion for focusing on what sells.

I am sure that is a factor, that is why Ronald Neame will never make it to Criterion Blu, but the flip-side is also almost certainly true -- the more obscure, never-before-available movies would be less likely to sell than upgrades to pre-existing titles merely because the potential buyers are more familiar with the latter.

[llj]

I think what still puzzles me, and not just with Criterion in this case, is why so many other countries seem to get better releases or releases of classic or important titles much sooner than in North America. It also puzzles me when classic American films get better and earlier releases in another country than in the US.

It often feels like when we finally get a release of something in NA, we're often (though not always) the last in getting it, and often it's inferior to some international edition. I can understand it for a foreign movie, but when a UK company is doing, say, a Touch of Evil BD release better than the American release by the parent company of said film, it seems backwards to me.