So … I might have gone a little nuts at this summer’s B&N/Criterion 50% Off Sale. These are some damn fine movies though.
The Wrap-Up
Blu-Ray/4K
But The Good Thing Is …
All this extra work means more bank for the annual B&N/Criterion 50% Off Sale in July. I am going to go broke this year as Criterion has been putting out a lot of good stuff.
The Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood set looks amazing with six early Hollywood films from director Josef von Sternberg featuring German actress Marlene Dietrich.
And … I would love to get the 100 Years of Olympic Films: 1912-2012 set but have not been able to justify dropping the $$$ on it (mainly just for Olympia and Tokyo Olympiad).
Classic Doctor Who on Blu!
In “pretty damn exciting” news … the BBC is putting out the complete first series of Tom Baker’s run as Doctor Who on Blu-ray on June 19. And them new extras look really sweet! It’s great that the BBC are doing this as the DVD’s have been going out of print and fetch hefty prices now on the secondary market. Plus, this handy little package will be a real saver of self space. Hopefully sales will be good enough to keep them producing other sets.
The only quibble I have with this is that they are calling it “Season 1.” It was Tom Baker’s first season on the show but was really the 12th overall. The UK release reflects this and is branded as “Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12.” I guess it was deemed this would be confusing to us Yanks … even though any fan of the show would why the season number should really be “12.” Oh well. I am just happy this is being produced.
Doctor Who: Tom Baker Complete First Season includes:
- Existing Extras:
- Existing bonus material from the original DVD’s
- Brand New Bonus Features:
- Brand new one hour candid interview: ‘Tom Baker in conversation’
- Behind The Sofa: classic clips from Season 12 viewed by Tom Baker, Philip Hinchcliffe, Louise Jameson, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Sadie Miller
- New making-of documentaries for ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ and ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’
- Optional brand new updated special effects for Revenge of the Cybermen
- Genesis of the Daleks: omnibus movie version
- The Tom Baker Years: VHS release on disc for the first time
- Production archive material and scripts from the BBC Archives
- Some other archive treats to be announced
Out Next Week!
Holy crap! The new Criterion Collection edition of The Silence of the Lambs is a thing of beauty. *drools*
Pics were shamelessly stolen from the CriterionFourm.org Facebook Page.
A Quickie … Update
Here are some quickie highlights from Thanksgiving weekend (with a photo or two).
– I made the yearly batch of egg nog. It’s going to be oh-so-fucking tasty!
– After a promise to myself to not overeat on Thursday … I FAILED. Major fatness ensued.
– Black Friday Deals, B&N Criterion Sale, and general movie purchases added up pretty quickly. Must. Stop. Buying. Movies!
– As you might have guessed from the above photo, I was bad and upgraded to a 4K UHD Blu-ray Player (for half off). Damn you, Best Buy Black Friday Sale!
– I hiked with Kat and her Walking Buddy up to Chestnut Bald. The view never gets old.
– Most importantly, my copy of the Mondo Exclusive Edition of Infection at Outpost 31 arrived. Now, I just need to find 2-6 people to come over and play it.
– The Christmas Tree is up. Now, please pass the egg nog.
Rampant Consumerism Update
Guess who is stupid excited that Criterion will be releasing Night of the Living Dead and (finally) re-issuing The Silence of the Lambs. Click them links to see lists of the cool special features. Both will be out on Blu-ray (or DVD) on February 13, 2018!
P.S. I am totally crushing on that Hannibal inspired art for The Silence of the Lambs.
UK Spending Spree
Who can resist awesome Blu-rays from the UK? Especially when they are from such excellent companies as Arrow Video, BFI, Eureka, and Indicator (Powerhouse Films)!
Spending Spree
Someone needs to take my credit card away!
Going 3-Dimensional?
When the boyfriend got his fancy 3-D television, I was gave him some shit about the silliness of the whole thing. He had to buy the 3-D television, the 3-D Blu-ray player and the 3-D glasses. That’s a lot of money to shell out. But after viewing some 3-D Blu-rays, I gotta say it’s pretty cool.
And now … I want one.
This fall, two sets are coming that I really want for their 3-D content. For the first time ever, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder” will be available on home video in its original 3-D presentation. Universal is also releasing “Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection” which will have “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” in its original 3-D presentation.
Now all they need to do is hook us up with “House of Wax” in 3-D!
Must. Resist. Urge. For. 3-D. Television.
OOP Criterion Scores!
After months and months of trying to find the two out-of-print Criterion titles I wanted the most … I found them! And in the space of about a month too. I am now the proud owner of their editions of “Ran” (new and still sealed) on DVD and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on Blu-ray. I paid more for “Ran” than I really wanted to. But, I was surprised to find “The Man Who Fell to Earth” on half.com for under $50. It has been selling for upwards of $100+ for a used copies on eBay and even more for new copies on Amazon.
One of my daily routines had become checking various sites for cheap copies of these Criterion editions. With them now in my greedy, consumerist hands … I gotta say that life has felt a little like it’s lost some of it purpose. Now what can I hunt down and buy? Heh.
OMG … I Love Criterion!!!
On June 12th, Criterion releases one of my favorite movies!
FILMMAKER-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:
- New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Brian Tufano, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Two audio commentaries: one by director Danny Boyle and the other by screenwriter John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald
- New interviews with stars Christopher Eccleston, Kerry Fox, and Ewan McGregor
- Digging Your Own Grave, a 1993 documentary by Kevin Macdonald on the making of the film
- Andrew Macdonald and Kevin Macdonald’s video diary from the 1992 Edinburgh Film Festival, where they shopped around the script for Shallow Grave
- Shallow Grave trailer and Trainspotting teaser trailer
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp
Eye Candy Break [Criterion Edition]
Gold Box Blues
Damn that Amazon and their Gold Box Deals!!! I just couldn’t pass up all five seasons of the original series of “The Twilight Zone” on Blu-ray for a super sweet price. I am never gonna get that credit card paid off.