re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Are the B&N sales actually dead? Or are people just mad they won't stack coupons anymore?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The latter.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing lower Criterion prices across the board. In a time where more people are streaming and reducing their movie collections (even cinephiles), and studios are having a tougher time selling their movies - I have to believe Criterion's having more problems trying to sell their stuff at their premium prices.

It's probably the reason Criterion seems to be releasing a lot more mainstream titles - which is showing that studios are a lot more open to licensing their titles because physical media isn't the revenue generator it used to be.

At Walmart Canada, they're selling Criterion DVDs/BDs ranging from $40-$50. :lol:
Who the hell would spend that much on a single movie nowadays?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

For me, the only reason to seek them out at B&N was the chance of stacking coupons. But many others were able to make it work far longer than people like me because their local stores accepted coupons for Criterion long after my local store shut them off completely. Such that I ended up purchasing far more at Costco during their run of carrying Criterion than the occasional B&N online coupon that would still work on them.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I agree, but I do think it's important to point out that these still seem to be "new release" sale prices. If everything goes back up to the normal Criterion level, there will still be a need to find the occasional Criterion 50% site sale or hope of a coupon to slip through at B&N during their 50% sale.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Nowadays, fugedabouddit. But back in the early-'90s, $40-$50 was pretty standard for a laserdisc. The most I ever spent on an LD was $225 at Sam's:( for the manager's copy of the Criterion Hard Boiled. Crazy, when I think back on that waste of money (much as I love the film).

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Ouch. Hard Boiled

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Speaking of sales, is the DDD Summer Sale still a thing? I still have shit from that ten years ago that I haven’t gotten around to.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Sheesh. At the time I was ecstatic to get my hands on it (the manager sold me her copy), but I wouldn't dream of spending that much on a movie now.
I still have all of my LDs; about 200. You never know when LD will make a comeback, like vinyl.;)
Actually, I wouldn't mind being rid of them, but there are still a few films in my LD collection that are not on DVD/BD (or are out of print), and I don't want to deal with the hassle of selling them, or go through the guilt of throwing them into the garbage.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Adjust that shit for inflation if you wanna feel worse!

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

$225 for a movie? Yikes.
Even at the height of DVDs popularity, I couldn't bring myself to spend even $50 on a single movie.

Today the most I'm willing to spend on a movie (BD only) is around the $5 range. I flinched a few times on BDs priced at $10, but snapped out of it and walked away.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The B&N sale is pointless anymore if you are looking for the best deal. The sale exists to move inventory that sits unsold all year, as can be said for most of BN's media which sells at MSRP.

People blame BN but I heard from a source that is was Criterion that asked them to discontinue the coupons, specifically because they don't want their titles priced $12-$15. Your mileage may vary in getting overrides done.

Without the coupons you are better off waiting for Criterion's website flash sale, as those $50 gift certificates they give you add up quick.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

thsts some damn fine control. Wish I had that. I swear they’re ruining me somehow...

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The trick is to remind myself that the price will probably drop further, I wouldn't get around to watching it for a while, and I don't want to fall into the trap of collecting again.

Of course, there are around 10 titles I would buy on BD in one order if the price was $5 each. I can live with that.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

$341. Thanks, I do feel worse.:)
New BD for $5? Where are you buying?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Well, of course, that’s rational thinking. Me on the other hand, need them now and hardly ever watch them for a long while if ever. It’s terrible...

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

For new BDs, it's not often - but I'll come across them once in a while in discount bins at Walmart and Giant Tiger. There are a lot of crappy movie in those bins (even popular titles that I find crappy), but sometimes they'll have a more artsy film I really like that no one gives a shit about (ie. The Master).

Other times I buy used BDs. But overall, it's not often I can buy at that price... but it's still my limit. If I can't get it for that price (or very close), then I won't bite. I don't need it bad enough to make exceptions.

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Just looked at your collection... holy shit.

I guess you didn't feel bad enough for amassing a big DVD collection in the past to turn you off from amassing a big BD collection. I got very picky with BD (with price and selection) early on, and then I realized that there were some titles I probably shouldn't have bought and still thought I paid too much... so I just tightened the screws further and got even pickier.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

So in other words, you never buy Criterions even though you're posting in a Criterion thread ;)

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Yea, not anymore at the current prices.
I have some in my collection, but have sold some of them.

I still find it interesting to see what titles Criterion is releasing.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I'm baffled by people who are Criterion completists, who will buy anything released by Criterion. It's like a cult. I have a few Criterions, but only because I wanted the film and was willing to pay $20+.
Very few films I want are still being released on DVD or BD, and yet there are still so many great unreleased films.

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Is there really that many Criterion completists though? Even in the threads of blu-ray.com I don't see people that crazy. I usually average one per monthly announcement. Once in awhile 2.

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We noticed. ;)

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I don't know how widespread it is, but I have seen people here say they would buy films - unseen by them - for no other reason than that Criterion released them. As if Criterion were the arbiter of all that is good.
Maybe I'm a cheapskate, but I've gotten to the point that I only buy films I have seen and like.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I kind of do that. I went crazy in the early days of the B&N sales because they were so cheap with coupons. Unfortunately, it was buying a lot on DVD. Eventually, I converted to Blu around the time of Zatoichi... City Lights. So around 2013. I have a bit over 500 Criterions. I don't buy ALL the new releases. But there a lot of upcoming ones I'd like.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

There are certainly a few outright dogs in the Criterion Collection, and a fair number of movies that I don't personally care for despite whatever attention or acclaim they've gotten elsewhere, but in general I find that Criterion at least tries to pick movies that are interesting for some reason - either as art or for historical value.

The appeal of blind-buying Criterion discs is the sense that someone with wider film knowledge than yourself is curating a list of movies worth seeing. For many of them, you might not have ever had to the chance to be exposed to them previously until Criterion brought them to your attention. You may not like them all, but broadly speaking, watching them will help to expand your film horizons.

Don't you find that at all limiting?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

To me it seems like the very smart thing to do. The only thing he's limiting is the amount of money potentially thrown away on something he shouldn't have bought.

Nowadays it's so much easier to watch a movie you've never seen before buying it. Why roll the dice on a movie that can cost $25-$50 only to find out you might not like it?

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For me the Criterion label is very niche. I don't own that many but from the ones that I have seen released, I don't think many of them have multiple replay value.

So I can see how some don't find the prices appealing ($20-25+) at all to make that kind of investment and maybe watch the disc once and then toss it in the closet or shelf for years.

I have the Criterion DVD for Ran, which is considered one of Kurosawa's best movies. But, it's a super slow burn samurai movie that's like close to 3 hours long. Plus, there's like 2 1/2 hours of extras on the disc. Am I really going to devote that kind of time to watch the movie and all the extras? I've seen Ran maybe twice once on VHS and once on my disc. I doubt I'm going to watch it again anytime soon. I'd rather watch something new instead. There's endless new content coming out month after month. I mean I'm glad I own it as it's a big piece of film history.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Criterion has such a wide breadth and scope to their catalog, I can't imagine making broad generalizations like that. Ok, so Ran may not be totally re-watchable, but what does that have to do with just about anything else they have put out? For every Ran there is a Rushmore. For every Salo there's an Umbrellas of Cherbourg. For every Andrei Rublev there's a Night Train to Munich. You get the point. I mean, blind buy or don't blind buy, I get all the arguments either way, but trying to put Criterion's catalog into a tidy little box like that seems pretty reductive to me.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

If I were to divide my collection into actual re-watch hours by studio, I'm quite sure Criterion would win by a country mile. To each their own, though.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I didn't mean to generalize. I know Coral here is a minority. For every 1 of him who say they won't spend more than $5 on BDs and him saying that Criterions aren't worth that kind of money, there are 20 others who love this label and it's releases.

He's the clear minority.

I like specialty catalog titles too like Shout/Scream Factory. But, then again not every Shout/Scream is worth the asking price and that's how I also feel about Criterion. I'm sure there are plenty of other great Criterion titles that are much more re-watchable than Ran. Maybe a slow burn Japanese period piece isn't the best example of a Criterion title.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Not the slightest bit limiting.;)
In the olden days, pre-DVD, I would rent videos with a passion and buy LDs of those films I liked. When DVDs came around, I blind-bought some, but I have found over the years that, on average, I like about 1/6 of the films I see enough to warrant owning them, so blind-buying, which was never an attractive proposition to begin with, is especially so now that I have very little disposable income.
Besides, the films that interest me don't tend to be released on DVD or BD, which is a great shame. There are so many incredible films out there that no one knows about. I still prefer to own physical copies of films I like or love.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Back in 98/99/00, Borders was the only place that really carried a huge selection of movies. Best Buy had some, but Borders...damn. I remember spending $40 several times on Criterions that were just not available locally. Even online those type of movies commanded high price tags.

Suncoast also had a big selection but they were always MSRP + additional. Great horror selection.

Back in the early days it was easy to get cheap DVDs of common titles thanks to DVDTalk.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

That was the case for me. For quite a few years, I bought every single Criterion release, and while there were a fair number that were very much not for me (In the Realm of the Senses, Salo, and the Trilogy of Life immediately come to mind), I was introduced to quite a lot that I greatly enjoyed and wouldn't have seen otherwise. Leading up to getting married, I just no longer had the time or money. (...and while I've watched all of the Criterion titles I've picked up over the past couple of years, there are films from sales from several years ago that I still haven't gotten around to and possibly never will.)

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I admit I've fallen into the trap of buying titles just because they had the Criterion label, and I wanted to bring some "class" to my collection. I do make sure to wait for the sales and I pick up used ones all the time.

But I'm casting a more critical eye at my purchases these days. I've got a collection of over 1500 DVDs and Blus, with a large percentage of them unwatched. And I'm running out of physical shelf space to put them (we're in a condo, so no room to expand). I need to watch some of the older DVDs to see if they both hold up as films I enjoy, and if the picture quality is acceptable on my current 60" screen (many were bought back when I had a 29" 4x3 tube TV).

But as for Criterion re-watchibility? I kid you not The Fantastic Mr. Fox is my most watched Criterion title (I even upgraded to the Criterion Blu from the regular Blu release).

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I only buy Criterion titles I’m interested in and don’t really have a whole ton of them. I don’t have much interest in foreign films or the more art house titles they release. I appreciate the care and effort they put in and when I buy their discs I know I’m getting a quality release but I don’t buy just because of the Criterion label. This upcoming Tuesday will be the most I’ve purchased from them in a long time and it’s just two releases (Night of the Living Dead and The Silence of the Lambs).

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I assume this will make its way to disc:

Janus Films to Release Olivier Assayas’ 4K-Restored ‘Cold Water’ in the U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)
http://variety.com/2018/film/global/...ve-1202692161/

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I love your shelving. Great work. :up:

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

#shelvinggoals

I never went overboard buying Criterions on DVD, but I do have about 70 on blu-ray. Nearly all were blind buys, but I cut out doing that a few years ago. I do trust that a film will have some artistic or cultural value if it's selected for a Criterion edition, but art is subjective and everyone has different tastes. I always tried to do my research to make sure each movie I bought was something I'd find appealing.

These days, I'm not as willing to roll the dice just because the case has a blue sticker and spine number. That said, I don't really regret what I've picked up so far. I think Vanya on 42nd Street was the only title I immediately sold off because I knew I'd never bother watching it again. Only a handful (House, Brazil, Crumb, Grey Gardens) have high replay value for me, but it's appealing as a collector to own such beautifully restored editions of many classic films -- even if most of them are just gathering dust on my shelf. :p