Taking Sides: Criterion Collection Prices

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Economies of Scale vs. Film Geeks Will Pay Out The Ass, So Why Not?

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:53 (twenty years ago) link

hey, if i have to pay 30 dollars to see Hiroshima Mon Amour then goddamnit im gonna pay it.

though the title with no extras at all do seem way overpriced to me. i usually take a pass unless i already know i cant live without the movie.

― ryan, Thursday, 1 May 2003 02:55 (twenty years ago) link

They charge a lot because it costs a lot to do the job that they do and make enough profit to continue doing it. I wish some of you whiny consumers would actually observe the workings of a small company struggling to make ends meet.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 1 May 2003 20:14 (twenty years ago) link

*AHEM*

Hence the "economies of scale" option.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 1 May 2003 20:15 (twenty years ago) link

Right. Besides, you can always find them at reasonable enough prices. Try http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com.

― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 1 May 2003 20:18 (twenty years ago) link

you're right. i shouldn't complain. i am extremely grateful for the work that company does

― ryan (ryan), Thursday, 1 May 2003 20:22 (twenty years ago) link

And remember they still have to pay license fees to the studios which actually own the films.

― slutsky (slutsky), Thursday, 1 May 2003 23:04 (twenty years ago) link

I just get grumpy about this because I work for a tiny publisher whose books (which are often very special) cost an arm and a leg, because otherwise we wouldn't make any money at all.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 2 May 2003 02:18 (twenty years ago) link

I think it's a bit of both. They aren't selling or renting as many copies as 8 Mile or whatever's hot this week. But at the same time, they're putting out a product that's relatively cheap to produce, having the market cornered and knowing that their market segment tends to have a slightly higher income or at least is willing to part with a little more.

Books are expensive to publish - especially if you're doing art books or something like that. DVDs are relatively cheap to make.

I just used my brother's wholesale distributor and got Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss, and Godard's Contempt and Band of Outsiders for about $20 apiece, which is what I'd pay for a mainstream film.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Friday, 2 May 2003 02:45 (twenty years ago) link

Plus...they seem to care a great deal about doing good film to video transfers, and that's worth a few dollars more (compare Criterion's to, say, Kino's transfers...but I don't want to knock Kino, because they have a killer catalog, too).

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Friday, 2 May 2003 04:22 (twenty years ago) link

i always figured that criterion used the revenue from high-selling titles like rushmore and armageddon to release all of their other stuff. i guess they have the price point worked out so that they stay in business....

― j fail (cenotaph), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:00 (twenty years ago) link

that's my feeling.

― s1utsky, Friday, 2 May 2003 15:25 (twenty years ago) link

thirteen years pass...

Here's an interesting open letter to Criterion:

http://imgur.com/a/xvAoL

― Evan, Tuesday, 25 October 2016 21:20 (seven years ago) link

Oops sorry thought this one was in ILE

― Evan, Tuesday, 25 October 2016 21:20 (seven years ago) link

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