Why Won't They Release Only What I Want?

[Michael Kerpan]

> Do they come with a free eyepatch and hook?
> Sounds mighty fishy to me.

Completely legitimate HK DVDs have long been quite inexpensive (and mainland Chinese ones even more so). They have gradually been moving closer to the price of Korean and Taiwanese releases (sadly). All of these remain FAR cheaper than Japanese ones.

Or do you think I can't tell the difference between illegal releases and legal ones, Lemmy Caution?

[Lemmy Caution]

> Do they come with a free eyepatch and hook?
> Sounds mighty fishy to me.

Completely legitimate HK DVDs have long been quite inexpensive (and mainland Chinese ones even more so). They have gradually been moving closer to the price of Korean and Taiwanese releases (sadly). All of these remain FAR cheaper than Japanese ones.

Or do you think I can't tell the difference between illegal releases and legal ones, Lemmy Caution?

I have no idea.
But the high quality bootlegs from China look and function quite well and would fool many people. (There are also medium and low-quality boots, for the price-conscious).

Also, I wonder why any distributor would license region-free discs to HK.
As for the mainland, the usual estimate is that 99% of the dvd's sold here are illegal. Which I believe. It's hard to find legit discs here.

Mostly there is a limited selection available at some gov't bookstores and the Grand Theater in Shanghai. They are primarily Bo Yings, a pretty dodgy outfit that cranks out mediocre versions of old films (I believe they think the copyrights have expired). I know Warners and maybe one other company were experimenting with relatively cheap legit discs here, but I doubt that has gone well. And again, I find it very unusual that they would license all-region discs to China.
Otoh, the bootleg discs here are all region free, as the pirates simply don't copy the region coding.

[Kirkinson]

Sorry for the tangent, everybody.

They have ton of dvds not available in R1. Are these bootlegs or the real R2 releases?

I've rented a bunch of legitimate R2 and other non-American releases from them before; e.g., Gaumont's Historie(s) du cinema, the Nouveax La Jetee/Sans Soleil (before Criterion release theirs), the Russian Otar Iosseliani box set to name a few. I've never run across any all-region Asian discs there, but they probably exist, too. I've definitely never come across any bootlegs, but I suppose some of them could be mixed in somewhere. I definitely wouldn't buy imported DVDs from them (they are indeed way overpriced) but for rentals they're great.

The only qualms that I have with them are that they obviously (and understandably, I guess) won't stock any superior foreign edition of a film they already distribute in the US (i.e., no Second Run Daisies) and, more frustratingly, they won't stock foreign releases of Czech films that haven't been released at all in the US (i.e., Second Run's Marketa Lazarova or any actual Cezch DVDs), presumably because they hope to release them here at some point in the future. Also, it's not always clear from the web site what version of the film you're actually renting...for example, they use the Artifical Eye cover art for Historie(s) du cinema, but it's actually the Gaumont release they have in stock. Or maybe they have both (there was an article in the Chicago Tribune that said this was one of their most requested titles, so they certainly have multiple copies) and it's just the luck of the draw that decides which one you get.

[Perkins Cobb]

Major yawnfest, except for the Allan King. Can we just retire the Criterion Collection altogether and get two or three eclipse boxes every month?

[zitherstrings]

Major yawnfest, except for the Allan King. Can we just retire the Criterion Collection altogether and get two or three eclipse boxes every month?

LOL. Come on. Don't anger troll.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Major yawnfest, except for the Allan King. Can we just retire the Criterion Collection altogether and get two or three eclipse boxes every month?

I can't find anything to say except for using a cheesy macro:

[Perkins Cobb]

.

[hangman]

This all we getting?

Major yawnfest, except for the Allan King. Can we just retire the Criterion Collection altogether and get two or three eclipse boxes every month?

Retiring is quite an exaggeration just because September is somewhat a let down.

Might be slim for September but... given the releases since January and the future releases for August I'd say this might be a welcome break IMO

[Mikos Stenopolis]

And take into consideration the new Hollywood set and maybe another box set in the fall. I have a feeling they're going to be pulling out surprises and spoiling us by the end of the year

[Jeff]

Less Blu, More Nu

I assume that by "Nu" you mean nakedness. \:D/

As far as "new to R1" goes, Criterion is scheduled to release House, Antichrist, Four Feathers, Fish Tank, Drive He Said, A Safe Place, and possibly People on Sunday before the end of the year. All of those are new to R1. There will probably be some that we aren't even aware of yet too.

[matrixschmatrix]

Looking back at the origins of this thread, it's pretty remarkable a.) how consistent the complaints have been since 2006, and b.) a remarkable number of the "they should be releasing ____ instead" titles and directors have actually been released. Which is neat.

[godardslave]

releasing only 2 criterion titles this month is weak. [-(

[Cinephrenic]

releasing only 2 criterion titles this month is weak. [-(

Something big is brewing for next month...

[matrixschmatrix]

releasing only 2 criterion titles this month is weak. [-(

Well, and an Eclipse set. Plus it's a weak month after three or four really strong ones.

[scotty2]

August is a heavy vacation month. Maybe the office can't handle more releases for September.

No complaints.

[Ted Todorov]

Another month, another month without Rivette (or Chabrol for that matter). Fix the hole in the New Wave, Criterion!

[yipyop]

Cartoon Brew addresses a topic I've wondered about but have not yet seen discussed here.

As I commented there, I figure Fantastic Mr. Fox will break the fast as Criterion completes the Wes Anderson collection.

[swo17]

Why Doesn’t Criterion Release Animation?

Because Cartoon Brew doesn't consider the Brakhage films to constitute animation.

[AALFW]

Cartoon Brew addresses a topic I've wondered about but have not yet seen discussed here.

As I commented there, I figure Fantastic Mr. Fox will break the fast as Criterion completes the Wes Anderson collection.

I'd figure that if anybody (besides Anderson), Satoshi Kon has a leg to stand on, seeing as how 1) he has some name recognition, 2) he's dead, and 3) Paranoia Agent and Perfect Blue are both OOP in the US (any persons knowledgeable about rights around here care to chime in RE those two?)

[matrixschmatrix]

There was a Criterion LD of Akira back in the day, wasn't there?

[ianungstad]

Fantastic Planet and Grave of the Fireflies are OOP again too. These two seem to change distributors every other year. Too bad Criterion hasn't shown any interest.

[MitchPerrywinkle]

There are so many animated films that could benefit from a Criterion release. Coonskin, Le roi et l'oiseau (both of which are not on DVD in the US), and a restored cut of the original (albeit unfinished) version of The Thief and the Cobbler are all in need of special edition releases.

I also didn't know Grave of the Fireflies was OOP. If I had to pick one film in an argument for animation as a valid cinematic art form, that movie would be it.

[knives]

Animation is minor film[/Becker]. #-o

[dwk]

Last year Shout Factory announced a Coonskin DVD, but it was delayed due to rights issues.

[MitchPerrywinkle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Vlt-lpVOY