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Release News

The Criterion Collection loses rights to films, Pierrot Le Fou Blu-ray to go Out Of Print OOP

This is a sad, sad day. The Criterion Collection has announced that they have lost the right to publish a significant group of their titles. I’m aghast. From the sounds of things, all of these titles will now be a part of the Studio Canal/Lionsgate deal which has recently brought us the less-than-spectacular Blu-ray release of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran. You might remember that Criterion was just about to release Ran on Blu-ray when the earlier part of this deal yanked the carpet out from under them. It’s so depressing to know that a superior transfer exists but until the current Studio Canal disc goes Out Of Print we’ll never see it. …sigh…

Pierreot Le Fou Blu-ray DiscThe most important thing to know right now, for you Blu-ray fanatics out there, is that Criterion’s recently released Blu-ray of Pierrot Le Fou is among the titles that are going bye-bye. If you love the film, are a Criterion Blu-ray completist or just want to show your support for the company you need to rush over to the Criterion store and pick it up ASAP (alternately, head to Amazon.com while their supplies last.) Sounds like these discs are starting to disappear quickly now that the word is out. You’ll find most back-ordered as of this writing. I’ll take a back-order over an OOP (Out Of Print) any day!

Here’s what Criterion has posted on their site, including the full list of titles they’re about to lose:

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