Well, I personally have no idea why Criterion hasn't responded to your emails re: the Jigoku replacement — unless, of course, your email(s) to them contained the same… ah… "sharp tones" that your postings here have.
If Criterion was ignoring this completely and "just sweeping this one under the rug," the discs wouldn't exist and nobody would have received any disc replacements.
But that's obviously not the case, as replacement copies do exist AND have been sent out. I got my replacement, Mark gots his, and I know of several other friends and acquaintances who successfully obtained their replacement discs as well. (By the way, we all also received a nice hand-written note on a Criterion postcard — mine came on a Mr. Arkadin).
There are also all sorts of possibilities that could explain why you never received a reply. Your ISP could have some sort of routing issue which prevented your email from ever reaching its destination. Or there could be an issue with Criterion's mail server that is preventing it's acceptance — for example, your email might be accidentally getting tagged as spam, due to a specific phrase or content. Or Criterion could have already tried to send you back an email response, but your ISP bounced it or dumped it.
All of these problems could — and CAN — occur. I've had all of these happen to me many times over the years. Even recently I had a continuing problem where one friend in England would never get my emails. He finally found out that they were always getting tagged as spam and dumped — even after he re-added me as a "friend," made new filters, etc., no matter what all my emails would get marked as spam. He finally just created a secondary email account at the same ISP and all my emails come through fine for some unknown reason.
So you see, there could be all sorts of reasons for you never receiving a response. And since Criterion IS sending out emails and replacements to apparently everyone else, I would expect some other sort of issue is going on here rather than Criterion just singling you out personally.
If you didn't get a response via email, have you tried sending them a letter… or even better, have you attempted to call them and explain your problem (no response to Jigoku queries)? Give it a shot…
Did anyone else here besides Mark get their replacement? Looking through this thread, it appears there was a whopping total of three other people also waiting for the disc — John Stell, Anthony Neilson, Joe Fisher — did you have success?
I didn't get new cases or sleeves, just discs. But I also only sent the discs. I didn't see any pressing dates or info on the disc art itself, hence the reason for asking.
No idea why they didn't respond earlier, I just kept resending the email. It was short a sweet, no harsh tone. I wasn't in a hurry though. I'd suggest using the telephone and calling them if you aren't getting a response.
Thanks, Mark, for the info. Now I can finally process this.
As far as my "tone" in my e-mails to Criterion, I was very friendly at all times. Just asking what to do. And after being ignored for two months, I think I have every reason to have a sharp-tone here.
The ISP situation may 'possibly' be an issue, but I don't buy it. And if their website contained a phone number to call, I would have done that. The only way to contact them is through their website message center. Their address is not listed and I shouldn't have to go through the effort to track down their hidden contact info elsewhere or spend time and money sending a physical letter into an apparent black hole.
I also find it quite telling that even to this day, they have not listed the JIGOKU defect in their "known problems" section.
In any event, I'll be sending it in for a replacement and move on.
I got an answer (finally) on 1/23 after about a month - it was almost word for word the same email as Mark's
So there does seem to be some positive movement. I only sent the disc in and still haven't received the replacement but at least there is some communication.
There have been a couple references in this thread to Criterion's "M" disc being defective. I tried a search and came up blank. I have their two-disc re-release package, still sealed. (I'm about a hundred titles behind and falling farther back every week. )
Can anyone provide any info on what exactly is defective about their "M" release?
Also, I also recently received a reply from Criterion re: "Jigoku." Took a few weeks, but their response was clear and courteous when it arrive.
Ironically, I just received an e-mail from Criterion this morning with the replacement info. Better late than never, I suppose. I look forward to receiving the new version.
Judging from all previous instances of Second Printings, Criterion's packaging will be exactly the same as the First Printing — almost. Criterion ALWAYS lists the Printing Version and Year on the back cover, so it's always easy to determine which printing you are buying.
This information nearly always appears at the end of the text block containing all the copyright information. In the case of Jigoku, this appears along the right edge, just above the red block with the new Criterion "C" logo in it.
The original pressing of Jigoku lists: "First printing 2006." The correct repressing would list: "Second printing 2007."
Ok, I've held off on this because everywhere I go I see the First edition; has anyone found a spot that has the Second printing yet? I'd rather not go through the hassle of sending the disc in. :frowning: