Rizor,
I can't even begin to tell you how tired I am of going through The Criterion Collection DVDs/Blu-rays.
The online database is a mess because there is a lack of consistency in the contributions made for this series.
I looked though the forums to see if there might be some insight gained to clarify the issue. But, I found that there was little agreement reached.
I then went through several members collections to get an indication on how members contributed this data to see what the contributors, voters and screeners decided was the correct way to contribute this data.
Once again there was a complete lack of consistency. Some collections had the majority listing The Criterion Collection first while others listed them last and vice versa. Some collections included the Licensor, others did not. The same with Janus films.
I spent several hours rehearsing this issue - checking community members collections, re-reading the rules and discussing the situations via pms.
I even contacted the Criterion company to see if they could give us some insight into what they felt about the issue. I have not heard back from them but if I do I will post their response in the forums.
What I have done, based on all of the above, is to update my database and contribute with the following basic documentation:
"The database has The Criterion Collection listed in the MC field in both the first and last position.
Although Criterion is a distributor, they are also the publisher and should be listed first.
Relevant section of the rules:
Enter in the following order:
•Publisher
•Licensor
•Distributor"
If there are cases in which further documentation is needed - adding the Licensor or Janus Films for example - I include such documentation.
So far, the community members who own these profiles seem to be in agreement with how I have added or changed this data. The last time I looked there was not a single "no" vote on the 65+ profiles I have contributed.
There are a few things that still need to be updated/corrected - for example some profiles have abbreviated Studios - but I'm a bit tired of working on this series and will pull the DVDs and check that data at another time.