recent DVD purchases

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:55 am

its rare i actually have the money to spend on things i want instead of things i need but i had some extra change and picked up lost in translation and american splender. both movies are absolutely brilliant. in the bonus section of lost in translation bill murray jams to alison by doing a really goofy dance. check 'em out if you haven't. these are without a doubt my favorite movies from last year (with the exception of lotr i'm not one for hollywood epics.).

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 12:03 pm

costellopunk wrote:its rare i actually have the money to spend on things i want instead of things i need but i had some extra change and picked up lost in translation and american splender. both movies are absolutely brilliant. in the bonus section of lost in translation bill murray jams to alison by doing a really goofy dance. check 'em out if you haven't. these are without a doubt my favorite movies from last year (with the exception of lotr i'm not one for hollywood epics.).

I love how Bill Murray learns how to say "Who do you think you're talking to?" in Japanese, and will say it to random people.

"Dare-ni mukatte mono itten-dayo? Huh? Huh!?"

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 12:09 pm

that was great. the scene in the resteraunt where he was trying out phrases from makng out in japanese was a riot. you could tell from the making of that they loved making this movie.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 8:40 pm

Good news everyone....

Star Wars trilogy dvd boxset coming out...bit shit though, cos they sont have an option to turn some of the new shitty added bits off!!!

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5023586.html

RedShoes · Post by **RedShoes** » Wed Feb 11, 2004 9:22 pm

George Lucas may be a genius, but he's still insane.

*sigh*

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 4:21 pm

Just picked up Lennon Legend on DVD and it's fabulous.

They mixed 20 of John's biggest hits for 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS, and the sound is phenomenal. As for the videos, some of them are familiar, others are newly put together from stock footage as well as animations of John's drawings. Highly recommended for any Lennon fans.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 5:35 pm

A while ago I provided a link to a site displaying images of the Japanese release of the Alien Quadrilogy... here is a photo of the actual Alien Head from today's (Australian newspaper) Sydney Morning Herald.

ice nine · Post by **ice nine** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 11:35 pm

I rented this movie last week and watched it over and over again, because it very well maybe the funniest movie I've ever seen. I decided to buy it from Amazon so the board is helped a bit.

And the film is.........Pootie Tang

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:52 am

I forgot to mention that RedShoes got me the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set for our one year anniversary.

Highly recommended for anybody that enjoys Looney Tunes great shorts of the 30's through 50's. A lot of the ones you will remember are on here, as are the first appearances of Speedy Gonzalez, Tasmanian Devil, Marvin The Martian, and Foghorn Leghorn. The set is pretty Bugs heavy as one would expect.

Lots of bonus featurettes and commentaries too.

I really hope they come out with a Volume 2 of this.

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 5:39 pm

Do you think Bugs is the worst Loony Toon? It's like Mickey Mouse...the lead character is always gets a stigma, and loses something. Bugs is a lot cooler than the Mouse though...

..the ducks rule the roost in both camps as far as Im concerned!

Post by **BlueChair** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 5:44 pm

laughingcrow wrote:Do you think Bugs is the worst Loony Toon? It's like Mickey Mouse...the lead character is always gets a stigma, and loses something. Bugs is a lot cooler than the Mouse though...

..the ducks rule the roost in both camps as far as Im concerned!

I like Bugs, but it's nice to have some more of the lesser known characters sometimes.

crash8_durham · Post by **crash8_durham** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 6:35 pm

I recently bought In The Cut and Mullhonand Dr. and a U2 concert on dvd. The last cd I bought was Suzanne Vega.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:58 pm

BlueChair wrote:
laughingcrow wrote:Do you think Bugs is the worst Loony Toon? It's like Mickey Mouse...the lead character is always gets a stigma, and loses something. Bugs is a lot cooler than the Mouse though...

..the ducks rule the roost in both camps as far as Im concerned!
I like Bugs, but it's nice to have some more of the lesser known characters sometimes.

After watching the Looney Toons Golden Collection DVDs, I have learnt to appreciate Bugs' character - he was watered down over the years, but those very early cartoons are pure magic. My favourites however still remain Foghorn Leghorn and Elmer Fudd (to Bugs as Laurel was to Hardy or Abbot was to Costello, and even funnier when Daffy is thrown into the mix... duck season! rabbit season!! duck season! etc etc).

I guess I am really just a fan of great animation (old and new)... I have all of the Disney Tins released to date as well as collections from the studios of Ub Werks and Van Bueren (both founding members of Disney animation studios), as well as loads of Betty Boop, Felix the Cat, the original Max Fleischer Superman cartoons, and numerous others (all on DVD). As well, I have numerous Japanese animations (mostly Miyazaki) but also a few older classics such as Gigantor (Tetsujin 28), Astro Boy (Tetsuan Atomu), and Galaxy Express 999.

I have also just ordered a copy of the DVD of Les Triplettes de Belleville after seeing a few scenes during the presentation of the Academy Awards... it was up against Nemo and Brother Bear and has been described as the Spirited Away of 2003 (I cannot wait to get my grubby little mits on it).

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:13 pm

Tim(e) I have that Van Beuren collection (CARTOONS THAT TIME FORGOT) which I stumbled across in HMV one day; my son and I are addicted to it and were watching it just last night!

I was looking for an Ub Iwerks collection a long time ago (before I was a net head) and now I see I can get two volumes for $20-- whoopee! I can't recommend this stuff highly enough. Some very outdated cultural awfulness in them, as you'd expect, but I use those as an opportunity to give my son a little history lesson...

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:23 am

to go along with my rekindled hunter s thompson obsession i bout fear and loathing in las vegas on dvd-the criterian edition. commentary from thompson himself. oh yeah.

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 11:09 am

I wish the Criterion DVDs weren't so bloody expensive. I really want to pick up Down By Law, Rushmore, Gimme Shelter, Monterey Pop, and the deluxe Brazil.

costellopunk · Post by **costellopunk** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 12:46 pm

i fully agree blue. i had a gift card. i originally wanted to finally get the rushmore criterion edition but they were all out. it's currently (for the past two years) running at about $36.99. fear and loathing was $29.99. obscene. i got lucky that the descendents new ep was cheap. i barely managed to fit them both onto my gift card.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:43 pm

BlueChair wrote:I wish the Criterion DVDs weren't so bloody expensive. I really want to pick up Down By Law, Rushmore, Gimme Shelter, Monterey Pop, and the deluxe Brazil.

I have all of the Criterion titles you listed. I cannot recall exactly where I bought them all (which online stores), but I know that I have never paid full price for any Criterion disc (and I have almost 30 of them).

One site you might want to use when searching for the best prices is DVD Price Search which compares the cost of a selected title at all of the major online etailers, listing prices and shipping charges. It can be tailored to reflect the prices according to where you live (for example, it provides me with each online stores shipping charges to Australia). It is also worth keeping an eye on the DVD Bargains forum at DVDTalk where sales, discounts and other offers are posted on a regular basis.

Hope this helps you find them at affordable prices.

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 4:44 pm

Thanks for the tip, Tim(e)... I am really itching to get my hand on a few of these Criterion titles.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Sun Mar 07, 2004 7:43 pm

Try http://www.familyvideo.com
Cheapest I have seen & free shipping on all purchases!
I just ordered the Alec Guinness Collection for $43.44 the cheapest price listed at http://www.dvdpricesearch.com was $44.12 so it even beat them!
This collection is listed new at amazon for $62.98 so it pays to shop around.

As for the collection 5 of Guinness' Ealing comedies including The Ladykillers which the Coen's have used as the template for their new film.

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:43 pm

Speaking of titles on Criterion, I finally watched M last night. I had always thought I was too stupid for that sort of thing, but the man of the house plied me with wine and made me watch with him. Oh my God, is that the scariest movie ever made or what? It starts off with a bang, with the children singing about the murderer, and the sequence with the girl's mother preparing lunch, and then she doesn't get home, and it just gets creepier and scarier. And that song from Peer Gynt! Chilling!

Tim(e) and Bobster, movie dudes extraordinaire, recommend something else along those lines, if you would be so kind.

Tim(e) · Post by **Tim(e)** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 9:24 pm

Goody2Shoes wrote:Tim(e) and Bobster, movie dudes extraordinaire, recommend something else along those lines, if you would be so kind.

Goody2Shoes,

The following are my recommendations based on genre (or thereabouts) and are not necessarily Criterion label and are not necessarily available in the US/Canada (so a multi-region capable player such as the Malata is a requirement).

If you want creepy, then I would thoroughly recommend a number of Japanese films such as:

Ringu - this Japanese version is actually released in the US
Dark Water - directed by Ringu director Hideo Nakata
Inugami - directed by Masato Harada
Pulse (Kairo) - directed by Kyoshi Kurosawa
(the last three there are available quite cheaply from Hong Kong online stores such as http://www.layoyo.com)

If you want good mysteries or thrillers, then I would recommend:

The Vanishing - directed by George Sluizer. His original Dutch version as opposed to the Hollyweird rubbish he later directed. This is Criterion #133.
Insomnia - directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg. Criterion #47.
The Last Wave - directed by Peter Weir - Criterion #142.
Kwaidan - a collection of short Japanese horror stories - Criterion #90.
High and Low - directed by Akira Kurosawa - Criterion #24.

If you want great intelligent dramas, then I would recommend:

Hana-bi (aka Fireworks) - directed by Kitano "beat" Takeshi
Runaway Train - directed by Andrei Konchalovsky (and incidentally, written by Akira Kurosawa)
State of Grace - directed by Phil Joanou
Eureka - directed by Toshihiro Iijima

If you wannt slightly off centre, but with a lot of class:

Chopper - directed by Andrew Dominik
Tears of the Black Tiger - directed by Wisit Sartsanatieng (a Thai western no less!!)
Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill - both directed by Seijun Suzuki and on Criterion #39 and #38 respectively - ultra cool yakuza flicks that just ooze class.
Shark Skin Man, Peach Hip Girl - directed by Katsuhito Ishii (purportedly this is one of Tarantino's favourite films - and Ishii provided the opening cells used in the animated segment of Kill Bill Vol 1).
The Happiness of the Katakuris - directed by Takashi Miike (the Sound of Music meets Night of the Living Dead meets Aardman Studios)

I could go on and on, but I will cut it off here... but be sure to let me know if you want more information

noiseradio · Post by **noiseradio** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 10:35 pm

ust got the Criterion Deluxe Brazil, and I must say it's worth every penny. I got it for under $40 at deepdiscountdvd.com (free shipping). You get the director's cut, with excellent commentary, the studio version (horrible, but worth watching as a comparrison to Gilliam's vision) also with great commentary, and a whole disc of extras about the making of the film and the controversies surrounding it. Fantastic set.

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:53 am

noiseradio wrote:ust got the Criterion Deluxe Brazil, and I must say it's worth every penny. I got it for under $40 at deepdiscountdvd.com (free shipping). You get the director's cut, with excellent commentary, the studio version (horrible, but worth watching as a comparrison to Gilliam's vision) also with great commentary, and a whole disc of extras about the making of the film and the controversies surrounding it. Fantastic set.

Oooo, me wanty that. I have the book THE BATTLE FOR BRAZIL, which is great, and includes the screenplay. This sounds like the video counterpart.

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 5:09 pm

Thanks, Tim(e), that should get me started!

Your vast knowledge is a scary, scary thing. Well done.