Did these all get pushed back?

Yes.

Bummer. Ah well, next week is going to be expensive as is...

Well, glad I got my 11/18 titles pre-ordered during the DVDPlanet 25% sale so that I am locked in at such a low price for The Last Emperor, The Third Man, and The Man Who Fell From Earth

:( Really sad about the dates getting bumped back. I was really looking forward to getting my hands on these.

Yeah, the date bump is obnoxious. I need David Bowie in HD! The Prestige isn't enough. ;)

I had to call DVD Planet this afternoon about an order that included "The Third Man." They said it is now due for release on Dec. 16.

Do you think they moved the release dates back so that people couldn't use the 25 % off deals for them?

Since they want to see how the titles would sell in regular circumstances, to determine their future strategy... I don't know how much the 25 % off deals might skew the data but the thought came to me.

The titles were delayed by Criterion, not Deep Discount/DVD Planet. Criterion wouldn't delay releasing a batch of titles because one e-tailer is having a sale.

Delays are nothing new for Criterion.

Are the deep discount orders w/ the t shirts being cancelled?

I don't know why they would be. The discs have just been delayed a bit, not canceled.

I dont think thats what he meant. DD was canceling the T-shirt pre-orders because for some reason they were working with the DVDTALK 25% discount, even though they were pre-orders.

The first review for any of em is out:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...97&show=review

The packaging looks a little disappointing.

Not happy with the packaging.

Good review, Pro B!

I don't mind the digi-pack, but I don't care for the top/bottom loading style Criterion goes for. What's wrong with loading it from the side?

Ditto! I hate digipacks as much as snappers.

I can't believe a company like Criterion messed up the packaging like this. That looks really shitty. I don't care about the spine number being over 400 but the packaging sucks.

Didn't even notice the spine #...

I was more hoping for a nice slipcase like Sleeping Beauty that flips open rather then...this. Oh well. Custom Coverart coming soon...

It's no wonder they're keeping the pricing the same as the DVDs since they're using such cheap packaging like that.

^ digi-packs cost more to produce/print than standard packaging.

Looks fine to me. I like different kinds of packaging as long as it is about the same size as the Blu-ray standard size.

Digipacks? Really? Bad form, Criterion. Just give me a regular Blu-ray case, thanks.

Hmmm, well there goes my theory.

Honestly, wear&tear aside, I think these digi-pack look so much better than those ugly, gaudy baby-blue Blu-ray cases. Kudos to Criterion!

I agree. They certainly look better than regular cases. Criterion is going to do for Blu-ray what it did for DVDs.

To me they just feel cheap. It don't equate those cases with quality, even if they cost more to produce. And I don't think the Blu-ray cases are gaudy or ugly, so to each his own.

They should have gone with Warner style Digibooks instead of those digi-paks if they wanted their cases to standout. Digibooks look substantial and they are easy to open and close unlike these slipcase shod digipaks.

Just when I thought I might actually own a Criterion or two. WTF. Criterion, stop being retarded and get a typical Miramax Blu-ray case, darken it a little so it's dark-blue, which would still let people know this is a Blu-ray disc, but with a little distinction. Not this 'tard digipak crap. Create some fancy inserts and blah blah blah, but don't change the fucking industry-standard packaging of Blu-ray movies, thanks. Buncha idiots. Christ, I'm so pissed at studios who do this shit.

Yeah, they sure are...by keeping their titles out of 99.99% of Blu-ray collections worldwide. I thought we were PRO-EXPANSION of Criterion's presence in the HD market, not for constricting it.

That's not Criterion's fault. It's part of their contracts with the studios.

I'm one of the few who like the Warner digibooks....but not these types of cases. They are a pain in the ass to take the discs out. I was hoping, if they were cardboard, to atleast be like what they did for Fear and Loathing DVD with a nice plastic see-through slip case. This style...ick. Isn't there a few music BDs that have similar cases (Mariah Carey).

Anyway....how is Netflix with Criterion DVDs? I'd like to check some of the ones out that I'm not buying in Blu, but don't want to spend $30 on a blind-buy.

http://i37.tinypic.com/25u33oj.gif

So you won't own a movie if it doesn't match the half-inch of blue plastic on top that the rest do even though it's the same size dimensions as a normal case? "Uniformity or death!" It's a case that sits on the shelf: relax. Complaints about wear and tear always make me chuckle, too. What are you doing that destroys these things? Take it off the shelf, watch the mov-- ohh, shiiiit! Cardboard, plastic and blood everywhere! Not again!

You're saying the studios forced Criterion to use that packaging?

I think he was referring to the titles being Region coded instead of Region free.

I was referring to the packaging. Region coding is another #*@&$(^$.

Ahh. Well I don't think packaging will turn off 99.99% of buyers. I'm certainly not happy, but it won't keep me from owning Bottle Rocket.

These are apparently region coded so fans in other places of the world will not be happy especially since there is only one real Region Free BD player (LG 200).

I have my limits on retarded packaging. Blu-ray box sets, ok, I can understand. But when it comes to a single release which could easily be packaged in a standard case, yeah, I get pissy. It's just Criterion going out of their way to prove they are different. Well, they sure as hell are.

I'm not sure you're familiar with Digipacks. The fuckers will fade after time, making your cute new Blu-ray Criterion Collection look like a bunch of out-dated cardboard cutouts. I've owned these Digipacks (or Digipaks) before. They suck royale asse, and since I actually watch movies in my collection on a regular basis, the wear and tear will cause fine white lines to appear along the pivot points of the outer and inner case, enabling quicker degradation.

I'm assuming you're ok with a studio who comes out with standard DVD height Blu-ray cases. I wouldn't like that either.

When it comes to having a standard case size, it helps those who collect movies, to have a better shelving system. When you have a bunch of awkward-ass studios who want their own packaging, it makes the movie collection difficult to organize. Seems rather moot, but this is the case when you have several hundred movies, and you want to condense the shelving height as much as possible, and so forth.

Further, the Blu-ray casing protects the internal artwork from any "unfortunate events" which might happen when you bring the movie out for play. Like I said, for those who actually watch their movies, instead of looking at them on their shelves, we tend to place our movies all over and especially if friends and family come over, we could have several movies lying out. In the unfortunate chance somebody's liquid from a soda can or glass of water or whatever is slightly pooled on a surface and we put our case down on it...no problem. But with these Criterions, there isn't any protection at all. It's all cardboard. So, there actually is a method to my Standard Madness.

I'll more than likely end up buying some of these Criterions on Blu. However, I'm getting custom cases, and custom artwork so they will fit in standard Blu-ray cases.

:up: Already working on Bottle Rocket for myself. I'm assuming the BD will be identical to the DVD with the exception of the audio so I'm working it around that. Let me know if you want me to PM it to you when I'm done.

Thanks, Giz.

That's a load of hooey!

My Fight Club digi-pack (to use an example) is almost 10 years old, has been watched numerous times, been packed/unpacked for moving 3 times, and it still looks brand new - if I shrink-wrapped it, I'd be able to get away with selling it as "new". So you're either grossly exaggerating, or you treat your DVDs like shit.