Two more Criterions go OOP (1 Viewer)

[Jon Robertson]

BLOOD FOR DRACULA and FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN

Yikes! Here we go again...

Incidentally, the commentary tracks on these two are fantastic, and the movies are an absolute hoot. Highly recommended.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Oh... I thought it was going to be Andrei Roublev and Seven Samurai in preparation for the 2-disc SEs with new transfers!

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Both of these are due for new anamorphic transfers, with Flesh for Frankenstein being released in both flat and original 3D versions.

"Are you a wirgin?"

 

[Anthony*B]

hey Jeff, do you mean they ARE going to be released anamorphic, or you just feel they are DUE for a new improved release? did you hear somewhere about an upcoming anamorphic remastering?

 

[Keith M.]

yep, this thread has now confused me even more?!?!
:frowning:

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Are these going OOP because they lost the rights or sales were too low or some other reason?

 

[chrisMCG]

Wait... when's the anamorphic coming out... can someone please clarify...?

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

>I< think they are due for new transfers.

Criterion may or may not feel the same, and may or may not have new editions in the works. I don't know. Sorry for the confusion, but it would not be the first time that a title was to go OOP in advance of a newer version.

I agree that the commentaries are great, and these are fun little films, though not for everyone.

 

[Brian PB]

I don't think these were pulled for a potential anamorphic re-release (the potential sales couldn't justify that). Also, Criterion normally announces on their homepage when a disc is going OOP (Straw Dogs, the three Hitchcock's) or if a new version is coming out (Fritz Lang's M). I have never known Criterion to discontinue a DVD because of "low sales," though I've often suspected that these two discs were among their lowest-sellers.

Checking various etailers (CriterionDVD, DVD Panet, Digital Eyes, Deep Discount), it appears that this was pulled from circulation, as if there were some sort of rights issue that had suddenly cropped up & Criterion was forced to halt sales immediately (as opposed to giving the etailers a chance to stock up on the soon-to-be-OOP titles, and then letting them sell out). Very curious.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Most retaillers are probably out of stock due to low demand, after all these titles have been out since 1998. Criterion has lost the rights to some films then regained them later (the Tatis come to mind).

On the other hand, if the rights have expired and someone like Blue Underground got these two, we could expect a full featured disc at half the price.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Both of these are out there on a double feature but it's PAL, RO. They feature an anamorphic transfer plus (I believe) the Criterion extras. I've heard the transfers are a lot better than what is on the Criterion discs (plus cheaper). Just don't hold me to that because I haven't seen them myself, although I just ordered it.

Here's the full details:

http://www.xploitedcinema.com/dvds/dvds.asp?title=1034

 

[Brian PB]

Michael:
See the DVD Beaver comparisons for Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula. Appears that the picture quality is better on the non-anamorphic Criterions although, given the price difference, the Marketing Films set may still be preferable.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

If the R0 versions have Criterion's extras they are most likely bootlegs.

 

[Jon Robertson]

Mind you, it's almost definite that any re-releases won't have the terrific Criterion commentaries, which are two of the best I've ever heard.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Thanks Brian. Oh well, I already ordered it plus I don't care enough for either film to pay $35 each.

Jeff, Marketing isn't known for bootlegs but when these were released, it did strike me as odd that they featured the Criterion extras.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Are these films licensed to Criterion, or are they from the Janus Collection?

 

[Jon Robertson]

Both are licensed from Compagnia Cinematografica Champion S.P.A.; they're not Janus properties. They're genuinely OOP, as opposed to being put on moratorium for Criterion to upgrade them in the future.

 

[Joseph S]

Thanks for the heads up, apparently I missed Bank Dick OOP warnings last month. Already owned all of the above, but it's nice to have a backup of the OOP titles.

 

[Jason Edgecombe]

This is total speculation, but I've long suspected that many of the early Criterions such as these that were recent LD releases but not Janus titles came out due to something akin to a contractual "loophole" where CC's rights to the film could be interpreted to extend to DVD as well as LD. (I'm also thinking of The Killer, Hard Boiled, Salo, etc.) This would account for the fact that no new work was done on these DVDs (transfers, extras), and why the rights expire unexpectedly. Based on that theory, and given that "BfD" and "FfF" have gone OOP without warning, I wouldn't be surprised if there hasn't been some kind of litigation surrounding these titles that ended in an agreement for CC to stop distributing these discs.

But I could be totally off-base...

 

[JulianK]

Possibly not. Many of the licensing agreements I read in the mid-90s used the term "optical disc" to cover what were then laserdisc rights, and Criterion certainly wouldn't be the first company to claim that that covered DVD, too.