Criterion and StudioCanal

[med]

spocker, Brian was referring to how you can still get Pierrot le fou directly from Criterion at their still-discounted price. But they don't ship outside North America, so.

[dwk]

spocker, Amazon.com still has the Pierrot le fou Blu-Ray

[spocker]

I got hold of it for another place, so no worries about that. Just found it a bit strange that they (Criterion) would mark something as deleted to webstores that don't have it in stock if they're still got it in store themselves. I've ordered a couple of the other OOP DVDs that way, with them getting new discs from Criterion, without any trouble.

[HistoryProf]

Same for Obscure Object of Desire:

Thank you for your recent order. Unfortunately, the item(s) listed below
have been discontinued by the manufacturer and are no longer available
at this time. We apologize for your disappointment. Since this item(s) was
canceled from your order, your credit card was not charged for that item.

We encourage you to consider another item from our product selection and to
shop with us again. If you have any questions about your order, please send
an e-mail to our customer service department at: [email protected] or
you may call us at 1-800-264-5076.


Item # Description Quantity Cancelled
HVD000195 DVD : OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE(CRITERION 1.00

This is the only title I still need, and it was the first one to disappear from everywhere! Considering things like Pierrot and most of the first round titles are still available, I didn't consider it such a perilous situation. of course the rest of the titles are readily available still. I'm hoping i'll find one at one of the 4 KC area B&Ns next week when the sale starts. I arrive down there Friday, so i'll cruise them over the weekend.

[domino harvey]

I already have it but I'll keep an eye out for one next time I hit one of the B+Ms

[spocker]

Same for Obscure Object of Desire

That's actually one of the movies Axelmusic seems to be able to ship. Not shipped yet, but no "deleted" notice, just an "Awaiting stock arrival" (Status updated yesterday).

[Noiradelic]

Obscure Object of Desire is definitely the surprise hit from this last wave. Wonder why it's so much more in demand than Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie? Is it just the lower price point? Or are buyers just much more likely to have DCotB already?

Would've figured that the Pierrot Blu would've been the big item from the last go around, but either CC had already run off a massive number cuz of it being a recent blu title, or they knew there would be big demand post-OOP announcement and were determined to flood the market to stick it to SC.

[AtlantaFella]

The price differential between used and new copies of Obscure is rather shocking. Maybe I should stop unwrapping the stuff in my unwatched piles!

[CrazedCollector]

The price differential between used and new copies of Obscure is rather shocking. Maybe I should stop unwrapping the stuff in my unwatched piles!

Of all the new OOP titles this year, I purchased over 90% (did not own them previously, Obscure and Chambermaid included) and have unwrapped only Alphaville. Figure it's better to just download the files without disturbing the packaging (having purchased physical copies licitly already).

[dad1153]

^^^ If I had followed that advice I would still have a shrink-wrapped-but-without-discs case for Tati's "Trafic" (found this out just time for an exchange with the receipt) instead of a Criterion copy of "Mouchette." :-s

[CrazedCollector]

^^^ If I had followed that advice I would still have a shrink-wrapped-but-without-discs case for Tati's "Trafic" (found this out just time for an exchange with the receipt) instead of a Criterion copy of "Mouchette." :-s

Whoa! Now I'll have to rattle the cases and carefully listen until I'm convinced each has its disc.

[zedz]

Obscure Object of Desire is definitely the surprise hit from this last wave. Wonder why it's so much more in demand than Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie? Is it just the lower price point? Or are buyers just much more likely to have DCotB already?

It might be something as simple as one being towards the end of its present pressing and the other at the start. With Pierrot le Fou, because it was such a recent release, there were likely a decent number of copies of the initial pressing still in circulation, and the way it went out of stock and then back in again, it seems like Criterion might have snuck another pressing in just before the guillotine came down.

[Ryan K]

I've never ordered anything from them, so I don't know how good or bad they are, but J&R.com is showing That Obscure Object of Desire as In Stock and shipping in 1-2 business days. Diary of a Chambermaid is also showing as In Stock and shipping in 1-2 business days at J&R.com

First, of all, thank you.

Second, I just wanted to let everyone know that after receiving my cancellation email from DeppDiscount yesterday, I went ahead and placed an order for That Obscure Object of Desire with J&R.com. I'd never used (nor even heard of) them before, but they had a pay with Paypal option so I went ahead and did it. Less than 24 hours later now, and I just received shipping confirmation. So its legit.

[neal]

I've never ordered anything from them, so I don't know how good or bad they are, but J&R.com is showing That Obscure Object of Desire as In Stock and shipping in 1-2 business days. Diary of a Chambermaid is also showing as In Stock and shipping in 1-2 business days at J&R.com

First, of all, thank you.

Second, I just wanted to let everyone know that after receiving my cancellation email from DeppDiscount yesterday, I went ahead and placed an order for That Obscure Object of Desire with J&R.com. I'd never used (nor even heard of) them before, but they had a pay with Paypal option so I went ahead and did it. Less than 24 hours later now, and I just received shipping confirmation. So its legit.

They have their primary, physical store right near City Hall in NYC. From my experiences, a good operation, if not always the best prices. It's always somewhere that I look when looking for things that are recently OOP.

[aox]

Yes, J&R is extremely legit. I go there all of the time. And have purchased every electronic I own there. It is always a few hundred cheaper and they price match if you are nice in your approach.

[dad1153]

J&R is awesome (though slightly overpriced). They offered to track down another copy of Tati's "Trafic" when the one I bought there turned out to be empty (no discs!). I didn't want to take my chances so I just used the credit of "Trafic" to get a physical copy of "Mouchette" they had at the store. Good people, especially the clueless manager that doesn't know which Studio Canal movies are going OOP and which aren't.

[Tom Hagen]

I imagine he's "clueless" in that his job is to retail electronics, as opposed to catering to or profiting off of the OOP DVD collector's market.

[dad1153]

Nope, I'm talking about the guy that manages the movie/video section in the basement of J&R (which is a giant complex of separate buildings that specialize in different electronics things, each with separate managers/bosses). Bold guy with Glasses (Indian) in his late 40's/early 50's. Nice guy but I knew more about the OOP Studio Canal discs situation than he did (why else would he offer to order me another "Trafic" after the one I bought there had no discs months after the first wave of Studio Canal movies went OOP?) which is why got "Mouchette" on the spot and tracked "Trafic" through the Deep Discount sale. It's the manager's job to know when movies his store sells go OOP (many J&R customers are encouraged to order a movie that's not physically there by filling up an order form), or at least to know more than what a customer like me found on an internet movie forum.

[aox]

Nope, I'm talking about the guy that manages the movie/video section in the basement of J&R (which is a giant complex of separate buildings that specialize in different electronics things, each with separate managers/bosses). Bold guy with Glasses (Indian) in his late 40's/early 50's. Nice guy but I knew more about the OOP Studio Canal discs situation than he did (why else would he offer to order me another "Trafic" after the one I bought there had no discs months after the first wave of Studio Canal movies went OOP?) which is why got "Mouchette" on the spot and tracked "Trafic" through the Deep Discount sale. It's the manager's job to know when movies his store sells go OOP (many J&R customers are encouraged to order a movie that's not physically there by filling up an order form), or at least to know more than what a customer like me found on an internet movie forum.

I don't understand why he should know any of that, or even why you would expect him to.

[domino harvey]

"He doesn't understand The Criterion Collection like I understand The Criterion Collection"

[Tribe]

"He doesn't understand The Criterion Collection like I understand The Criterion Collection"

That sounds like a new category for the year end Criterion Forum awards...or at least the name of a new thread split.

[med]

I used to work in a chain bookstore; I recall once being engaged by a legitimately shocked/irritated customer who just didn't understand why our store didn't staff enough people to cover all fields of knowledge. She was offended when I told her I was pretty sure that no one that worked there knew anything about tarot cards.

So, dad1153, what I'm saying is that some people have unreasonable expectations of people who work in retail.

[zedz]

And you have to understand that people like us constitute approximately 0% of the DVD-buying market, however much we might like to think otherwise.

[Tribe]

And you have to understand that people like us constitute approximately 0% of the DVD-buying market, however much we might like to think otherwise.

That's gonna go over well in this Forum....

[zedz]

And you have to understand that people like us constitute approximately 0% of the DVD-buying market, however much we might like to think otherwise.

That's gonna go over well in this Forum....

I know, I know. It's a lovely little bubble we've got here, but once you start dividing up the tiny Criterion niche of the DVD market according to the number of them who have also heard of Studio Canal, then divide that to get those who understand what a licensing agreement is, then divide whatever's left to find those who keep up with changes in that arcane landscape, you've dwindled into statistical insignificance.

Even if you're managing a store, I imagine the drill is: you try to order more of something, find you can't, and move on. No need to worry about the whys and wherefores that are out of your control.