BDs That Are Out of Print (OOP)

[noiradelic]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Amazon stocks tons of bootlegs, they don't check the copyright status of everything they sell, especially overseas items.

Absolutely. Just because Amazon carries something doesn't mean it's not a bootleg.

Spanish releases might qualify as "gray market" because they're not illegal in Spain.

[SuddenFall]

Thanks again to all for your comments and information. So next, I decided that I should look for a Blu-Ray copy of The Rutles movie. Can't be that hard, right? Oh my, I never would've guessed this would be another one affected by this issue, but there it is. What a shame.

[danny24]

Well if True Lies ever gets an official UHD/BD release date you can bet there will be tons of sellers on eBay trying to get rid of the Resen disc.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Yep, when legitimate rights holders sit on their rights for absurdly long times, and deny consumers the ability to buy legit versions, as with this title, they only encourage bootleggers.

I believe someone in the True Lies thread checked the video on the disc and said it's from an HD broadcast version, much like the recent Spanish bootleg of Danny Boyle's The Beach, which is also locked away in the Disney vault.

I'll have to pick up The Beach at some point. So far most of the Resen discs I have purchased are pretty good and very watchable. I have I think Medicine Man, On Deadly Ground, Fire Down Below, True Lies, After Hours and Red Rock West. I think those are the only discs by the Resen label I own. Of course After Hours just got a Criterion 4K release announcement.

[SuddenFall]

Originally Posted by Nightman04

Pick up the German release on eBay. It’s region free. Here’s a link

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36304251782...1398%7Ciid%3A1

Pulled the trigger on this today. Looking forward to watching this again. Thanks!

[Oldman Gerald]

How long do you guys usually wait on a new release before grabbing it? I try to wait for good deals but then I'll look again and it's suddenly out of print. 5 years, 3 years? It feels completely unpredictable sometimes.

[noiradelic]

Originally Posted by Oldman Gerald

How long do you guys usually wait on a new release before grabbing it? I try to wait for good deals but then I'll look again and it's suddenly out of print. 5 years, 3 years? It feels completely unpredictable sometimes.

That's a very complicated question, because if it's a boutique title, it completely depends on the label, and if it's a studio one, it can still depend on which one. With some titles, especially studio ones, it can depend on the movie. Obviously popular classics like Die Hard will always be in print.

[Monterey Jack]

Generally speaking, most new movies from the major studios can be had for ten bucks (or close to it) within a year of release, especially around Black Friday. From the specialty labels? You might get a price reduction (Kino is very good at that), but it's not a given.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Generally speaking, most new movies from the major studios can be had for ten bucks (or close to it) within a year of release, especially around Black Friday. From the specialty labels? You might get a price reduction (Kino is very good at that), but it's not a given.

I wanted to add that UHD has changed the game on pricing as well. Criterion has certainly taken advantage of it where you could get BDs for around $22-25 if you knew where to look. With Criterion UHDs you're lucky to find them for less than $35 and even you're even luckier if you can find them for $30. Arrow has largely used the same model.

[noiradelic]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I wanted to add that UHD has changed the game on pricing as well. Criterion has certainly taken advantage of it where you could get BDs for around $22-25 if you knew where to look. With Criterion UHDs you're lucky to find them for less than $35 and even you're even luckier if you can find them for $30. Arrow has largely used the same model.

Just FYI for newer members, you can get Criterion UHDs for $25 + tax (except for Citizen Kane and the box sets) from the biannual B&N and Criterion Flash sales.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by noiradelic

Just FYI for newer members, you can get Criterion UHDs for $25 + tax (except for Citizen Kane and the box sets) from the biannual B&N and Criterion Flash sales.

Yes, you can if the titles are not OOS. When is the next sale?

[JupiterMission]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yes, you can if the titles are not OOS. When is the next sale?

The B&N sales are in July and November and usually last the whole month. The Criterion site flash sales are (I think) in March and October, and they're only 24 hours. Usually I've had good luck with everything being in stock.

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by noiradelic

Just FYI for newer members, you can get Criterion UHDs for $25 + tax (except for Citizen Kane and the box sets) from the biannual B&N and Criterion Flash sales.

Actually, in their last couple of sales, B&N has been selling their Citizen Kane 4K UHDs for $25.

[BunyipPouch]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yes, you can if the titles are not OOS. When is the next sale?

I have 700+ Criterion titles and I've literally never had a problem with a title being OOS, and they rarely have anything ever go OOP (except for that Paramount batch a little while back). Their Bi-Annual Flash Sales and Barnes & Noble month-long sales might as well be their regular MSRP.

$20 for blu ray, $25 for UHD. Consistent, always available, regularly on sale.

[noiradelic]

Originally Posted by BunyipPouch

I have 700+ Criterion titles and I've literally never had a problem with a title being OOS, and they rarely have anything ever go OOP (except for that Paramount batch a little while back). Their Bi-Annual Flash Sales and Barnes & Noble month-long sales might as well be their regular MSRP.

$20 for blu ray, $25 for UHD. Consistent, always available, regularly on sale.

Recent box sets and brand new single titles do sometimes sell out early during the flash sales, and recent boxes have gone OOS during the B&N sales over the years (sometimes they've come back before the sale's over), but you're right that most of the time it's not an issue.

16 Blu-rays have gone OOP (not counting Le cercle rouge, which they got back). 14, if you don't count Chungking Express (available in the WKW box) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was a curious case of Criterion branding on a quasi-Paramount release. 70+ DVDs have gone OOP, which isn't bad over the course of 25 years and closing in on 1200 titles.

You're also right that CC deserves a lot of credit for consistency -- keeping every title in print unless they lose the license, the MSRP, and the sales. Eliminates a lot of FOMO.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I believe someone in the True Lies thread checked the video on the disc and said it's from an HD broadcast version

I think it was a DVHS rip? Though many of the legit Spanish labels have forced subtitles.

Originally Posted by danny24

Well if True Lies ever gets an official UHD/BD release date you can bet there will be tons of sellers on eBay trying to get rid of the Resen disc.

I'll have to pick up The Beach at some point. So far most of the Resen discs I have purchased are pretty good and very watchable. I have I think Medicine Man, On Deadly Ground, Fire Down Below, True Lies, After Hours and Red Rock West. I think those are the only discs by the Resen label I own. Of course After Hours just got a Criterion 4K release announcement.

Red Rock West also has official releases in the UK/Germany - I think what’s important to me is if it uses a good HD source, rather than just an SD upscale.

I could only really consider donating True Lies to a charity shop or giving it to a friend - wouldn’t want to make money off a bootleg. I made sure not to directly order the release from Resen.

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

I can vouch for everything said here. The picture looks great, the audio is excellent and it has great extras but those are in SD (at least they are on the disc that I have). Even if Cameron never bothers with True Lies, I am set....

The extras themselves are taken from the German DVD release - the only release of the film to include extras. Like The Abyss, the US DVD was non-anamorphic.

Originally Posted by Oldman Gerald

How long do you guys usually wait on a new release before grabbing it? I try to wait for good deals but then I'll look again and it's suddenly out of print. 5 years, 3 years? It feels completely unpredictable sometimes.

Sometimes a Blu-ray is released at the end of the licensing period for the title, like with Manga’s UK Blu-ray of 5 Centimeters Per Second and 88 Films with Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, or it gets recalled from sale as with Arrow’s release of Django (before it was licensed for UHD a few years later) and some of the 88 Films Slasher Classics like Just Before Dawn and Bloodsucking Pharaohs. I think those Criterion licenses from StudioCanal only lasted a few years on Blu-ray. Or Eureka’s Fuller Fox licences right as Disney were closing up licensing. Many labels also rely on a LE model (standard edition not always guaranteed - especially with labels like Twilight Time). The most recent time I’ve seen this seemingly happen is the StudioCanal release of The Son’s Room and their UHD of Le Cercle Rouge though the French release is still available. Can often be down to a distributor’s rights to the film expiring, legal issues/music rights, sales figures, than actually a choice.

Sometimes the first sale is the one to go for and don’t wait for the next one. I can also have the issue of keeping a title that’s going OOP bookmarked or in my eBay wishlist and I don’t realise all the stock has been depleted - or a retailer still lists it even when they’ve sold out!

Originally Posted by noiradelic

Obviously popular classics like Die Hard will always be in print.

Though even a case like that where Disney takes over the library - think some of the Fox catalogue have shifted over to DMC exclusives with 20th Century Studios logos on the back cover/spine - so you might still want to chase down used copies for your preferred branding, cover design or slips (I think some copies have included bonus discs too.)

But often a title being OOP is just a vibe, without official confirmation and can sometimes just be between pressings.

Originally Posted by Jared A.

We'll be making an announcement soon, but this is now going OOP. We still have a good amount of copies though.

Mondo release of Emanuele in America is going OOP.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Mondo release of Emanuele in America is going OOP.

I'm guessing this title can't be sold on Ebay

[CelestialAgent]

While there are hardcore sequences (and some, in a sense, horsing around), it’s still available on UK eBay.

[houseca]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I'm guessing this title can't be sold on Ebay

Yet it is... 25 listings up at least. And what is hilarious is they are banning the first film with Sylvia Kristel, which is MUCH softer than EIA. I know, because they took down my listing of the Canadian/Alliance release with the beautiful slipcover.. and threatened me with suspension if I relist it.

ebay is a mess these days.

[Rayjg]

Seeing as the Puppetoon website, Screen Archives and a Ebay seller probably affiliated with one of them are now selling, I mean scalping, The Puppetoon Vol. 2 for $79.99 I think it’s safe to say it’s out of print. Pretty shady to do that to your own product. They won’t be getting one red cent from me for their latest crowd funding. Especially when it was only $29.99 a few days ago.

[BunyipPouch]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Seeing as the Puppetoon website, Screen Archives and a Ebay seller probably affiliated with one of them are now selling, I mean scalping, The Puppetoon Vol. 2 for $79.99 I think it’s safe to say it’s out of print. Pretty shady to do that to your own product. They won’t be getting one red cent from me for their latest crowd funding. Especially when it was only $29.99 a few days ago.

I like that Kino does the complete opposite. Straight up says "these are going OOP soon-ish", grab 'em while you can, and cuts the price to dump stock.

Win-win for us and them (maybe not such a win for the next rights-holder for the market to get flooded with cheap copies but eh)