Why are some Criterion titles coded region 0? (1 Viewer)

[Zane Charron]

I noticed this the other day, that most Criterion releases are encoded for Region 1, but there are some that are for Region 0? Does this mean that they bought the international rights for those specific films? As far as I know, Criterion only releases discs in region 1, right? I've never seen them over here anyway.

 

[Jon Robertson]

It's actually the other way around - the majority of Criterion's discs are Region 0, some are Region 1. All Disney and Toho titles are automatically Region 1, but there are some others (Discreet Charm, Fiend Without A Face, Passion of Joan of Arc, Band of Outsiders) that are Region 1 encoded, and it doesn't always say on the packaging.

As for reasons, well I guess it's to increase worldwide sales - as you being a Deutschlander and myself being a stiff-upper-lip Brit proves!

 

[Zane Charron]

And who exactly are Janus films?