Criterions Out of Print (OOP)

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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cdnchris
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Re: Criterion OOP

#401 Post by cdnchris » Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:40 pm

Rayon Vert wrote:Shouldn't One-Eyed Jacks also be on that list? (Although I've ordered the Arrow.)
I believe the rights are a mess with that one but Criterion licensed it from Universal in the end

Noiradelic
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Re: Criterion OOP

#402 Post by Noiradelic » Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:48 pm

Was under the impression it's PD, though Criterion would of course acquire the original elements if possible.

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cdnchris
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Re: Criterion OOP

#403 Post by cdnchris » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:07 pm

Yep. Universal and The Film Foundation were behind the restoration so that's who they would have had to license it from

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rapta
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Re: Criterion OOP

#404 Post by rapta » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:17 pm

Brian C wrote:
Wed Mar 03, 2021 8:03 pm
Hard to know which ones are going OOP and which ones really are just “currently unavailable” because of the panic buying.

Seems likely that they’re all endangered in the medium- to long-term, but my quandary is, which ones do I need to overpay for RIGHT NOW?
Harold and Maude should be a priority for anyone considering it since the MoC disc is already OOP. Days of Heaven is a must-buy, as are Don't Look Now and Rosemary's Baby (though the former has since been remastered in 4K by StudioCanal). Nashville, Medium Cool, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Ace in the Hole, The Naked Prey, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and If... are all essential in my opinion, but all are too available from MoC as I type this (as is White Dog which never got a Criterion BD release; and Robinson Crusoe on Mars, which is just fun, also got a great Eureka Classics release).

PS: Most other titles should be safe for now, apart from perhaps Downhill Racer and Riot in Cell Block 11 which haven't had similar treatment elsewhere in the English-speaking world yet. Any Fellini fan would surely buy the Essential Fellini set rather than La Dolce Vita on its own anyway (I know I would if I was region free).

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dustybooks
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Re: Criterion OOP

#405 Post by dustybooks » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:20 pm

The only ones on Chris’ Paramount list I want that I don’t have yet are The Virgin Suicides, Election and Ace in the Hole. Hopefully they hold out for a few weeks because I’ve really overdone it on movies lately (largely because of the constant worries about things like this happening!). I own them all (non-Criterion except Ace) on DVD so it’s not the absolute end of the world if I miss them, but... you know.

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TheKieslowskiHaze
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Re: Criterion OOP

#406 Post by TheKieslowskiHaze » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:39 pm

On the plus side, it's rare for non-house purchases to appreciate in value like this. A used Nashville will fetch $100 on eBay before you know it.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Criterion OOP

#407 Post by hearthesilence » Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:43 pm

rapta wrote:
Wed Mar 03, 2021 9:17 pm
Any Fellini fan would surely buy the Essential Fellini set rather than La Dolce Vita on its own anyway.
I might do this after all. La Dolce Vita will now fetch a good price (not high but at least retail), and Amarcord is probably something to hold on to because the color timing on the new set is dubious. That would leave only my MoC of Roma and my Criterion BD of 8 1/2 which I was going to upgrade regardless.

I'll probably wait for the next flash sale - again, I was holding out for a potential UHD of the new 8 1/2 restoration, and tbh I'm not a fan of at least half of the titles on that box set, I would have been fine if they had spun off The White Sheik, I Vitelloni and Nights of Cabiria in addition to the 8 1/2 upgrade. But if there are no new developments between now and the fall, I'd rather not wait any longer.

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Ribs
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Re: Criterion OOP

#408 Post by Ribs » Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:08 am

Seeing as we know Don’t Look Now is sourced from a new restoration, isn’t it possible the two new Paramount discs are also going to be from new restorations or at least be new encodes as opposed to the ten year old ones on the Criterion discs that could definitely be improved upon. Obviously you’d think Rosemary’s Baby a title that if they did a new restoration would seem like a better fit for a 4K release but just a thought that this could actually be the titles being given fresh go-arounds instead of being confined to the extant releases that are from Obama’s first term. Naive hope, maybe.

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jedgeco
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Re: Criterion OOP

#409 Post by jedgeco » Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:25 am

The good news is that if you missed the Criterion Days of Heaven, you can get it from Paramount with this amazing cover:
Image

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Grand Wazoo
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Re: Criterion OOP

#410 Post by Grand Wazoo » Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:03 pm

It's interesting that Criterion presumably knew this was happening pre-flash sale but didn't make an announcement. I would guess they had to weigh informing everyone and then scalpers gobbling up the remaining stock in bulk or keeping mum and hoping people who really want those discs manage to grab them. It's lose-lose given someone will inevitably be upset, but the latter seems like the better choice of the two here.

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Re: Criterion OOP

#411 Post by beamish14 » Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:51 pm

Paramount has to use their own HD masters, correct? One potential upside could be seeing Days of Heaven in HD as Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler intended, without
the more muted colour palette Malick used when grading it. I've held onto my Paramount DVD because of that.

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dwk
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Re: Criterion OOP

#412 Post by dwk » Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:29 pm

beamish14 wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:51 pm
Paramount has to use their own HD masters, correct? One potential upside could be seeing Days of Heaven in HD as Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler intended, without
the more muted colour palette Malick used when grading it. I've held onto my Paramount DVD because of that.
Not necessarily. I think the European Rosemary's Baby Blu-ray uses Criterion's master. Plus, I'm not sure Paramount actually has a Blu-ray suitable HD master of Days of Heaven and if they have to create one, I assume that Malick would have to approve it.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Criterion OOP

#413 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:18 pm

beamish14 wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:51 pm
Paramount has to use their own HD masters, correct? One potential upside could be seeing Days of Heaven in HD as Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler intended, without
the more muted colour palette Malick used when grading it. I've held onto my Paramount DVD because of that.
I know Malick went for a muted palette, but from the extras it didn't sound like it was revisionism. The editor Billy Weber repeated over and over again on the commentary track that as the footage came in they were wary of having the film look to "beautiful," and he was definitely involved in the original grading. Did Wexler sit in on the old DVD grading?

wattsup32
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Re: Criterion OOP

#414 Post by wattsup32 » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:34 pm

As of now are only Harold and Maude, Nashville, Rosemary's Baby, Days of Heaven, and Don't Look Now confirmed OOP?

The other titles floated in the thread are only predicted to go OOP soon?

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dwk
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Re: Criterion OOP

#415 Post by dwk » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:42 pm

Those five plus La dolce vita.

I sent an email on Monday asking about seven Paramount titles that were showing up as currently unavailable (forgot to include The Friends of Eddie Coyle) and I just got a response and Medium Cool is not going OOP
MEDIUM COOL Blu-Rays will be restocked around mid April and there are no current plans for this title to be out of print.

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Drucker
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Re: Criterion OOP

#416 Post by Drucker » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:48 pm

hearthesilence wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:18 pm
beamish14 wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 12:51 pm
Paramount has to use their own HD masters, correct? One potential upside could be seeing Days of Heaven in HD as Nestor Almendros and Haskell Wexler intended, without
the more muted colour palette Malick used when grading it. I've held onto my Paramount DVD because of that.
I know Malick went for a muted palette, but from the extras it didn't sound like it was revisionism. The editor Billy Weber repeated over and over again on the commentary track that as the footage came in they were wary of having the film look to "beautiful," and he was definitely involved in the original grading. Did Wexler sit in on the old DVD grading?
I saw this in 35 pre-pandemic and felt that the blu-ray is pretty close to what we see.

wattsup32
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Re: Criterion OOP

#417 Post by wattsup32 » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:53 pm

dwk wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:42 pm
Those five plus La dolce vita.

I sent an email on Monday asking about seven Paramount titles that were showing up as currently unavailable (forgot to include The Friends of Eddie Coyle) and I just got a response and Medium Cool is not going OOP
MEDIUM COOL Blu-Rays will be restocked around mid April and there are no current plans for this title to be out of print.

Are we supposed to take this to mean only Medium Cool of the others you listed in not going OOP? Or, did you take this as a more general reply for whatever else you had on the list?

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dwk
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Re: Criterion OOP

#418 Post by dwk » Thu Mar 04, 2021 5:23 pm

The only titles I asked about in Monday's email were the six that were listed as OOP yesterday and Medium Cool. Just the titles that, at the time, were showing as "currently unavailable"on Criterion's site. I didnt ask about the other Paramount titles.

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domino harvey
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Re: Criterion OOP

#419 Post by domino harvey » Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:08 pm

Nice, Medium Cool is the only one I needed

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Brian C
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Re: Criterion OOP

#420 Post by Brian C » Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:14 pm

Ok, very helpful news to know we don’t need to panic buy MEDIUM COOL. Thanks!

So far I’ve gotten shipping notices for 3 of the 4 OOP titles I did panic buy, though I’m not sure if Amazon will come through on HAROLD AND MAUDE. It was in stock when I placed the order, but is gone now.

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Boosmahn
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Re: Criterion OOP

#421 Post by Boosmahn » Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:57 pm

Remember to check your local B&N -- I went to mine a few hours ago and saw Blu-ray copies of Don't Look Now, Days of Heaven, and The Friends of Eddie Coyle (I didn't look for any others). I only bought Days of Heaven because of the lack of a good alternative.

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Luke M
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Re: Criterion OOP

#422 Post by Luke M » Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:41 pm

I'm trying to catch up on this thread. Is The Friends of Eddie Coyle out of print? It's not listed as so on the Criterion website.

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hearthesilence
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Re: Criterion OOP

#423 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:49 pm

I forgot Peter Boyle was in Medium Cool - for a second I thought I was viewing caps of Eddie Coyle. Anyway, MoC still has Medium Cool in-print as well, and even though the bitrate is virtually the same, MoC has the better encode IMHO. Criterion's disc appears to have some macroblocking - not egregiously bad but it's something to consider before buying.

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Brian C
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Re: Criterion OOP

#424 Post by Brian C » Thu Mar 04, 2021 8:34 pm

Luke M wrote:I'm trying to catch up on this thread. Is The Friends of Eddie Coyle out of print? It's not listed as so on the Criterion website.
Well, I think we’re all wondering the same thing. It’s not *technically* OOP, as you point out, but its exact status is unclear.

wattsup32
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:00 pm

Re: Criterion OOP

#425 Post by wattsup32 » Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:28 pm

Boosmahn wrote:
Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:57 pm
Remember to check your local B&N -- I went to mine a few hours ago and saw Blu-ray copies of Don't Look Now, Days of Heaven, and The Friends of Eddie Coyle (I didn't look for any others). I only bought Days of Heaven because of the lack of a good alternative.
Yes, and in the interests of forum solidarity, we ought to arrange a local pick and ship exchange so we don't get gouged getting these things. For instance, I was able to get my hands on 2 copies of Harold and Maude (at least my email says they are ready for pickup). I'd gladly exchange one for Nashville, Don't Look Now, or Rosemary's baby. I believe I can also get an extra copy of Days of Heaven.

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