i figured they were mainly intended to be bought by education groups.
The the budget shopper and/or the supplement careless, I think they make sense.
Some people may just want the movies. And the Janus Box is a big commitment. Also, those who don’t want the ENTIRE Criterion Collection, just the, um, “essentials.”
yeah, it makes sense.
Some of the original releases are out of print and are only available this way.
Ya, if nothing else their great for teachers and/or film professors who don’t want to break the bank every week they screen a movie, and it would make sense for Criterion to try and get those to places like BestBuy instead of the expensive editions (I know my local place has had the same exact copies of Vivre and Wings of Desire since the day they came out).
The Essentials is just the stripped down package and perfect for schools to buy in bulk.
Some of the movies of Essential Arthouse haven’t been released in the Criterion collection:
Pontecorvo’s KAPO
Cass’s LAST HOLIDAY
Clément’s GERVAISE
Litvak’s MAYERLING
Carné’s LE JOUR SE LEVE.
Marketing 101: Price Points
$500 Janus Set : Uber Collectors Only (i.e. “I obsess of being complete.”)
$60-80 Criterion Box Sets : Serious Collectors (i.e. “Criterion puts out the best, so I must buy it.”)
$30-$40 Criterion : Collector/Film Buff (i.e. “I love _________, I have to have the best version available.”)
$20 Essential Art House : Novice Film Buff/Impulse Buy (i.e. “I’ve heard about ______, I think I will check it out.”)
After retailer discounts, I have seen the Essential Art House version for $15-$18. This makes them a perfect fit to be put beside every other movie released and be competitive for the retailer.
Don’t be suprised if they introduce a $10 Digital copy version in the next few years to maybe grab the lower end of consumers or maybe a subscription service online like netflix.
I do like the fact that they are bringing out a few films that are not available anywhere else even if it is in a stripped down collection.
I’ll just buy the version of the film that’s the cheapest. Sometimes I buy the Korean DVDs because they’re cheaper and NTSC-ALL. (Like I did with Letter From An Unknown Woman, Eraserhead, a Chaplin collection, and Voyage in Italy.)
I’d rather be called a novice film buff and have money to spend on food and rent than have a technically better version with commentaries added. When I get a six figure income I’ll only buy criterion.
Basic economics: Many people shy away from the pricier Criterion editions and are more selective. Essential Art House allows Criterion to release the same titles at a cheaper price and make a profit while also going gently on the pocketbooks of their customer. Essentially, they created a supply to meet a certain demand.
so we have to thanks goldman sach, jp morgan and lehman brothers for essential art house….
how do they look? as fine as their criterion counterparts?
The transfers are the same, but zero supplements.
thanks
so it may be a good buy for movies like: “throne of blood” or “the lord of the flies”
Aside from the obvious which people have chimed in on…
It’s also important to note that there are five titles from Essential Art House that were released and never was included in The Criterion Collection or Eclipse Series and four of them I believe are now oop:
(UPDATE: Sorry Daniel, just saw you posted this earlier) Last Holiday, Gervaise, Le Jour Se Leve and Mayerling, Kapo is the fifth and you can get this right now on sale via the B&N sale online for like $8.99 I think and if you have a membership…probably much less.
So, there is interest from Criterion fans who just realized that these titles were never available previously and are trying to get them. Fortunately, I believe you can still find these titles on eBay. But if you can get them cheap, its all good.
thanks kndy for putting things in a broader perspective
i ve only waiting for the kurosawa essential art house set( ikiru/throne of blood/ hidden fortress)
to buy my first; just rented: “la strada” and its looks wonderful
divineM
What’s the rationale behind these Essential Arthouse DVDs? They’re already in the Janus Box and in the Criterion Collection. Just askin’.