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Not a stupid question. The discs would need to be reauthored to change any region coding. None of the DFs that are appearing from existing BD editions have been reauthored.

Thanks!

I was suspended from Facebook - apparently they realised that I'm not really Captain Jack Harkness - so I can't vote, alas.

For what it's worth, I seldom if ever use the DVD in dual format releases, but I don't object to it being there.

As for pricing, my psychological cut-off point is usually £13. A lot of the upcoming MoC releases are £12 on Amazon right now, which is a terrific price and I've pre-ordered those. Ditto most of the upcoming Artificial Eye BDs.

The two Mizoguchi releases however are £14 and that's just enough to put me off them. They'd be blind buys (virtually all MoC releases are for me) and I'm not a huge fan of Japanese cinema. Had they been £12, I might have risked one of them.

??? But the Mizoguchis hold two films each for £7 a piece.

This month I'm buying...

Shadows
Faces
The Complete Humphrey Jennings #2
The Deep Blue Sea
Lifeboat
La Grande Illusion
Despair
The First of the Few
Yessongs

I have to draw the line somewhere.

MoC releases it's blu-rays with a dvd, and it's my dream that Criterion would do the same. However, I realize this is not feasible with releases like Shoah or box sets and the expense, too. But maybe they could offer the combo at 150%?

How much better (I really don't know how to quantify this) are the blu-rays vs. the dvds? I purchase blu-rays of all new releases but am at a crossroads when it comes to purchasing the blu-rays of the older spines. How do you guys justify this? Is it simply a function of cost or the quality of the upgrade? Does anyone buy just the dvds of the new releases here?

cpetrizzi wrote:MoC releases it's blu-rays with a dvd

Not anymore, they don't. They haven't done a dual format release since The Blue Angel in January.

You can always sell the old DVD versions too, to defray the cost of upgrading. It's also good to do upgrades during big sales to reduce the cost even more.

swo17 wrote:

cpetrizzi wrote:MoC releases it's blu-rays with a dvd

Not anymore, they don't. They haven't done a dual format release since The Blue Angel in January.

Ah, too bad. Didn't realize that. I don't have any MoC (I'd like to though) but noticed they had at some point. They are all region-free, right?

Moe Dickstein wrote:You can always sell the old DVD versions too, to defray the cost of upgrading. It's also good to do upgrades during big sales to reduce the cost even more.

My main reason for asking about standard DVDs is the flexibility they have. My mom still doesn't have a blu-ray player (guess I could get her one!), but also my laptop and work systems only play DVDs. Having the dvd would be SO useful away from home. At home, I'm perfectly set with a blu-ray, away from home, different story.

I'm pretty much alone amongst my current friends and family with my obsession. I used to have a friend in high school who had an LD player and some Criterions. After seeing Brazil and the Killer that did it for me, I was hooked!

Not all MOCs are region free but there are plenty of great region-free Blu players and computer software to get around that.

I think Criterion will upgrade anything that is available in HD and will potentially sell well. I sell off my old versions, although I have given some to good homes and even donated some to my public library (our head librarian orders in tons of Criterion).

Also, it totally bothers me to have Blus and DVDs mingle. So, I alphabetize my DVDs. Then, I have Blus alphabetized separately.

cpetrizzi wrote:

swo17 wrote:

cpetrizzi wrote:MoC releases it's blu-rays with a dvd

Not anymore, they don't. They haven't done a dual format release since The Blue Angel in January.

Ah, too bad. Didn't realize that. I don't have any MoC (I'd like to though) but noticed they had at some point. They are all region-free, right?

If it's licensed from a major Hollywood studio, or Japanese, almost certainly not.

If not, possibly - though you need to check titles on an individual basis.

Basically, MoC, Arrow, the BFI, Second Sight and doubtless many other UK companies have a policy of going region-free whenever possible, but it's not always possible for contractual reasons. By contrast, Criterion locks everything to Region A regardless of whether they have to.

To their chagrin, I'm sure, most of MoC's releases end up having to be locked to Region B.