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Can any of you who own a copy of Alphaville confirm the numbers on the disc rings for me? On the bottom of the disc, inner ring: IFPI LB75 90121001N as well as: ALPHAVILLE Made In Taiwan. Top inner disc ring says F2 but it's backwards. Everything about it looks legit down to the paper used for the insert and booklet but I own a few of these old OOP DVDs and none of them say Made in Taiwan or have so little etched into the rings. Thanks for your time.

My copy of Alphaville says FN72701 and ALP030DVD

Thanks for taking the time to do that. Looks like I got got, then. I will say that if that's the case this is one of the most impressive bootlegs I've ever received. From the printing on the disc to the paper/case used to the menus I would never have been able to tell if I didn't check out the numbers. Here's some pics for anyone curious.

So thanks to Lemdog's info I bought a copy on eBay that has matching 'FN72701' and 'ALP030DVD', but this disc does not have a clear center ring and has a much different printing on the disc art itself (the words are not shiny/metallic and it is overall much more blurry). Here's some pics.

bfaison wrote: Wed Jul 03, 2019 3:22 pm So thanks to Lemdog's info I bought a copy on eBay that has matching 'FN72701' and 'ALP030DVD', but this disc does not have a clear center ring and has a much different printing on the disc art itself (the words are not shiny/metallic and it is overall much more blurry). Here's some pics.

Your Alphaville looks identical to the one that I bought directly from Criterion. Same code on the bottom; the center ring is mirrored (+the small central ring that is clear). The printing on the disc looks the same blurry / wonky too. Your 2nd copy is legitimate.

Thank you!

Are criterion bootlegs still a major problem? I'm eyeing a dual format copy of L'eclisse on amazon for around $34 and I have no idea if that version still gets sold for ridiculous prices but it is from a third party seller but sold and shipped directly from Amazon and I hear even in those cases a bad product can still go through to the customer. Seller feedback is overall 99% but negative feedback seems to be consistent though not outweighing positive feedback and I only saw one 1 star rating for the past month or so for a "fake copy" but stretching back a few months it's all 4-5 star ratings

The one I'm seeing at $34.5 on Amazon is noted as "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com". It looks like this is what they're currently selling the movie since the 2018 BD-only re-release also is currently at $37.13.
I don't know if there is a specific reason for you to be looking for the DF release, but you would probably have been better off buying the re-release during the B&N 50% sale.

Hello forum. Sorry if this has been answered above, I searched but wasn't fully satisfied...
If one receives a Criterion (in this case, shipped and sold by Amazon ) that raises some suspicion, is there a way to be sure that it is fully legit, and if so, is that way the same for every disc?
I have two discs that have made me have some doubts, mainly because of something off with the wrapping and the absence of the "director approved" sticker: Dead Man and The Confession. The latter was already under suspicion, since I bought it last October, when amazon had it miraculously back in stock, an oop title. (Both play perfectly well.)
Thanks!

Could be whoever you purchased from bought their copy from BN.com— Barnes and Noble has a bad habit of resealing any returned discs and selling as New (or your seller resealed themselves). I doubt anyone has bootlegged either

San Francisco Amoeba Music had bunch of mock Criterion releases for sale like Eclipse Doris Wishman boxset and Toshio Matsumoto’s Demons. I asked the clerk if picture quality on Demons bootleg was any good. The dude looked me like I was an idiot and said, that of course it’s good, it’s a Criterion bootleg!! I’m still not 100% sure if he was serious of just fucking with me.

Slaphappy wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:12 am San Francisco Amoeba Music had bunch of mock Criterion releases for sale like Eclipse Doris Wishman boxset and Toshio Matsumoto’s Demons. I asked the clerk if picture quality on Demons bootleg was any good. The dude looked me like I was an idiot and said, that of course it’s good, it’s a Criterion bootleg!! I’m still not 100% sure if he was serious of just fucking with me.

I haven’t yet watched the “Criterion” release of A Page of Madness I got there. Looking forward to the Benshi narration by Crispen Glover and Alloy Orchestra accompaniment.

Kind of hard to judge the PQ on the bootleg Begotten though.

DeprongMori wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:28 pm

Slaphappy wrote: Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:12 am San Francisco Amoeba Music had bunch of mock Criterion releases for sale like Eclipse Doris Wishman boxset and Toshio Matsumoto’s Demons. I asked the clerk if picture quality on Demons bootleg was any good. The dude looked me like I was an idiot and said, that of course it’s good, it’s a Criterion bootleg!! I’m still not 100% sure if he was serious of just fucking with me.

I haven’t yet watched the “Criterion” release of A Page of Madness I got there. Looking forward to the Benshi narration by Crispen Glover and Alloy Orchestra accompaniment.

Now that’s an extra! [-o< I wonder if Glover has managed to keep What Is It? and It’s Fine! Everything Is Fine away from bootleggers and pirates. They would make a fine Eclipse boxset too.