Collecting Criterion

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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Moe Dickstein
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:19 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#126 Post by Moe Dickstein » Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:53 am

If you're collecting spine numbers, you need the spine numbers. Theres an aspect of this that isn't about collecting the films themselves. I don't watch my Criterion Silence of the Lambs, I watch the Blu Ray, but I need the spine number.

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#127 Post by jindianajonz » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:12 am

Thats because the films themselves aren't the goal for a collector, completing a set is. I see it as paying $124 to fill a gap on the shelf and not have to keep searching for a cheaper copy anymore. Not only that, but there's a tremendous amount of satisfaction in owning something that is rare and hard to find. I imagine the art world works the same way.

Not that this is any more reasonable than what you assumed, but that's how my collectors mind works.

Edit: missed Moes post, but looks like we agree

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Collecting Criterion

#128 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:15 am

As long as that lock of hair is from your head domino!

I keep my Criterion edition of Silence of the Lambs for the commentary (I haven't checked - has it been licensed out for later editions since?) and the FBI classification manual text feature.

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MichaelB
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#129 Post by MichaelB » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:22 am

jindianajonz wrote:I see it as paying $124 to fill a gap on the shelf and not have to keep searching for a cheaper copy anymore.
Even when a cheaper copy is easily obtainable? Is a spine number really worth $124?

Mind you, I suppose when people use words like "need" to describe things that the vast majority of the world's population would regard as falling into the "luxurious frippery" bracket, rational argument isn't going to cut much ice!

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#130 Post by jindianajonz » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:31 am

I agree, it is totally irrational, but for some reason my brain gives me a big dose of happy chemicals when a rare DVD arrives. I don't think it's a unique thing, look at people who collect stamps or beer bottles or star wars figures. I'm sure a number of people on this forum have some rare bit of movie memorabilia that was bought for the same reason- a joy of owning rather than any practical value.

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domino harvey
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#131 Post by domino harvey » Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:52 am

Well, I guess it's as ridiculous as rare book collectors who are willing to pay big bux for a certain edition of a book freely available for next to nothing elsewhere-- maybe this is just revealing a subconscious bias we have because I've never heard of anyone mocking a book collector for too many editions of Don Quixote or whatever

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MichaelB
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#132 Post by MichaelB » Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:10 pm

domino harvey wrote:Well, I guess it's as ridiculous as rare book collectors who are willing to pay big bux for a certain edition of a book freely available for next to nothing elsewhere-- maybe this is just revealing a subconscious bias we have because I've never heard of anyone mocking a book collector for too many editions of Don Quixote or whatever
Well, I can understand why someone might want a first edition of Don Quixote, or a similar edition that has genuine historical value. I also understand why my sister buys books from the Folio Society, because they're absolutely gorgeous: they exude quality from the moment you take them off the shelf. They were expensive, but they also feel expensive - you can see where the money went.

But aside from that apparently all-important spine number, there's nothing special about Criterion's Carlos Saura edition (which I have, although I paid a tiny fraction of the current going rate) - it's three barebones DVDs in very basic packaging. I don't imagine it was one of their more challenging production jobs!

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#133 Post by jindianajonz » Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:36 pm

Yes, but it's not the individual DVD, it's being able to complete the entire collection. There is something about finishing certain runs ("I have an unbroken run of the first 150 spines!") or the entire set that is more satisfying than just the sum of the parts.

I also don't see too much difference between the historical value of a Don Quixote and the cultural value of the Criterion Collection. I mean, obviously Don Quixote is one of the most influential books in the world (although to ensure that I don't Zizek myself, I must admit I've never read it). But I think that it's really just cultural value that has aged well. After all, unlike other items of historic value, such as Egyptian artifacts or Roman statues, Don Quixote was a mass produced item; the "art" is contained in the language, not the paper it is printed on. The whole idea of trying to get a "first edition" of a book seems just as superfluous to me as trying to get a Criterion release of a film- it's a unique feature that somebody has arbitrarily assigned a value to.

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#134 Post by zedz » Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:12 pm

jindianajonz wrote:("I have an unbroken run of the first 150 spines!")
I will concede that unbroken spines are generally a good thing.

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domino harvey
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#135 Post by domino harvey » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:13 pm

Unbelievable: my copy just sold on Amazon for $150. Oh those crazee collectors, how I love ya right now

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

Re: Collecting Criterion

#136 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:17 pm

domino harvey wrote:Unbelievable: my copy just sold on Amazon for $150. Oh those crazee collectors, how I love ya right now
Tokyo Olympiad?

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zedz
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#137 Post by zedz » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:22 pm

Professor Wagstaff wrote:
domino harvey wrote:Unbelievable: my copy just sold on Amazon for $150. Oh those crazee collectors, how I love ya right now
Tokyo Olympiad?
Border Radio.

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domino harvey
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#138 Post by domino harvey » Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:24 pm

Sorry, the thread break took away the context: the Saura set

EDIT: Actually, I sold it for $160-- yikes, Amazon sure does take a bite ($22 worth!)

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Bando
Joined: Mon May 06, 2013 1:42 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#139 Post by Bando » Fri Aug 16, 2013 4:05 pm

I don't know how or where else to share this story, but I have to share my frustration somewhere.

A local used record store has gotten in two copies of the Last Year at Marienbad BD in the past two months. Both times, listed at $16.99. Both times I've checked their website and saw it pop up in their new inventory overnight. Both times I've rushed down to the store as soon as I could get there after they opened.

Both times I've missed by minutes.

Whoever you are, Criterion collector and/or flipper in Chicago, you're killing me. All I want to do is upgrade my former library DVD copy with a digipack that's falling apart...

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Lowry_Sam
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 3:35 pm
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#140 Post by Lowry_Sam » Fri Aug 16, 2013 4:40 pm

Bando wrote:I don't know how or where else to share this story, but I have to share my frustration somewhere...
I had a similar experience buying SACD's at a local retailer (Streetlight Records). I found one I knew was out of print & bought it and went online to Amazon to check some others (to see if they were OOP) and noticed that Streetlight was in fact listing used SACDs on Amazon too (at a higher price). However I also found some titles listed on Amazon that I didn't see in the store. I went back & asked about it (as well as whether they kept some behind the counter, or whether they were at a different store, as there's 3 in the bay area) & the guy just told me that he had many people ask & that if you want something online, you have to buy it online. So different retailers are probably handling this differently. One purchase was in the store for $15, but their copy online was for listed for $1600 (the other used copy was only $1601, but now that Streetlight's copy is gone the price is $2000, $1 less than the only new copy on Amazon). It took a day for them to disappear on Amazon, since the SACD not in the store is still available, I'm guessing it's at another location... You would think there'd be an easier way to do it.

rrenault
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#141 Post by rrenault » Sat Aug 17, 2013 6:54 am

For the record, does humidity actually ruin optical discs, or is it just a psychological complex on the part of collectors to place their items in the most perfect environment possible just in case anything could happen? I can certainly understand if they have condensation on them for extended periods of time, but is it anything to worry about it if you live in an old building with less than stellar insulation in Northern Europe where the air tends to be somewhat damp much of the time, or am I just being anal? With that said, the plastic jewel cases probably block the humidity somewhat anyway.

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headacheboy
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:57 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#142 Post by headacheboy » Tue Sep 10, 2013 8:09 pm

rrenault wrote:For the record, does humidity actually ruin optical discs, or is it just a psychological complex on the part of collectors to place their items in the most perfect environment possible just in case anything could happen? I can certainly understand if they have condensation on them for extended periods of time, but is it anything to worry about it if you live in an old building with less than stellar insulation in Northern Europe where the air tends to be somewhat damp much of the time, or am I just being anal? With that said, the plastic jewel cases probably block the humidity somewhat anyway.
I have a substantial record/ CD collection along with a good portion of DVDs and I keep them upstairs which I neither heat nor cool. I let the elements have their way (and believe me it gets hot up there). When we moved in I fretted this and ran the AC upstairs which promptly jacked my bill up higher than I prefer. I've lived here for going on two decades and my records haven't melted or warped, my CDs haven't become afflicted with CDrot and my DVDs play flawlessly. While I have always loved the idea of climate control for these things, I have to say that from my experience, it doesn't seem to matter.

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Collecting Criterion

#143 Post by jindianajonz » Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:27 pm

So here's something for you all to scoff at: I am debating whether I want the Blu-ray version of Grey Gardens, or the DVD just so I get that extra spine number!

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Moe Dickstein
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:19 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#144 Post by Moe Dickstein » Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:30 pm

You get the Blu of Grey Gardens and the DVD of Beales, then you have it all

rrenault
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: Collecting Criterion

#145 Post by rrenault » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:06 pm

headacheboy wrote:
rrenault wrote:For the record, does humidity actually ruin optical discs, or is it just a psychological complex on the part of collectors to place their items in the most perfect environment possible just in case anything could happen? I can certainly understand if they have condensation on them for extended periods of time, but is it anything to worry about it if you live in an old building with less than stellar insulation in Northern Europe where the air tends to be somewhat damp much of the time, or am I just being anal? With that said, the plastic jewel cases probably block the humidity somewhat anyway.
I have a substantial record/ CD collection along with a good portion of DVDs and I keep them upstairs which I neither heat nor cool. I let the elements have their way (and believe me it gets hot up there). When we moved in I fretted this and ran the AC upstairs which promptly jacked my bill up higher than I prefer. I've lived here for going on two decades and my records haven't melted or warped, my CDs haven't become afflicted with CDrot and my DVDs play flawlessly. While I have always loved the idea of climate control for these things, I have to say that from my experience, it doesn't seem to matter.
Thanks for the input. It seems the worst that could happen is the inserts/booklets getting slightly warped, which isn't the end of the world I guess.

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Yaanu
Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:18 am

Re: Collecting Criterion

#146 Post by Yaanu » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:49 pm

Time to plug these again.
This time the roster includes a list specifically for dual-format releases.

BD - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
DVD - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dual-Format - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Eclipse - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you want a copy of your own, just get a Google account, then click "File" and then "Make a copy".
If you have any questions, just ask. If I did anything wrong, just tell.

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Moe Dickstein
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:19 pm

Re: Criterion Collection Store

#147 Post by Moe Dickstein » Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:09 pm

I'm sure there are a few that collect everything. Do you buy everything on release day or do you just get stuff you're really excited for right away and then gap-fill at sales? The latter seems right to me...

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What A Disgrace
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Re: Criterion Collection Store

#148 Post by What A Disgrace » Tue Oct 01, 2013 7:12 pm

Personally, I only buy Criterions at sales, and now that work is going well, I'm determined only to buy them direct from the big CC's site.

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domino harvey
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Re: Guess the February 2014 Releases

#149 Post by domino harvey » Mon Oct 21, 2013 11:16 pm

I don't understand how the Criterion fetishists who align their collection by spine number ever find whatever movie they're looking for. Admittedly this assumes they watch the films so it may be a silly query

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: Guess the February 2014 Releases

#150 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:53 am

domino harvey wrote:I don't understand how the Criterion fetishists who align their collection by spine number ever find whatever movie they're looking for. Admittedly this assumes they watch the films so it may be a silly query
It's easy when the movie I'm looking for is the next unwatched spine number! Also saves me the time of figuring out what I want to watch!

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