Indicator

Discuss releases by Indicator and the films on them.

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domino harvey
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Re: Indicator

#26 Post by domino harvey » Fri Aug 26, 2016 4:56 pm

We don't all hate Indicator

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Drucker
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Re: Indicator

#27 Post by Drucker » Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:05 pm

The thing that has always bugged me about TT is the releases only being available from a single website. In addition, there's no advantage to shopping on that site. It goes against how I shop, and therefore I'm never inclined to pick up even the titles I'd like.

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swo17
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Re: Indicator

#28 Post by swo17 » Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:18 pm

domino harvey wrote:We don't all hate Indicator
Yet

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chatterjees
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Re: Indicator

#29 Post by chatterjees » Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:20 pm

Please excuse me for not being very clear previously. I tried to mean that there is no difference to me between these two models as I am an US customer. Indicator should be mind blowing for UK and Europe.
Drucker wrote:The thing that has always bugged me about TT is the releases only being available from a single website. In addition, there's no advantage to shopping on that site. It goes against how I shop, and therefore I'm never inclined to pick up even the titles I'd like.
you know that they have their own website, right? And that website is actuslly much more efficient than SAE.
Anyways, it's always a good thing to have a second option. I always prefer arrow editions over kino or cohen when there is a choice available.

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rapta
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Re: Indicator

#30 Post by rapta » Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:29 pm

chatterjees wrote:A new British company with a "limited edition" model and the SRP of £22.08 for each title sounds really interesting. I am actually going to sell some of my TT editions and buy this Indicator editions, but I am getting lost when I am trying to think about the difference between TT and Indicator. Where is the difference? ](*,)
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not Region Free so don't buy Twilight Time), but don't they do Limited Edition runs for fairly high mark-ups that sell out pretty quickly and become a target for scalpers? That's all I've heard about them really, though they have reissued titles a couple of years later in some cases...right? They seem to do a pretty good job, so it sounds pretty frustrating if they don't print enough for the demand (i.e. North America + importers). A few Arrow releases are starting to go that way in fact - Videodrome LE, The Burning LE Steelbook, and a few others went OOP before release (or the day after in the case of Videodrome).

The initial suspicion with Indicator was that they were doing the same thing as TT, just targeting the UK audience. First of all we saw they were licensing some of the same Sony titles that TT had put out before, then apparently similar or even the exact same extras, and then we found out they were Limited Edition as well. The good thing about these guys, it turns out, is that the only Limited Edition nature of these initial print-runs seems to only be the booklets and DVD discs. So the Blu-ray disc itself will be reissued once the LE version goes OOP, a little like the model Arrow video have been gradually headed towards (though they might have even smaller print-runs for some of their booklets).

As for the £22.99 RRP, that will actually come down to about £15.99 - the price on their own site - or maybe even less, especially if they turn up in one of the HMV/Amazon 2 for £25 deals (or places that do discount codes). They're even talking about pre-order offers if you buy direct from them, which sounds promising.

It's almost as if they themselves, as collectors, were so frustrated with Twilight Time's strategy that they decided to set up their own label in the UK (MichaelB has said the label was set up by ex-Sony employees, hence the initial Sony catalogue titles). My only slight worry was that the notoriously enthusiastic collectors who tend to jump on almost every LE Arrow Video release might do the same with this label, but I think it'll be counter-balanced by a number of sensible Region Free/import collectors who have already sourced the same exact titles from elsewhere (e.g. TT, Carlotta, Mill Creek, Image Entertainment etc), and therefore probably won't bother with some of these seeing as - other than the booklet and one or two extras - they're all quite similar so far. From the current listings, it looks like Indicator plan on sourcing as many already-made special features spread across different international discs, and including them on their release, but with a newly produced booklet and an occasionally-handy DVD copy. So far, most of the films they've chosen already have decent masters too (especially Body Double, The Last Detail, Christine...all of which I plan on getting immediately).

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Indicator

#31 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Fri Aug 26, 2016 5:41 pm

This is fantastic news! We can now get film historian Nick Redman commentaries in Region B

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chatterjees
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Re: Indicator

#32 Post by chatterjees » Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:33 pm

rapta wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not Region Free so don't buy Twilight Time), but don't they do Limited Edition runs for fairly high mark-ups that sell out pretty quickly and become a target for scalpers? That's all I've heard about them really, though they have reissued titles a couple of years later in some cases...right? They seem to do a pretty good job, so it sounds pretty frustrating if they don't print enough for the demand (i.e. North America + importers). A few Arrow releases are starting to go that way in fact - Videodrome LE, The Burning LE Steelbook, and a few others went OOP before release (or the day after in the case of Videodrome).
First of all, let's keep this in mind that I am not trying to defend TT, they are not my top favorite US company. Their price sucks, their cover arts suck evry now and then. They actually started doing their sales long time ago. If I am not wrong, SAE does multiple promotions now. During those sales, you can actually get most of the titles at 50% off price. So price is not an issue anymore, if somebody has money to take that advantage. I used to buy a lot from them, but now I am honestly having trouble to keep up with them. SAE does international shipping, but I am not sure about TT's own website.
The good thing about these guys, it turns out, is that the only Limited Edition nature of these initial print-runs seems to only be the booklets and DVD discs. So the Blu-ray disc itself will be reissued once the LE version goes OOP, a little like the model Arrow video have been gradually headed towards (though they might have even smaller print-runs for some of their booklets)
If you are a collector, then what's the point of having a reissue that lacks an important part of the LE - booklet(at least TT's reissues come in improved qualities)? This is just my opinion. You can always say that I am wrong. I think I would call myself a collector, not just a movie buff. May be I am stupid, but I feel great that I own the Hell Raiser Trilogy original LE release, not the reissue. This is just an example. So, as a collector I will always tend to buy Indicator's first batch of LE releases, not their reissues lacking body parts :wink: And, when I will be doing so, I will definitely think about my choices - TT or Indicator. Now with this explanation, I think you would understand why I think that it will be difficult for me to make a decision. I think you are saying the same thing. If you are in UK or Europe, you should not even think about TT. I honestly think that Indicator will be the gold mine for you guys and serve the same purpose as TT did for the US customers for last few years. I am sure that we are voicing the same emotion from the opposite sides of the river, right?

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Re: Indicator

#33 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:05 pm

NABOB OF NOWHERE wrote:This is fantastic news! We can now get film historian Nick Redman commentaries in Region B
This would so increase the resale value.

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Re: Indicator

#34 Post by Zot! » Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:13 pm

rapta wrote:
Zot! wrote:Seems like a good model, however, it would be nice if the unlimited editions were available soon afterwards. I've been waiting forever to flog my arrow videodrome box, but there is no sign of a promised standard edition.
As for Arrow's Videodrome, they released a standard edition last December, a few months after it went OOP! It was even in the HMV 5 for £30 for a while a few months back (and £6 in Fopp), and it's still only £8.99 on Amazon UK. In fact, how did you miss it?! :wink: They've even reissued the second disc in that set as a standalone release, and that came out earlier this month.
Whoops! I live in the states, but no excuse for being quite this clueless.

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Re: Indicator

#35 Post by nitin » Sat Aug 27, 2016 1:42 am

rapta wrote:
chatterjees wrote:A new British company with a "limited edition" model and the SRP of £22.08 for each title sounds really interesting. I am actually going to sell some of my TT editions and buy this Indicator editions, but I am getting lost when I am trying to think about the difference between TT and Indicator. Where is the difference? ](*,)
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm not Region Free so don't buy Twilight Time), but don't they do Limited Edition runs for fairly high mark-ups that sell out pretty quickly and become a target for scalpers? That's all I've heard about them really, though they have reissued titles a couple of years later in some cases...right? They seem to do a pretty good job, so it sounds pretty frustrating if they don't print enough for the demand (i.e. North America + importers). A few Arrow releases are starting to go that way in fact - Videodrome LE, The Burning LE Steelbook, and a few others went OOP before release (or the day after in the case of Videodrome).

The initial suspicion with Indicator was that they were doing the same thing as TT, just targeting the UK audience. First of all we saw they were licensing some of the same Sony titles that TT had put out before, then apparently similar or even the exact same extras, and then we found out they were Limited Edition as well. The good thing about these guys, it turns out, is that the only Limited Edition nature of these initial print-runs seems to only be the booklets and DVD discs. So the Blu-ray disc itself will be reissued once the LE version goes OOP, a little like the model Arrow video have been gradually headed towards (though they might have even smaller print-runs for some of their booklets).

As for the £22.99 RRP, that will actually come down to about £15.99 - the price on their own site - or maybe even less, especially if they turn up in one of the HMV/Amazon 2 for £25 deals (or places that do discount codes). They're even talking about pre-order offers if you buy direct from them, which sounds promising.

It's almost as if they themselves, as collectors, were so frustrated with Twilight Time's strategy that they decided to set up their own label in the UK (MichaelB has said the label was set up by ex-Sony employees, hence the initial Sony catalogue titles). My only slight worry was that the notoriously enthusiastic collectors who tend to jump on almost every LE Arrow Video release might do the same with this label, but I think it'll be counter-balanced by a number of sensible Region Free/import collectors who have already sourced the same exact titles from elsewhere (e.g. TT, Carlotta, Mill Creek, Image Entertainment etc), and therefore probably won't bother with some of these seeing as - other than the booklet and one or two extras - they're all quite similar so far. From the current listings, it looks like Indicator plan on sourcing as many already-made special features spread across different international discs, and including them on their release, but with a newly produced booklet and an occasionally-handy DVD copy. So far, most of the films they've chosen already have decent masters too (especially Body Double, The Last Detail, Christine...all of which I plan on getting immediately).
As a percentage, the amount of sell outs for TT is quite low. The amount of quick sell outs is considerably lower (and by quick I mean less than a month after release).

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dwk
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Re: Indicator

#36 Post by dwk » Mon Aug 29, 2016 5:55 pm

Indicator said on their twitter account that all the Sony titles will be region ABC.

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Re: Indicator

#37 Post by chatterjees » Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:56 pm

Their website is not ready for business yet? I don't see any add to cart button anywhere. Meanwhile, amazon.co.uk has already price matched the items with the website.


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Re: Indicator

#39 Post by effigy105 » Tue Sep 06, 2016 11:24 pm

I'm not complaining, as Amazon will deliver, but it's disappointing that international shipping isn't available direct from Powerhouse. Could someone elaborate on the reasoning for not supporting international shipping?

It would make sense if it was simply an financial decision - that a smaller, start-up label can't support it - but on Twitter, Powerhouse cited it as a licensing issue. Eureka and Arrow have 'UK & Ireland'-only licenses and yet they ship those titles all over the globe from their own store, so have they secured a different type of license?

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TMDaines
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Re: Indicator

#40 Post by TMDaines » Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:13 am

As long as the point of sale is in the UK, there's nothing stopping companies shipping stuff abroad. It would be weird if a title was licensed on the basis of the label agreeing not to ship overseas.

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Re: Indicator

#41 Post by MichaelB » Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:17 am

Different labels have different attitudes. There's nothing that compels all Criterion releases to be region-locked, for instance - and up to about a decade ago they had the same policy as Arrow/the BFI/Eureka of only region-locking when they had to.

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Re: Indicator

#42 Post by peerpee » Wed Sep 07, 2016 6:05 am

I heard it was licensors receiving complaints from foreign licensees that 'compelled' Criterion to adopt a region-locked policy across the board. Interesting that UHD 4K Blu-ray does away with it altogether. I'd argue that the tougher-to-break region coding on Blu-ray held the format back over the years.

With regard to labels shipping abroad, I'd like to see a contract that states it's okay for a label – who have licensed a title for UK & Eire – to directly send a copy to a customer outside of that licensed region. Most labels have other companies, or shell companies do that, to have one foot in legality.

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tenia
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Re: Indicator

#43 Post by tenia » Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:29 am

I'm thus wondering how Eureka's store was operating to send to me in France all these orders I made.

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eerik
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Re: Indicator

#44 Post by eerik » Thu Sep 15, 2016 6:19 pm

October and November titles are £12.99 on Amazon at the moment.

Update: December titles too!

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vygnyr
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Re: Indicator

#45 Post by vygnyr » Sat Sep 17, 2016 7:59 pm

The spine will be numbered, like Criterion and Eureka MoC.

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Re: Indicator

#46 Post by M Sanderson » Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:44 am

Wasn't able to get them on the release date at the local HMV store. Was hoping they'd be in, and on a 2 for £25 deal.

Was able to get Body Double on Amazon straight away, £13 each. Christine's availability was listed as shipping in 2-4 weeks, but I received mine after a couple of days.

Obviously, some erratic allocation of stock for LE titles.

That combination of Carpenter, King, '80s video shop nostalgia and limited availability really persuades people to part with their money in the case of Christine. What really makes it interesting to me is the subtext of fragile and unstable masculinity and the beautiful widescreen cinematography typical of Carpenter movies... And others have picked up on the Rebel Without a Cause references.

Body Double is a De Palma film I watched compulsively, while it was being trashed as I remember, 15 or so years ago. Great to see it like this, marvellously detailed, in particular the darker, claustrophobic scenes such as within the underpass and the grave. And the colours look great in the wonderfully silly music video scene. The blood at the end when filming Vampire's Kiss looked a bit too brown, though.

Interesting of De Palma to settle on such a weak and easily manipulated male character. His sinuous camera takes us queasily close to Wasson's stalking (De Palma would develop toward making psychological films about women, the brilliant Femme Fatale & Passion). The film is very critical of him - showing physical and emotional fragility - and more than one character sees him as a weirdo. A nice touch that he saves Griffith, the villain disposed of while she's unconscious, and she suspects Wasson. Wasson clearly wants to be a hero, justifying his stalking of Deborah Shelton earlier on wanting to save her from "The Indian". Great that we get such an "unsatisfying" climax to Griffith's rescue.

The transfers look very impressive. Very nice encodes of outstanding restorations. I've seen the German release of Christine from the same restoration and this looks better, crisper, more precise.

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rapta
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Re: Indicator

#47 Post by rapta » Thu Oct 27, 2016 12:12 pm

I got these this week too and they look great. Will try and watch at least one of them this weekend!

I'll be interested to see what kind of extras they'll come up with for some of the other titles. US labels such as Twilight Time have released several of them without any real extras, so I assume they'll be sourcing as many from around the world as they can and producing a few of their own. I notice 10 Rillington Place already has a new video interview added, and obviously the booklets are all brand new.

I look forward to getting The Last Detail in December and both Fat City and The Lady from Shanghai whenever they're coming out. Definitely a label to keep an eye on!

PS: packaging-wise, they're apparently considering regular Amarays for the standard editions (once the Limited Edition DF versions with booklets sell out). Also, some of the more niche titles may only be reissued on DVD rather than Blu-ray - hopefully they can let us know which ones those will be before the Limited Edition sells out.

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HJackson
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Re: Indicator

#48 Post by HJackson » Thu Oct 27, 2016 10:46 pm

Picked up both of these myself for £13 a pop from HMV and Fopp. Body Double is my favourite De Palma so it was a no brainer and the image looks beautiful. Not a huge fan of the Body Double poster, which forms the basis of the cover, but this package actually looks really nice with a really clean spine and tasteful Indicator branding. Glad they went for the Crit style case too. I won't be switching the sleeve, although it's nice that they give you the option. Plan to flick through the booklet when I get around to watching the movie in full again.

Picked up Christine too despite the film being pretty much off my radar and watched it on Wednesday. What a hoot. A lot of the upcoming stuff is material I want to own anyway, but I'll be blind buying Indicator from now on.

As for limited edition, it will be interesting to see how quickly they sell. I believe some of the MoC Universal titles like Touch of Evil were limited to 5k and they're still going after five years. I guess it all depends on how many people beyond the UK buy these, which could be a substantially higher number given the region coding.

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Re: Indicator

#49 Post by peerpee » Fri Oct 28, 2016 5:45 am

HJackson wrote: I believe some of the MoC Universal titles like Touch of Evil were limited to 5k and they're still going after five years. I guess it all depends on how many people beyond the UK buy these, which could be a substantially higher number given the region coding.
MoC TOUCH OF EVIL *Steelbook* was a limited edition and has been sold out for a while. The normal edition is not limited, and that's why it's still available. I think some early copies went out erroneously with a "Ltd Ed" blue sticker on. The Amazon listing doesn't mention "ltd ed", the sleeve doesn't, and the Amazon pic doesn't show the blue sticker.

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HJackson
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Re: Indicator

#50 Post by HJackson » Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:58 am

That makes a lot more sense!

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