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I don't know how big operations like Amazon do it, but most small operations like Olive probably process their orders manually. That means punching in the credit card info into the machine. One by one. They likely process credit card payments in a batch once a day.

Processing orders is labor intensive. The up and up way to do it is to print the invoice first, then check the inventory and then charge the card for whatever is in stock. Heck, I've heard of companies that ship the order first before even being able to charge the card simply to avoid delaying the customer's order.

Things like this abrupt change in price structure makes the company reek of incompetence. Given how most small companies of this type are cash starved there's enough reason to be suspicious.

Here's HistoryProf's comment from the "OOP: Studiocanal" thread.

Got an e-mail from Olive Films just now - a refund notification for That Obscure Object of Desire. I guess they couldn't get more copies. Well, at least we're getting our money back.

I wonder if they have any stock left of the Diary of the Country Priest...

RobertAltman wrote:Got an e-mail from Olive Films just now - a refund notification for That Obscure Object of Desire. I guess they couldn't get more copies. Well, at least we're getting our money back.

at least we're getting our money back? they never should have had it in the first place! frankly, i'm not remotely impressed with this outfit and passed on the subscription precisely because I expected them to raise the price quickly and try to charge us for it...I hope i'm wrong though for everyone who signed up's sake. that's like one of the ridiculous early etailer give aways in the late 90s.

Great news you guys! Olive Films sent me an email. Apparently an exiled Nigerian king with connections to the label has millions sitting in his bank account, but because of the current economic situation, he needs an American to provide his bank account and routing number and in return I'll get every Olive Films release for the next year! Zowee, what a deal!

Has anyone who signed up for membership actually received copies (or shipping notification) for Tuesday's releases?

Dave Kehr received word of some forthcoming titles:

Twilight’s Last Gleaming
Fedora
3 Fassbinder titles: Despair, Uncut versions of The Stationmaster’s Wife and I Only Want You To Love Me
JLG's Histoire(s) du cinéma
Abel Gance’s J’accuse
Chabrol’s Ophelia

The Godard is part of a Gaumont package; the Aldrich, Wilder, & Fassbinder are through Bavaria.

J'accuse has already been released through Flicker Alley, wtf?

This may be Gance's 1938 version.

Holy smokes, if this subscription pans out, and those titles are really added to the list we knew about... MAN, JUST MAN!

Hell, at least five of those titles are must haves. Never thought Histories would come to the US. How much would you bet that Ophelia gets the worst transfer out of the lot.

knives wrote: How much would you bet that Ophelia gets the worst transfer out of the lot.

It's a Chabrol title, of course its transfer will be terrible. If it's not, I'm gonna eject the disc halfway through and drag my keys across it just to maintain the norm

Has anyone received shipment notification for anything subscription related yet? Shirt, today's releases, anything?

Wonder how this small outfit will handle the subtitling and localization for Histoire(s) du Cinema. Gonna take some ingenuity, some time, and some money.

mfunk9786 wrote:Has anyone received shipment notification for anything subscription related yet? Shirt, today's releases, anything?

If they show up, I bet they just show up-- no notice or anything. I'm gonna give it a week and then call

Now that this is $25 a month, does anyone here think it's worth it?

wattsup32 wrote:Now that this is $25 a month, does anyone here think it's worth it?

Actually, it probably is, but I'm not telling Olive Films that!

I called their offices this afternoon and spoke with a rep who said that the subscribers discs were being packed today and should arrive in the next 7-10 days. She also said that they were indeed sending every title streeting today and that they were honoring those subscriptions placed at 8.95/mo.

htdm wrote:I called their offices this afternoon and spoke with a rep who said that the subscribers discs were being packed today and should arrive in the next 7-10 days. She also said that they were indeed sending every title streeting today and that they were honoring those subscriptions placed at 8.95/mo.

Woot! Awwww yeeeahh (does a little dance)-- sorry, but that's the best well developed response I could muster.

Nice! Note to Criterion: do a $50 per month subscription service plz

I remember Criterion saying they were planning a subscription service for Eclipse when the line first launched. I think it's foolish that they never followed through with that.

Don't know if this information has been dropped in here amidst all of the subscription stuff, but some more (non-Paramount) films forthcoming from Olive Films include three unavailable Fassbinders and Histoire(s) du Cinema. Via Dave Kehr:

Olive Films wrote:We finalized a deal with BAVARIA, which includes Robert Aldrich’s Twilight’s Last Gleaming, Billy Wilder’s Fedora and 3 Rainer Werner Fassbinder titles (Despair, Uncut versions of The Stationmaster’s Wife and I Only Want You To Love Me). We also acquired a large package of films from the Gaumont Studios, which includes the complete Jean-Luc Godard History of Cinema (Histoire(s) du cinéma), Abel Gance’s J’accuse and Claude Chabrol’s Ophelia

I despaired of ever seeing Despair or the sound version of J'Accuse on DVD! These folks are awesome.

htdm wrote:I called their offices this afternoon and spoke with a rep who said that the subscribers discs were being packed today and should arrive in the next 7-10 days. She also said that they were indeed sending every title streeting today and that they were honoring those subscriptions placed at 8.95/mo.

This is why we need emoticons: \:D/

Everyone realizes that this is officially the greatest deal of all time, ever, right?

Lawrence Olivier wrote:Pardon me for being blunt, but have you experienced all deals ever created?

Industry insiders are now posting on HTF re: an Olive Films-Bavaria deal. Titles: Twilight´s Last Gleaming, Despair, The Stationmaster´s Wife, uncut (TV version?), I Just Want You To Love Me (hopefully the forthcoming resto), Fedora, and unnamed films (Fuller, a 1978 Jeff Bridges film).