The Criterion Collection

[regeyer]

In many cases it is "nothing."

[LordSummerIsle]

From Criterion: “ Thanks for your email and your interest. I can confirm that ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN is not out of print. While we hope to manufacture more stock of this set, currently there's no ETA for when we'll have more copies. It is possible this title will not be restocked but that has not been finalized. If that decision is made, the product will be updated to "out of print."

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by LordSummerIsle

From Criterion: “ Thanks for your email and your interest. I can confirm that ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN is not out of print. While we hope to manufacture more stock of this set, currently there's no ETA for when we'll have more copies. It is possible this title will not be restocked but that has not been finalized. If that decision is made, the product will be updated to "out of print."

If it goes out of print my DVD/Blu-Ray set will increase in value dramatically.

[MifuneFan]

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I've thought about taking legal action against Criterion (I'm an attorney), but I've held off, hoping that the situation would get better. Sadly, it has not.

I wish you would - not just against Criterion, but against all media companies who are too lazy to provide an essential service that should be (but probably isn't, through some loophole) mandated by law.

Of course, my strongly-worded post will bring out all of the fawning sycophants who eagerly lap up the lazy lines these companies like to use as an excuse for their blatant discrimination (and yes, it is discrimination, period). For example: "Subtitles are too expensive to produce, so we'd have to release less movies if they were forced on us!"

If you're one of those folks who is jumping at the chance to get in there and defend your favorite media company - Criterion or otherwise, because this is not just a Criterion issue - with lazy platitudes, my response before you do is simply this: Check your privilege! Not everyone is as lucky as you to be able to experience and enjoy a movie without subtitles/captions.

The downside, of course, of requiring subtitles/captions is that a lot of this work will be farmed off to unpaid interns and therefore be sloppy or incomplete - as evidenced by numerous examples above. One example I can add: The subtitles for Murder By Contract on The Criterion Channel (now expired) suddenly stopped toward the end. There is no excuse for that level of shoddiness. All of this would be another hurdle to overcome, but it shouldn't be used as reason not to provide subtitles at all.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by latehong

One thing I noticed was that unlike their disc releases, the Criterion Channel sometimes do provide closed caption for their "supplements." For example, they uploaded Raging Bull with Martin Scorsese commentary and the entire commentary has its own closed captions, which was not the case with the Criterion laserdisc or other subsequent DVD/Blu-ray releases from MGM. Granted, their closed captions are far from ideal in general, often littered with misspellings, sync issues, bad line-breaking, etc, but it's certainly more than nothing.

It’s part of the American disability act that companies who provide online video content/anything on television are required by federal law to include subtitles. That’s why they do it on the channel but get away with not doing it for the discs because there isn’t a law forcing them to. If they didn’t put subtitles on the channel content, you can sue them, even if you didn’t have a disability

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I wish you would - not just against Criterion, but against all media companies who are too lazy to provide an essential service that should be (but probably isn't, through some loophole) mandated by law.

Of course, my strongly-worded post will bring out all of the fawning sycophants who eagerly lap up the lazy lines these companies like to use as an excuse for their blatant discrimination (and yes, it is discrimination, period). For example: "Subtitles are too expensive to produce, so we'd have to release less movies if they were forced on us!"

If you're one of those folks who is jumping at the chance to get in there and defend your favorite media company - Criterion or otherwise, because this is not just a Criterion issue - with lazy platitudes, my response before you do is simply this: Check your privilege! Not everyone is as lucky as you to be able to experience and enjoy a movie without subtitles/captions.

The downside, of course, of requiring subtitles/captions is that a lot of this work will be farmed off to unpaid interns and therefore be sloppy or incomplete - as evidenced by numerous examples above. One example I can add: The subtitles for Murder For Contract on The Criterion Channel (now expired) suddenly stopped toward the end. There is no excuse for that level of shoddiness. All of this would be another hurdle to overcome, but it shouldn't be used as reason not to provide subtitles at all.

The problem with legal action is that it's not a definite win. In fact, there is case law that would support the notion that the ADA and other such laws do not require captioning on DVDs/Blu-Rays. Because of this, the best way to proceed, in my mind, is for Congress to enact new law requiring all DVDs, Blu-Rays, UHDs, etc, to have captioning/subtitles. I had been planning to try to set up a meeting with my local congressman, but then this whole COVID-19 hit.

[LordSummerIsle]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

The downside, of course, of requiring subtitles/captions is that a lot of this work will be farmed off to unpaid interns and therefore be sloppy or incomplete - as evidenced by numerous examples above.

88 Films has terrible subtitles. I only have their Shaw Bros. releases, but the grammar and spelling is atrocious. To the point that it's distracting and have to read the subtitle two-three times to understand it.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

It’s part of the American disability act that companies who provide online video content/anything on television are required by federal law to include subtitles. That’s why they do it on the channel but get away with not doing it for the discs because there isn’t a law forcing them to. If they didn’t put subtitles on the channel content, you can sue them, even if you didn’t have a disability

But not everything on the Channel has subtitles, and those that do don't always have the best or most complete subtitles (like the subtitles for now expired Murder By Contract, which suddenly stopped toward the end of the movie.)

Originally Posted by regeyer

The problem with legal action is that it's not a definite win. In fact, there is case law that would support the notion that the ADA and other such laws do not require captioning on DVDs/Blu-Rays. Because of this, the best way to proceed, in my mind, is for Congress to enact new law requiring all DVDs, Blu-Rays, UHDs, etc, to have captioning/subtitles. I had been planning to try to set up a meeting with my local congressman, but then this whole COVID-19 hit.

And the problem there is, you have decades worth of DVDs and Blus already without subtitles. What would happen to those?

This law should have been passed in the DVD era, as soon as it was technologically easy to toggle subtitles on and off.

[styrofoamboats]

Originally Posted by latehong

These are not my "best" picks, but I want to give a shoutout to the underseen: The Organizer (1963) and The Times of Harvey Milk (1984).



And even if you didn't like it before, please give another chance to Heaven's Gate (1980). I think it will be able to resonate with more people deeply in this climate. Also, it will make a great double feature with another political western epic, the director's cut of Ride with the Devil (1999).

Ride with the Devil is such a great film and very underrated within the CC in my opinion. It sort of pulls a fast one on the audience because by the end you realize

[Show spoiler]you're actually watching the story of Jeffrey Wright's character as he emerges from the background and blazes his own trail as a freeman at the end of the movie.

Great film for, particularly anyone who enjoys history or period films.

[styrofoamboats]

Originally Posted by Luke B.

For example: The Before Trilogy and Night of the Living Dead - both are on my wishlist and according to the website both include English subtitles. So, the movies are subtitled or not?

The main feature of Night of the Living Dead has English subtitles.

[jw007]

I read somewhere online the other that HBO Max is going to offer hundreds of Criterion movies on their streaming platform (as part of their $15 a month service)...which is now available as of a few days ago.

Anyone know about this too?

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by jw007

I read somewhere online the other that HBO Max is going to offer hundreds of Criterion movies on their streaming platform (as part of their $15 a month service)...which is now available as of a few days ago.

Anyone know about this too?

https://www.slashfilm.com/hbo-max-movie-library/

[styrofoamboats]

Originally Posted by jw007

I read somewhere online the other that HBO Max is going to offer hundreds of Criterion movies on their streaming platform (as part of their $15 a month service)...which is now available as of a few days ago.

Anyone know about this too?

They are offering a selection of titles that were released by Criterion but they don't have the special features that the Criterion Channel service has.

[Sommerswerd]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Most boutique labels do not subtitle English language extras because it's an added expense to generate and QC those tracks. It's only the major studios (and outfits like the BFI which are part public funded and have to follow some regulations in this regard) which offer SDH/HOH subs for extras.

So if Criterion was porting over an extra that already exists on a prior studio release and there were English subtitles accompanying that extra feature, the extra on the Criterion release should have the English subtitle track as well, right? I mean they would not need to spend the money to generate the subtitle track since they already exist. I wonder if that is the case.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Sommerswerd

So if Criterion was porting over an extra that already exists on a prior studio release and there were English subtitles accompanying that extra feature, the extra on the Criterion release should have the English subtitle track as well, right?

Even if there was an existing sub track for an archival extra, labels won't port them over.

[monorail91]

ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY opens with the Janus Films logo!

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by monorail91

ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY opens with the Janus Films logo!

It's also on YouTube. Haven't heard anything about this one but might be worth checking out then.

[xspankyxduckx]

Well i ordered the Naked Kiss. Never seen it was wanting to wait for a sale but got it on Amazon for $20 so I am psyched to get this movie soon

[Mike0284]

Does anyone know why the Indicator thread is locked?