Criterions Out of Print (OOP)

[Brian C]

My recollection as well. I don’t remember CONTEMPT being officially announced, just confirmed as an upcoming upgrade. But RAN was definitely full-blown announced.

[justeleblanc]

My recollection as well. I don’t remember CONTEMPT being officially announced, just confirmed as an upcoming upgrade. But RAN was definitely full-blown announced.

I remember this as well. The Contempt Blue announcement was later replaced with a Pierrot le fou Blu announcement, IIRC. And I remember there being some debate as to why SC allowed Criterion to take Pierrot and not Contempt.

[justeleblanc]

Sorry to chime in again, but it seems that LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE's Blu/DVD combo release is not only out of print, Criterion has scrubbed its site of any mention that it ever released a Blu ray. They are only mention the DVD-only release.

Has this been mentioned before? And if so, does this mean Criterion lost the Blu ray rights somehow?

[FrauBlucher]

Dual format is most likely going away. The bluray only will probably be released in a few months

[thatobscurecharm]

Is Mr. Arkadin actually OOP, or is it being reissued (probably without the book)? I didn’t see it on the list on the first page

[yoloswegmaster]

It's listed as OOP on the website. However, Criterion/Janus still have the rights to it and I wouldn't be surprised if they were planning a Blu upgrade.

[omegadirective]

I hope so!
I love this movie

[therewillbeblus]

They love Welles, so unless they allowed the rights to lapse and it's coming from another label, my money is on an upgrade/reissue (hopefully the former- don't touch this one!)

[ryannichols7]

they did this with BRD Trilogy and Sternberg in the last. I would bet on an upgrade, which would be most welcomed. hopefully they keep the book

wonder when/if we see The Trial and The Other Side of the Wind in 2022

[m_montana]

There two more individual titles on the Out of Print list, for a total of 112 listed:
-Spine #311, Sword of the Beast
-Spine #313, Kill!

[therewillbeblus]

Could these be the samurai films Bressonaire faintly predicted this last month, except in upgrade form?

[dwk]

Possible. Both films are still up on the channel and are on the Janus Films' website.

[Drucker]

Le Deuxime Souffle is back available, does not appear to have actually gone out of print

[swo17]

I think we knew it was coming back, and I guess this is how they're doing it. If they aren't doing a Blu-ray upgrade, then there's no sense in giving it any fanfare

[wattsup32]

I couldn't find a more appropriate place than this to post this query, so mods please move as needed.

Are there films, Criterion or otherwise, that are OOP on physical media and not likely to be back in print anytime soon where you recommend a digital version for purchase? I ask because I often get Amazon digital credits for accepting slower shipping and I would prefer to spend them on something I can't get on physical media, but a good digital version exists.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

[Drucker]

I couldn't find a more appropriate place than this to post this query, so mods please move as needed.

Are there films, Criterion or otherwise, that are OOP on physical media and not likely to be back in print anytime soon where you recommend a digital version for purchase? I ask because I often get Amazon digital credits for accepting slower shipping and I would prefer to spend them on something I can't get on physical media, but a good digital version exists.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Seems like a pretty safe bet that if a boxset falls out of print and doesn't get brought back, it wasn't a good enough seller. Or it's just too expensive to keep in print. The Mizoguchi films in the MOC box that Criterion hasn't released come to mind, as does Naruse's films. So does the Alan Clarke BFI box which is only available on DVDs these days.

[Amazing Goose]

Does anyone know the status of White Dog? The website lists it as a “currently unavailable,” which send to suggest it’s between printings or maybe even an upgrade is coming, rather than being OOP. But I’ve also seen it mentioned on here that it’s a Paramount title, so it could be more permanently unavailable, too.

[DeprongMori]

Seems like a pretty safe bet that if a boxset falls out of print and doesn't get brought back, it wasn't a good enough seller. Or it's just too expensive to keep in print. The Mizoguchi films in the MOC box that Criterion hasn't released come to mind, as does Naruse's films. So does the Alan Clarke BFI box which is only available on DVDs these days.

FWIW, the BFI Alan Clarke Dissent & Disruption Blu-ray box is coming back in print, minus Road and Half-Hour Stories.

[MV88]

This was already asked on the film’s thread in the general Criterion board, but it didn’t get an answer so I’ll try here too:

Does anyone know the status of the Blu-ray/dual format version of Like Someone in Love? Criterion.com only lists the DVD for sale, and it’s the same on Amazon and most other retailers as well. Barnes & Noble is the only major retailer that currently has it in stock, and the listings for it on eBay are tagging it as “rare” and asking for at least double the list price.

It would be kind of strange if Criterion quietly lost the Blu-ray rights but somehow retained the DVD rights, so I guess one of two things is possible: either they’re putting out a Blu-ray only release soon to replace the earlier dual format, or they did indeed lose the rights to the film but still have some DVDs in stock to sell before it’s gone entirely.

Or maybe third possibly: a Kiarostami box set is coming soon and the Blu-ray of this will become exclusive to it?

[swo17]

Eventual box seems like the best bet, especially if Criterion won't directly respond to inquiries about this. Have you tried asking them?

[MV88]

I emailed them last week inquiring about the status of it. I’m not sure how quickly they typically respond since that was actually my first time doing that, but I’ve not received any reply yet, so if they tend to avoid answering questions that reveal upcoming releases, then maybe the lack of response might indeed suggest a Kiarostami box set of some kind is coming.

EDIT: I just noticed the reverse is true of Taste of Cherry, i.e. the Blu-ray is still listed on Criterion’s website but not the DVD. It certainly looks like they might be selling the last of their stock on some Kiarostami releases in anticipation of a box set. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it might be a set of all his post-Koker Trilogy films plus shorts.

[black&huge]

I emailed them last week inquiring about the status of it. I’m not sure how quickly they typically respond since that was actually my first time doing that, but I’ve not received any reply yet, so if they tend to avoid answering questions that reveal upcoming releases, then maybe the lack of response might indeed suggest a Kiarostami box set of some kind is coming.

They're usually very quick. I maybe waited 2 or 3 days at most for any inquiry I ever sent them whether it be replacement packaging to print status or some other general technical question.

[DandyDancing]

I emailed them last week inquiring about the status of it. I’m not sure how quickly they typically respond since that was actually my first time doing that, but I’ve not received any reply yet, so if they tend to avoid answering questions that reveal upcoming releases, then maybe the lack of response might indeed suggest a Kiarostami box set of some kind is coming.

EDIT: I just noticed the reverse is true of Taste of Cherry, i.e. the Blu-ray is still listed on Criterion’s website but not the DVD. It certainly looks like they might be selling the last of their stock on some Kiarostami releases in anticipation of a box set. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it might be a set of all his post-Koker Trilogy films plus shorts.

I believe the dvd of Taste of Cherry went oop when the blu was announced.

[luminol]

I emailed them last week inquiring about the status of it. I’m not sure how quickly they typically respond since that was actually my first time doing that, but I’ve not received any reply yet, so if they tend to avoid answering questions that reveal upcoming releases, then maybe the lack of response might indeed suggest a Kiarostami box set of some kind is coming.

EDIT: I just noticed the reverse is true of Taste of Cherry, i.e. the Blu-ray is still listed on Criterion’s website but not the DVD. It certainly looks like they might be selling the last of their stock on some Kiarostami releases in anticipation of a box set. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it might be a set of all his post-Koker Trilogy films plus shorts.

I believe the dvd of Taste of Cherry went oop when the blu was announced.

Right, I just confirmed on wayback machine that the DVD version hasn't been listed since the BR release in 2020.

[m_montana]

Three entries from a few days ago, for a total of 114 listed:

-Juliet of the Spirits, DVD, Spine #119;
-Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey, Spine #169;
-By Brakhage: An Athology, Volume Two, DVD, Spine #517.