As an American collector who only in the past year learned about Eureka, this is great news. My biggest hope is that they open as much of their back catalog for us.
In all honesty, as a film collector in the states I've always been incredibly jealous about all of Europe's vast amounts of boutique labels. Eureka being one of them. I'm so damn glad that they are now starting to come over to the states. Especially since Eureka has a very large Asian cinema lineup. Which I really appreciate.
Funnily enough, as a UK collector I've always been jealous of collectors in the states. Every time a film gets a 4K from Shout or Scream factory I know there's little to no chance of it ever making it's way over here.
I’m an American collector, starting my Eureka collection with “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.” I added “Pandora’s Box” thanks to your recommendation. I originally purchased a region-free dvd player when I purchased BFI’S “Napoleon.” That said, I’m very happy to have Eureka as a US distributor.
Not surprised. All businesses go where the money is. As others have pointed out, the problem isn't that the US will get Eureka titles. I mean, it never even occurred to me that Eureka was a UK company. It's just that for us in the UK, releases are now likely to be even more expensive, and the focus will probably shift to licensing in the US (like Arrow with Re-animator, Basket Case, Django and so on). But moving to the market makes financial sense, for sure. And if it helps the company thrive, it's churlish to begrudge that.
In my opinion the issue is not so much that UK based companies like arrow and eureka are expanding their business in the USA, which is good news for physical media in general, as the fact that other great US based companies like Shout or Kino lorber remain region A only.
@@markpugh6808’Only’, is doing a lot of lifting there. Basically, it’s just short of doubling the price (and in some instances, more than doubles the price) for a single disc. The £:$ exchange rate is not so good this way as it is to the US. I have a multi-region player but have to keep very strict limits on what I can afford to import.
I'm Australian and am fortunate that the Blu-rays from Europe and Britain are also Region B, like Aus and NZ and so I have many Eureka discs. I just hope that they keep doing Region B or go to all regions so I can play them here (my Blu-ray seems to be non-region for DVDs). But what I really hope for is that Eureka remains free postage which really helps us in the colonies.
I think it's a good thing! I've enjoyed the direction Eureka have gone in, makes sense business wise and keeps the releases fresh. I'm sure they will change things again in time as Hong Kong and Japanese cinema licences dry up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍
I have imported so many Italian films to the US from 01 Distribution, it's crazy. The costs are crazy but it's the only way, so the more spreading of media around the world the better
I hope this helps Eureka to continue to exist. Going to the largest market in the world(for now) can only help. I'm in California and have an all-region BD player to compliment my PS5. I have an Amazon UK acct, have bought directly form both Arrow and Eureka. It won't take much for UK cinephiles et al. to take advantage of this. More choices more better?...Hopefully!
The concern for UK collectors is if Eureka start following Arrow's lead and begin issuing certain titles only in America. Rights issues is the principal problem in that regard.
Regional licencing rights are a real thorn in the side for physical media collectors. Importing is worse for Blu-ray, at least 4K are region free, but the additional costs are a pain.
Thanks for your posts. They are always interesting and informative. And costly! I wonder if you have posted about BFI releases - or if they are even items you would consider discussing...?
They used to be, but not any longer. Fans of their martial arts/action films will be happy, but as a long time fan of the films they used to release, they are losing ground. Fast. I hope for their sake it helps their business model, but if it doesn’t lead to more of their old-style releases, it continues to be a loss for me.
As a US collector that hadn’t been able to get the Eureka titles because of region locks, I am super excited. Looking forward to what they’ll bring us Yanks.
I totally agree about your Arrow opinion. Recent Arrow UK releases have been a bit rubbish compared with some amazing Arrow US and Eureka could easily do something similar. Why? Costs and licensing.
@mKyoutube145 Eureka has just about milked the UK market. I was hoping for more independent and unsual films from Eureka, but this seems to be the set business model for the future. As for Paramount, you only have to look at Eureka's early slate of Paramount licensed titles. All of them either sub-licensed by Hollywood Classics or Park Circus. There's some Paramount titles I would've liked to see on Eureka, but unfortunately if these titles aren't up for licensing via those two sub-licensing companies, then no one going to pick up what's available to the boutiques in the UK. Arrow in the US had Fighting Back and Unman, Wittering and Zigo, two Paramount titles ideal for Eureka UK, but both were only available for the US market.
@dr.impossibleofcounterpunc1984 Fair. I can't complain if a company makes a move which makes more sense for them to survive and grow. I just hope their releases don't leave the UK/Europe behind, though I still have some hope they won't. Eureka, Indicator and newly Radiance are the major labels I shop with, I just hope the release slates stay the same (fully aware of region free players, I just choose to not get one as that will only multiply the amount I can spend to uncontrollable levels haha)
@mKyoutube145 I often get the feeling that boutiques are the last outpost for physical media. Sales year on year have been on the slide, and I suppose these deals are trying to keep the physical media torch burning, but it's becoming an increasingly difficult pursuit. Streaming is becoming a gradual threat when you have 80% of the population not geared toward any form of physical media and that 80% couldn't give two shits about owning a DVD or Blu-Ray.
I'm personally excited for this but I hope they don't start ignoring the UK like how it's starting to feel with Arrow. As someone who would rather not have to import, as well as the fact my player isn't region free, I would love to start collecting from Eureka
If it keeps Eureka going then the best of luck to them. Ps I don't think the UK is being 'neglected' by Arrow etc - I'm sure Americans would have loved to have the 'Hellraiser' or 'Psycho' UHDs boxsets.
I mean, I think that more wide availability in general is a great thing. So I am happy about this news, just like I was also happy about Criterion making titles available in the UK.
Criterion release a very small number from their US catalogue and no UK specific releases. The whole UK operation is done on a wing and a prayer. It’s difficult to find what’s being released, there is no site that lists what’s available, we don’t get the sales that the US gets, the versions we get can be different (the recent Last Picture Show release didn’t have Texasville included), etc. What we get is a shadow of what the US has, it’s difficult to compare the two positively.
@@richardking3206 Whilst there is no specific UK Criterion site, it's not the case that it's impossible to find what's available. The BFI Shop page has a Criterion area, so you can browse the entire UK range (though there are some curious omissions here, such as the Tod Browning set).
I think it’s a good move. They’ve released a lot of Hong Kong cinema in the UK in the past few years and obviously they’re doing it because it’s what works for them. Expanding into the USA means that they will now be able to release titles which wouldn’t have been viable in the UK alone.
Been into Eureka for a long while also but doesn't bother me they've shifted more to Asian cinema though are still doing some of their traditional stuff here and there. But we have plenty of other labels filling that gap like Criterion and now Radiance. It's good to have a lot choice in genre and time period im the boutique market. I've really been enjoying the Eureka releases quite a lot in recent times.
I’m in Canada. They are all expensive. I have 3 or 4 Eureka. Lots of Arrow. Basically, I’ll buy anything that interests me from anywhere. I get cheaper shipping from the U.K.. than I do from Severin, haha.. they should be produced in North America for that market and at home for the European market. Not one or the other.
Don’t think I heard the two titles they’re starting with but that’s great! I like Black Mask fine but I’d love them (or 88 Films or Arrow) to put out Jackie Chan’s WHO AM I?
Whilst it's great for our American cousins that Eureka is going to be available in the US, I can understand the grumbling that you mention here. I don't 'do' Facebook etc so haven't seen these posts, but the narrowing of focus by the company is certainly a thing that should be evident to anyone who keeps an eye on such things. The vast majority of Eureka Classics releases these days do appear to be martial arts movies - they were always a significant part of the company's output but it's become much more in the last couple of years, and has even affected the Masters of Cinema range. Since 2022 there have been twenty new releases in MoC; 7 have been Asian cinema and 8 have been silent/early sound films. The other five consisting of one Italian film, two 40s/50s American films, and two east European sets. Again, both those dominant stands have always figured large in the series, but not perhaps to that extent. I'm not complaining hard about this, as there are other companies out there putting out films that might in the past have found their natural home on Eureka (Indicator, Radiance, BFI to name three), but I can see why some might feel that way, perhaps especially with the apparent narrowing in the Masters of Cinema range.
Thanks. I agree with you... and I disagree with the way Elliot casually dismisses the 'minority' complaining about Eureka's trend of releases of the past few years. I am not a martial arts fan (each to their own) but I have been following Eureka and its MoC series for many years. I personally feel it is a shame they are completely changing their identity, and shifting from silents, Hollywood classics or German Expressionism to martial arts, just for money's sake. They have become a completely different label, without making any announcements about this. There is something dishonest about it. I personally think that they should make some kind of statement about their business and what they are doing, it has become so confusing. I think they should either do one or the other, but not release so many martial arts movies while at the same time pretend that nothing has changed, and that they are the same company as 5 or 10 years ago. Some may consider that there is nothing wrong with the same company releasing a handful of silents from the 1920s and an overflow of movies with Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris or Jet Li. Again, each to their own, and I know it is not a popular opinion among Eureka's new trend of customers, but I can't really think of anything more remote from each other than a classic, subtle silent and a movie with some guys kicking and punching each other in the face... Eureka and the MoC used to be so tightly associated with silents, German cinema or Hollywood classics. It is what made Eureka's identity and success. Moving almost exclusively to martial arts as if it was business as usual is just wrong. I know there are a lot of people out there who are happy to see so many martial arts releases, and I am happy for them, but I am just really sad that those who loved Eureka for the quality of its MoC releases are slowly but surely losing a label they used to trust and rely on. I understand their frustration and anger. Personally, Eureka is no longer my favourite label, I have moved on to some more exciting ones.
@@GM-nz1te Cheers. With regard to German cinema of the Weimar period it is arguable that with the long-awaited issue of Pandora's Box most of the classics have now been released (principally by Eureka). There are of course others only on DVD (or some having not been issued on disc at all) which I would love to see, but that ultimately depends upon restoration being carried out. Fingers crossed. I will always be grateful to Eureka for making these films available. The same applies to the company's release of the cream of Buster Keaton's catalogue. I do enjoy a good martial arts movie, but the genre has similarities to spaghetti westerns and slasher movies in that there are a small number of top quality films and a much larger host of more generic ones with the same basic plot.
Shouldnt expanding to the US benefit everyone? If Eureka can make more money and increase their revenue then both markets should be able to grow. It seems like a good thing. Ive had to import plenty of titles from Eureka and so do people in the UK from companies like Criterion right? So collectors on both sides of the Atlantic have to deal with it. Just like with Arrow. Anway this move in itself is a good thing for Eureka so it will be a good thing for all collectors.
Surely most people interested in cinema have a multi region player so this wouldn't affect them as serious collectors. But even so there's always other avenues. I love Black Mask his theme tune is epic. Well I say theme tune, more entrance music. Mid Jet Lee excellence
As an American who imported Eureka releases years ago under the "old" strategy (they beat us with Blu-rays of Sunrise, The Lost Weekend & Double Indemnity), I'm not that worried about their future in the UK. Arrow has had some great U.S. releases, but it still has important UK-only releases like The Last Emperor 4K, IMO the definitive release of that epic Oscar winner. And Criterion coming to the UK doesn’t appear to have weakened its U.S. releases. If anything, it seems these people dislike their change in strategy which started before their U.S. expansion.
US Arrow releases really aren't much of an issue for UK collectors, having recently discovered that you can order directly from Arrow US store to the UK and shipping is relatively cheap. I realise that not all US boutique labels offer this service.
It's great that you have the option to import from the States, but that's not something all of us have the luxury of doing. All I see here is that the US market is going to grow further while the UK market is going to get left in the dust again.
@@ElliotCoen yes that's what i mean. I've got quite a few of the masters of cinema releases such as sunrise, city girl, nosferatu etc. Recently its been a lot of hong kong stuff. Don't get me wrong i used to love some of it when i was young not so much now.
Long gone are the times wen Eureka wer a goto label, imvho. Sure, fer tha fresh-faced who didn't grow cup in an era of analog tv that showed vintage cinema every day, their *Masters catalog* was indeed a useful education in historic cinema - but, iro filums that i actually enjoy rewatching frequently, I've only bought s handful of recent eureka titles, (Frankenheimer's Prophecy, Garris' Sleepwalkers, Verhoeven's Flesh & Blood all spring to mind), so can't see myself importing many in future...altho I once said that about Criterion, and...😏
I just looked at Eureka’s catalogue for the first time, and it’s a lot of the movies that Kino Lorber has released on 4K here in the U.S. (Serpico, Paths of Glory, Touch of Evil, etc.) How is that going to work when Eureka migrates to the U.S.? Are we going to have 2 4K versions for all these movies?
I have copy of the Twilight Time blu-ray of Stanley Donen's BEDAZZLED and it's all-region (I just tested it on my region 2 player setting and it works). I'll also mention that the Capelight blu-ray from Germany (which is region B) under the title TEUFLISCH - MEPHISTO '68 looks better because the image on the Twilight Time appears slightly squeezed in comparison.
I think it's fantastic and is a real testiment to these companies, many years ago, I'm taking DVD era American companies would expand into the UK but to have it happen with now most of our UK boutique labels is great and can only make these companies stronger. And yes there will be releases in the future that won't be released here and that will be annoying but remember a, it won't be because they don't want to it'll be licensing agreements and b, you can still get them, just invest in a multi region player if your a serious collector you owe it to yourself.
The rats are leaving the sinking ship which is Brexit-Britain... and good for them! The UK market will continue to shrink, and expanding abroad makes sense. Good Luck to British goods in the world!
