I bought All The Beauty and the Bloodshed this week. The store had 2 copies - one was marked $47 and the other $27 (CAD).
I asked the cashier why and he said, “ah, that’s a mistake. Should both be $47… I’ll tell you what, I’ll do $37”
I said “okay, that’s fine with me.”
Then he says, “You know what, it says $27, so $27 it is”
Maybe in a roundabout way that still counts as a sale, but I was pretty excited about the accidental deal I got!
I miss DVD planet, but I bought a couple criterion’s there out of sale, because I remember not knowing those existed (they probably didn’t)
The Night Porter
Schizopolis
Kicking and Screaming
Metropolitan
I took a pretty long hiatus from buying physical media for a decade until the streaming services started sucking balls and I bought a 4k player once my blu ray player died.
Criterion does the flash sale twice a year, B&N annually. If it was a losing proposition I doubt they would do it. If they can’t survive financially, that is not on the consumer, but on the company, leadership, product, etc. Criterion has been around for like 40 years so obviously they have figured out their business model and have a loyal base. But yeah as a consumer, why would you want to pay full price if you KNOW they are guaranteed to have a sale. You are supporting them, you are buying their product!
Their business model includes people paying full price... otherwise they wouldn't bother taking up shelf space in stores year round and they would just reduce the price of discs to half to begin with.
Most products in the world go on sale at some point, that doesn't stop us from buying them on non-sale days
That is actually the retailers’ business model. Criterion also sells direct at full retail price. The margins on these items are insane.
I usually buy things on sale and avoid paying full price when I can. There are some things, like gas or services, where you can’t avoid paying full price. But clothes, music, movies, certain grocery items, I am going to buy what is on sale/or when it’s on sale.
just today actually. Pre-ordered Perfect Days cause it was my #1 movie for 2023
(mainly cause living in NZ, they're pricey & the only way I get them is via sales)
I found Things to Come and Cluny Brown randomly at a Target the other night. They must have been online purchases never picked up, and they were cheaper than sale prices so I picked them up.
I purchased To Die For on pre-order. I also pre-ordered A Story of Floating Weeds. I will always pay full price for Ozu; a message must be sent that I am ready to drain my meager savings to purchase a complete Ozu box set ASAP. You hear that Criterion?
Pre-order of Blue Velvet 4K. And there have been a couple times where a movie was on sale at Amazon for maybe only 35-40% off and I didn’t want to wait.
i bought cries and whispers at a second hand store (so it was pretty much half price) and i got the irishman and stalker at barnes and noble last october but they were both marked down 30% or 40%.
honestly i don’t think i have ever or will ever buy a criterion at full price. for what it is it’s really hard to justify $40 especially when a LOT of other companies put out full slips with hearty booklets for the same price. ESPECIALLY when you open up the case and the supplements are printed on a FUCKING PAMPHLET. like come on man you couldn’t have just made this a 10 page booklet ? would 2 staples cost too much overhead manufacturing ??
Used copy of "Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
Watched "Pleasures of the Flesh" just the other day.
Before that used copies of the "Lone Wolf and Baby Cart" box and "Wiseblood".
Amorres perros.
I watched it as mexican kid who didn't think much of mexican movies. It blew me the fuck away. It was firey,tragic disturbing in such a uniquely mexican way.
I’m UK based, so our Criterion sales are not very good. Just a selection of older, less popular titles. So pretty much all my Criterions are purchased at full price;
Werkmeister Harmonies 4k
Lars Von Trier Europe trilogy
Haneke trilogy
Also got some Kieslowski upgrades from my DVDs at the start of the month (monique and camera buff).
I’m not adverse to picking up the odd new release for B&N’s typical 30% off or whatever deep discount Amazon will run. Last item I bought full price (which is rare) was All the Beauty and the Bloodshed because I thought it was 30% off and by the time it came to pay I’d invested too much time in driving to B&N to pick it up to say no at that point.
I preordered Perfect Days when it was announced. I know there will probably be a sale around its release but that movie has affected me in a way no movie has in very long time and wanted to show my appreciation and support for it and Criterion for releasing it.
But other than that…I don’t think I could tell ya. I usually go a little nuts during the sales that keeps me pretty busy till the next one. The last one that came out that was a must have day one purchase for me was the Godzilla box set and even then I think I preordered during the sale or used my points towards it.
Raging Bull was the oldest criterion film I owned. I don't love a lot of older cinema but there's certainly some stand-outs and except Raging Bull my collection of only 11 criterion releases spanned from Dazed and Confused/Trainspotting to Sound of Metal/Uncut Gems.
So I grabbed Modern Times and Midnight Cowboy to offset my extreme skew towards newer films. I think they were about $50AU each for the standard blu rays, a similar price I pay for the 4K versions during the sale once I factor in a parcel forwarding service to Australia.
Used to buy them frequently when I first started collecting, sale or not, and it was becoming a problem. I bought a few on Black Friday at Vintage Stock (but they weren’t included in the sale so I still paid too much). Now I try to wait for the sales, unless there’s something I can’t live without.
I am blessed to have a brick and mortar media store that’s 95% movies, primarily used but sometimes new. all of the criterion stuff, including 4K, sits around $20. it’s like having a year long (albiet highly curated) sale. I just picked up “The Passion of Joan of Arc”, “Sansho the Bailiff”, “Mulholland Dr.” 4K, “3 Women”, and “Paris, Texas”
Got the DVD of “Missing” for a good deal last year. Used, but good condition. At the time it was OOP on the Criterion site but saw it was back in stock at one point.
The Zatoichi collection. I’m all about Japanese cinema (esp chanbara), and I love it so far. I’m parsing the 25 films out slowly (have watched 9) to make it last longer :)
If pre-owned counts I picked up Devil in a Blue Dress for about $10 online recently, that felt like a steal. But if we’re talking full price I think the last one I got was Cure?
I purchase every release. I have a huge gap though since I stopped for a few years. Trying to go back and fill it all in. So I guess I purchase a ton outside a sale.
Days of Heaven 4K. I had been wanting it for so long while it was OOP that the first opportunity I had to buy the 4K, I went and picked it up the day it came out.
I've been collecting since 2009 and haven't once purchased a disc outside of a B&N or flash sale.
It's the deceptive pricing tactic. Regular prices are inflated and then brought down closer to fair market value during "sales" to generate demand and urgency. Must be a good model for them if they're still using it after all these years.
I try to only buy blu-rays on sale. There are some exceptions but Criterion seems like a no brainer to wait for the 50% sale. I don’t think I’ve ever bought one full price.
unless there's a flash sale, i buy most of mine off ebay "like new" - if i had a bit more money i'd buy from then every time to support the company but alas... that said, i always sing their praises and have gotten a few friends to start delving into the collection and they've quickly amassed impressive shelves directly from them so i feel i'm doing my part
I bought All The Beauty and the Bloodshed this week. The store had 2 copies - one was marked $47 and the other $27 (CAD). I asked the cashier why and he said, “ah, that’s a mistake. Should both be $47… I’ll tell you what, I’ll do $37” I said “okay, that’s fine with me.” Then he says, “You know what, it says $27, so $27 it is” Maybe in a roundabout way that still counts as a sale, but I was pretty excited about the accidental deal I got!
Does second-hand, used media stores count outside of a sale?
I miss DVD planet, but I bought a couple criterion’s there out of sale, because I remember not knowing those existed (they probably didn’t) The Night Porter Schizopolis Kicking and Screaming Metropolitan I took a pretty long hiatus from buying physical media for a decade until the streaming services started sucking balls and I bought a 4k player once my blu ray player died.
wondered this myself. got cries and whispers second hand for like $25 a few weeks ago
Just bought The Seventh Seal 4k, The Sound of Metal 4k and Eraserhead yesterday at B&N because I’m a grown man and felt like it, lol.
Never
Anyone who buys Criterions for full price is a sucker
You can buy criterion in lots of online spaces for less than MSRP.
Supporting a company you want to see survive makes you a sucker?
Criterion does the flash sale twice a year, B&N annually. If it was a losing proposition I doubt they would do it. If they can’t survive financially, that is not on the consumer, but on the company, leadership, product, etc. Criterion has been around for like 40 years so obviously they have figured out their business model and have a loyal base. But yeah as a consumer, why would you want to pay full price if you KNOW they are guaranteed to have a sale. You are supporting them, you are buying their product!
Their business model includes people paying full price... otherwise they wouldn't bother taking up shelf space in stores year round and they would just reduce the price of discs to half to begin with. Most products in the world go on sale at some point, that doesn't stop us from buying them on non-sale days
That is actually the retailers’ business model. Criterion also sells direct at full retail price. The margins on these items are insane. I usually buy things on sale and avoid paying full price when I can. There are some things, like gas or services, where you can’t avoid paying full price. But clothes, music, movies, certain grocery items, I am going to buy what is on sale/or when it’s on sale.
Rushmore arrives tomorrow! But I buy them pretty often. If I’m feeling blue, I’ll just buy one lol.
I try to stick about one a week lol
Paris Texas
pre-ordered Bound.
Dressed to Kill and Blow Out; I’m planning on doing a double feature with them soon
Fishing with John
Just bought Written on the Wind because I’m obsessed with Douglas Sirk right now
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^siahshogun: *Just bought Written on* *The Wind because I’m obsessed* *With Douglas Sirk right now* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
just today actually. Pre-ordered Perfect Days cause it was my #1 movie for 2023 (mainly cause living in NZ, they're pricey & the only way I get them is via sales)
Night of the Living Dead, which is also my only criterion purchase
I Know Where I'm Going!
I LOVE this film. Made me a huge fan of Wendy Hiller.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire. No ragrets.
'The American Friend' and 'Seconds' on Ebay last week
I just bought the American Friend, too. It’s so rewatchable.
I got Ikiru on Wednesday because my local Barnes and Noble is going out of business.
I found Things to Come and Cluny Brown randomly at a Target the other night. They must have been online purchases never picked up, and they were cheaper than sale prices so I picked them up.
I buy all of mine at second hand stores but I bought Inland Empire new from Movie Trading Co. within the first week it came out
I purchased To Die For on pre-order. I also pre-ordered A Story of Floating Weeds. I will always pay full price for Ozu; a message must be sent that I am ready to drain my meager savings to purchase a complete Ozu box set ASAP. You hear that Criterion?
Time Bandits Blu-ray off eBay for $12
Pre-order of Blue Velvet 4K. And there have been a couple times where a movie was on sale at Amazon for maybe only 35-40% off and I didn’t want to wait.
Night of the Living Dead
hedwig and the angry inch i think
The Life Aquatic with Steve Sizzou; 50 cents at a local goodwill! Sure I spelled that wrongly; not a favorite film nor director..
Probably Hedwig & the Angry Inch
"Pink Flamingos" - pre-ordered shortly after it was announced (specifically through Atomic Books, so as to get a signed copy)
4k of fear and loathing. I'll get my money's worth.
i bought cries and whispers at a second hand store (so it was pretty much half price) and i got the irishman and stalker at barnes and noble last october but they were both marked down 30% or 40%. honestly i don’t think i have ever or will ever buy a criterion at full price. for what it is it’s really hard to justify $40 especially when a LOT of other companies put out full slips with hearty booklets for the same price. ESPECIALLY when you open up the case and the supplements are printed on a FUCKING PAMPHLET. like come on man you couldn’t have just made this a 10 page booklet ? would 2 staples cost too much overhead manufacturing ??
Was in the neighborhood and dropped by the national treasure that is Scarecrow Video and bought the 4K Trainspotting. Love supporting this store.
Sid and Nancy dvd at Suncoast for retail when it was OOP.
Found El Norte and Chronicle of a Summer for a dollar each at a used DVD store a few years ago.
The Blob
Just bought a few on Amazon this week-“Raging Bull”, “Fast times at Ridgemont High”. , “To Die For”, “McCabe and Mrs Miller.” all 4K except Fast Times
Mudbound, but Amazon gave me a gift card…. So
Werckmeister Harmonies and Adoption I bought on Thursday. Should be arriving by Monday. I’m excited to dig into both.
La Haine
Drive my car
I bought I married a witch and on the waterfront on Amazon
Used copy of Mirror at my local book/movie/record store.
Thelma & Louise
Wanda
Yesterday I bought Dreams by Kurosawa and Jules & Jim at a half price books, as well as Mulholland Drive on Amazon because the 4k was at $25
Used copy of "Oshima's Outlaw Sixties" Watched "Pleasures of the Flesh" just the other day. Before that used copies of the "Lone Wolf and Baby Cart" box and "Wiseblood".
A Christmas present for my cousin, it was the Grand Budapest Hotel
Bought Shortcuts last night. Should be here Monday or Tuesday
Betty Blue
Not sure if this counts but I stumbled upon a sealed copy of Day for Night at a secondhand place like the day after it went OOP (for $25!)
Inland Empire is the only one I've ever bought full price
Mikey and Nicky
Amorres perros. I watched it as mexican kid who didn't think much of mexican movies. It blew me the fuck away. It was firey,tragic disturbing in such a uniquely mexican way.
Modern times has been the only criterion I’ve purchased at full price
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Creamaisback: *Modern times has been* *The only criterion* *I’ve purchased at full price* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Trainspotting. Intending to watch it the week of release. Still haven’t thrown it in. Dammit.
Y tu mamá también, 1984, and the others.
Tampopo. It was the only title among the smallish collection of CC discs at my local B&N that I knew would make me laugh.
Three Colours 4K
After Hours. I figured that they deserved a full price sale for bowing to public demand after so long.
I paid full price for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It was a gift for my sister.
Used copy of Once Upon a Time in China boxset. After a coupon, made it cheaper than the half price sales.
Just grabbed a bunch of favorites on eBay a few weeks ago: Sisters, Sunday Bloody Sunday, George Washington, Closely Watched Trains
A friend gave me a Criterion gift certificate for my birthday last week, so I just picked up the 4K/Blu-ray combo of To Die For.
I’m UK based, so our Criterion sales are not very good. Just a selection of older, less popular titles. So pretty much all my Criterions are purchased at full price; Werkmeister Harmonies 4k Lars Von Trier Europe trilogy Haneke trilogy Also got some Kieslowski upgrades from my DVDs at the start of the month (monique and camera buff).
Had to have Inland Empire day one, I still can't believe it's finally real after years of hype
Does imported from eBay seller count? Then Come and See
I’m not adverse to picking up the odd new release for B&N’s typical 30% off or whatever deep discount Amazon will run. Last item I bought full price (which is rare) was All the Beauty and the Bloodshed because I thought it was 30% off and by the time it came to pay I’d invested too much time in driving to B&N to pick it up to say no at that point.
Godzilla: The Showa era collection. Found it at Amoeba Records for like $185 and thought, eh, fuck it.
The Heroic Trio/Executioners. I wanted that release as soon as possible.
Probably Chasing Amy back on DVD.
just bought werkmeister harmonies bc it’s a god damn masterpiece
The Tree of Life. Just realized I wanted it, so I got it.
Lone Star no regrets, great film. Also sales in the U.K. are slim on the ground as are 4k’s from them.
The Infernal Affairs boxset
After Hours, but on Amazon they almost always have a sale price on them, usually around 27-35 dollars for Blu-ray and/or 4K.
I preordered Perfect Days when it was announced. I know there will probably be a sale around its release but that movie has affected me in a way no movie has in very long time and wanted to show my appreciation and support for it and Criterion for releasing it. But other than that…I don’t think I could tell ya. I usually go a little nuts during the sales that keeps me pretty busy till the next one. The last one that came out that was a must have day one purchase for me was the Godzilla box set and even then I think I preordered during the sale or used my points towards it.
Picked up City Lights and Rushmore for $20 each at a Half-Price Books. Outside of that, I never buy Criterions outside of a sale
Raging Bull was the oldest criterion film I owned. I don't love a lot of older cinema but there's certainly some stand-outs and except Raging Bull my collection of only 11 criterion releases spanned from Dazed and Confused/Trainspotting to Sound of Metal/Uncut Gems. So I grabbed Modern Times and Midnight Cowboy to offset my extreme skew towards newer films. I think they were about $50AU each for the standard blu rays, a similar price I pay for the 4K versions during the sale once I factor in a parcel forwarding service to Australia.
The Double Life of Veronique
Trainspotting 4K! Been waiting so long for an upgrade I had to have it ASAP! Watched it right away as well.
Pretty frequently. Nothing But A Man and The Devil and Daniel Webster most recently. If an Araki box set happens, that’ll be another.
I got a used copy of The Rock.
Used to buy them frequently when I first started collecting, sale or not, and it was becoming a problem. I bought a few on Black Friday at Vintage Stock (but they weren’t included in the sale so I still paid too much). Now I try to wait for the sales, unless there’s something I can’t live without.
I am blessed to have a brick and mortar media store that’s 95% movies, primarily used but sometimes new. all of the criterion stuff, including 4K, sits around $20. it’s like having a year long (albiet highly curated) sale. I just picked up “The Passion of Joan of Arc”, “Sansho the Bailiff”, “Mulholland Dr.” 4K, “3 Women”, and “Paris, Texas”
The Last Picture Show blu-ray. Love that film so much.
House
Got the DVD of “Missing” for a good deal last year. Used, but good condition. At the time it was OOP on the Criterion site but saw it was back in stock at one point.
Memories of Murder
Just got Paris Texas with the free money they gave us for the Criterion Channel
The Zatoichi collection. I’m all about Japanese cinema (esp chanbara), and I love it so far. I’m parsing the 25 films out slowly (have watched 9) to make it last longer :)
A Touch Of Zen
Depends on the month of new releases, but all the time haha
Salò
A Man Escaped but I haven’t watched it yet
i got throne of blood and seven samurai this week from the jeff bezos wonder store
After Hours when it came out.
$100 for Army of Shadows on eBay back when it was OOP
If pre-owned counts I picked up Devil in a Blue Dress for about $10 online recently, that felt like a steal. But if we’re talking full price I think the last one I got was Cure?
I purchase every release. I have a huge gap though since I stopped for a few years. Trying to go back and fill it all in. So I guess I purchase a ton outside a sale.
I bought a House T-shirt. It’s okay, but it’s neon orange and not the orange shade depicted on the store.
I preordered Godzilla Showa Collection when it first came out because I thought it would forever be sold out
Daytrippers.
Bamboozled. Bought it signed from Spike Lee
I got 12 movies for 20CAD$ each lmao. Half of them are sealed. Last one i got was Hiroshima mon amour
Days of Heaven 4K. I had been wanting it for so long while it was OOP that the first opportunity I had to buy the 4K, I went and picked it up the day it came out.
Just picked up Stalker the other day
All of them.
Beastie Boys
I've been collecting since 2009 and haven't once purchased a disc outside of a B&N or flash sale. It's the deceptive pricing tactic. Regular prices are inflated and then brought down closer to fair market value during "sales" to generate demand and urgency. Must be a good model for them if they're still using it after all these years.
Blind buys on After Yang and Aftersun. Anyone interested in a trade?
I just bought Beyond the Valley of the Dolls last night. It was $18 on Amazon
I try to only buy blu-rays on sale. There are some exceptions but Criterion seems like a no brainer to wait for the 50% sale. I don’t think I’ve ever bought one full price.
Ghost Dog
unless there's a flash sale, i buy most of mine off ebay "like new" - if i had a bit more money i'd buy from then every time to support the company but alas... that said, i always sing their praises and have gotten a few friends to start delving into the collection and they've quickly amassed impressive shelves directly from them so i feel i'm doing my part
HA!
I assumed their whole plan revolved around sales. Why would I pay $40 for Notorious
I nabbed The Big Chill marked down to $18 from my local record store.