Until then... courtesy of NoirFan's signature:

http://www.spike.com/video/detour/2828478

Obviously, Detour would be #1 on my Criterion wish-list. For those interested, Detour is the subject of one of the BFI's monographs, and there are several excellent essays on the film in Gary D. Rhodes' collection of Ulmer essays, Detour on Poverty Row. The transfer on the Image disc (the best version out there) ranges from ragged to decent, but it's still recommended.

I thought the sale started on the 13th?

The current batch of titles are OOP effective June 30.
I guess it's either suck it up and pay the $$ before June 30 or take a gamble and wait for the B&N sale.

Nice Touch!

What movie is that from? XD

Creepshow

Some of the titles are already starting to dry up

Criterion store is out of Bob Le Flambeur, Phantom of Liberty and That Obscure Object of Desire.

Amazon shows 1 - 3 weeks for a couple and a handful of copies for a few others.

B&N shows 3 - 5 weeks for Obscure and Kind Hearts and Coronets

Decided to grab them all a week ago while prices were still "ok"...looks like that was probably a good idea for some titles

Well shit, I good thing I ordered Bob Le Flambeur when I did...

I may be screwed with Phantom of Liberty, though.

Agreed. Bob slid into the shadows very quickly, eh? I managed to get lucky finding one at my local B&N when I heard this news. Along with Bob, the Bunuels seem to be the most in demand, and are already gone most places, except for a couple at Criterion itself (which I wouldn't expect to last for long).

This was short notice, unlike the last OOP announcement (though that's not a criticism). I'm betting Criterion chose not to, or didn't get the opportunity to print any extra copies this time 'round -- I'm wondering if they got criticism from Canal for this tactic?

I'm just happy we got any notice at all!

I'll either wait for re-issues or buy from another region... the prices are already ridiculous. The collector mentality has really gotten out of hand, especially for Criterion's.

The aftermath of this announcement produced some odd behavior in me.

Luckily I already had Kind Hearts and Coronets and Touchez pas au grisbi, so first, I checked B&N online, and ran out to pick up The Man Who Fell to Earth (both DVD and Blu-ray versions.)

Then I placed an order for the remaining titles from DD... but they didn't have any in stock.

Then I revisited my local B&Ns, and used the current BTGOF sale (and the stackable coupons) to get

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
The Milky Way
The Phantom of Liberty
That Obscure Object of Desire and
A Woman Is a Woman

and cancelled that part of my DD order.

Now, as the month draws to a close, I just ordered Billy Liar and Diary of A Chambermaid from Criterion, and Bob le Flambeur from an Amazon seller. I'll leave the DD order open this time, and if I get lucky, I'll offer them on here.

Madness, I tell you, madness....

Just curious, how often does a Criterion release go OOP, and then they get the rights back and release it again? I know this happened with Salo, but I can't think of any others.

They lost Charade for a long while, and now it's coming back to them. I think that's a rarity, however. Even though I know they attempt to (or claim to attempt to) regain rights to material they've previously released, I don't think it happens that often...

Perhaps a local Criterion expert can chime in...

Charade is a public domain title. They can't lose the rights to it. They took the original release out of print and rereleased it with an anamorphic transfer.

Looks like I jumped the gun. I just got a shipping notice from DD that Billy Liar is on its way.

It depends on who owns the film. Many early Criterions went OOP when MGM changed hands. Films like Robocop, Silence of the Lambs, Spinal Tap and Dead Ringers where released by MGM. The current crop of films that have gone OOP are owned by Studio Canal and after the deals with Criterion expired, they decided to license them to Lionsgate. The possibility exist that when that deal expires maybe Criterion would get them back but the reality is that we don't know what holds for this films in the future as the current DVD market is drying up.

Actually, Universal Studios asked Criterion to keep Charade OOP for a year. Universal was releasing the Charade remake The Truth About Charlie and later that year released both films together as a double feature on DVD.

As an aside Criterion was cool enough to send me just a replacement booklet to restore my copy of Phantom of Liberty before it went OOP (request about 3 weeks ago).

If anyone was ever curious to see if Criterion would be able to assist with a replacement book for a soon to be OOP title you now know.

Waiting on B&N sale for Discreet Charm, Obscure Object, and Bob but expecting to strike out. Checked ebay and Amazon for Obscure Object of Desire and those prices have sky rocketed quick. I am hopeful after the initial OOP shock response slows prices will drop again (for example, I recently picked up Small Back Room and Pierrot Le Fou for ~$13 on ebay).

Boy, time flies...and so do Criterions, when there's an OOP announcement! Seems everything on the announcement from Criterion's store is now listed OOP! Of course, this was the day that they are required to stop selling, right?

Amazon seems to have Bob again (perhaps briefly), and a few others, for anyone who's interested.

I managed to grab a copy of Kind Hearts at a decent price from eBay (wanted it also for the Ealing Studios doc), cheaper than Amazon. Found Touchez locally at another B&N, but skipping all the Bunuels for now...just couldn't afford them, and I probably wouldn't watch them more than a couple of times.

They are pretty cool. In fact, today I sent them an email about getting a replacement case for the Third Man digipak Bluray I just purchased at a local video store. Here's what they said.

I wouldn't have thought they'd still have the cases, but they do.

Looks like my precautions paid off. Just got a e-mail from DD cancelling my order for Bob le Flambeur and Diary of a Chambermaid, which makes me glad that I got copies from other sources.

So.... with the upcoming B&N Criterion sale, just how many StudioCanal titles are left that are at risk? Any more that need to be added to this list?

That's surprising, because StudioCanal's logo is on the packaging. Does it being a Rialto Films title make a difference?

Finally got off my butt and cataloged my Criterions. How sad is it that I tried to buy several of these OOP titles at a local B&N the other day (they were out of stock on all of them), but ended up finding that I already own all of them?

Furiously getting ready for the big sale; starts Tuesday the 13th 100% for sure, right? No signage in stores or online yet.

And probably won't be until the BTGOF signs come down COB on the 12th.

Not sure if it would. That Obscure Object Of Desire is also a Rialto Pictures title.