Criterion and Sony

[FrauBlucher]

List

[Finch]

His Girl Friday, A Lonely Place, The Man From Laramie, The Tall T, and Black Book please.

[chatterjees]

His Girl Friday, A Lonely Place, The Man From Laramie, The Tall T, and Black Book please.

The Man From Laramie has been confirmed as coming from TT in 2014. If you meant In a Lonely Place (1950), then
Criterion has already confirmed that they don't have it in the last year's Wexner talk.

[jindianajonz]

The Criterion Collection features more than 150 movies.

Well, I guess technically this is a true statement

[Perkins Cobb]

How is Sony handling distribution for Criterion different than when Image did it? It's just back-end stuff, right? Obviously it confirms that Criterion and Sony have a cozy relationship at the moment but we already knew that. Am I missing something more newsworthy about this announcement?

[FrauBlucher]

How is Sony handling distribution for Criterion different than when Image did it? It's just back-end stuff, right? Obviously it confirms that Criterion and Sony have a cozy relationship at the moment but we already knew that. Am I missing something more newsworthy about this announcement?

I think it just confirms that the relationship between Sony and CC will allow more Sony titles to be handled by CC. And this has probably been in the works for a long time. CC would get to release many Sony titles (Anatomy for a Murder, On The Waterfront, 5:10 to Zuma and more) and CC would sign a distribution deal when the one with Image ends. Remember, Sony has given up their own distribution rights to Mill Creek and TT on titles they would not be interested releasing on their own. It is all very interesting.

[ianungstad]

Sony will license a lot more to Criterion because they've just doubled their profits. Sony would get cash from licensing and royalties plus their markup for distribution. It is in their own financial interest to do so. (with niche titles)

I think we've already seen this start to take place. When Sony discontinued thousands of releases this summer; I don't think they nixed titles like The White Ribbon and Waltz with Bashir because they licensed them to Mill Creek.

[giovannii84]

Hoping we get some Rita Hayworth classics like Gilda, Lady from Shanghai & Miss Sadie Thompson

[Moe Dickstein]

I think Sadie Thompson might go to TT

[giovannii84]

Shame. Criterion could have given it a good release & bundled "Rain" with Joan Crawford as an extra.

[Moe Dickstein]

CC also haven't shown any more interest in 3D either...

[Cinephrenic]

Holy shit, somebody opened the flood gates

[Jeff]

How is Sony handling distribution for Criterion different than when Image did it? It's just back-end stuff, right? Obviously it confirms that Criterion and Sony have a cozy relationship at the moment but we already knew that. Am I missing something more newsworthy about this announcement?

Agreed. This arrangement doesn't really have anything to do with licensing. Criterion is simply paying an annual fee for Sony to replicate, house, and distribute their discs for them. Sony will get the same distribution fee from Criterion no matter who the titles were licensed from. Yes, if Sony licenses a title to Criterion, they'll get their usual royalties for that title, but that's always been the case. I can guarantee that Grover Crisp, who already has his hands full with Sony properties, won't be farmed out to Janus to help them restore their stuff.

[Moe Dickstein]

Wonder if this means no more packages from KY

[Minkin]

Wonder if this means no more packages from KY

MY thoughts exactly! I really hope Sony's warehouse isn't in California. Best part of Criterion's site sales = no sales tax.

[zedz]

"[. . .]The Criterion Collection features more than 150 movies. [. . .]"

Why yes it does. It also features more than twelve movies and more than seven hundred.

[Moe Dickstein]

Wonder if this means no more packages from KY

MY thoughts exactly! I really hope Sony's warehouse isn't in California. Best part of Criterion's site sales = no sales tax.

It sure ain't in Tokyo...

[kingofthejungle]

It would be nice to see Criterion become the go-to label for Sony's more important catalog pictures. It's not hard to imagine a place for the Capra films, the Ranown cycle, and the stuff from Columbia's Cary Grant box set in the collection. I'll be anxiously waiting to see what, if anything, comes of this relationship.

[ryannichols7]

if this means 2046 and Almodovar can finally join the collection alongside the Capras and the Last Detail...all will be right in the world.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Will Sony have any influence over future flash sales or B&N sales?

[knives]

No, they're only distribution which just means that the Crit stuff will be housed in different warehouses and might be in more brick and motor stores. Beyond that it means nothing for us.

[ianungstad]

In theory it doesn't mean anything for Sony licensing out titles but when Sony inked similar deals with Image and Mill Creek there were significant amount of titles that were licensed out as part of the distribution deal.

I do think it's interesting that many foreign language titles and titles released by Criterion on laserdisc should happen to go out of print a couple of months before this press release.

[jindianajonz]

and might be in more brick and motor stores.

I apparently misunderstood what a distributor does; can you elaborate further? I had assumed that they simply pressed and stored all the discs. What other roles do they have?

[swo17]

They also put motors on the discs, which is what keeps them spinning around inside your player.

[knives]

They also put motors on the discs, which is what keeps them spinning around inside your player.

Yes.

As to serious reply, as far as I understand, a distributor houses stock but also, as the title suggests, distributes.