The Criterion Collection

[nicwood]

Great news: Criterion have started providing SDH subtitles for everything on their discs with Withnail & I, including English-language commentaries and bonus features. They retitled the SETUP menu to SDH and when this is activated the respective subtitles appear for each program. This applies to both Withnail and How to Get Ahead in Advertising and surely onwards for everything to come.

[Professor Echo]

Just watched this relatively forgotten Criterion release as part of my annual Memorial Day Weekend war movie fest and loved it as always. A really nice transfer, but extras are practically zilch. Don't need a 4K on it, the Blu looks fine and the movie is as entertaining as f--ck. A goofy mistake on the menu left off the word "to" from the title.




The fest continues tonight with another Criterion, Alfred Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS!

[Juan de Internet]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

The fest continues tonight with another Criterion, Alfred Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS!

A movie that I only really appreciated after I watched the Criterion Blu-ray. One of my favorite packages too - love the graphics.

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by nicwood

Great news: Criterion have started providing SDH subtitles for everything on their discs with Withnail & I, including English-language commentaries and bonus features. They retitled the SETUP menu to SDH and when this is activated the respective subtitles appear for each program. This applies to both Withnail and How to Get Ahead in Advertising and surely onwards for everything to come.

Really should be more of an industry standard. Even the micro-label Film Masters has been providing optional subtitles on commentaries and supplements.

[Rayjg]

I don’t see an Anderson box set only because he’s still a very active filmmaker.

[Juan de Internet]

Do you folks tend to buy from Criterion direct, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon?

I've bought a bunch of Criterions over the years, but always piecemeal and whereever (and as soon as) it's cheapest. But now I have a $100 Criterion gift certificate and a list of discs I want to buy. I'd rather have the 4 must-haves on that list in July (the next B&N sale) than October, but on the other hand if I can accumulate a list of $645 ($100 GC + $500 - $5 I already accumulated + $50 GC) worth of Criterions, that's basically 9% off the last $545 worth.

But that's the thing: after 22 years of buying Criterions I've only accumulated $5 of the $500 towards the $50 GC. The Criterion sales are unpredictable and short. Amazon occasionally offers close to or greater than that 9% discount (witness The Piano), which is too good to pass up. So I wonder if trying to accumulate $645 worth of Criterion store purchases just to save 9% on a portion of them might be a fool's errand. Even if I eventually accumulate that many, I wonder if the prices will just go up by more than 9% in the meantime.

Just to know where I'm coming from: I currently have in my Criterion wishlist:
- 4 4k must-haves
- 7 4k nice-to-haves
- 6 Blu-ray nice-to-haves
- 3 Blu-ray box set nice-to-haves

I figure that's $525.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Juan de Internet

Do you folks tend to buy from Criterion direct, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon?

I've bought a bunch of Criterions over the years, but always piecemeal and whereever (and as soon as) it's cheapest. But now I have a $100 Criterion gift certificate and a list of discs I want to buy. I'd rather have the 4 must-haves on that list in July (the next B&N sale) than October, but on the other hand if I can accumulate a list of $645 ($100 GC + $500 - $5 I already accumulated + $50 GC) worth of Criterions, that's basically 9% off the last $545 worth.

But that's the thing: after 22 years of buying Criterions I've only accumulated $5 of the $500 towards the $50 GC. The Criterion sales are unpredictable and short. Amazon occasionally offers close to or greater than that 9% discount (witness The Piano), which is too good to pass up. So I wonder if trying to accumulate $645 worth of Criterion store purchases just to save 9% on a portion of them might be a fool's errand. Even if I eventually accumulate that many, I wonder if the prices will just go up by more than 9% in the meantime.

Just to know where I'm coming from: I currently have in my Criterion wishlist:
- 4 4k must-haves
- 7 4k nice-to-haves
- 6 Blu-ray nice-to-haves
- 3 Blu-ray box set nice-to-haves

I figure that's $525.

I say go direct to Criterion when they have a 50% off sale. According to them: “We appreciate the loyalty of our customers. Every dollar you spend at Criterion.com earns you a point. For every 500 points you earn, we will send you a $50 gift certificate! Shipping fees, sales tax, and gift certificates do not count toward the loyalty program.”

So if you have a gift card or something for another retailer then use it, especially if they have a better discount than 50% off. An example is when Amazon had the 4k of The Piano for less than $22.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Juan de Internet

Do you folks tend to buy from Criterion direct, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon?

I've bought a bunch of Criterions over the years, but always piecemeal and whereever (and as soon as) it's cheapest. But now I have a $100 Criterion gift certificate and a list of discs I want to buy. I'd rather have the 4 must-haves on that list in July (the next B&N sale) than October, but on the other hand if I can accumulate a list of $645 ($100 GC + $500 - $5 I already accumulated + $50 GC) worth of Criterions, that's basically 9% off the last $545 worth.

But that's the thing: after 22 years of buying Criterions I've only accumulated $5 of the $500 towards the $50 GC. The Criterion sales are unpredictable and short. Amazon occasionally offers close to or greater than that 9% discount (witness The Piano), which is too good to pass up. So I wonder if trying to accumulate $645 worth of Criterion store purchases just to save 9% on a portion of them might be a fool's errand. Even if I eventually accumulate that many, I wonder if the prices will just go up by more than 9% in the meantime.

Just to know where I'm coming from: I currently have in my Criterion wishlist:
- 4 4k must-haves
- 7 4k nice-to-haves
- 6 Blu-ray nice-to-haves
- 3 Blu-ray box set nice-to-haves

I figure that's $525.

I tend to buy pre-orders from Orbit even if it’s a little more expensive I know it will be shipped with extra care something that Amazon can’t guarantee. Then I usually get 50/50 of my Criterion’s from B&N and Criterion. I just got the Essential Fellini set in the ongoing 30% Criterion sale since I had $30 worth of codes

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by nicwood

Great news: Criterion have started providing SDH subtitles for everything on their discs with Withnail & I, including English-language commentaries and bonus features. They retitled the SETUP menu to SDH and when this is activated the respective subtitles appear for each program. This applies to both Withnail and How to Get Ahead in Advertising and surely onwards for everything to come.

It's about freaking time. Many other boutique labels have been doing this for sometime. I hate to say it, but I suspect that Criterion is trying to avoid a costly lawsuit, or this might be the result of a settlement of a lawsuit.

Either way, as a deaf person, this is wonderful news.

[Juan de Internet]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

I say go direct to Criterion when they have a 50% off sale. According to them: “We appreciate the loyalty of our customers. Every dollar you spend at Criterion.com earns you a point. For every 500 points you earn, we will send you a $50 gift certificate! Shipping fees, sales tax, and gift certificates do not count toward the loyalty program.”

So if you have a gift card or something for another retailer then use it, especially if they have a better discount than 50% off. An example is when Amazon had the 4k of The Piano for less than $22.

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I tend to buy pre-orders from Orbit even if it’s a little more expensive I know it will be shipped with extra care something that Amazon can’t guarantee. Then I usually get 50/50 of my Criterion’s from B&N and Criterion. I just got the Essential Fellini set in the ongoing 30% Criterion sale since I had $30 worth of codes

To be clear, my original post assumes at least 50% off, the Criterion.com buy $500 get a $50 GC deal, and that the $100 Criterion GC I already have does not count towards the $500. The question is whether it's worth it to accumulate discs in a wishlist until I buy enough for that $50 GC, given they are the least convenient place to buy their discs (compared to Amazon and B&N).

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Juan de Internet

To be clear, my original post assumes at least 50% off, the Criterion.com buy $500 get a $50 GC deal, and that the $100 Criterion GC I already have does not count towards the $500. The question is whether it's worth it to accumulate discs in a wishlist until I buy enough for that $50 GC, given they are the least convenient place to buy their discs (compared to Amazon and B&N).

The choice is yours. You have the freedom to choose. Me? I chose to buy directly from Criterion because they get all the profits. Eventually I'll get enough for a $50 gift card Nice.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by regeyer

It's about freaking time. Many other boutique labels have been doing this for sometime. I hate to say it, but I suspect that Criterion is trying to avoid a costly lawsuit, or this might be the result of a settlement of a lawsuit.

Either way, as a deaf person, this is wonderful news.

As far as I know, there is no legal requirement that discs have SDH, and almost none of the boutiques sub everything. (other than Egbert mentioning that Film Masters does this, I can't think of any label that does.) Having said that, this is long over due and I hope this will be the case for everything going forward. (would be nice if they could re-author older releases to SDH everything, but I suspect that that would be too costly.)

[Bradsdadg]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I don’t see an Anderson box set only because he’s still a very active filmmaker.

Maybe they will call it Part 1~as long as it's 4K I'm down for a copy

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I don’t see an Anderson box set only because he’s still a very active filmmaker.

Something tells me it will be a 4K Box set, with individual BD releases of Isle of Dogs and French Dispatch.

Criterion knows it's customers... Plus of note, all 10 films in the theoretical set at Disney/Fox distributed films.

fitprod

Side Note: Asteroid City and Phoenician Scheme are Universal, while Wonderful World of Henry Sugar is Netflix. Criterion does have a relationship with both studios and may do something down the line. (Personally, I think Asteroid City might get a 4K if/when Phoenician Scheme get a 4K, and Universal may keep it in house.)

[CinemaBlu]

I've never been a big Wes Anderson fan but last year I got interested enough to keep an eye out for the imminent 4K Criterions. I'll likely pick this set up.

It's great that this November Criterion is giving us a major release worth buying after releasing this stupid dud last November.

[officedozen]

Originally Posted by jw007

Sometimes I wonder if Jon Mulvaney is really Wes Anderson and if the director has a stake in Criterion as a silent partner. There is no other director whose body of work is solely exclusive to Criterion. And I wouldn't be surprised if someday, Wes Anderson makes a film based on the Criterion Collection including putting a large film closet in his story that acts as a secret passageway to other parts of the video company in a Being John Malkovich or Willy Wonka sort of way.

Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City all had non-Criterion DVD releases in Region 1.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City also all had non-Criterion Blu-ray releases in Region A.

Of his 11 film to date, I believe only The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou are Criterion-exclusive releases, a least in the United States. While there's a strong relationship between Criterion and Anderson, I still wouldn't say his body of work is exclusive to the Criterion Collection.


---
EDIT:

Originally Posted by fitprod

Something tells me it will be a 4K Box set, with individual BD releases of Isle of Dogs and French Dispatch.

Criterion knows it's customers... Plus of note, all 10 films in the theoretical set at Disney/Fox distributed films.

Side Note: Asteroid City and Phoenician Scheme are Universal

Wasn't Moonrise Kingdom also distributed by Universal and Bottle Rocket distributed by Sony?

[Watershipdownisgood]

So um since everyone's been talking about those three Michael Powell titles on here I've decided to finally check them out next month on the Criterion Channel.

I also found The Bad Sleep Well, The Long Voyage Home, and others that I have wanted to watch, or rewatch for a long while. Including Red Beard, and Bicycle Thieves

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by officedozen

Wasn't Moonrise Kingdom also distributed by Universal and Bottle Rocket distributed by Sony?

So upon further review, Moonrise Kingdom was Universal.

Bottle Rocket might be a different beast while distributed by Sony, it was a Gracie Film Production, who are traditionally with 20 Centry Pictures, so maybe that has something to do with it? - Besides the fact Criterion has had the only release of film on BD.

fitprod

[CRASHLANDING]

Originally Posted by Juan de Internet

To be clear, my original post assumes at least 50% off, the Criterion.com buy $500 get a $50 GC deal, and that the $100 Criterion GC I already have does not count towards the $500. The question is whether it's worth it to accumulate discs in a wishlist until I buy enough for that $50 GC, given they are the least convenient place to buy their discs (compared to Amazon and B&N).

I think the answer just depends on whether you're willing to wait until the October flash sale to maximize your savings. If you are, you're unlikely to find a better deal anywhere than the 50% direct from Criterion, which would include free shipping and the best packaging, plus an additional ~9% from getting the $50 reward certificate. Amazon won't ever get down to 40% of MSRP, and has the highest risk of shipping damage. B&N meets the 50% discount but without the 10% extra reward, and also increased odds for shipping damage (unless you're lucky enough to find a physical copy in-store). Those tradeoffs would get you the items much earlier, and you'd still have your $100 GC to use for the October sale either way.

In the end, it's totally about your priorities But I'd probably choose to wait for the flash and buy direct.

[HipsterTrash]

Originally Posted by fitprod

So upon further review, Moonrise Kingdom was Universal.

Bottle Rocket might be a different beast while distributed by Sony, it was a Gracie Film Production, who are traditionally with 20 Centry Pictures, so maybe that has something to do with it? - Besides the fact Criterion has had the only release of film on BD.

fitprod

I believe Columbia owns Bottle Rocket, which would mean Sony.

As you mentioned Moonrise Kingdom is under Focus Features aka Universal. Both Asteroid City and The Phoenician Scheme are under the same banner too. I would expect those films to get a release on the label too. Eventually.