Known Problems and Replacement Discs

[fdm]

Well... most times I see problems mentioned with The Lady Vanishes it's Sony players...

[Roger Ryan]

...I've got the same problem with my copy. It gets as far as showing the "C" in the top left but won't advance beyond that to load the menu.

Blu-ray players I've tested it on:

PS3
Sony BDPS3700
Sony UBP-X700

Hmm, The Lady Vanishes loaded and played just fine on my Sony BDP-S3700 last night. The copy I have was from the "Classic Hitchcock" box set Criterion released three years ago.

[cdnchris]

I think that would have been a newer pressing. I think the first pressings were the problem. I had to get mine replaced, too.

[Yaanu]

...I've got the same problem with my copy. It gets as far as showing the "C" in the top left but won't advance beyond that to load the menu.

Blu-ray players I've tested it on:

PS3
Sony BDPS3700
Sony UBP-X700

Hmm, The Lady Vanishes loaded and played just fine on my Sony BDP-S3700 last night. The copy I have was from the "Classic Hitchcock" box set Criterion released three years ago.

I just checked my first-printing disc on a Sony BDP-S580 and it plays the movie and supplements without error.

[Blutarsky]

I just bought a copy of La Strada from Barnes and Noble with a gift card. I just finished watching it but what really bothered me was that it was in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio but says it is a 1.33:1. Is this a known defect or is this my disc?

[RSTooley]

I just bought a copy of La Strada from Barnes and Noble with a gift card. I just finished watching it but what really bothered me was that it was in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio but says it is a 1.33:1. Is this a known defect or is this my disc?

Did you watch the film on a newer high-definition television? Did you use a Blu-ray player to watch the film?

Criterion's DVD for La Strada is encoded for 4:3 televisions, opposed to the newer 16:9 televisions.

Depending on the devices you are using, your television is likely stretching the picture out to fill the entire screen. The problem is so annoying that I cannot watch 'standard' format DVDs on my new 2018 LG. One solution is to simply change the aspect ratio of your television to 4:3.

This problem only seems to be consistent with DVDs. I have never had this issue with a Blu-rays.

[Blutarsky]

Yes I do have a brand new Samsung and good god no wonder Anna Karina looked a bit different on my Alphaville disc. Thankfully my BD Player is easy to change aspects so it is all good. Thank you!

[Malickite]

Don't know if this is the right place for this, but I recently came across some subtitle errors and thought I'd share them.

HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (Blu-ray) @ 0:20.28 - "They move when you're sleep."
THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE (Blu-ray) @ 0:01.36 - "That's the star we're waiting for..." [double space between first two words]
ZATOICHI AND THE CHEST OF GOLD (Blu-ray + DVD) @ 1:16.08 - "Then you'll be an magistrate worthy of the name."

[Orlac]

I just bought a copy of La Strada from Barnes and Noble with a gift card. I just finished watching it but what really bothered me was that it was in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio but says it is a 1.33:1. Is this a known defect or is this my disc?

Did you watch the film on a newer high-definition television? Did you use a Blu-ray player to watch the film?

Criterion's DVD for La Strada is encoded for 4:3 televisions, opposed to the newer 16:9 televisions.

Depending on the devices you are using, your television is likely stretching the picture out to fill the entire screen. The problem is so annoying that I cannot watch 'standard' format DVDs on my new 2018 LG. One solution is to simply change the aspect ratio of your television to 4:3.

This problem only seems to be consistent with DVDs. I have never had this issue with a Blu-rays.

My parent's Toshiba LCD struggles with a few random 4:3 DVDs, cropping them into 16:9 widescreen and losing the picture permanently.

[ianthemovie]

I'm wondering if there are any known issues with Fanny and Alexander. I watched the first episode of the television version last night--perfect viewing for Christmas--and it froze at two different points. The disc doesn't have so much as a single scratch on it, though it is over ten years old at this point.

[therewillbeblus]

Not sure, but I had a similar experience with World on the Wire a few years ago despite not being on any lists of potentially defective titles, and Criterion still replaced it for me. Seems this kind of customer service/problems extends beyond the flagged titles, so I’d email Mulvaney anyways

[gubbelsj]

I haven't seen this disc under discussion as a known issue, but last night my blu ray copy of 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 became stuck at the 45 minute mark and would not advance. A few attempts at advancing from the menu through later chapters resulted in the same issue. Nothing beyond 45 minutes seemed able to be viewed. This was the first time we'd actually tried to watch the blu ray, although it was purchased upon its initial release in 2018. Disc underside looked fine to my non-expert eyes.

[Ribs]

I’d just flag to Mulvaney and they’ll send another - there are just individual disc manufacturing defects that happen, although they’re 1-in-50,000 or something like that. I assume you tried another player to be sure but I had a similar issue with the first disc of the Varda set and they had no issue replacing it after making sure I had tried cleaning the disc etc.

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah as I wrote just above, it’s happened before to me too- they’re good about replacing stuff as long as you say you tried cleaning it first (which I would just write in the initial email itself to avoid a mandatory back and forth Q&A). Usually you just need to email a photo of the disc with the date and your name on it or something, but they’ll tell you

[gubbelsj]

Thanks to both for the recommendation.

These individual disc defects are indeed a rare thing - jogging my memory, I'm pretty sure the only Criterion release I've ever purchased that required an exchange was the "Bronze Age" 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 blu ray.

[WrathOfAguirre]

I don’t know if this is the right thread for it or not, but I want to rant a bit about Criterion’s quality control. After not buying but just a few titles over the past 5 years, I went pretty hard during the latest sales and caught up on several titles (and also some Arrow, Radiance, and Indicator releases, but those have all been in perfect condition).

I swear, at least half of the discs have had huge smudges, fingerprints, or some light scratches, ALL brand new upon opening them for the first time. And for the first time ever, one of them (Forty Guns) was actually cracked from the center, extending inward about an inch (yet, the case, sleeve, and insert were all in perfect condition). I’m doing a return with Amazon.

My Barry Lyndon UHD disc has a small scratch on it from what looks to have been caused by a raised bump on the plastic under the disc when it’s snapped into place (from the molding I assume).

Thankfully all of the discs in the box sets I ordered arrived in pristine condition.

So anyway, what in the hell has happened to the QC at Criterion? I don’t recall having this high a rate of dirty discs during the many years I was collecting before taking an extended break. Is it the factory where the discs are produced? Do they just not bother with something as simple as wearing rubber gloves? (I won’t get into the damaged cases for some of them, as that’s more on Amazon and B&N.)

Alright, I’m fine. Obviously there are far worse things in the world going on right now, but this has been a frustrating experience. Rant over. I guess.

[Matt]

For years, I've seen a lot of finger-pointing at one particular Conectiv (formerly Vantiva, formerly Technicolor) plant in Guadalajara, Mexico. And apparently since 2022 most US video labels use that plant.

[WrathOfAguirre]

Good grief. Well I reckon it’s not too surprising that there are very few options these days for manufacturing such physical media. Would love to understand the supply chain order too, to some degree. Since it specifies “disc made in Mexico,” on the shrink wrap, I wonder do the discs get shipped back to Criterion, and then they pack them in the cases, or is the factory the last stop? Seems if it’s the former, then these issues are on Criterion. This of course is pure speculation on my part, just to make it clear.

[Matt]

I have no idea where I read this so take it with a grain of salt, but I think Criterion does the packing in their own facility. I'm sure issuing replacements now and then is much cheaper for them than QCing every single disc would be.

[Jonathan S]

A post yesterday on another forum's "Show us your scratches" thread alleges that Criterion's "closely inspected" replacements for discs with manufacturing scratches are often similarly scratched.

[hearthesilence]

My Barry Lyndon UHD disc has a small scratch on it from what looks to have been caused by a raised bump on the plastic under the disc when it’s snapped into place (from the molding I assume).

I emailed them about this before. It's an annoying design flaw with their digipaks, specifically the ones made of polystyrene. (The polyethylene cases that stack discs are less likely to damage them due to being softer and more flexible.) I basically said stop using them, but alas my words mean nothing. NOTHING.

[WrathOfAguirre]

My Barry Lyndon UHD disc has a small scratch on it from what looks to have been caused by a raised bump on the plastic under the disc when it’s snapped into place (from the molding I assume).

I emailed them about this before. It's an annoying design flaw with their digipaks, specifically the ones made of polystyrene. (The polyethylene cases that stack discs are less likely to damage them due to being softer and more flexible.) I basically said stop using them, but alas my words mean nothing. NOTHING.

Glad it’s not just me to notice it, and thanks for trying to bring it to their attention. You know, I think I’ll send ol’ Mulvaney an email about it too, by golly. The more complaints they receive, the more likely they may change.

[Michael Kerpan]

My UHD of Perfect Days won't load at all (simply stalls out) on both my Sony and Panasonic bluray players. Anyone else have a problem with this? And what does one do to get a replacement?

[artfilmfan]

My UHD of Perfect Days won't load at all (simply stalls out) on both my Sony and Panasonic bluray players. Anyone else have a problem with this? And what does one do to get a replacement?

Michael,

Go to the Criterion website, in the FAQ section, under General, there is information on how to get a replacement.

I don’t have this release at this time. As often the case, I’ve become aware of films that are in the area of my interest in seeing by reading your posts here. I’ll probably get it during the next BN sale.

[Michael Kerpan]

artfilmfan -- Thanks.

Koji Yakusho is probably my favorite living actor and Perfect Day is really quite a showcase of his abilities. So, that made this movie a must-watch for me.