2009: The Digital Chivvy

[cal42]

Nice! I play a bit myself. My bedroom fortress:



I sold the keys as I was really useless at them. My electric there is a Gibson Les Paul Custom - worth more than everything else put together . The 6-string acoustic is a limited edition Yamaha. The 12-string is a finger-shredding Yamaha - you can't play it for more than 10 minutes without your fingers bleeding. The bass is...REALLY cheap and nasty !

[Brian Thibodeau]

Well, I haven't seen much of the extras yet, but the back of the box states:
Alternative (Korean) ending
Running Fast (making of)
The Good, the Bad, the Weird and the Vicious (interview with Director and the cast)
Analogue (Cinematography, Lighting, Action Sequences, Sound)
Space (Production design, Costumes, Set Decoration)
Deleted Scenes
Alternate Endings

Which doesn't sound like an awful lot, but I stuck "Running Fast" on and it is 90 minutes long . I'm getting fed up of these multiple docs using the same material though, so I'm always suspicious when you get these lists of "specialist" areas. I would imagine it's pretty much the same as what's in your 3-discer then.

I haven't actually watched the 3-disc set's extras yet (though I've seen the movie, of course), but apparently they are these:

Disc 3
Making Of
Interview with Director & Cast
Cinematography, Lighting, Action and Action Featurette
Sound Design Featurette
Art and Costume Design Featurette
Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary
Character Featurette
Trailer

Plus two different commentaries on each version of the film on discs 1 and 2, though I'd imagine those aren't subtitled, as usual with Korean discs.

So basically, if the above turn out to be even close to what's on the Blu-Ray, I'll probably get it at some point, assuming it will play in my region of course. Otherwise, I'm sure it will turn up sooner or later in the U.S.

I generally don't revisit extra features in full when I revisit any particular disc a second time around, but I DO like having the option of jogging my memory by checking out a couple of odds or ends when that time comes (such as listening to the commentary for just a certain sequence, for example, or revisiting a certain section of the making-of documentary, etc.). The nice thing about Blu-Ray is having ALL of that on one disc (usually!) which weighs less than the bulky DVD counterpart and takes up less space on the shelf.

TINY SPOILER FOR THE CHASER
I loved the film but wrote this: "One slight fly in the ointment is the (very brief) inclusion of probably the stupidest convenience store clerk in the history of the world. It’s a short scene, but one that sticks out in the mind for its ridiculousness and (presumably) unintentional comedy value. However, natural selection wins out and the cinematic Darwin Awards will have themselves a prime candidate."

I'd forgotten the specifics of what you said about this, but when I watched it I had a definite "WTF" moment .

I defy anybody--anybody!--to watch that scene and try to convince me that it works. I'm amazed that such a strong director and screenwriter couldn't come up with a better device that would finally connect the killer with his victim. Just jaw-droppingly lazy filmmaking in my opinion, in a film where there's no end of evidence of real skill behind the scenes. Bizarre.


Oh, and nice axes, boys!

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

My buys since I last posted here:

Taken (2009: 2-disc)
Valkyrie (2008: 2-disc)
Needing You (HK)
Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette - 1957-1958 Season (Collector's Tin)
Funny Face - Paramount Centennial Collection (1957)
Moonstruck ()
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Prestige
The Untouchables
Breakfast at Tiffany's Paramount Centennial Collection (1961)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Unbearable Lightness of Being (Criterion)
Unknown Chaplin: The Master at Work
Jerry Lewis - The Legendary Jerry Collection (The Bellboy / Cinderfella / The Delicate Delinquent / The Disorderly Orderly / The Errand Boy / The Family Jewels / The Ladies Man / The Nutty Professor / The Patsy / The Stooge)
The Obscure Object of Desire (Criterion)
The Big Heat (HK)
Casino Raiders 2 (HK)
Fat Choi Spirit (HK)
Eighth Happiness (HK)
The Fun, The Luck, And The Tycoon (HK)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk (1993: Hong Kong)
Gran Torino (2008)
Seven Men From Now (1956)
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (Hong Kong)
Beyond Hypothermia (1997: Hong Kong)
Bound for Glory (1976)
Fritz Lang Epic Collection
Charlie Chan Vol. 4
Enter The Dragon Limited Edition
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Letters From Iwo Jima (2007)
The Best of Everything (1959)
Mall Cop (2009)
Bill Hicks Live
Work of Dir. Michael Gondry
Bad Boys
Bad Boys II
Mister Roberts
Star Wars prequel trilogy
101 Dalmatians
The Lion in Winter
The Last Dragon
Madagascar 2/The Penguins of Madagascar

[cal42]

That should keep you going for a while .

I'll be cutting back on the movies for a while (I've still got a huge backlog to get through) but saw Flash Point 2 Disc edition (Region 2) for the spookily low price of £3.99 (which for me is more or less a free film). No idea why it's so cheap - maybe the DVD was authored on an old Indian burial ground and I'll have all kinds of supernatural problems or something. But I ordered it anyway.

So I will finally get to see this film!

[Brian Thibodeau]

Took a LONG time to get this package from Hong Kong -- just some odds 'n ends, really:

EMBRACE YOUR SHADOW (2005; HK)
A BLOODY FIGHT (1988; HK; Legendary Collection)
SUNSHINE FRIENDS
THE ATTRACTIVE ONE
HELP ME EROS (2007; Taiwan)
TRIAD STORY (1990; HK)
CHINA WHITE (1989; HK)
THE WAY WE ARE (20008; HK)
GIVE LOVE (2008; HK)
THE SNIPER (2009; HK)
SEX OF GOLDEN PLUMS 1 & 2 (2008; HK; 2 disc set) Doesn't seem to be in the DB. A quick scan revealed Lin Wai in this, of all people! Must need the paycheck!

4BIA (2008; Thailand)
FEB 28 (2006; Korea) Last one I needed to have seen the entire "4 Horror Tales" collection.

Plus three more Blu-Ray upgrades, all found at a used bookshop downtown that has recently made their used Blu prices very appealing (I sold the originals a while back, of course )

GHOSTBUSTERS Blu
PREDATOR 2 Blu
AIR FORCE ONE Blu

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And, apropos of nothing (as usual), here's a list of the movies I've seen on the big screen this year. Not as many as I'd like to have seen, frankly, but I'm working on it! Most were digitally projected, so that counts towards the chivvy, right? (hey . . . guitars?)

MY BLOODY VALENTINE(3-D), UNINVITED, KNOWING, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (3-D), WOLVERINE, TERMINATOR SALVATION, THE HANGOVER, MOON, STAR TREK

Best of the bunch for me? MOON, though all were quite good with the exception of UNINVITED.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2009 rentals ( = less stuff on my shelves! ):
LAKEVIEW TERRACE, BLINDNESS, BODY OF LIES, CHANGELING, AUSTRALIA, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN; TRANSPORTER 3 (ughh!), MARLEY & ME, TELL NO ONE, DOUBT, BENJAMIN BUTTON, TAKEN, VALKYRIE, GRAN TORINO, 12 ROUNDS,

[Brian Thibodeau]

Stopped into the Cash & Carry Movie warehouse on the way home tonight--Cal will remember it; it's the last one he visited during his North Toronto tour!--and stumbled across a teensy little stash of leftover $1 VCDs tucked into a corner. Maybe a hundred discs, a lot of multiples of lesser titles, and mostly stuff I've already got, but I still managed to find three I didn't have:

WUNIU: DANCING BULL (1990; Mei Ah; Allen Fong's last narrative film)
MY TROUBLESOME BUDDY (2003; Mei Ah)

. . . and finally, a little piece of Italian genre crud with a killer has-been cast (circa 1990) and an awesome poster (see below) that made it utterly irresistible for a buck:

THE LAST MATCH (1990; Universe)























This particular store used to have a massive supply of American/European movies on VCD, including lots of rare and/or questionable B-grade and Z-grade trash, and I'm not entirely sure where it disappeared to, as almost none of it was part of the dollar sell-offs in 2007-2008. For all I know, it's probably still in the store, in some spot that I've walked by a million times to get to the rows of Hong Kong titles. Who knows, if I can find more crap like LAST MATCH, perhaps likewise priced at $1 a pop, that would be rather cool.

[cal42]

Hmm, John Elway with an M16? Any film with that on the cover has got to be worth a viewing. Liked your one-word review of Transporter 3, by the way. I guess I don't have to bother with that now. It was pretty much how I suspected!

Anyhow, two more BDs are heading my way: Ghostbusters and Doctor No. I generally hate 80's family-friendly films, but Ghostbusters is something I truly love and have now watched approximately a million times. I don't know whether our version is the same as yours, Brian, but I doubt there's much material I haven't already seen on the film.

Doctor No is a worrying indication that I'm now going to buy all the Bond films yet again on BD after buying them all on VHS and then on DVD. They must see me coming...

[Brian Thibodeau]

Doctor No is a worrying indication that I'm now going to buy all the Bond films yet again on BD after buying them all on VHS and then on DVD. They must see me coming...

You and me both. And then, once we've bought them all, they'll repackage them into a slick boxed set that takes up even less shelf space, and we'll just have to have that as well . . .

I also had them on VHS and standard DVD (three different incarnations no less, how sad!), as well as the two boxed set LDs for THUNDERBALL and GOLDFINGER where many of the extras for subsequent editions first appeared. I'm generally not a double dipper, but with the Bonds, I continually make exceptions and don't always feel good about it. The bright side to the Blu-Rays is that I got the first six as part of a killer sale at Amazon late last year where the per-Blu price worked out to about $6.50US a piece. Here's hoping they do that again this year so I can get the next six for a similar price!

[Brian Thibodeau]

Another trip home this weekend, and another quick trip to the U.S. to slum it up at Big Lots, where they've had an incredible run of $3 movies and $6 TV season sets in the last little while. Picked up a few choice classics for $3 a pop:

THE PETRIFIED FOREST (SE)
THE LAST VOYAGE
I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (SE)
PAT AND MIKE

Plus, for $6
THE HISTORY OF ROCK & ROLL (5 discs; documentary).
Will definitely be selling this (for an easy profit!!) to one of the used shops here once I've skimmed through it. The resale value was the only reason I bought it!

And one more long-time favourite that finally popped up in a bargain bin on my side of the border:

SUGARLAND EXPRESS

[Brian Thibodeau]

Further to my last post about the goodies at liquidation emporium chain Big Lots, you American members reading this might want to visit any nearby stores, as it seems the deals just keep on getting better. Imagine finding the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Box Set (which contains the first FIVE volumes) for only $10. TEN BUCKS, for around 300 cartoons and all those extras. Makes me cringe to think what I paid for them originally, and I got them all on sale over the years! This thread over at DVD Talk lists some of the amazing stuff that's showing up for $3, $6 and $10. Just crazy:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-bargains/5 ... -a-51.html

Wishing I'd stayed in my old home town on the border a little longer last weekend.

[Harlock]

moving to HD

TV and Player

PS3 80 Gig
LG 47" LCD 1080P Full HD (replace my LG 42" Plasma 720P)

blu-ray

gran torrinno
rambo 1
valkyrie
sin city
chasing amy
under siege 1 & 2
cast away
men of honnor
from dusk till dawn
transformer
windtalker

Pre-order Drunken Master 2 on Blu-Ray (september)

[Brian Thibodeau]

1080P Full HD . . .

Now you're cookin' with fire. 720p is, well, alright, but it ain't the real deal . . .

[Mike Thomason]

Oops! It's already middle of July and I haven't updated, thus...

DVD

Another Public Enemy (2-disc) (South Korea)
Les Belles (Hong Kong)
Blossom Again (2-disc) (South Korea)
Blue Skies (Hong Kong)
Chinatown: Collector's edition (US)
CJ7: Deluxe edition (2-disc) (China/Hong Kong)
Crazy Marriage (South Korea)
Crazy Waiting (South Korea)
Fate (2-disc) (South Korea)
Female Agents (2-disc) (France)
The Forbidden Legend: Sex & Chopsticks II (Hong Kong)
Frozen Flower (2-disc) (South Korea)
Hellcats (2-disc) (South Korea)
Hypnotised (2-disc) (South Korea)
The Game (2-disc) (South Korea)
The King and the Clown (2-disc) (South Korea)
King Drummer (Hong Kong)
Lone Wolf and Cub Collection (6-disc box-set) (Japan)
- Sword of Vengeance
- Baby Cart at the River Styx
- Baby Cart to Hades
- Baby Cart in Peril
- Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
- White Heaven in Hell
The Mario Bava Collection Vol. 2 (Italy)
- 5 Dolls for an August Moon
- Four Times That Night
- Baron Blood
- Bay of Blood
- Rabid Dogs/Kidnapped
- Lisa and the Devil/House of Exorcism
- Roy Colt & Winchester Jack
Moonlight in Seoul (2-disc) (South Korea)
My Dream Boat (Hong Kong)
Plum Blossom (South Korea)
Radio Star (2-disc) (South Korea)
Shockumentary Extreme Collection (Italy)
- Addio Zio Tom: Director's cut
- Africa Addio: Director's Cut
The Singing Escort (Hong Kong)
Singles (South Korea)
Someone Special (2-disc) (South Korea)
Spider-man 2 (2-disc) (US)
Spider-man 3 (2-disc) (US)
Typhoon SE (2-disc) (South Korea)
Venus and Mars (South Korea)

Blu-ray

The Forbidden Kingdom (US)
Lady Cop & Papa Crook: Director's cut (Hong Kong)
Mission: Impossible (US)
Mission: Impossible 2 (US)
Mission: Impossible III (2-disc) (US)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (US)

[Brian Thibodeau]

To those able to take advantage (which, technically, should be everyone, though some will have to pay shipping), Deep Discount has their semi-annual 25% Off Sale on right now. The usual codes apply - USATODAY, NYTIMES, DVDTALK, SUPERSALE, PRICESEARCH, YAHOO, ESPN, LATIMES, PRICEGRABBER and others. Free shipping to the U.S., naturally.

Deep Discount's sister site DVD Planet also has 25% off everything. Code should be 25OFFSALE, though as I write this, it's not working for everyone. Apparently, if you used it last year, the site renders it invalid this time, but apparently they're working on fixing the glitch. Guess we'll see.

Thanks bargain bin hauls (especially the Big Lots deals of late), I've been able to see a decent number of key films I always wanted to see at least once, never would have paid full price for, and ultimately traded (in most cases) to DVD Planet for often more than what I paid. Now I've got a nice little nest egg of credit to use on the the "keepers" I'm really after. However, I did spring out-of-pocket for one item at Deep Discount, mainly because they've been price matching Amazon for a week now and haven't jacked it back up . . . yet:

Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection (28 films on 15 discs; Universal) - $46.79 after discount
(I recently sold the first three volumes of the glitchy old 8-packs of the A&C films for nearly double what I paid for each of them. Very surprised at what those are fetching these days. I know they're OOP, but the new set is so much . . . safer.)

[Harlock]

New batch of Blu-Ray

Above The Law
Groundhog Day
Interview with a vampire
I Robot
The Last Samurai
Shawshank Redemption
Iron Maiden: Flight 666

[Brian Thibodeau]

More 2-for-1 VCDs from the Wa Yi, successfully dusted off and ready for viewing (as Cal may well recall ):

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART (1999; City Connection)
LADY IN BLACK (1987; Megastar)
LOVE IS LOVE (2004; IFL Maga Base)
MY HERO II (1993; Mei Ah)
more legendary collections
IMMORTAL STORY (1986; Joy Sales)
SEAMAN NO. 7 (1973; Joy Sales)
BADGE 369 (1974; Joy Sales)
MR. BIG (1978; Joy Sales)
CHASE A FORTUNE (1985; Fortune Star)

And finally, one that I can't find in the DB at all, or at HKFA
THE YESMAN (19??; Fortune Star)
anybody familiar with this one??
http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_deta ... uctID=8431

Plus some HK DVDs

THE FIRST 7TH NIGHT (2009; Tai Seng; hoping it's the same as the HK version)
MADAME WHITE SNAKE (1962; Celestial/IVL)

And one title found on sale in Koreatown:
HANDPHONE (2009; Planis)

[Brian Thibodeau]

Used up my credit at DVD Planet on the following:

Criterions:
Chungking Express -Blu-Ray
Exterminating Angel (at last!!) - DVD
Made in U.S.A. - DVD
Zentropa - DVD

Everything else
(all stuff I've seen or owned before, including a few replacements for OOP discs I sold):
The Anderson Tapes (1971)
Andromeda Strain (1971)
Capricorn One (1978)
Casino Royale (1967)
Crossed Swords (1978)
Five (1951)
Latitude Zero (1969)
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 20th Ann. Set
Trouble Man (1972)
When the Lion Roars (MGM Documentary)

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Brian if you do not know:

Barnes and Nobles (both online and in store) are doing 50% off Criterion/Eclipse.
Marshalls has had a few DVDs cheaper than Big lots.

Latest Purchases:
Never Back Down (2008 – Blu Ray)
Bruce Lee - A Warrior's Journey (2002)
An Officer and a Gentleman
Night Court – First Season
Mr. Show – First and Second Season
An Empress and the Warriors (2008)
Amores Perros

Lifeline (HK)
Avanti (1972)
Knowing (2009):
Broken Flowers (2005)
Expect The Unexpected (HK)
In Living Color (Season 3)

These are all Criterion:
Wages of Fear ()
Exterminating Angel ()
Diabolique ()
Juliet of the Spirits
Smiles of a Summer Night ()
The Diary of A Country Priest
Phantom of Liberty
Contempt
Withnail & I
My Man Godfrey

[Brian Thibodeau]

Brian if you do not know:

Barnes and Nobles (both online and in store) are doing 50% off Criterion/Eclipse.
Marshalls has had a few DVDs cheaper than Big lots.

I'm aware of the Barnes & Noble sale, but having a big chunk of credit at DVD Planet made them the more logical choice at the moment. For the most part, the savings at Barnes & Noble was only a couple of dollars per disc, and I couldn't justify getting a membership (for further savings) because they generally don't stock the kinds of books I'm after, so outside of one DVD sale, it would rarely get used. Still, there are some very attractive deals on their web site.

Mind you, NOTHING will top the Buy One Get One Free Criterion sale that happened last year or the year before. I can't remember where it was (DVDPlanet?, Deep Discount? Amazon?), but it would be lovely if they did it again!

As far as I know, there's no Marshall's in the area of Michigan where I go on my visits home, but there is a "sister" TJ Maxx store, so maybe that would be worth checking out?

[Brian Thibodeau]

Brian if you do not know:

Barnes and Nobles (both online and in store) are doing 50% off Criterion/Eclipse.

Dammit, I caved . . . (without a membership, no less!)

Turns out B&N accepts Paypal, and there was a coupon for 20% off one item, plus they ship free over a $25, so I picked up three Criterions:

400 BLOWS (Blu-Ray)
SEVENTH SEAL (Blu-Ray)
FOR ALL MANKIND (Blu-Ray)

Saw all of these many years ago, and thought of picking them up at various times, but when Criterion announced they'd be revisiting certain early releases to provide more supplements, better audio and anamorphic transfers, I figured I'd just wait for the inevitable upgrades, and on sale at that. Then they started doing Blu-Rays, so in a sale like this, and based on what I've read about the unparalleled quality of nearly every Blu-Ray they've released so far, it seemed like a reasonable time to get these. Doesn't seem like they'll ever be served much better than they are in these editions.

I've got a few other Criterions I'd definitely consider upgrading when and if they became available on Blu: BRAZIL, KWAIDAN (uncut, maybe?), ARKADIN and quite a few others. Time will tell . . .

[cal42]

More 2-for-1 VCDs from the Wa Yi, successfully dusted off and ready for viewing (as Cal may well recall ):

I've got some genuine Wai Yi dust right here in the room. I consider it as much of a souvenir of my trip as my tacky CN Tower paperweight .

[Brian Thibodeau]

I've got some genuine Wai Yi dust right here in the room. I consider it as much of a souvenir of my trip as my tacky CN Tower paperweight .

My souvenir from a visit to the CN Tower with my parents in the late 70's was a drinking glass in the shape of the tower itself, with a plastic lid that resembled the roof of the main observation deck and a big plastic spire rising above it. It had a recipe for a "junior high" cocktail on the side. Now that's tacky. I still have it, actually, tucked away somewhere.

Next week I'm taking my first week-long holiday in nearly two years (and only my second in twelve years--how pathetic is that?) and I've decided my destination will be . . . Toronto! I've been living here for two-and-a-half years, visiting for more than 20, and I realized just how few of the city's tourist attractions I've actually seen, or haven't seen since I was a kid. I also hoping we get a couple of days of crummy weather so I have an excuse to park the car and bike, and stay indoors watching movies.

[Harlock]

thanks to my credit card bonus, got 500$ free at archambault (dvd store)

Blu-ray :

Watchmen: Director's Cut: Special Edition
The Simpsons Movie
Planet Terror : Extended and Unrated: 2-Disc Special Edition
Mean Girls
JCVD
Iron Man: Ultimate 2 Disc Edition
Independence Day
House of Flying Daggers
Harry Potter 3
Harry Potter 4
Harry Potter 5
Harry Potter 1
Harry Potter 2
Band of Brothers
Friday the 13th: Digital Copy Special Edition: Killer Cut
letter from iwo jima

[Brian Thibodeau]

I convinced my girlfriend that we needed a day trip out of the city today to go to an upscale "Fashion Outlet" mall in New York (State), among other retail therapy, largely as a pretext for a trip to the Big Lots down the street on the way into town, at which I was amazed to find the following Warner box sets for $3.00 US each as part of the ongoing Warner DVD dump:

Dastardly & Muttley - Complete Series
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio - Complete Series
Wacky Races - Complete Series
The New Scooby Doo Movies
Popeye 1933-1938 - 60 theatrical shorts
Challenge of the Superfriends Season 1
Warner Academy Awards Animation Collection - 41 cartoons
Flintstones Season 2
Superman - The Theatrical Serials Collection (1948/1950)

Then we both took in Niagara Falls from the American side for the first time in our lives on the way back. You guys have a damned nice view from over there. But ours is still better.

[ewaffle]

Latest Purchases:

These are all Criterion:
Wages of Fear ()
Exterminating Angel ()
Diabolique ()
Juliet of the Spirits
Smiles of a Summer Night ()
The Diary of A Country Priest
Phantom of Liberty
Contempt
Withnail & I
My Man Godfrey

Have you taken a look at "My Man Godfrey" yet? I have seen that movie a few times and think it is one of the best Depression era films from the USA, but always in a really horrible, possibly public domain, clearly bootlegged and copied into indistinct haziness with barely tolerable sound. Nice to know that Criterion has gotten a decent source and worked their restoration magic--I will have to get it.

[dleedlee]

I wonder where all those DVDs and Blu-Rays ended up. Keep your eyes peeled for bargains.

Warner Bros. lawsuit claims $10 million loss in brazen DVD theft
http://www.thresq.com/2009/07/warner-br ... wsuit.html

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...Have you taken a look at "My Man Godfrey" yet? I have seen that movie a few times and think it is one of the best Depression era films from the USA, but always in a really horrible, possibly public domain, clearly bootlegged and copied into indistinct haziness with barely tolerable sound. Nice to know that Criterion has gotten a decent source and worked their restoration magic--I will have to get it.

Yes. Out of those I have now watched My Man Godfrey, Phantom of Liberty, Exterminating Angel (This was awesome), The Diary of A Country Priest and last night Diabolique.

I completely agree. It certainly is one of the best Depression era comedies (I will have to rewatch to figure if it ranks up there in best Depression era films though, I like a lot of films from the 1930s). I was surprised how much I actually liked it (I was in a bad mood when watched and that is usually not a good sign for comedies).

What I wrote on a Criterion site:

I ended up really enjoying this movie. I'm sometimes wary of Screwball romance comedies (certain aspects of The Lady Eve I find too unbelievable for example) but really enjoyed the characterizations of not only Godfrey (William Powell) but the (nevermind the) Bullocks as one of the great dysfunctional screen families. I sometimes get annoyed by petulant characters but I enjoyed Carole Lombard's comedic timing (good in To Be Or Not To Be and Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I also agree with Ebert's great movie review in his admiration for supporting actor Eugene Pallette (which reminds me I hope Topper comes out again for DVD on a decent label; EDIT: what the heck is Triad Productions Corporation).

It's great that Criterion has this and Sullivan's Travels in its collection.

I do not think I have seen any other films directed by Gregory La Cava. He directed at least 169 features, but only seven after this movie.

Now I really need to see The Thin Man (and its sequels).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get the Criterion edition, the quality is quite good. What are some of your 1930's favorites?

[ewaffle]

I ended up really enjoying this movie. I'm sometimes wary of Screwball romance comedies (certain aspects of The Lady Eve I find too unbelievable for example) but really enjoyed the characterizations of not only Godfrey (William Powell) but the (nevermind the) Bullocks as one of the great dysfunctional screen families. I sometimes get annoyed by petulant characters but I enjoyed Carole Lombard's comedic timing (good in To Be Or Not To Be and Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I also agree with Ebert's great movie review in his admiration for supporting actor Eugene Pallette (which reminds me I hope Topper comes out again for DVD on a decent label; EDIT: what the heck is Triad Productions Corporation).

It's great that Criterion has this and Sullivan's Travels in its collection.

I do not think I have seen any other films directed by Gregory La Cava. He directed at least 169 features, but only seven after this movie.

Now I really need to see The Thin Man (and its sequels).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get the Criterion edition, the quality is quite good. What are some of your 1930's favorites?

I was surprised at how much I liked Sullivan's Travels when I finally saw it. The Lady Eve is one of my favorites although you are right about how the coincidences are just too convenient for a movie like that--things fall together a bit too perfectly for Jean, the Colonel and Muggsy when they show up in Connecticut. But I am helpless before the charms of Barbara Stanwyk (much like Henry Fonda) and she has a lot of screen time. Both "Sullivan" and "Eve" were released in 1941 which was still the 30s in movie terms I think. Also in 1941 was Ball of Fire (Stanwyk, Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, Gary Cooper--just your typical studio product of the time) A guilty pleasure is Baby Face (1933) which must have been one of the last pre-Code movies--Stanwyk sleeps her way to the top and doesn't regret a minute of it.

Stage Door is a terrific LaCava movie--backstage comedy/drama with a killer cast and the snappiest of snappy dialog. Top Hat and (especially) The Gay Divorcee--I am a fan of both Astaire and Rogers. Mark Sandrich is Astaire's hand picked director and shoots stuff just right. "Divorcee" features Edward Everett Horton as a callow youth. Swing Time (also Astaire and Rogers) is directed by George Stevens. I have seen all of the musicals in the theater in decent prints as well as on DVD.

It Happened One Night with Gable and Colbert, directed by Frank Capra, is probably my favorite American movie from the 1930s--I watch it every couple of years--at least. The Philadelphia Story is close to perfect--George Cukor, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart as a fast talking (!) photographer.

Most of the Marx Brothers comedies although each of them is as uneven as a movie can be, particularly Duck Soup (1933), A Night at the Opera (1937).

Those are off the top of my head--all Hollywood movies. Alfred Hitchcock was still in England in the 1930s and made some masterpieces. And from France...

[Brian Thibodeau]

I wonder where all those DVDs and Blu-Rays ended up. Keep your eyes peeled for bargains.

Warner Bros. lawsuit claims $10 million loss in brazen DVD theft
http://www.thresq.com/2009/07/warner-br ... wsuit.html

The Big Lots "acquisitions" do seem a bit dodgy now, though word of their availability at unfathomably low prices has popped up on several sites for at least four or five weeks now, even advertised in Big Lots' flyer on at least two occasions, so I'm surprised Warner didn't just order Big Lots not to sell the stock if it really was "stolen" property. I'm even more saddened that they scheduled it for destruction rather than actually letting it back onto the market at discount prices. Even $10-15 per box would have had people scrambling. Should be interesting to see what develops, but I'm keeping my toons, dammit! I'm also KICKING myself for not buying up everything that was on their shelves the morning we were there. The regular prices for these titles on Amazon.ca are obscene ($50-$60 per boxed set) compared to their American counterparts ($25-$30). Like a dope, I only bought stuff I figured I might want to keep, figuring I'd make a little money IF I decided to unload any of them. When I think of what I could have made if I'd just filled my basket. And they say crime doesn't pay! Ha!

I can tell you where quite a few of the Blu-Rays probably ended up -- Toronto's Chinatowns!

It kind of makes sense now. Certain stores in Pacific Mall, as well as a few other Chinese malls (I've also heard mention of a couple of spots in our downtown Chinatown), had quite a few of these in abundance over the past couple of months, though most of it has dwindled. Nearly all Warner product, as well as odds 'n ends from a few other studios, so I'm wondering if this outfit in the article had contracted with other studios for "disposal". I can't deny that I was tempted, but at the time, I thought they might be those "fake" Blu-Rays made in 720p in China that were in the news around the same time, or worse, maybe DVDs stuck in Blu-Ray cases . Of course, the fact that they were in the usual bootleg DVD shops was another reason to be wary. Same price across the board, regardless of new or catalogue status, which is always suspicious. At the time, they were $20 a pop, but someone at the Asian DVD Guide who also lives here--and who should really, really know better--pointed out they buy them for $15 each downtown, and that they're all legit, the real deal, etc., etc.! Well, I guess that's sort of true!


.

[Brian Thibodeau]

. . . Exterminating Angel (This was awesome)

Ordered this in the Barnes & Noble sale I said I wasn't going to order from. Can't wait to revisit it in a shiny new version. Even on the recorded-from-commercial-television VHS tape a friend showed me over a decade ago, the film made a grand impression.

I'm kinda bummed they didn't offer a simultaneous Blu-Ray release as I'd like to go that route with Criterion moving forward, but I suspect it's not a "key" title that they'd deem worthy of Blu-Ray release until somewhere down the road.

Now I really need to see The Thin Man (and its sequels).

Nick Charles was the role Powell was born to play. One of those absolutely perfect casting choices that becomes legend. The whole series is fantastic, even the (mildly) weaker later entries, because of the unrivaled chemistry of the leads. Man, now you've got me hankering to revisit the boxed set again. So many movies . . . so . . . little . . . time . . .