Criterion U.K.

[MichaelB]

Indicator has made a conscious effort to include Mexican voices on its Mexican releases, a policy that will certainly continue going forward.

[dwk]

December's slate
The Velvet Underground
City Lights (I guess they will eventually get around to The Gold Rush)
Mississippi Masala

[FrauBlucher]

January releases....
The Breakfast Club
The Adventures of Barron Munchausen

[patreig]

January releases....
The Adventures of Barron Munchausen

Apparently only the Blu-ray version, but not the UHD. Why?

[Calvin]

January releases....
The Adventures of Barron Munchausen

Apparently only the Blu-ray version, but not the UHD. Why?

Criterion don't release UHDs in the UK. No reason given.

[MichaelB]

They may only have cleared UHD rights for the US, and of course they couldn’t release Citizen Kane in the UK anyway.

[FrauBlucher]

February releases...
Imitation of Life
Vivre Sa Vie

[ryannichols7]

February releases...
Imitation of Life
Vivre Sa Vie

I've seen many UK buyers upset at this slate and rightfully so...only 2 releases, and one of which literally just went out of print from the BFI. the absence of multiple Warner titles (which should be CC's #1 priority in the UK) in favor of a port of a ~12 year old disc is certainly rather infuriating

I'm in agreement with thinking the UHD business is pretty frustrating, especially for titles that already had UK Bluray releases

[tenia]

And the issue with porting over quite old discs like Vivre sa vie is that Criterion are going to port over to the UK the older HD master while a newer much better 4k restoration was released in France 5 years ago. The British people are thus unlikely to ever get it on video because of these practices. I understand them (Criterion aren't going to upgrade the disc in the UK but not in the US) but it creates lazy releases like this, preventing better material to finally reach the shelves.

[rrenault]

The M6 Video blu-ray of Vivre Sa Vie is a newer restoration? Ordered!

[tenia]

Yes, 4k resto from Hiventy (from the OCN IIRC). The encode leaves to be desired but the restoration in itself is gorgeous and the disc remains an upgrade nevertheless over the Criterion disc.

[dwk]

March 2023
All That Heaven Allows
Magnificent Obsession

[dwk]

April 2023:
Mystery Train
Wanda

[alacal2]

Is that it?!

[tenia]

Yes, it looks like they've slowed down to only 2 releases a month starting in January 2023 (but on the other hand, they've increased the MSRP and are now sold for £22.99 on the shelves, which is absolutely crazy).

[dwk]

They also seem to have slowed down in the US as well, doing, I think, 5 in Jan, 5 in Feb, 4 in March and 4 in April.

That £22.99 is now only $28 US. Anyone happen to remember what the old MSRP was and what it converted to in US$? (I seem to recall the old MSRP also converted to about $28 US, but I could be wrong.)

Also, I think there is a 2 for £20 sale on select titles right now at various UK etailers.

[reaky]

Any idea, though, why, while the upcoming Magnificent Obsession is £22.99, All That Heaven Allows is listed at £25.99?

[Marwood]

Also, I think there is a 2 for £20 sale on select titles right now at various UK etailers.

Oh! Which one?

[dwk]

Any idea, though, why, while the upcoming Magnificent Obsession is £22.99, All That Heaven Allows is listed at £25.99?

That is odd, especially since Magnificent Obsession should be a 2-disc set that includes the original film.

Is the MSRP actually £25.99 (with the stores selling them for £22.99.) Then it is likely the pre-order price on Heaven just hasn't been marked down.)

Oh! Which one?

Amazon.uk, Fopp, and HMV.

[reaky]

Nope, Amazon et al are listing them at the differing price points.

[rapta]

HMV accidentally listed the Sirk titles with the prices the wrong way around. It has happened before (one or two 2-disc or digipack titles that were £25.99 elsewhere listed for the standard price). Amazon are just price-matching HMV, but initially had them the right way around. You'll notice Zavvi have the correct prices.

[reaky]

Well, I’ve already ordered both from Amazon, so hopefully if they correct the prices I’ll be the beneficiary of their “You pay the lowest price listed before release” policy and get both for the lower price.

[rrenault]

Does anyone know why so many UK Criterions are perpetually out of stock on Amazon UK? I'm assuming they're just between pressings, but there are so many titles that have been out of stock on there and for a very long time, as well. I've seen no word on a large batch of UK releases going out of print.

[rapta]

May titles:
Repulsion
Smooth Talk

Presumably both are licensed through Screenbound/Hollywood Classics, as I spotted both on there a while ago (was hoping we'd get a UK release of the latter).

There's a big Criterion promotion on at the moment too, with many titles at 10-30% off via HMV, Amazon, The Entertainment Store etc. Some places seem to have more stock than others, but HMV seems to have most titles.

[dwk]

June 2023:
The Kid
Fists in the Pocket