I wonder whether Criterion is taking a harder line when it comes to renewing licenses. Perhaps these all came up for renewals and Studio Canal wanted more for the renewal than Criterion thought was warranted based on previous sales.
It's sad, really. The Clouzots and Port of Shadows are--as others have already said--some of the great titles in the collection. I feel like Le Corbeau and Port of Shadows are very recent titles (of course they aren't).
denti alligator wrote:It's sad, really. The Clouzots and Port of Shadows are--as others have already said--some of the great titles in the collection. I feel like Le Corbeau and Port of Shadows are very recent titles (of course they aren't).
I know what you mean, I feel the same way. But then, the most recent Criterion I own is Videodrome.
Remember how Traffic was quietly out of print a couple of years ago, before it was quietly back in print. Do you think this could be similar to that situation? They have yet to mention it on the main page of the site, as they normally do.
I don't have much to add, but I'll join the Clouzot lovefest just the same. Both are great films (just as good as the much better known Clouzots in the collection) but Quai Des Orfevres really is a gem. If you don't already have it, treat yourself to an early Christmas present.
Would Lionsgate Clouzout and Carne boxsets with the OOP titles plus some others be out of the question? If they were willing to do a Renoir box, then I can't see them not doing these two. Clouzout and Carne may be obscure among the general filmgoing public, but surely have enough clout amongst cineastes to interest LG in releasing them.
There wouldn't be too great a loss supplements-wise, and Le Corbeau at least would be worth the effort so as to undo the cropping on the CC edition.
Luckily the biannual DeepdiscountDVD 20% off sale started today so I just ordered all 4 for $77. I saw my first Fellini film a few weeks ago when I got Nights of Cabiria for $5 from a Hollywood Video that was going out of business. I loved that one (I then lent it to my grandmother, who's Italian & she loved it too), so this gives me an excuse to buy another Fellini film. I've also looking forward to seeing the Clouzots as I've heard about his rivalry with Hitchock. Port Of Shadows I don't really know anything about.
I'm not that worried about them being temporarily sold out. I ordered Tokyo Olympiad from Amazon about a week after it was announced as out of print & Amazon was sold out at that time. I still got my copy (although it only took them 3 months!!).
I ordered three of the four titles (Variety Lights excepted) from Overstock.com and was notified a couple of hours ago that the order had shipped. Last I checked, they were still in stock.
I ordered my stuff yesterday from Amazon.com and they shipped out this afternoon. Granted it was more expensive than using DVDPlanet or DeepDiscount, but at least I know I'll have them in my collection.
dx23 wrote:What about the Passion of Joan of Arc ? Several weeks ago it went out of stock at several e-tailers. I noticed first at Amazon.com about 3 weeks ago.
It seems to be out of stock everywhere.
This is ridiculous. They need to give us som God damned warning!
domino harvey wrote:if you don't already own Passion of Joan of Arc, you don't deserve to own it now.
Ha ha ha... I never bought it, indeed. But that does not mean I don't deserve it. I've seen it, thought it was a fantastic film, but for some reason never got around to buying it.
Criterion itself still has The Passion of Joan of Arc up for sale. I'm not sure that means it's not going out of print, but at least you can still get it without too much hassle.
Thanks for your email! Recently, "Port of Shadows," "Variety Lights," "Quai des orfèvres," and "Le Corbeau" have become unavailable due to some problems we've had with the rights. We hope to renew them. I hope this helps answer your question, and please feel free to write to us again if you have any other concerns.
