Criterion Blu-ray titles! (1 Viewer)

[Charles Smith]

I picked up The Magician yesterday, and in spite of my joy at having it in my hands, I was surprised to see that the price on the Blu-ray was $39.99 while the DVD was $29.99. As this is one of those releases that's kind of lean on the extras, the $29.99 level seemed the more appropriate one. Since I was getting a huge discount on it anyway (at Borders), this wasn't anything to quibble about. But I checked online later to see if by any chance Borders themselves had priced this Blu-ray wrong. Nope, Amazon agrees with the two price levels. So...

What happened to Criterion's declaration at the start of their Blu-ray program that the formats would be priced identically, because it made sense to level the playing field for the customer's choice between DVD and Blu-ray? Did I miss a retraction of this policy? Did "the economy" bring about a force majeure decision? Apologies if this has been covered here already. I haven't been reading this thread for all that long.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT
I picked up The Magician yesterday, and in spite of my joy at having it in my hands, I was surprised to see that the price on the Blu-ray was $39.99 while the DVD was $29.99. As this is one of those releases that's kind of lean on the extras, the $29.99 level seemed the more appropriate one. Since I was getting a huge discount on it anyway (at Borders), this wasn't anything to quibble about. But I checked online later to see if by any chance Borders themselves had priced this Blu-ray wrong. Nope, Amazon agrees with the two price levels. So...

What happened to Criterion's declaration at the start of their Blu-ray program that the formats would be priced identically, because it made sense to level the playing field for the customer's choice between DVD and Blu-ray? Did I miss a retraction of this policy? Did "the economy" bring about a force majeure decision? Apologies if this has been covered here already. I haven't been reading this thread for all that long.

Unfortunately, Charles...that shipped sailed long ago...

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/272151/criterion-announces-first-blu-ray-titles/240#post_3541856

And if you're not aware...a quicker way, maybe, to check on pricing at places like Amazon and Best Buy might be to pull up the Weekly RoundUp which I post each week in the Bargains and Deals forum. HERE'S this week's edition--which features pricing on The Magician. It shows the price disparity between the DVD & BD versions.

 

[Charles Smith]

Thanks, I'll get myself into the habit of checking that.

 

[ccfixx]

CC

 

[Mike Frezon]

That actually might not have been the smartest thing for a company--with such a rabid fan base-- to do after making such a definitive announcement beforehand.

I don't have the information at my fingertips, but it seems to me Criterion pricing of DVDs and BDs started to vary well before July of this year.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I don't think it's as big of a deal as if they'd started charging a premium for Blu-Ray. The Blu-Ray prices haven't changed, they're simply offering what amounts to a discount to their DVD customers. It's not like we'd be paying less for the BD versions if they hadn't dropped the DVD price; I'm not a DVD customer anymore, but I'm always happy for people to get the lowest possible price (even if it's not me).

 

[Mike Frezon]

Call me cynical...but I'm not so sure I take their explanation at face value. Who's to say they weren't overcharging premium prices for DVDs for all those years until they began Blu-ray production and that now they realize that it doesn't make sense to charge those premium DVD prices any more in a Blu-ray market?

It was simply a mistake to issue that statement in the first place. Such promises are never easily kept. One of the fallouts is that it is hard to keep trust in an organization that backtracks on a commitment (Reason #1 why you don't make them). But now that they've changed their policy, I'm not sure I'm "buying" the reasons they're "selling"--despite the fact they do such a superb job in their presentations. There are so many factors that enter into product pricing...

Sigh... Maybe I'm jaded as I work day in, day out in an environment in which political spin is attached to nearly every pronouncement/decision.

I thoroughly enjoyed their Blu presentation of Wages of Fear the other day. Beautiful image, no forced trailers, quick start-up, comprehensive liner notes. They make it seem so easy whereas so many other companies want to muddle things badly.

 

[Brandon Conway]

One can't expect a company to keep the same pricing for years and years. Lowering the DVD price point was only a logical outcome. My BD prices did not get increased, so I really don't care, personally.

 

[JohnMor]

/forum/thread/272151/criterion-announces-first-blu-ray-titles/840#post_3739727
One can't expect a company to keep the same pricing for years and years. Lowering the DVD price point was only a logical outcome. My BD prices did not get increased, so I really don't care, personally.

Exactly how I feel. I can't understand how anyone can complain about dvd prices being lowered. If the blu-ray prices had increased, I'd understand. If you think $39.99 is too much for Criterion's blu-rays, don't buy them. You're paying the same exact price today (less, if you count inflation) for a better presentation than you did 10 years ago and you're complaining?? Good grief.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

No problem reading between the lines and understanding at least some of what's going on w/ their pricing regardless of how they want to spin it. And no, I won't begrudge them of the change in pricing policy (at least in this case) -- it's really always been their prerogative anyway, and as long as the quality is still there and my bottomline purchase price is not jacked up, I'm perfectly fine w/ how it is right now.

Of course, I might change my mind a little if B&N, et al. eventually decides to kill all their various sales/discounts for Criterion titles.

Recently, some costs associated with producing finished DVDs have fallen dramatically, and we wanted to pass that savings on to our DVD customers. Should our pledge not to jack up the price of Blu-ray have prevented us from offering better pricing on DVD when the economics permitted it? We decided it shouldn’t, but some Blu-ray customers were understandably distressed when they saw the two formats priced differently. What do you think?

Mike,

I guess you can always hope that Criterion will do the same again (for BD pricing next time) as soon as they actually realize that their BD production costs have gone down significantly.

_Man_

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
One can't expect a company to keep the same pricing for years and years. Lowering the DVD price point was only a logical outcome. My BD prices did not get increased, so I really don't care, personally.

That's how I feel on this issue.






Crawdaddy

 

[Adam_S]

Originally Posted by MartinL
What titles do you think/hope will be included in the next announcement?

Broadcast News, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss, Robinson Crusoe on Mars

and an eclipse

 

[Kevin EK]

For me, Criterion remains the gold standard. For laserdiscs, DVDs and now for Blu.

It sounds to me like they've been fairly open about their policies, and fairly approachable about their reasoning.

I can only hope one day for a trip to the shelves like Guillermo del Toro...

 

[Brandon Conway]

Army of Shadows on Blu is a welcome addition. I had purchased the DVD just a few months ago worried that it may fall victim to the StudioCanal licensing issues, but I will gladly repurchase it on BD.

For those that missed the Januaruy announcements:

The Naked Kiss - DVD re-issue and BD
Shock Corridor - DVD re-issue and BD
Army of Shadows - BD
Robinson Crusoe on Mars - BD
Broadcast News - DVD and BD
Eclipse Series #25: Basil Dearden's London Underground - Sapphire / The League of Gentlemen / Victim / All Night Long - DVD

 

[Martin Teller]

February releases:
#4 - AMARCORD (BR - Feb 8 )

(same specs as DVD release)
My take: No thanks, my least favorite Fellini.
#359 - THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE (BR - Feb 1)

(same specs as DVD release)
My take: Damn, I knew I shouldn't have bought that import. Will Martin buy Veronique for the third time? Signs point to yes.
#553 - FISH TANK (DVD/BR - Feb 22)

* New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Andrea Arnold, director of photography Robbie Ryan, and editor Nicolas Chaudeurge (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
* All three of Arnold’s short films: Milk (1998), Dog (2001), and the Oscar-winning Wasp (2003)
* New video interview with actor Kierston Wareing
* Interview with actor Michael Fassbender from 2009
* Audition footage
* Stills gallery by on-set photographer Holly Horner
* Original theatrical trailer
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ian Christie
My take: I really dunno anything about this, rental.
#554 - STILL WALKING (DVD/BR - Feb 8 )

* New high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Hirokazu Kore-eda and director of photography Yutaka Yamazaki (with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
* New video interviews with Kore-eda and Yamazaki
* Making “Still Walking”
* Trailer
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Dennis Lim and recipes for the food prepared in the film
My take: I like this movie, don't think I'd buy it but I might rent to see it once more.
#555 - SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (2-disc DVD/BR - Feb 22)

* New, restored high-definition digital transfer (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
* New audio commentary by film scholar James Naremore
* Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away, a 1986 documentary featuring interviews with director Alexander Mackendrick, actor Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill, and more
* James Wong Howe: Cinematographer, a 1973 documentary about the Oscar-winning director of photography, featuring lighting tutorials with Howe
* New video interview with film critic and historian Neil Gabler (Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity) about legendary columnist Walter Winchell, inspiration for the character J. J. Hunsecker
* New video interview with filmmaker James Mangold about Mackendrick, his instructor and mentor
* Original theatrical trailer
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Gary Giddins, two short stories by Ernest Lehman featuring the characters from the film, notes about the film by Lehman, and an excerpt from Mackendrick’s book On Film-making
My take: Oh sweet cookie soaked in arsenic, you will be mine. Nice extras, not too sure about that cover.
#556 - SENSO (2-disc DVD/BR - Feb 22)

* New, restored high-definition digital transfer, created in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna and Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, supervised by director of photography Giuseppe Rotunno (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
* The Making of “Senso,” a new documentary featuring Rotunno, assistant director Francesco Rosi, costume designer Piero Tosi, and Caterina D’Amico, daughter of screenwriter Suso Cecchi D’Amico and author of Life and Work of Luchino Visconti
* Viva VERDI, a new documentary on Visconti, Senso, and opera featuring Italian film scholar Peter Brunette, Italian historian Stefano Albertini, and author Wayne Koestenbaum
* The Wanton Countess, the rarely seen English-language version of the film
* Visual essay by film scholar Peter Cowie
* Man of Three Worlds: Luchino Visconti, a 1966 BBC special exploring Visconti’s parallel masteries of cinema, theater, and opera direction
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by filmmaker and author Mark Rappaport and an excerpt from actor Farley Granger’s autobiography, Include Me Out
My take: Pass, not a fan of this movie.
So, one buy, one probable buy, two rentals, two pass. A decent month, mostly I'm thrilled for SSoS.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Wow, you guys don't give us a second to post this stuff.

 

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein
Wow, you guys don't give us a second to post this stuff.

You've had a few minutes now for the newest announcements.

CC

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thanks for giving me a bit of time to post the new
Criterion release announcements.

Taking much longer than usual as I am at work
with a very slow connection trying to upload these
large images.

In any event appreciate the window to get this done.

Thanks again!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Very nice new batch, especially since I never got around to own a couple of them on DVD before.

_Man_

PS: I'd post in those PR threads, but that would be a bit too redundant me thinks.

 

[Mike Frezon]

How about if we link to Ron's Threads here?

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