Criterion and StudioCanal

[hidaniel]

But now I kind of wonder what goes on in the Black room.

The opposite of what happens in Bill Butt's the White Room.

[dad1153]

anyone know anywhere I can get a regular DVD edition of the third man for less than $60? can't believe I missed it.

Look around small and/or independent stores that carry DVD's (not the Best Buys or Amazons, although a surprisingly large number of people have stumbled upon Barnes & Noble stores that still have "Third Man" in the pipeline). J&R in NYC got about ten 2-Disc DVD sets of "The Third Man" out of nowhere late last month (in their basement store though, not listed online); they were selling them for $24.99 because of a month-long sale they had. I believe they might have one or two left but they're now back to 'regular' price ($37.99). Basically the less-known and nationwide the video store the better chances that they still have "Third Man" leftover stock floating around somewhere in the back of the store.

You'd be surprised how few people 'in the know' actually know that the StudioCanal Criterions have gone out of print. I talked to the manager of movies at J&R (fairly bright guy) while they were exchanging my disc-less "Trafic" box for a "Mouchette" DVD. He had no idea "Trafic" had gone out of print (he was surprised because the movie was fairly new by Criterion standards) or the names of the StudioCanal titles that his store can no longer order. I knew more about the status of the OOP StudioCanal Criterions than he did.

[Gregory]

anyone know anywhere I can get a regular DVD edition of the third man for less than $60? can't believe I missed it.

Amazon.com Marketplace still has a few new copies for less than SRP, in fact.

[Minkin]

Round Two

[eerik]

Must pick up The Man Who Fell to Earth on Blu-ray.

[perkizitore]

I second that eerik and i am wondering which Studio Canal titles are still in the collection (they will probably go with Round 3).
The good news is that Kind Hearts and Coronets gets a blu-ray release in September.

[Murdoch]

Sad to see so many Bunuels go, I'll have to pick up Discreet and Diary when the CC store starts offering discounts on the titles.

[dustysomers]

Sad to see so many Bunuels go, I'll have to pick up Discreet and Diary when the CC store starts offering discounts on the titles.

Do you think they'll discount the titles this time? They're only selling until supplies last, and the demand might be enough that they don't need to have a sale.

[CrazedCollector]

Just swept up the ten titles I did not already own (have both the DVD and Blu of The Man Who Fell To Earth) from DVD Empire; this Studio Canal business is sickening.

Post-June, how many SC titles will remain in the Collection?

[Dadapass]

Which of these have decent R2 transfers?

[Matt]

When I bought the Optimum Buñuel box, of my Criterion Buñuels, I only kept Discreet Charm for its excellent extras and That Obscure Object because of the audio problem on the original pressing of the Optimum disc (which I never bothered to replace) and because I thought the transfer was slightly better on the Criterion. I think if you have none of those Buñuels from Criterion, you'd be better off just buying the Optimum set (which has long since been corrected and has dropped in price).

Just swept up the ten titles I did not already own

As much as Criterion must hate Studio Canal right now, they've certainly hit upon a hell of an economic stimulus plan. I just picked up a copy of Billy Liar after hemming and hawing on it for 9 years.

[matrixschmatrix]

Goddamn it, I've been kicking myself for not grabbing Kind Hearts and Coronets ever since the last B&N 50% off sale. I wonder if the prices on these will go up faster, since Criterion didn't have the long run up to them going out of print that the other Studio Canals did.

[colinr0380]

Phew, at least I have all of these and don't have to frantically change my plans as I did last time around with The Small Back Room. Man Who Fell To Earth was the first Criterion Blu-Ray I picked up in the same order, partly because I love the film (although I have the DVD version too) but also because of the worries that it would be the next to go.

I think probably Billy Liar would be my main recommendation to anyone wanting to prioritise though - an excellent commentary and early 1990s BBC documentary revisiting some of the locations will likely not turn up on any future Studio Canal disc.

[Dadapass]

How are the R2 editions of A Woman is a Woman and Touchez pas au grisbi? I have none of the Luis Buñuel titles so thanks for that Matt.

[scotty2]

I've been trying to outguess them by ordering some Melville and Bunuel lately, but I'm still eight short on this list. As much as I enjoy Discreet Charm and That Obscure Object, the other Bunuels don't strike me as top-shelf. I'll probably plunge on in anyway but if anyone wants to put in a word for Chambermaid, Milky Way, and Phantom, I'm all eyes.

[HistoryProf]

son of a bitch. so criterions aren't part of B&N's B2G1 sale? The 4 I need are all OOS at DD, so I don't want to risk that...

[domino harvey]

A Woman is a Woman is Criterion's best lower tier title ever. God will that one be missed

RE: Priorities: the Milky Way is my favorite Bunuel, and it's great if you love his approaches to religion. Billy Liar is my favorite British title in the collection. Oh heck, just buy 'em all

[matrixschmatrix]

son of a bitch. so criterions aren't part of B&N's B2G1 sale? The 4 I need are all OOS at DD, so I don't want to risk that...

Have you tried in person? I know I've bought Criterions as part of the b2g1 sale there in person, and even if they aren't *officially* you might be able to browbeat them into letting you do it...

[Finch]

Got Touchez pas au Grisbi for £14.24 (including delivery) on Amazon Marketplace. Billy Liar doesn't seem to be sold anywhere for less than £20. Might just wait for the eventual Blu from SC.

[Tom Hagen]

The good news is that StudioCanal still hasn't taken Hopscotch away from us.

[Jeff]

son of a bitch. so criterions aren't part of B&N's B2G1 sale?

See here.

[colinr0380]

A Woman is a Woman is Criterion's best lower tier title ever. God will that one be missed

I really dislike A Woman Is A Woman, one of the few films in the collection I could say that about and the only Godard film I have really failed to connect with at all, and even I think that the Criterion disc is a fantastic one - worth buying just for the period interview with a coy Karina playing minature golf and All The Boys Are Called Patrick alone. However I particularly like the 'promotional soundtrack' version of the film - not only is the pacing tightened up but the way that the witty, and surprisingly funny, dots move around and change colour to the soundtrack is fantastic, really capturing for me the feeling of a relationship between individuals as being like a dance. I think I have played that extra feature more than I have the actual film itself!

I picked up the Buñuels as they were coming out so I haven't seen the Optimum discs which Matt talks about above and would defer to him about the better picture quality. My favourite of this set of Buñuel films would have to be Diary Of A Chambermaid (probably my favourite Buñuel film!), but it does not really feature any notable extras and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that hopefully this will turn up on Blu-Ray eventually.

Apart from a couple of Carrière introductions that are nice but short, the extras on these films don't seem to be too essential (although The Milky Way has a few more substantial pieces). The major Buñuel career documentary that features on the second disc of Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie also turns up on the BFI disc of L'Age D'or/Un Chien Andalou, so at least that is available elsewhere.

[fdm]

son of a bitch. so criterions aren't part of B&N's B2G1 sale? The 4 I need are all OOS at DD, so I don't want to risk that...

Have you tried in person? I know I've bought Criterions as part of the b2g1 sale there in person, and even if they aren't *officially* you might be able to browbeat them into letting you do it...

They are officially. Everything (DVDs/BDs, single titles and boxsets) at the stores are part of the sale, Criterion or otherwise.

[HistoryProf]

unfortunately, with the end of the school year, I'm not within 150 miles of a B&M storefront, so on-line is my only option. sucks that they can't be consistent with anything anymore on-line.

[scotty2]

So I guess this leaves the following StudioCanals still in print but vulnerable (corrections welcome):

Army of Shadows
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Le cercle rouge
Le duolos
La haine
Hopscotch
Last Year at Marienbad
Made in USA
Robeson Box


*edit: added two titles
**edit: deleted several titles