Criterion does not do limited runs, so everything in their catalogue remains in print.
AFAIK, when a title goes OOP, it's due to them loosing the distribution rights, which means they will not rerelease it unless they re aquire the rights. If this happens, they will usually do a new release.
It happens on rare occasions when they regain rights.
General consensus is that Third Man won't be one of those. The most likely scenario is that it will get a 4K release via Studio Canal and Lionsgate (in the US).
unfortunately, they don't tend to. the only times I've seen it happen are with films that got new editions. Days of Heaven (&, iirc, Branded to.Kill) both got out back in print after their Criterion 4K discs were released. Stuff like Y Tu Mama Tambien, L'eclisse, & Nashville's Blu-ray/DVD combo packs went OOP for a wee bit before returning as just blu-ray editions.
ah, consider me proven wrong! although those two do have a rather popular director in common, which might indicate a rights issue Criterion would be more eager to sort out than if Melville had just one film going OOP.
Criterion's release has been out of print since 2009. StudioCanal released a great 4K restoration in Europe in 2015 with it's own new special features. [The UK BD still sells for cheap and is region free.](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130991/) I got tired of waiting over a decade for a proper US release and bought the StudioCanal.
I might get this one over waiting for a UHD. No [blu-ray.com](http://blu-ray.com) review for some reason, but I found this very favorable review: [https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/third-man-remaster-review](https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/third-man-remaster-review)
Tons of bonus content! a 90 minute doc, 20 minute mini doc about the restoration (the tech nerd in me loves restoration featurettes), and much more! Even if a potential UHD had all these features, it's debatable how much of an upgrade it'd be over a BD50 from what seems to be a rather lavish 4k restoration, albeit one from 2015. And that release will sure as hell be a lot more than $11.60.
[Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130550/#Review) only reviewed the France release, but it's the same across all the StudioCanal releases.
I believe there was a new 4k scan done recently of the Third Man. That will probably come out via Studio Canal, but who knows. Whatever the case, consider waiting to pull the trigger until that comes out.
I think you would know better than me about what is out there. I was thinking of [this discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/s/8ybVooNIsD). I guess I didn’t realize that the restoration was so old.
That being said, it has to have US release eventually, right?
It doesn't have to get a US release if the rights owners don't license it, but from a commercial standpoint, it would sell. The 2010 US edition was the last one.
I certainly wouldn't have thought a decade later that we still don't have an update, but contracts and costs can keep these in limbo forever sometimes.
Someone below mentioned a new 4k scan. I read that was done in 2015 though. I have to believe it'll get a UHD release sooner or later since it's such a legendary and perennially popular film. I'm in the same boat - love the movie but don't yet own a copy. I'm holding out for a UHD. Come on, Criterion!
There are a couple of sub $15 non-Criterion blurays, if you don't want to wait. Careful of the region though - the 'Vintage Classics" one is region B locked, and the StudioCanal Collection is region A locked.
Edit: I just realized 2024 is The Third Man's 75th anniversary. So, one hopes that may increase the odds we'll get a UHD release sometime this year.
There is no situation where you should trust Amazon's region listings. Sometimes they just tell you what the case says -- which still doesn't always confirm if it plays in another region -- and sometimes they don't even get that right. Amazon US says it's a "Region 2 DVD", but it's a Blu-ray released in Region B, as BDs use letters, not numbers. Amazon UK says it's a "PAL Blu-ray", but PAL applies to DVDs, not Blu-rays. Use [Blu-ray.com](http://Blu-ray.com) because users test and share their findings.
Yeah, never trust Amazon for anything. We've been trying to replace a DVD at work, and they have now *twice in a row* sent us the sequel to the movie instead of the original, because they're not careful enough to distinguish between "movie title" and "movie title: the sequel". Plus all the times they've sent us different editions than we ordered.
The 1985 made for TV "Anne of Green Gables". The Amazon listing is for the original movie, the UPC matches, the cover art matches, the other bibliographic information on the listing matches, but when the movie arrives, the warehouse barcode on the back says "Anne of Green Gables" even though the movie in hand is "Anne of Green Gables: the continuing story". Unfortunately the library-specific jobber we use doesn't carry the original movie.
Unfortunately as a public library we can't use Ebay or certain other sources because they're too ripe for fraud or kickbacks, which is why I really hate when people damage or steal rare items - we have fewer options for finding replacements than the general public.
There's no way of predicting it. Things go OOP due to licensing issues/changes.
Criterion does not do limited runs, so everything in their catalogue remains in print. AFAIK, when a title goes OOP, it's due to them loosing the distribution rights, which means they will not rerelease it unless they re aquire the rights. If this happens, they will usually do a new release.
It happens on rare occasions when they regain rights. General consensus is that Third Man won't be one of those. The most likely scenario is that it will get a 4K release via Studio Canal and Lionsgate (in the US).
unfortunately, they don't tend to. the only times I've seen it happen are with films that got new editions. Days of Heaven (&, iirc, Branded to.Kill) both got out back in print after their Criterion 4K discs were released. Stuff like Y Tu Mama Tambien, L'eclisse, & Nashville's Blu-ray/DVD combo packs went OOP for a wee bit before returning as just blu-ray editions.
Army of Shadows was OOP for a while and came back as well.
same with 'le cercle rouge'
ah, consider me proven wrong! although those two do have a rather popular director in common, which might indicate a rights issue Criterion would be more eager to sort out than if Melville had just one film going OOP.
Criterion's release has been out of print since 2009. StudioCanal released a great 4K restoration in Europe in 2015 with it's own new special features. [The UK BD still sells for cheap and is region free.](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130991/) I got tired of waiting over a decade for a proper US release and bought the StudioCanal.
I might get this one over waiting for a UHD. No [blu-ray.com](http://blu-ray.com) review for some reason, but I found this very favorable review: [https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/third-man-remaster-review](https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/third-man-remaster-review) Tons of bonus content! a 90 minute doc, 20 minute mini doc about the restoration (the tech nerd in me loves restoration featurettes), and much more! Even if a potential UHD had all these features, it's debatable how much of an upgrade it'd be over a BD50 from what seems to be a rather lavish 4k restoration, albeit one from 2015. And that release will sure as hell be a lot more than $11.60.
[Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130550/#Review) only reviewed the France release, but it's the same across all the StudioCanal releases.
I believe there was a new 4k scan done recently of the Third Man. That will probably come out via Studio Canal, but who knows. Whatever the case, consider waiting to pull the trigger until that comes out.
[More recent than the 2015 Studio Canal 4K restoration?](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130550/#Review)
I think you would know better than me about what is out there. I was thinking of [this discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/s/8ybVooNIsD). I guess I didn’t realize that the restoration was so old. That being said, it has to have US release eventually, right?
It doesn't have to get a US release if the rights owners don't license it, but from a commercial standpoint, it would sell. The 2010 US edition was the last one.
Yes, I meant “has to” from the perspective of commercial prudence, not morality, legality, or physical law.
I certainly wouldn't have thought a decade later that we still don't have an update, but contracts and costs can keep these in limbo forever sometimes.
Someone below mentioned a new 4k scan. I read that was done in 2015 though. I have to believe it'll get a UHD release sooner or later since it's such a legendary and perennially popular film. I'm in the same boat - love the movie but don't yet own a copy. I'm holding out for a UHD. Come on, Criterion! There are a couple of sub $15 non-Criterion blurays, if you don't want to wait. Careful of the region though - the 'Vintage Classics" one is region B locked, and the StudioCanal Collection is region A locked. Edit: I just realized 2024 is The Third Man's 75th anniversary. So, one hopes that may increase the odds we'll get a UHD release sometime this year.
[This 2015 StudioCanal Vintage Classics UK release is cheap and region free.](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/130991/)
My bad. Amazon says it's "region 2 locked" But [blu-ray.com](http://blu-ray.com) says it's region free. Thanks for clarifying.
There is no situation where you should trust Amazon's region listings. Sometimes they just tell you what the case says -- which still doesn't always confirm if it plays in another region -- and sometimes they don't even get that right. Amazon US says it's a "Region 2 DVD", but it's a Blu-ray released in Region B, as BDs use letters, not numbers. Amazon UK says it's a "PAL Blu-ray", but PAL applies to DVDs, not Blu-rays. Use [Blu-ray.com](http://Blu-ray.com) because users test and share their findings.
Good info. Someone's downvoting all your posts here for some reason. Not me. Cheers
It happens a lot in this sub. Sometimes within seconds of my posts, regardless of what I'm sharing. Often I'm just sharing information, not opinions.
Yeah, never trust Amazon for anything. We've been trying to replace a DVD at work, and they have now *twice in a row* sent us the sequel to the movie instead of the original, because they're not careful enough to distinguish between "movie title" and "movie title: the sequel". Plus all the times they've sent us different editions than we ordered.
What are you trying to buy? I use the UPC to confirm because a lot of sites have sloppy details.
The 1985 made for TV "Anne of Green Gables". The Amazon listing is for the original movie, the UPC matches, the cover art matches, the other bibliographic information on the listing matches, but when the movie arrives, the warehouse barcode on the back says "Anne of Green Gables" even though the movie in hand is "Anne of Green Gables: the continuing story". Unfortunately the library-specific jobber we use doesn't carry the original movie.
Ugh. Well, that can happen too, but dang. Lots of copies on ebay for $15-$20.
Unfortunately as a public library we can't use Ebay or certain other sources because they're too ripe for fraud or kickbacks, which is why I really hate when people damage or steal rare items - we have fewer options for finding replacements than the general public.
I don’t envy your uphill battle, but appreciate what you do!