Press Release Criterion Press Release: The Princess Bride (1987) (4k UHD Combo) (1 Viewer)

[Dave Moritz]

I was trying to be hopeful but the second disc will be sent back and I will not be replacing it anytime soon. Not until I hear the issues have been resolved and corrected discs are available. I did send an email to Criterion so I will see what they say about this mess.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Taking my second disc I ordered back and for now not ordering another one till the issue is resolved. Will also be sending screen shots to Criterion plus the equipment info they requested.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I haven’t had a chance to watch my copy yet. The cutoff for returning it to Amazon is October 6th so I’m going to try to carve out two hours and watch it either Sunday or one evening after work next week. First sign of pixelation and I’ll swap it out. If the issue is as widespread as I reading, Criterion may very well repress it and offer exchanges.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is there still a playback problem with this release?

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

I'm still waiting on a replacement copy from Criterion. The first disc was bad.

 

[Robert Crawford]

We're still waiting on a replacement copy from Criterion. Our first disc was bad.

The reason I'm asking is because it's rumored Criterion is having a flash sale tomorrow. I'll probably buy it since it's coming from Criterion and will be easier to exchange.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I unexpectedly had a couple of free hours tonight so I spun up my copy. The film looked and sounded incredible. The only glitch I had was about a second of weird black and white checkerboard at the top of the screen during the fire swamp scene. I rewound the disc and played that scene again and there was no error this time. If Criterion offers a replacement, I’ll take them up on it, even though this was very minor and not repeatable. For the record, I’m playing on a Panny 420 with the latest firmware and it’s only HDR 10 and not DV capable.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is there still a playback problem with this release?

The reason I'm asking is because it's rumored Criterion is having a flash sale tomorrow. I'll probably buy it since it's coming from Criterion and will be easier to exchange.

I'll be sending my 4K/UHD back to Criterion because I'm having multiple playback issues with several sequences having severe pixelation and freeze-ups. I won't be asking for another copy and will request a refund. There has to be a batch issue with this release.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I had two bad discs both returned to Amazon and I had sent equipment information and screen shots to Criterion. I have not heard anything else from Criterion about the issue. I had pixelation, freeze-ups and some audio drop outs.

 

[PMF]

Is it better to buy The Princess Bride and seek a replacement disc from Criterion; or should one wait for an undetermined period of time to pass and hope that the flawed copies were pulled from circulation with the corrected discs replaced and re-distributed, instead?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is it better to buy The Princess Bride and seek a replacement disc from Criterion; or should one wait for an undetermined period of time to pass and hope that the flawed copies were pulled from circulation with the corrected discs replaced and re-distributed, instead?

I bought directly from Criterion earlier in week and will return my disc and wait until they figured it out.

 

[titch]

Is it better to buy The Princess Bride and seek a replacement disc from Criterion; or should one wait for an undetermined period of time to pass and hope that the flawed copies were pulled from circulation with the corrected discs replaced and re-distributed, instead?

Better to purchase from Criterion. They have an excellent customer replacement service. I requested replacement of 25 titles in August 2022.

8 1/2
A Hard Day's Night
Bigger than Life
Citizen Kane
For All Mankind
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Monsoon Wedding
Monterey Pop (DISC ONE only)
Paris, Texas
Revanche
Ride with the Devil
Sanjuro
Seventh Seal, The
Stagecoach
Summer Hours
Vivre sa Vie
Walkabout
Wings of Desire

Days of Heaven - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Howards End - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Le Cercle Rouge - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Pierrot le Fou - the version released 2008-2010 is out of print but affected discs are still being replaced

All I had to do, was write my name and the date on the label side of the disc and take a photo of both sides, send an email with all the photos to [email protected], three months later I had replacement discs shipped by courier. This level of service is unequalled. And it's impossible to know when flawed copies are replaced in retail stores/online sellers.

 

[Kyle_D]

I ordered this during the October flash sale and had no issues ripping the disc to my Plex server. Rips will always fail if there are any issues with the disc, so I must have gotten lucky with my copy. The .mkv also played back flawlessly - it’s a great looking release.

 

[Garysb]

Now $24.99 at Amazon 50% off.
See on Amazon

 

[t1g3r5fan]

Okay, I got around to checking out the movie and the special features in preparation for writing my review and I found that I had some similar issues that many of you are noticing with a caveat:

When I played the UHD Blu-ray disc, I was able to get through the movie with no problem. However, it was when I tried to play it - after going through the special features on the Blu-ray - with the audiobook track and the commentary track that I noticed the freezing and skipping problem after the 5 minute mark in both cases.

As Vizzini would say, "Inconceivable!"

 

[t1g3r5fan]

Okay, I got around to checking out the movie and the special features in preparation for writing my review and I found that I had some similar issues that many of you are noticing with a caveat:

When I played the UHD Blu-ray disc, I was able to get through the movie with no problem. However, it was when I tried to play it - after going through the special features on the Blu-ray - with the audiobook track and the commentary track that I noticed the freezing and skipping problem after the 5-minute mark in both cases.

As Vizzini would say, "Inconceivable!"

Quick follow-up: I checked the disc again and the skipping was still an issue, but not as bad as the first time I tried to view the disc with the audiobook and commentary tracks. Go figure.

 

[Sam Favate]

I’ve checked my copy in the places others have indicated and found nothing wrong. I hope it’s just as smooth when I sit and watch the whole film.

 

[bujaki]

This is the email I received from Criterion regarding The Princess Bride:

Hi Jose,

Thanks for writing to us and I'm sorry you've been having playback issues with your PRINCESS BRIDE 4K UHD disc.

I can confirm that we have had a number of customers email us with similar experiences and an investigation is still underway. We hope to have a resolution soon though I don't have a more precise timeline just yet. The most immediate solution we can provide is a return label and refund for this purchase on order # 2664312. That said, if you don't mind waiting, we're happy to provide a replacement whenever it's available.

If you have access to another player, I would recommend playing the disc on that, as the error does seem to be limited primarily to Panasonic DP-UB820, some PlayStation 5 consoles, and a small number of Oppo UDP-205 and 203 players. Several users have reported that the same disc plays successfully when they switched to another device.

We will keep you posted once we have more news and appreciate your patience in the meantime. Best,
Kseniya



Since I don't have another 4K player save for my Oppo 203, I'll be unable to test the disc. I'll opt for waiting till a viable replacement is shipped automatically to me.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'll be sending my 4K/UHD back to Criterion because I'm having multiple playback issues with several sequences having severe pixelation and freeze-ups. I won't be asking for another copy and will request a refund. There has to be a batch issue with this release.

I received my corrected disc from Criterion and the movie played back flawlessly in its entirety which wasn't the case with the first disc.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I wonder when they’ll run an official replacement campaign.