Criterions Out of Print (OOP)

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CSM126
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:22 am
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Re: Criterion OOP

#76 Post by CSM126 » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:23 pm

I'm pretty sure it was confirmed here a year or two back that Criterion had the chance to rerelease Lambs and chose to pass, so I wouldn't hold your breath on that.

FlickeringWindow
Joined: Fri Nov 15, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#77 Post by FlickeringWindow » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:40 pm

The license from ABC/Disney to MGM for the Selznick/ABC Films library has lapsed.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being was licensed to Warner via The Saul Zaentz Company. However, Criterion's edition was licensed directly from Orion prior to the MGM buyout. MGM released their own bare-bones edition between Criterion's edition going OOP and the Warner special edition.

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Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:27 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#78 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:45 pm

CSM126 wrote:I'm pretty sure it was confirmed here a year or two back that Criterion had the chance to rerelease Lambs and chose to pass, so I wouldn't hold your breath on that.
From 2013:
dwk wrote:I think one of Criterion's producers mentioned at a Wexner Center talk that they could have reacquired The Silence of the Lambs but they passed because they felt they couldn't improve on the MGM release. I think she was talking about the special features, because the transfer on the MGM Blu-ray could definitely be better (maybe, if enough people bother them about it, they'll reconsider.)

Noiradelic
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:45 am

Re: Criterion OOP

#79 Post by Noiradelic » Mon Aug 24, 2015 7:07 am

Minkin wrote:given the MGM re-release deal and the WB deal
Re-release deal?

I have to wonder, given the small number of titles being licensed from WB, whether Criterion would expend limited opportunities on titles they've already released, especially since them re-licensing OOP titles is very unusual.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#80 Post by Minkin » Tue Sep 08, 2015 6:00 pm

As had been speculated with the release of Five Easy Pieces - as to why the BBS set was starting to be split up. Apparently Sony loses its license to Head in the near future, and the rights revert back to Rhino (didn't even know they released things anymore). Today Rhino announced the Monkees tv show for bluray, and it includes Head as a bonus feature. It is limited to 10,000 units (good luck in this market), and only available from their own shitty website (well, at least the preorder). In a perfect world, their 10k limited edition of the tv show with the film thrown in as an after thought would have zero impact on Criterion's set, but who knows. I can't imagine Criterion not trying to renew the rights, and I don't know why both can't exist, but we shall see what happens. In worst case scenario it seems that the BBS set's titles will be available individually without Head. We'll keep this updated as news arrives. I know this info was posted like 2 other places, but this really is the correct place for discussion of potential OOP titles

BTW - the MGM re-release deal is for titles that have already seen a blu (even in print, even released only a year ago) that Criterion then does a new restoration /etc. Most of the MGM titles released lately have been part of this deal - Dressed to Kill, Black Stallion, etc etc. I therefore fully expect the OOP MGM titles to make a return soon.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: Criterion OOP

#81 Post by FrauBlucher » Tue Sep 08, 2015 6:16 pm

If they get the MGM Hitchcocks they would improve them by a lot.

EricJ
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 11:32 am

Re: Criterion OOP

#82 Post by EricJ » Tue Sep 08, 2015 9:12 pm

Minkin wrote:As had been speculated with the release of Five Easy Pieces - as to why the BBS set was starting to be split up. Apparently Sony loses its license to Head in the near future, and the rights revert back to Rhino (didn't even know they released things anymore).
Er, yeah--Thought Warner bought Rhino, and then pretty much disbanded it, while the "real" Rhino ex-gurus went out to form Shout Factory and E1. :?
Meanwhile the Monkees TV DVD sets were re-released as bare-bones sets by rock-concert label Eagle Rock.
Rhino, whoever they may be, still retains the marketing rights to the Monkees as a group, but didn't know they still had jurisdiction over the TV and movie.
Today Rhino announced the Monkees tv show for bluray, and it includes Head as a bonus feature. It is limited to 10,000 units (good luck in this market), and only available from their own shitty website (well, at least the preorder).
Which means the TV upgrade will be of equal quality as the website, but a link for reference?

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Jeff
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:49 pm
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Re: Criterion OOP

#83 Post by Jeff » Tue Sep 08, 2015 10:19 pm

Sony never had the rights to Head. The release in the BBS box is credited solely as being under license from Rhino, and you'll find the Rhino logo on both the Head digipak and the box itself. It's one of the rare instances of a Criterion set including releases from multiple licensees.

Noiradelic
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:45 am

Re: Criterion OOP

#84 Post by Noiradelic » Wed Sep 09, 2015 1:14 am

Was confused about Rhino too. Didn't know WB wholly owned them, though I knew they had a close relationship based on their CD catalog (knew Rhino was still active from their Handmade line). Also thought there was a business relationship between Shout and Rhino, not that it was just many of the same folks.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#85 Post by dwk » Wed Sep 09, 2015 3:31 pm

Jeff wrote:Sony never had the rights to Head. The release in the BBS box is credited solely as being under license from Rhino, and you'll find the Rhino logo on both the Head digipak and the box itself. It's one of the rare instances of a Criterion set including releases from multiple licensees.
Sony had licensed it to include in the New Hollywood set back when they were going to release it. I assume, after Sony abandoned it and let Criterion handle the set, they worked out a deal with Rhino so they could sublicense it to Criterion, rather than Criterion licensing it themselves.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#86 Post by dwk » Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:36 am

According to dvdlist the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman box set has been discontinued. Since Criterion still has the rights, I'd guess this is getting broken up into separate, simpler packaged Blu-ray only and DVD only editions.

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: Criterion OOP

#87 Post by movielocke » Mon Sep 28, 2015 10:54 am

dwk wrote:According to dvdlist the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman box set has been discontinued. Since Criterion still has the rights, I'd guess this is getting broken up into separate, simpler packaged Blu-ray only and DVD only editions.
Three three disc bluray sets at 79.99 each I would guess.

Jrmac
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:17 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#88 Post by Jrmac » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:16 pm

danieltiger wrote:Nanook of the North recently went OOP on Criterion's site. Any ideas as to what's going on here? I know there's a Blu-ray already from Flicker Alley, but this is a PD title, why would Criterion let it go OOP?
FYI, I emailed about how this and received this reply,

Hello Jason,

Thanks for writing. Criterion has not lost the rights for NANOOK OF
THE NORTH, and there will be a new addition in the future. We do try
to announce our upcoming releases as far in advance as possible, so
the best way to stay up-to-date on our future release plans is to
check our "Coming Soon" section and e-newsletter. You can find the
newsletter sign up midway down our homepage, in the Newsletter block
on the right, just below New Releases. I've included links below for
your convenience.

I hope this helps, and feel free to write again should you have
further questions!

Sincerely,
Jon Mulvaney

J M Powell
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:20 am
Location: Providence, RI

Re: Criterion OOP

#89 Post by J M Powell » Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:14 am

Jrmac wrote:there will be a new addition in the future
Mulvaney's prose is getting worse and worse. He's been with the company a very long time -- I worry he might be getting senile.

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willoneill
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:10 am
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: Criterion OOP

#90 Post by willoneill » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:39 pm

I think Mulvaney is more like Bing Bong from Inside Out; an imaginary friend who's now fading into oblivion and nothingness.

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Cinephrenic
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:58 pm
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Re: Criterion OOP

#91 Post by Cinephrenic » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:16 am

According to dvdlist, The Firemen's Ball is out-of-print. Upgrade?

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#92 Post by dwk » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:30 pm

The digipak version of Salo, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom and Repo Man are OOP. A Salo repackage, as mentioned in its thread, is coming January 26th.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#93 Post by Minkin » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:13 pm

dwk wrote:The digipak version of Salo, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom and Repo Man are OOP. A Salo repackage, as mentioned in its thread, is coming January 26th.
Is this for both the DVD and Blu versions or just DVD?

It does seem like all digipacks are endangered going forward now. I think I'll finally get around to posting the list of digipack releases in the FAQ thread now.

criterion10

Re: Criterion OOP

#94 Post by criterion10 » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:22 pm

Minkin wrote:It does seem like all digipacks are endangered going forward now.
This seems to only be true for digipacks with booklets small enough to fit in a standard keepcase. (After all, Mulholland Dr. did just get a digipack.)

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#95 Post by Minkin » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:28 pm

criterion10 wrote:
Minkin wrote:It does seem like all digipacks are endangered going forward now.
This seems to only be true for digipacks with booklets small enough to fit in a standard keepcase. (After all, Mulholland Dr. did just get a digipack.)
Well, Criterion has reduced booklet content already- so that the booklet will then fit (see Double Life of Veronique). Criterion has at least put the essays that they've trimmed on their website, so they are still available (and to a wider audience now). Both Salo and Repo Man have a larger booklet as well, thus it will be interesting to see if those get slimmed down in their new cases.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#96 Post by dwk » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:10 am

Minkin wrote: Is this for both the DVD and Blu versions or just DVD?
Just the DVDs (for now?)

The repackaged Repo Man DVD is also coming out on January 26th.

I still haven't seen anything about separate Blu-ray and DVD releases of the Zatoichi box set.

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perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Criterion OOP

#97 Post by perkizitore » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:24 pm

Any news on the Von Sternberg and Teshigahara sets? Will they just be repackaged or is an upgrade in the cards?

Raymond Marble
Joined: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:48 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#98 Post by Raymond Marble » Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:54 pm

Does anyone have an educated guess re: if I'm better off buying the current blu-ray of Salo in the next B&N sale, or waiting for the reissue? I currently have the old BFI DVD, purchased when the Criterion DVD was worth several hundred dollars, and have been meaning to upgrade to Criterion blu-ray for awhile, but so far haven't. Wasn't a restoration or something floating around at a European film festival in the past couple of months?

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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
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Re: Criterion OOP

#99 Post by swo17 » Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:52 pm

I'm sure they're just repackaging it so it depends on whether you prefer plastic or cardboard.

ianungstad
Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:20 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#100 Post by ianungstad » Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:57 pm

Criterion also discontinued the dvd of Milos Forman's The Fireman's Ball. There's obviously a gorgeous new transfer that's been created. (used for the recent Arrow release) This should be one of the catalog upgrades in the forthcoming months.

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