The Criterion release of Pierrot Le Fou will never actually go up in value, will it?
Considering there are new copies still for sale, quite some time, I fear.
Probably around 70 years. Although Criterion makes a high-grade product, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s mass-produced and already widely available. The likelihood of Criterion releases becoming collector’s items is quite low. Probably you’ll get the highest price right after the film goes out-of-print (which will be never) or immediately after the Criterion label disappears. I don’t think any particular film distributor offers enough in itself that their releases would hold long-term value (at any rate beyond that of the actual film).
I know there are a lot of Criterion supporters around, but it’s just one distributor among many others and nothing more.
But Faux Nom:
Pierrot Le Fou is out of print on Criterion. That’s the point. Also, Criterions are not mass-produced, at least not the way DVDs from say Warner Bros. are. Out of Print Criterions always keep the value as a collector’s item once they gain that value, unless of course the film comes back into print. I doubt The Third Man blu ray from Criterion will ever be easily attainable ever again. That’s only going to go up in value, unless Criterion gets the rights back. The drawback is it wouldn’t be so special anymore.
Anyhow, rare LPs from the 60s are certainly worth money today. Emphasis on the word ‘rare’. In other words, LP copies of Zeppelin are not rare, and are therefore worth nothing. Out of Print Criterions become rare, and that is why they become collector’s items if they go out of print.
_"Out of Print Criterions always keep the value as a collector’s item once they gain that value, unless of course the film comes back into print. I doubt The Third Man blu ray from Criterion will ever be easily attainable ever again."
A lot of people are going to be perfectly satisfied with the StudioCanal BD, though, so that takes a big bite out of the Criterion’s potential value.
I meant out-of-print definitively, with every distributor. I’m sure I could find Pierrot le fou at pretty much any “underground” film store. My point is that value is attached more to the film itself than to any particular edition of it.
Also, there are literally in the tens of thousands of copies, probably more, of any given film in the Criterion catalogue. They’re not exactly limited edition. So no, I don’t think they’ll be holding any long-term value. Besides, the worth of a Criterion release is tied to the DVD format. Eventually a more advanced format will appear and there will be little or no market for DVD’s. Film, vinyl &c. offer a certain quality that DVD’s do not. Being a digital format, the DVD will simply be replaced by something else which will do the same job, only better.
Perhaps Matt, but it’s unlikely one will ever be able to obtain a copy of it, The Third Man CC BD, used or new for $40 ever again.
‘My point is that value is attached more to the film itself that to any particular edition’
That rule changes though when a film has a Criterion release that happens to be out of print. The Third Man and Contempt are perfect, textbook cases of this.
Anyhow, The Third Man is probably a unique case, since that film appeals to wide audience well beyond the die hard film lover demographic, which wouldn’t even know the difference between the Criterion and another release, whereas Pierrot Le Fou itself appeals to much more of a niche audience, which would in fact know the difference between a Criterion and all other releases.
What you say about vinyl vs. DVD is absolutely true, but the more important question is will there ever be a home video release of Pierrot Le Fou that tops the Criterion?
hah, believe it or not I sold my Blu Ray for 100 dollars to some schmuck.
Give it time. I doubt it will rise in value as fast as The Third Man did, but in another year or so I’m sure $70 will be the average price, if not more.
Just hold on to it. And sell it for $1 million when it eventually gets to that value.
And Criterion is the bestest and we need more Criterion-related questions that say nothing about cinema but how much you can sell your used Criteron DVDs for.
By the way, how long do you guys think i’d have to wait for my Criterion DVDs of Chasing Amy and Armageddon to go up in value?
Are Criterion films similar to auctions on the United States or what?
Why did The Third Man become so valuable? It was out for a longer period of time than Pierrot Le Fou was, and I’m sure it was pressed in similar quantities, and it’s not too difficult to find copies used and new listed on amazon and ebay.
Umm, Renault, you’re answering your own question. You seem convinced that they’re going up in value, contrary to other people’s opinions you solicited. (and contrary to the way you yourself phrased the thread’s title) What’s the purpose of this thread? To cheer yourself on that the price of a certain dvd you own will go up in value?
I’ve seen the CC Pierrot Blu ray for $29.95 in stores. I wouldn’t buy it since I already have the DVD anyway, and I can’t picture it being a 3rd Man-style investment. I still remember holding 3 copies of the 3rd Man Blu ray in my had, back when they were announced as OOP. I thought to myself, “Hmm, I wonder if I should buy all 3 copies and sell 2 of them for double the price a few years from now? Nah, they won’t ever go up in price…” oops.
lol
Like anything that goes OOP, anyone can set their price to the highest level and it’s all about what one would pay.
Personally, I will not pay so much for an OOP film. But to each their own.
Renault
I ask because I happen to own this release on both DVD and Blu-ray, but I wouldn’t expect to get more than say $20 for the DVD on ebay, even though it’s in great condition, and I’m just wondering how long I’d have to wait before I could sell it for say $35-$40+.