The Official Criterion Deals and Discussion Thread

[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Son of a bitch.[/QUOTE]

Go back to the store & buy a membership card for $25. Go to the customer service desk ask for 10% off membership adjustment. I sure you will not have any problem to get $2 each back :)
 
[quote name='Masterkyo']Go back to the store & buy a membership card for $25. Go to the customer service desk ask for 10% off membership adjustment. I sure you will not have any problem to get $2 each back :)[/QUOTE]
These are all individual transactions. I find it hard to believe they'd be willing to go receipt by receipt to give me an adjustment. It would take forever.
 
[quote name='Masterkyo']Go back to the store & buy a membership card for $25. Go to the customer service desk ask for 10% off membership adjustment. I sure you will not have any problem to get $2 each back :)[/QUOTE]

Technically, it's against Barnes & Noble policy to do that -- from the membership terms: "Members will NOT be reimbursed retroactively for purchases made without an active and available Membership at the time of purchase." Still, I suppose you could always ask.

They might balk at doing it for 30 separate transactions, though.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']These are all individual transactions. I find it hard to believe they'd be willing to go receipt by receipt to give me an adjustment. It would take forever.[/QUOTE]

well if you haven't opened them, you can always return and rebuy

or just ask them bluntly if they can return and rebuy without the items and just the receipt - you might get lucky with the cashier
 
[quote name='exRounder']well if you haven't opened them, you can always return and rebuy

or just ask them bluntly if they can return and rebuy without the items and just the receipt - you might get lucky with the cashier[/QUOTE]

Return and rebuy 30 different items/transactions, with the same coupon (which expires today, so no multiple trips possible)? Again, good luck with that.

At this point, I think I'd just eat the difference (which really isn't that much, for all that effort) and keep it in mind for next time around.
 
Damn dude, you bought all those without a membership and the $5 off coupon? Oh well, at least you know to go that route during the next sale. I'm interested to see what you think of all of those though, and if you end up regretting any of them.

I ended up getting Seven Samurai and House today; I hope you guys were right about House! I might end up watching it tonight
 
[quote name='lolwut?']
I ended up getting Seven Samurai and House today; I hope you guys were right about House! I might end up watching it tonight[/QUOTE]

Sweet, those are the exact 2 I'm getting. Seven Samurai is great and I think House looks awesome (haven't seen it yet). I'd also like the Yojimbo/Sanjuro combo, but can't afford it thanks to several recent game purchases.
 
I have the Yojimbo/Sanjuro double pack from the last sale, and Kagemusha from the one before that, but I haven't gotten around to watching them yet. I have seen like the first 15 minutes of Yojimbo though, and it made me confident enough to hold on to it, if that says anything.

You're the guy that had no Barnes and Noble near him though, right? Really sucks dude; getting them in store with member discount and coupons beats the hell outta buying 'em online.

I forgot Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times is coming out before the sale ends, I might also pick that one up. Anyone have anything to say about that? I don't have much experience with silent film outside of the part of The General I made it through; ended up falling asleep though because it was like 4 am ahaha
 
[quote name='lolwut?']I forgot Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times is coming out before the sale ends, I might also pick that one up. Anyone have anything to say about that? I don't have much experience with silent film outside of the part of The General I made it through; ended up falling asleep though because it was like 4 am ahaha[/QUOTE]

Here's a review of Modern Times: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Modern-Times-Blu-ray/14982/#Review.

Very positive. I'll be picking it up in-store this week along with The Night of the Hunter.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Return and rebuy 30 different items/transactions, with the same coupon (which expires today, so no multiple trips possible)? Again, good luck with that.

At this point, I think I'd just eat the difference (which really isn't that much, for all that effort) and keep it in mind for next time around.[/QUOTE]

not saying it's probable - just possible. and assuming he's not driving way far for just that, any money saved is still money.
 
[quote name='bthoma']Here's a review of Modern Times: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Modern-Times-Blu-ray/14982/#Review.

Very positive. I'll be picking it up in-store this week along with The Night of the Hunter.[/QUOTE]

I remember watching Modern Times in a "Film and Modernism" class that I took several years ago. It was a very enjoyable film, one of the best and most memorable ones that we watched that semester. Much, much better than the week that the professor made us sit through all two hours of Triumph of the Will (which felt like an eternity, a bit of a "triumph of the will" just to make it through that one . . . ).

I'm definitely looking forward to adding Modern Times to my collection.
 
[quote name='lolwut?']I forgot Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times is coming out before the sale ends, I might also pick that one up. Anyone have anything to say about that? I don't have much experience with silent film outside of the part of The General I made it through; ended up falling asleep though because it was like 4 am ahaha[/QUOTE]

Modern Times is arguably Chaplin's finest, though I personally prefer City Lights. It's definitely one of the most watchable silent films for a modern (no pun intended) audience. I'll readily admit that even though I profess to be a film buff, I do find many silent films hard to sit through (especially since some of them have jarringly bad soundtracks added on DVD). Modern Times is great though, and so is The General.
 
Well, just for kicks I called Barnes and Noble and posed the scenario to the clerk that picked up. He said bring all of my movies and receipts in. I told him that I used a coupon many, many times and was concerned about getting that discount when the movies were repurchased. He said, "Don't worry, just ask for Ryan."

So I box everything up and head down there. Someone else other than Ryan is there and I explain what Ryan told me. A manager is called and she basically says nothing can be done. I'm not even sure if she apologized-- whenever there was an opportunity for her to apologize, she said, "Yeaaah... you weren't even supposed to get the 25% discount so many times" (which is fair enough, but jeez, way to skirt responsibility for what one of your representatives of the store said)

Now I'm waiting to hear back from the store manager. At this point, I'm not sure why they can't total up all of sticker prices of the movies, divide by two, and give me 10% of the amount on a gift card. That would be a quick and easy solution. At any rate, I'll pose that scenario to the store manager. I get that it's complicated because of all of the transactions, but damn when I call in, just turn me down over the phone. Don't have me waste my gas and time.

EDIT: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence was great. I love its theme song, Bowie and Conti's acting was very solid, and the ending was sad. A great movie, and I think it's a different kind of POW movie because of the director. 1 down, 29 more to go.
 
[quote name='bthoma']Here's a review of Modern Times: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Modern-Times-Blu-ray/14982/#Review.[/QUOTE]

One thing that I did find odd in that review . . . Listed as one of the extras:

Two Bits - two sections removed from Modern Times. The first was deleted by Chaplin before the film's original 1936 release and is silent. The second features the final verse of the Tramp's momentous song, which was removed in 1954 when Chaplin edited his film for rerelease.
Click to expand...
Now, I don't know all of the technical aspects of it, not having seen the blu-ray yet, but I would think that it would have been so easy for Criterion to include the option to watch it either with or without that final verse through branching, making it possible to watch the film in either its pre-1954 or post-1954 form. I know that Criterion is big on releasing the "director approved" version, which I suppose that the post-1954 version would be if it was Chaplin's own edit, but still, when it's that basic a difference, it seems almost like an omission that they don't provide the option.

Not that it really matters all that much, of course, but I find Criterion's choice interesting.
 
I like the option of seamless branching too; I really wish Scott Pilgrim had it. But yeah, at least the deleted scenes are included.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Now I'm waiting to hear back from the store manager.[/QUOTE]

Just be careful at this point. The last thing that you want to do is get that cashier who was nice enough to run all of those through on the coupon for you in trouble.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Just be careful at this point. The last thing that you want to do is get that cashier who was nice enough to run all of those through on the coupon for you in trouble.[/QUOTE]
The manager left after she was done talking to me. I wasn't even complaining, just confused about why I was told something different. I'll be super fucking pissed if I find out they fire her :/
 
I don't get it, did you actually ask for the Ryan guy, or just explain what you told Ryan to someone else. I would've definitely tried to track that dude down first or come back another day when he was there.
 
[quote name='lolwut?']I don't get it, did you actually ask for the Ryan guy, or just explain what you told Ryan to someone else. I would've definitely tried to track that dude down first or come back another day when he was there.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Now even if he goes back there, Ryan probably won't be able to make good on the offer due to having been fussed at by the manager. Gotta think on your feet, Friend of Sonic!

And yep, no local Barnes & Noble so I'm stuck with online prices. But $48 for Seven Samurai & House after taxes is much better than Amazon's current prices, so I'm still happy.
 
I did ask for Ryan. The clerk asked for a manager instead. The manager immediately went to Ryan to verify that he said what he said, and he made it sound like I didn't explain myself clearly. Thanks Ryan.

Honestly I think anyone would balk at having to do this with 30 receipts, but then again I think my exact words were "I have a ton of receipts because I used a coupon for each transaction" and he still okay'd it, so maybe I should have tried to find him directly.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']I did ask for Ryan. The clerk asked for a manager instead. The manager immediately went to Ryan to verify that he said what he said, and he made it sound like I didn't explain myself clearly. Thanks Ryan.[/QUOTE]

Well, to be fair, if I were Ryan and I was in a position where I had to either save my ass with a manager or back up what some random guy that I didn't know and who was about to cause me a whole lot of grief was saying, I'd have taken the option of saving my ass with the manager as well. ;)

Not sure why the clerk would have asked for a manager when you requested a specific employee by name, but if I were in your situation there, I probably would have just played it off like Ryan was a friend of mine and I just wanted to say hi or something like that, rather than telling the manager everything. Then again, if you were carting a big box full of Criterion blu-rays and a pile of receipts, that might have been harder to pull off. :lol:
 
[quote name='eastx']And yep, no local Barnes & Noble so I'm stuck with online prices. But $48 for Seven Samurai & House after taxes is much better than Amazon's current prices, so I'm still happy.[/QUOTE]

Damn; I think I got both for around $32 after tax and everything. And I have 4 of them within 20 minutes of my house, haha.

Yeah, that is kind of shitty FoS; don't really know why the other employee went straight to the manager. Maybe you can come back another day, or find a different chill employee? Still, at least you gave it a shot.
 
Haha, no, I don't blame Ryan. That manager sounds like the type of broad that might go down on you (and not in the good way) if you don't follow the letter of the law.

I briefly thought about it playing it off and trying to find Ryan myself. Then I thought, I'm carrying a big open box with merchandise in it, better just stay here at Customer Service so they don't think I'm trying to shovel books in the box.

What makes me feel really bad is that Catherine (the clerk who helped me buy 1/5 of the Criterion library on Blu Ray with coupons right in one go) got a tongue lashing because of me. She was so nice and didn't deserve that. All she did was prevent me from having to drive in a circle redeeming coupons one by one. :(

Guys, I've been talking about this for a while (my bad) Any recommendations for what my next film should be to watch? I was thinking Antichrist or House.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Guys, I've been talking about this for a while (my bad)[/QUOTE]

Heh, it's been one of the more interesting dilemmas to come up in this thread, so no problem.

[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Any recommendations for what my next film should be to watch? I was thinking Antichrist or House.[/QUOTE]

Be aware that Antichrist is very, very, very graphic and violent, in a very realistic manner. No matter how prepared you think you are for it, you aren't prepared. It's a very well done movie, and very worth watching, but it will test your tolerance levels. It was the only movie to really, truly, actually gross me out in a long time, and I watch a lot of graphic movies (I'm a big Takashi Miike fan, for one thing). I'd suggest planning appropriately from that, and making sure that you're in the right mood to deal with that when you watch it. All that being said, it's also one of the few of these titles that I actually saw before buying it, and I bought it anyway because I felt it was worth owning.

Can't speak to House yet. It's probably next on my list to watch.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Haha, no, I don't blame Ryan. That manager sounds like the type of broad that might go down on you (and not in the good way) if you don't follow the letter of the law.

I briefly thought about it playing it off and trying to find Ryan myself. Then I thought, I'm carrying a big open box with merchandise in it, better just stay here at Customer Service so they don't think I'm trying to shovel books in the box.

What makes me feel really bad is that Catherine (the clerk who helped me buy 1/5 of the Criterion library on Blu Ray with coupons right in one go) got a tongue lashing because of me. She was so nice and didn't deserve that. All she did was prevent me from having to drive in a circle redeeming coupons one by one. :([/QUOTE]

ah, the adventures of a CAG.

also, house and antichrist are good choices but, again, some may not have the constitution for the latter. as for me, i think it's definitely a challenging experience in the best sense of the phrase. the former on the other hand is a fun time, especially with friends.
 
@ arcane93, thanks for posting the save 25% off one item coupon!

So far, my haul is Seven Samurai, House, Charade and M.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I will agree. Friend of Sonic's iconic journey has been very entertaining to keep up on, and now that it's over, I feel all we have left is a week where people scramble to try to find Modern Times and Night of the Hunter, which is fine with me, since I fully intend to be one of those people.

I would, however, like to pose a question to all those who have gone mildly to completely overboard on this sale. How much have you all spent so far?

Personally, I've bought 19 movies for roughly $320. My goal was to be under $400 for the sale, but if I make one more trip tomorrow, that likely is going to be eclipsed (although not by much).
 
[quote name='chimpster1313']Personally, I've bought 19 movies for roughly $320. My goal was to be under $400 for the sale, but if I make one more trip tomorrow, that likely is going to be eclipsed (although not by much).[/QUOTE]

I just did the math and I'm at exactly the same point -- 19 movies for about $320 so far. I'm definitely picking up Night of the Hunter and Modern Times yet, and I may order A Christmas Tale through the website since I haven't seen it in a store at all during the sale, and then I'm done.

I'm kind of regretting having bought as many as I did before the 25% off coupon came out, because there's always a (non-new member) coupon at some point during these sales (though I think last time it was only 15%). Still, I think I hit about as many stores as I could have possibly managed during the period that the coupon was good, so I guess it came out just about as well as it could have.

I'm actually to the point where there are only five Criterion blu-ray titles that I don't have (not counting the ones that I said I'm still going to pick up). Being so close to a complete collection it's seriously tempting to grab them, but I'm going to refrain. I actually do want them, but I think I need to draw the line on this sale as I've already spent a lot more than I probably really should have. There's always next time.
 
[quote name='arcane93']I'm actually to the point where there are only five Criterion blu-ray titles that I don't have (not counting the ones that I said I'm still going to pick up). Being so close to a complete collection it's seriously tempting to grab them, but I'm going to refrain. I actually do want them, but I think I need to draw the line on this sale as I've already spent a lot more than I probably really should have. There's always next time.[/QUOTE]

See, I'm not quite there. I've been ebaying like crazy since August, and then combined with this sale, I am well over halfway there. Of the 64 that have come out (I'm counting NotH and MT in the have already come out since I'll hopefully be getting them tomorrow), I have 40, so I've essentially doubled up through this sale, and that's a number that will increase, because even if I don't get the 2 new releases tomorrow, there are plenty others I have my eye on (Black Orpheus, Complete Monterey Pop, Last Year at Marienbad, Chungking Express) that I'll get instead. I feel like I'll end up getting at most 6 more tomorrow and then I'll have to force myself to quit.
 
[quote name='chimpster1313']See, I'm not quite there. I've been ebaying like crazy since August, and then combined with this sale, I am well over halfway there.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I started in on the blu-rays with last November's Criterion sale (actually, not quite true, I had picked up The Man Who Fell to Earth previously), so this is my third sale picking these up. I'd be completely caught up if the last sale had come at any time other than July, when I was right in the middle of moving and had a ton of expenses related to that which limited my funds for blu-ray buying. I still bought some, but definitely less than the other times. I also picked up a few titles when Borders had their 50% off blu-ray coupon a month or so ago.

I think for the next time I'm going to start keeping closer tabs on the blu-ray releases as they happen, and start setting money aside specifically for them in advance (especially since some more expensive titles like the BBS box will be part of that), so that there's definitely no issue when the sale comes up. I also want Cronos and Videodrome enough that I might end up picking them up before the next sale happens, which will make it easier to catch up next time.
 
I recently signed up for a free 2 month b&n membership, what is my best option to get the best price on say, one disc 'such as Charade' (what coupons are available that I can print out and bring in-store...and what would be the best combo to present coupons to cashier) some of you guys really got this down to a science and I am quite impressed, I may pick up a few but at least one for starters
 
[quote name='ratchet9']I recently signed up for a free 2 month b&n membership, what is my best option to get the best price on say, one disc 'such as Charade' (what coupons are available that I can print out and bring in-store...and what would be the best combo to present coupons to cashier) some of you guys really got this down to a science and I am quite impressed, I may pick up a few but at least one for starters[/QUOTE]

Well, the 25% off coupon that a lot of us have been talking about expired yesterday, and there hasn't been a new one yet (there may well not be, as unlike Borders, B&N doesn't offer coupons every week). Since you're a new member, though, you should use the new member coupons:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav.asp?r=1&PID=36125

See the second one down, for $5 off on a DVD (works for blu-ray too).

Generally, there are no "combo" options for coupons -- it's one coupon per transaction. You'll get whatever coupon you use, plus your member discount. So Charade, to use your example, would cost you $13 ($20 - $2.00 member discount - $5.00 coupon) with the new member coupon, plus tax.

Technically those new member coupons work for anyone with a membership (assuming the cashier isn't paying enough attention to catch it, which they usually aren't), though I've personally felt a little uncomfortable about using a coupon that I'm blatantly not eligible for (my membership is about to expire, so it's definitely not new). YMMV on how you feel about it, though. I'll readily admit to being vaguely hypocritical about it, since I had no problem with using the 25% off coupon (which was supposed to be one coupon per customer) a bunch of times.
 
I was told I could not use those coupons because I had a free membership, and those coupons were for paying members only. That sounds like BS to me.
 
[quote name='ackbar7']I was told I could not use those coupons because I had a free membership, and those coupons were for paying members only. That sounds like BS to me.[/QUOTE]

Definitely BS.
My adventures went as follows.
On Friday I purchased Seven Samurai on blu ray with 25% coupon. As I was buying that they cashier suggested AK 100, which I knew of but wasn't looking to spend that much.

Got back to my office (doing this on my lunch break) and still had that AK 100 on my mind. so I went on BN.com and signed up for the 2 month trial with the intention of going back after work. The site wouldn't let me check out with just that in the trial in the cart so I added a $10 e gift card sent to myself. I get confirmation and it says the items wouldn't ship until NOV 16th (which was no good to me since the 25% expired on the next day (Nov 14th), Called BN spoke to rep who told me I should get egiftcard in about an hour but the trail might take 48 hours. angry but still rational I accepted defeat.

Went about my evening and the following Saturday morning I got an email with bout eCard and trial. Printed both emails out, went back to BN.com, got AK 100 for $146 after 25% off and 10% off from trail. Also allowed me to pick up Yojimbo/Sanjuro using the 25%/10%. On top of that the same wonderful cashier who help me the previous day allowed me to get an adjustment on my Seven Samurai since I didnt have my trail for that transaction. Absolutely awesome service.

Later that night went out and got Kagemusha from a different BN for about $14 (was really surprised at that) and even thought about getting Merry Christmas for Mr Lawrence but changed my mind since i have it somewhere on DVD.

The Cashiers @ Bn were some of the best and seemed very knowledgeable. They were very patient and helpful. I feel bad that some one earlier mentioned their rep got in trouble.
 
Wow, all of the Kurosawa blu-rays and AK 100? That's dedication. I was tempted by the AK 100 set when I first heard about it, but I decided to skip it because I know that all of those movies will come out on blu-ray sooner or later. Between the blu-rays that are out now and the DVDs that I already had, I've got about a quarter of that box set already. If I have a great urge to watch any of the rest of them in the meantime, I'll just netflix them.
 
In case anyone cares about the mini-saga I went though, the store manager called me back today. She said everything was explained to her and she wouldn't be able to do anything because of the terms of the coupon (One per customer) I said that wasn't even the issue anymore, but the time and gas I wasted on a falsehood that was told to me. She apologized and said her staff will be retrained.
Later in the call I hinted at the fact I was upset about the gas and money that was wasted and all she did was reiterate that the staff will be retrained and that she called some other store managers to let them know to retrain their staff. Arghh, I shouldn't have even asked. Now I probably ruined some kind woman's life in Media and all of the other stores are getting spoken to for a dumb reason.

Stingy ass bitches, give me a 10.00 giftcard for my gas and troubles at least, shit.

EDIT: 5 dollar coupon can only be redeemed once too. :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']In case anyone cares about the mini-saga I went though, the store manager called me back today. She said everything was explained to her and she wouldn't be able to do anything because of the terms of the coupon (One per customer) I said that wasn't even the issue anymore, but the time and gas I wasted on a falsehood that was told to me. She apologized and said her staff will be retrained.
Later in the call I hinted at the fact I was upset about the gas and money that was wasted and all she did was reiterate that the staff will be retrained and that she called some other store managers to let them know to retrain their staff. Arghh, I shouldn't have even asked.

Stingy ass bitches, give me a 10.00 giftcard for my gas and troubles at least, shit.

EDIT: 5 dollar coupon can only be redeemed once too. :([/QUOTE]

And in all seriousness, this is why when something like this comes up, you need to leave it the hell alone. You screwed up by not planning ahead and buying a membership. They don't owe you an extra discount, and they don't owe you a gift card for your "gas and troubles" when they won't do something for you that their policy clearly states that they won't do, even if some low-level employee told you otherwise on the phone. Deal with it.

This is exactly the sort of thing that's going to cause them to crack down on things like multiple coupon use. From the sound of it, you can definitely count on it happening at that store, and possibly even at all of the stores in that area. If that manager decides that she's really irritated about it, she could even raise the issue to the corporate level. By the next sale, it might no longer be an option for any of us. If that happens, we'll know who to thank. Oh, and when that cashier who did all of that for you is looking for a new job, I'm sure she'll be thanking you too.

I'm sorry, I was on your side for a bit, but when you start calling them "stingy ass bitches" and raising a fuss about "gas and troubles" for not letting you get away with something you knew they probably couldn't/shouldn't do for you and not compensating you when you attempted anyway, that's just taking the level of entitlement way the hell overboard.
 
[quote name='arcane93']Wow, all of the Kurosawa blu-rays and AK 100? That's dedication. I was tempted by the AK 100 set when I first heard about it, but I decided to skip it because I know that all of those movies will come out on blu-ray sooner or later. Between the blu-rays that are out now and the DVDs that I already had, I've got about a quarter of that box set already. If I have a great urge to watch any of the rest of them in the meantime, I'll just netflix them.[/QUOTE]

at that price I couldn't pass it up, figured I'd rather have it and regret it, than kick my myself over and over for not getting it at that price.

They may be out on blu ray sooner or later but 25 movies on blu ray @ (at least) $10 each is easily $250. The majority are in B&W, which might get some upgrades but I'll just account the quality to the films age.

Also how long does Criterion hold the licenses for? I'd love to have RAN but seems the blu ray is not criterion, thus not well put together. The Criterion RAN is OOP and HTF.

I felt a bit stupid buying Sam.Sev. , YOJ/SAN, and KAGE while they are included in the box but felt it's justified.
 
I'd be surprised if Criterion put every single Kurosawa movie on BD. Knowing the pace they go out, such a task would take forever anyway. Anyway, the one thing that stopped me from getting AK 100 was the lack of extras for the movies. The standalone releases are much better in that respect.

I currently own the older and newer copies of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. I''m still on the fence on whether I should buy each of those a third time, on Blu-ray. I think the DVD transfers look amazing already. I'm hoping The Hidden Fortress is next in line to get some BD love from Criterion, it's a great film.
 
[quote name='NegativeZero']Also how long does Criterion hold the licenses for? I'd love to have RAN but seems the blu ray is not criterion, thus not well put together. The Criterion RAN is OOP and HTF. [/QUOTE]

That varies from title to title, but Ran was a special case because the rights to it are owned by Studio Canal, who pulled most of their movies from Criterion when they decided to create their own high-level imprint. To the best of my knowledge, they don't own the rights to any of the other Kurosawa films, and none of the rights holders for those other films have shown any interest in licensing them to anyone other than Criterion.

To be fair, the Studio Canal blu-ray of Ran isn't that bad. A lot of people, including the reviewers, have gone a bit overboard in their criticism of it because they're disappointed that Criterion didn't do it. Studio Canal did go a little heavy on the edge enhancement, but other than that, the colors are bright, the contrast is good, and the film grain is visible (so they didn't use too much smoothing). Despite its problems, it looks better than all previous versions, including the Criterion DVD. Would Criterion have done a better job with it? Most certainly. But that doesn't mean that it's bad. If you want it, you should buy it.

[quote name='ssjmichael']I'd be surprised if Criterion put every single Kurosawa movie on BD.[/QUOTE]

Well, keep in mind that we're not talking about every Kurosawa movie, just the 25 in the AK 100 set. They've put out four in a year, which is a pretty good pace for them. Sure, at that rate, it'll take about five years before they're all out, but it'll happen. It also wouldn't entirely surprise me if we see a few more simultaneous/box set titles to get them out faster. Kurosawa is one of Criterion's bread-and-butter directors, and they know it. It would be almost crazy for them to not do it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah i guess we could start seeing BD versions of the Eclipse series boxsets come out. The Postwar and early Kurosawa sets would have 9 of the 25, and there's already 4 AK blus released.
 
[quote name='ssjmichael']Yeah i guess we could start seeing BD versions of the Eclipse series boxsets come out. The Postwar and early Kurosawa sets would have 9 of the 25, and there's already 4 AK blus released.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, beyond the Kurosawa, I'm really kind of shocked that we haven't seen any of the Eclipse Series sets on blu-ray yet. I can maybe understand why they haven't gone back and done the old ones yet, but I'm pretty disappointed that the Basil Dearden set coming out in January isn't scheduled for a simultaneous blu-ray release.
 
Criterion just announced their February releases -- on blu: Amacord, The Double Life of Veronique, Fish Tank, Still Walking, Sweet Smell of Success, and Senso. I think I'm actually excited about all of those. Things to look forward to for the next sale!

Though geez . . . six in a single month? It's going to be hard to keep up if they start going at that pace.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']In case anyone cares about the mini-saga I went though, the store manager called me back today. She said everything was explained to her and she wouldn't be able to do anything because of the terms of the coupon (One per customer) I said that wasn't even the issue anymore, but the time and gas I wasted on a falsehood that was told to me. She apologized and said her staff will be retrained.
Later in the call I hinted at the fact I was upset about the gas and money that was wasted and all she did was reiterate that the staff will be retrained and that she called some other store managers to let them know to retrain their staff. Arghh, I shouldn't have even asked. Now I probably ruined some kind woman's life in Media and all of the other stores are getting spoken to for a dumb reason.

Stingy ass bitches, give me a 10.00 giftcard for my gas and troubles at least, shit.

EDIT: 5 dollar coupon can only be redeemed once too. :([/QUOTE]


Wow. You seem like a cool guy and all but that last little tantrum probably killed any respect you had.

Even without the $5 off coupon you got the Blu Rays for $17.99 each with free shipping on BN.com. That already there is a bad ass deal for movies that HARDLY go on sale. HARDLY. But you were able to use the $5 off coupon without any limits and you are still crying. Ungrateful I'd say. ( Plus 10 percent off for being a member)

I purchased 5 movies online and then decided I would sign up for the membership and try my luck with tthe $5 coupon. But cashier at my local BN would not budge and even started to get an attitude when I corrected her about the terms of the coupon. She tried to tell me it is below $20 after the discount but its the selling price BEFORE discounts. So I left it alone and still thanked her. Even though my lady asked me why I even bothered to thank her. Well why ruin her day? She is just human and following procedures. So I just used one $5 off dvd coup and the %25off coup. Was going to let my lady use another %25 off coup for a seperate movie but I couldnt find the title I wanted.
 
[quote name='AceBB6']Wow. You seem like a cool guy and all but that last little tantrum probably killed any respect you had.

Even without the $5 off coupon you got the Blu Rays for $17.99 each with free shipping on BN.com. That already there is a bad ass deal for movies that HARDLY go on sale. HARDLY. But you were able to use the $5 off coupon without any limits and you are still crying. Ungrateful I'd say. ( Plus 10 percent off for being a member)
[/QUOTE]
There was no tantrum thrown. I explained I was told I could do one thing and I arrive in the store and was told differently. That is the nature of my complaint to the store manager because I wasted my gas and time because of what a representive of the store told me.

Also, I didn't have a membership card at the time. LOL, wow. Shows how well you read. Next time read or GTFO.

And Arcane, fair enough, but I would consider that you weren't there in the conversation. I paid her respect and she did to me. I have no major complaints about what happened and this is my mistake, as you have noted. I think you read too much into the stingy ass bitches comment-- I am sarcastic, after all.

Also, this sort of thing snowballed out of control. All I did was call in, ask if I could do this (figuring the answer would be no) and heard otherwise. I tried my luck, got shot down, and all of a sudden it turned into a huge deal. I couldn't have foretold that a manager would come, have a discussionwith me , and tell me that she is going to talk to the cashier and escalate the issue to the store manager so that she could give me the final word. I didn't even really wanted it escalated to a store manager, but she wanted to provide me with a resolution that she felt was accurate (because she wasn't sure if she should stick to Ryan's word or decline me)

Also, it would be majorlulz if I am the cause of a crackdown on coupons. I don't think I've ever seen my store manager's reaction to something be the cause of change at a corporate level in all of the years I worked retail, but I guess I can't say it's impossible.

I can't speak for Barnes and Noble, but I know at Target I got talked to about coupons all the damn time. There were a lot of irresponsible coupon acceptance and I don't recall a single person getting a write up, let alone firing. A coaching, sometimes is just a coaching. But for my own good feeling, I'm going to call Barnes and Noble and ask for Catherine to see if I get a "She's working today, not working today, or she no longer works here"

Honestly though I doubt she gets fired. This wasn't even something serious like a manufacturer's coupon being used multiple times for one coupon. It's a website coupon that anyone can print up. I doubt the website coupons hold as much meaning as a manufacturer's coupon. The website coupons sure as hell didn't mean anything at Target. I predict Catherine will get spoken to about it and she'll either be a rebel and keep doing it or cease doing it and I'll have ruined every film snob's life that lives in the Gilbert/Mesa, AZ area.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So if your not throwing a tantrum( whining and crying), what is the point of calling her a stingy ass bitch? and F*ck your time and money. You already saved a crap load of money from the cashier allowing you to use the coupon multiple times.

I only was able to use 1, 1 $5 coupon....
 
It was sarcastic? I mean shit, people say sarcastic things. It's sort of why I picked a ridiculous term like that. I'm not sure, I guess next time I'll stick an emoticon next to it so that people don't think I'm an asshole. ;)
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Also, it would be majorlulz if I am the cause of a crackdown on coupons. I don't think I've ever seen my store manager's reaction to something be the cause of change at a corporate level in all of the years I worked retail, but I guess I can't say it's impossible.[/QUOTE]

Will a store manager's reaction in and of itself cause a change at the corporate level? Of course not. However, if she points out that she has documented an incident in which one customer used a single-use coupon thirty times (for a total of around $150 in discounts on $600 in purchases), and it gets to the right person, it may make them aware that there's an issue and cause them to investigate it further. If they find that too many incidents of multiple coupon use are happening (easy to see for members at least, as they store all member transactions for tracking/marketing purposes), you can bet they'll want to do something about it. It would probably not be difficult at all for them to program their system to track member use of coupons and only allow a single use (their website already does it), and it's probably oversight rather than intention that it hasn't already happened. As for non-member use like yours, all it would take is being sure not to issue non-member coupons during the sale. Or alternately, they could just disallow additional coupons on sale items altogether (really, it's kind of amazing that they do allow it, very few other retailers would). Trust me, if they do look at it and feel that it's hurting their bottom line, they'll do something about it.

Barnes and Noble is a big company. Chances are that the people that issue the coupons and the people that run the Criterion sale normally don't even talk to each other, which is why any of this is possible to begin with. Incidents like this are exactly the sort of thing that can make them talk to each other, though. It's also a company that's been having a great deal of financial difficulties, and if the people who do the books find a big hole to plug, you can bet they're going to go after it.

[quote name='Friend of Sonic']This wasn't even something serious like a manufacturer's coupon being used multiple times for one coupon. It's a website coupon that anyone can print up. I doubt the website coupons hold as much meaning as a manufacturer's coupon.[/QUOTE]

Actually, to Barnes and Noble, they mean a hell of a lot more. Stores get compensated by the manufacturer for manufacturer's coupons. As long as there's not evidence of rampant fraud, they'll get the money back (and usually a very small additional amount -- that adds up quickly -- on top of it for their effort). For store coupons like these, they're offering the discount themselves, so it's a direct cut into their profits on that sale. They're already selling these movies at 50% off before any coupons -- while that is likely largely sponsored through discounts from Criterion, they are probably also accepting a significantly lower than normal profit margin on them as well. They may well not be making any money, or even taking a loss, once a coupon is applied. If that's the case, then for a single use as the coupons are supposed to be, they might consider it a loss leader to get customers aware of the sale and into the store. A loss leader is only valuable, though, if the customer buys additional items that aren't loss leaders as well. If the customer only stocks up on loss leaders, that customer is worse than useless to them.

Look -- I'm not saying that anything will happen. Just that this could easily be the result of it, if the manager makes an issue of it and it gets up the chain to the right people. You're right, I wasn't there -- but you sure make her sound pretty high-strung about the issue.

As for the cashier, that really depends on the manager as well. It was a blatant disregard for store policy, and I've known people who have been fired for less.

And sarcasm frequently doesn't translate well to the internet. When it doesn't, it just leaves you looking like an asshole.
 
[quote name='ssjmichael']I'd be surprised if Criterion put every single Kurosawa movie on BD. Knowing the pace they go out, such a task would take forever anyway. Anyway, the one thing that stopped me from getting AK 100 was the lack of extras for the movies. The standalone releases are much better in that respect.

I currently own the older and newer copies of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro. I''m still on the fence on whether I should buy each of those a third time, on Blu-ray. I think the DVD transfers look amazing already. I'm hoping The Hidden Fortress is next in line to get some BD love from Criterion, it's a great film.[/QUOTE]

I hear you on the extras, another reason I nearly did not pick up AK 100 was the lack of extras, but then I thought about me and how often I actually view them and realized it didn't matter. They would be nice to have but not completely necessary. I only have so much time in my life to play games and watch movies, can always get as in depth as I would like to.
3rd time purchase? I don't think I could do it, unless I sold the previous editions which would then pay for the new release.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top