Criterion and StudioCanal

[bugsy_pal]

HistoryProf, the exact same thing happened to me - I placed an order with Olive Films about a week ago following the suggestion given on this form. My credit card was charged immediately, but the order is "pending". I have sent two emails asking about the status and whether they can fulfill the order, and have received no reply.

I too will be cancelling and asking for a refund.

[HistoryProf]

good luck canceling, I tried to and they just said they were "awaiting stock" and then changed the status to "processing" - even though nothing has changed. If you are able to, let me know. I'm not happy with them at all. Not a good way to do business when you are trying to gain a foothold in a niche business.

[bugsy_pal]

I agree HistoryProf - it's bad practice all round. I just hope I get a reply. If they just told me that they could get the items, I would be happy to wait. I guess they don't know whether they can get the items so they are holding out for more time. But I think it's unlikely they can supply them, given that they are oop on Criterion's site.

I must say that I am increasingly annoyed at the tactics of some sellers. I have bought many DVDs on eBay from some of the big sellers. Most are good to deal with. But there is a common practice of listing items, particularly if they are recently discontinued, as being in stock, when in fact they aren't. They probably are in stock at some huge warehouse that supplies multiple vendors. So then you wait for weeks while they try to get the item for you.... and end up cancelling and getting your money back. A big waste of time. In future I'm sticking with Amazon where possible, even if their prices are higher - when they say something is in stock, it is.

[Zombie-Luv]

Releating to the whole "StudioCanal no longer being buddies with Criterion issue", I was wondering but will Lionsgate re-release some of these on regular DVD's for people who haven't bought blu-ray players or are they just going to force buyers? For example, there's a blu ray of Ran but what about the simple DVD owner like me? Can't they just port over the Optimum release or no?

Also, I'm going on a limb here but I think in the next bunch OOP's, Last Year at Marienbad will be one of them.

[LongTime FirstTime]

I'm in the same boat with Olive. Been charged, order listed as pending. Nothing in hand, no return correspondence after emails. I too would be willing to wait if there is some assurance the disc can be acquired, but I've heard nothing back thus far.

[LongTime FirstTime]

Got a refund notification today from Olive.
My last e-mail to them basically said - if you're not getting the movie, give me back my money. They seem to have done that.

[Noiradelic]

I was wondering but will Lionsgate re-release some of these on regular DVD's for people who haven't bought blu-ray players or are they just going to force buyers?

None of Lionsgate's StudioCanal releases have been SD so far, so I think there's your answer. In this dwindling home video market, you'd think they'd want to maximize their profits, but I guess they're just going ahead with what most studios will probably be doing in a few years: BD-only new releases.

Also, I'm going on a limb here but I think in the next bunch OOP's, Last Year at Marienbad will be one of them.

List of remaining SC's.

[aox]

Au hasard balthazar is SC?

[fdm]

Actually a more better list is on page 18 (no Balthazar there).

[Minkin]

Au hasard balthazar is SC?

That is apparently owned by Arte, so it's clear.

The full list is here:

Army of Shadows
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Le cercle rouge
Le doulos
La haine
Hopscotch
Last Year at Marienbad
Mafioso
Robeson Box (The Proud Valley/Native Land)
Stage and Spectacle (Elena and Her Men)

-Edit-
Linked to the wrong post. Yes, Made in the USA is not Studio Canal and No, Hobson's Choice is not SC.

[Noiradelic]

Oops! My bad. Forgot it'd been posted more than once...

[dwk]

Should probably add Hobson's Choice to that list since British Lion Films owns it and Canal+ owns British Lion Films.

[Noiradelic]

Made In USA has been ruled not SC.

[HistoryProf]

i got the cancellation and refund notice today as well. I suspect criterion may have told them they weren't getting any and that was that. Still very annoyed I had to get a refund at all, but whatever.

[bugsy_pal]

Same here - I got a refund notice from Olive, although the funds have yet to appear on my cc account. Pity - it was worth the try in case they had the OOP discs on hand.

[LongTime FirstTime]

Wasn't sure the best place to put this but figured this thread wouldn't be bad.

What is the hardest OOP Criterion to track down? Anyone have any insights/thoughts on this?

Just curious.

[Tommaso]

What is the hardest OOP Criterion to track down? Anyone have any insights/thoughts on this?

For a long time, it was the first release of "Salo", but that is all in the past now. I guess that at least in one or two years "Ran" will be very much sought after, unless it gets re-released elsewhere in R1 in an equally classy edition.

[dustysomers]

What is the hardest OOP Criterion to track down? Anyone have any insights/thoughts on this?

Decent copies of Tokyo Olympiad seem to appear the least and fetch the most on ebay, et al.

[matrixschmatrix]

Some of the laserdiscs seem nigh impossible to find- dvds like Olympiad and Spinal Tap go for a lot on amazon, but they're easy enough to get if you're willing to pay. I haven't looked for a while, but when I had a laserdisc player I couldn't find a copy of Ambersons or Kong to save my live.

[cdnchris]

I've seen Ambersons on eBay a few times and I've been tempted to try and get it, but just haven't done so.

For DVDs, Olympiad seems to be the most expensive from what I've seen, but I've come across it enough. At a time, as mentioned before, it was hard to find a legit Salo and if I understand correctly there was less then 2000 of them made.

[dad1153]

Got "A Woman Is A Woman" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" from, of all places, a concession stand at a local movie theater. Went to buy popcorn and soda and BAM, there they were. Wound up spending $60 on the OOP Criterions; not enough left over for popcorn/soda!

[Noiradelic]

Got "A Woman Is A Woman" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" from, of all places, a concession stand at a local movie theater. Went to buy popcorn and soda and BAM, there they were. Wound up spending $60 on the OOP Criterions; not enough left over for popcorn/soda!

IFC Center?

[bugsy_pal]

I have tried ordering "Diary of a Chambermaid" and "Bob le Flambeur" from a few locations, and none have been able to supply them. It's a real bummer because there seem to have been lots of online retailers and eBay stores that have listed these - you place your order and wait (sometimes after they've taken your money) and then weeks later they cancel the order on you. I had one seller send me an "item shipped" notice about a month ago, and then cancel and give me a refund when I queried them a few days ago - they said the item had been returned to them! I'm afraid I don't believe they ever shipped it...

It seems like the OOP titles in this latest batch disappeared a lot quicker than the initial batch earlier this year. Now we're already seeing copies in eBay at vastly inflated prices. It's rather depressing for folks outside the US, where these items are not generally found in stores.

[dad1153]

Got "A Woman Is A Woman" and "That Obscure Object of Desire" from, of all places, a concession stand at a local movie theater. Went to buy popcorn and soda and BAM, there they were. Wound up spending $60 on the OOP Criterions; not enough left over for popcorn/soda!

IFC Center?

Yep. They had a "Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" Criterion left last time I checked (Sunday morning).

[rrenault]

I also saw L'Eclisse listed on the Studio Canal website, so beware, but maybe they don't have the US rights to the film, so we'll see.