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Slackerish posted:Just got paid, debating about what DVD to get at my next Barnes and Nobel haul Don't do this. B&N is the absolute last place you should be buying DVDs if you care at all about your money. At best you can get 10% off of the MSRP. Order online from DDD or even Amazon; you'll probably save enough to buy an extra movie.
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Mar 24, 2007 15:59
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Slackerish posted:Uh, why not? B&N usually has 10 percent off deals when I go, and they never overprice. I try to order online as little as possible. Maybe the manager of your local store is running some special, but everytime I've ever gone into a B&N, they want full MSRP for Criterions, with their book club members getting 10% off. Your average Criterion is $39.99, so if you're a club member that's about $35.99 + tax, so at best you're probably playing almost exactly MSRP. Compare that to DDD, where the average price of Criterions is $31.88 or so with free shipping. The discrepency between prices only gets more absurb when you get into the boxed sets. B&N wants the full $124.99 for the John Cassavetes boxed set; DDD had it for $74.74 yesterday, which was apparently the last day of a sale, but even now it's only $99.74, again with free shipping. Here's the comparison on prices between DDD and B&N on a few of the titles you're interested in. Videodrome: B&N = 39.99, 35.99 for members, + tax (or shipping if you order online) DDD = 31.91 That Obscure Object of Desire: B&N = 29.99, 26.99 for members, + tax (or shipping) DDD = 17.97 Contempt: B&N = 39.99, 35.99 for members, + tax (or shipping) DDD = 31.91 Now, you may be willing to pay upwards of ten extra dollars to have the DVD immediately, that's your prerogative, but B&N is hardly a good deal for Criterions if you're willing to wait a few days. Edit: I hope I don't come off sounding like an rear end in a top hat or anything. I'm just trying to save you a few bucks. Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Mar 24, 2007 |
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Mar 24, 2007 16:15
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Slackerish posted:What's the shipping like for DDD? I knew they did really good deals every once in awhile, but I didn't know the prices were that low. I think DDD offers free shipping across the board. All the DVDs I looked at had free shipping. Edit: Yeah, they do. quote:FREE SHIPPING AND HANDLING Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Mar 24, 2007 |
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Mar 24, 2007 18:01
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dpvtank posted:Does anyone know much about DDD's shipping prices to Canada? I couldn't seem to find a Canada specific store for DDD. Flat rate of $5.95, plus any customs fees or other fees associated with international shipping.
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Mar 24, 2007 18:19
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caiman posted:I've found a person offering Hard Boiled used for $40. The movie aside, and focusing just on the rarity/desirability of the DVD, do you guys think this is a good deal? I may even be able to talk him down a bit lower. As it happens, I've been doing some research into this because I'm looking to pick up Hard Boiled and The Killer. I found these two threads at criterionforum.com to be pretty useful. http://www.criterionforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1892 http://www.criterionforum.com/index.php?showtopic=399
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Mar 26, 2007 13:38
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vertov posted:There's a new version coming out in a few months, and chances are it will have a better transfer. I would just wait for that one. Do you have a link for this information? I always try to check up on Criterion rereleases before getting OOP discs (got burned with Seven Samurai a few months before it was rereleased) and haven't found anything mentioning a reissue of John Woo's movies. Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Mar 26, 2007 |
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Mar 26, 2007 13:45
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vertov posted:It's not another Criterion, it's from Dragon Dynasty. I made a post about it in the "Upcoming DVDs" thread. Cool, thanks for the link (again I suppose...). 
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Mar 26, 2007 13:55
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caiman posted:Man, I just can't decide about buying Hard Boiled or not. Here's my situation. I haven't seen the movie, but I saw this offer and realized it was a good deal, considering how hard the dvd is to find at a good price. My main interest in it is simply to have a rare OOP Criterion dvd (of a movie that's apparently really, really cool). But then I hear that the quality isn't that great (non anamorphic), and that a better non-CC version is coming out. If you're not anal about owning Criterions, then just wait for the upcoming non-CC version. I am anal about owning Criterions, and I'm getting really frustrated with bootleggers. I've bought two bootleg versions of The Killer so far; luckily, I was able to get my money back. I have another one one the way, but I have a very strong suspicion that it, too, will be a bootleg. Does anyone have an authentic copy of this drat movie that they'd be willing to part with for a reasonable ($50-60) price?
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Mar 26, 2007 23:22
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caiman posted:Question: When you bid on these auctions for DVDs that turn out to be boots, did the original auction state, "This is NOT a bootleg?" I've just always been curious if the bootleg sellers on eBay are stealthy, or just downright deceitful. Well it's a tricky situation. Some of these guys don't know they're selling bootlegs because the bootleggers have gotten so drat good. However, there are some things that will tell you immediately if you have an authentic Criterion. One is the NIMBUS logo near the center of the disc. Another, at least for The Killer, is the white frosted center area. Realistically, though, if you win an auction for a rare OOP Criterion like The Killer, Hard Boiled, or Sid and Nancy and the seller has another copy up within a few days, you've just bought a bootleg. The larger problem, though, is that eBay doesn't do a whole lot to people that consistently sell bootleg DVDs. While doing research on other forums, I've come across the names of sellers listed as known bootleggers from several years ago that you can still find selling their evil wares today. If anyone has any questions about how to spot bootleg Criterions, I can try to answer them, or at least point you towards sites that can.
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Mar 26, 2007 23:30
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caiman posted:So does the NIMBUS logo absolutely, positively mean that the DVD is legit? Everything I've read seems to indicate that this is the case, and that it's either impossible or prohibitively expensive to reproduce the logo. Of course, if you're dealing with some of the oldest OOP titles, just because you don't see the NIMBUS logo does not automatically mean you have a bootleg; I know that a fair amount of authentic Silence of the Lambs discs don't have it, they have CMCA logos. The usual things to check are for the NIMBUS logo, unless it's Silence of the Lambs, in which case you want to look for the CMCA logo and check the numbers that follow it versus the numbers from known authentic copies (they might not match exactly, but if you're pretty drat close, only off by two or three digits, you've probably got a legit copy). You can also check the quality of the insert; if things look distorted, chances are you have a bootleg. If the paper is overly glossy (just compare it to other Criterions from around the same time), you probably have a bootleg. If it's pretty faded, bootlet. Some people will check the case itself, which I think is a bit iffy. If the case is obviously not a type that Criterion has ever used, then yes, you probably have a bootleg, but if everything else seems to match up with legit versions, it might not hurt to just ask the guy you bought it from if he maybe had to replace the case at some point.
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Mar 26, 2007 23:40
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If you want to try to avoid buying from a possible bootlegger, do a bit of research (if you're using eBay). Go through his feedback and see if he's sold any more copies of extremely rare DVDs. If the dude has sold ten copies of Salo over the last six months, I'd be willing to bet a month's pay that he's a bootlegger. Also check his current auctions; if he's selling every OOP Criterion, chances are he's a bootlegger. If he's selling a bunch of OOP Disney DVDs, again, bootlegger. Also, don't be fooled by promises of "factory sealed!!!!11" The more proficient bootleggers can now print out the security seals and make then look drat convincing and shrinkwrap is just shrinkwrap, you can go pick up a machine that'll do that for you for fairly cheap. In fact, just don't plan on getting a sealed copy; authentic ones are going to so rare that it really won't be worth the time you'll invest im camping eBay looking for it.
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Mar 26, 2007 23:51
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As an example of an auction that I'm about 99% certain is legit, I just won this one for Hard Boiled. He provided a lot of pictures of the DVD, and his other auctions make it look like he's just selling off some of his collection. Sorry to keep going on about this, but getting bootlegs when I expect authentic discs really, really pisses me off and I just want to help anyone that'll listen avoid that kind of frustration.
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Mar 27, 2007 02:45
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caiman posted:Here's another general CC collecting question. For those of you who are trying to either obtain the entire collection, or just trying to pick up the rare OOPs, how do you factor in re-releases? Is the old version still desireable even though Criterion has released a better version with the same spine number? The perfect example is Salo. It's in talks of being re-released. Does this make the original release obsolete, or still something worth tracking down/paying top dollar for? As others have said, unless there is something on the original release that isn't on a rerelease, just go for the new stuff. Of course, if you're a completist... However, the prices for rare OOP stuff tends to go down by a fair bit if a rerelease is announced.
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Mar 28, 2007 00:12
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Slackerish posted:Yeah, and you can generally find any OOP edition for a lower price on Amazon (used of course). It's been my experience that, unless you go for the extremely expensive copies, you run a much higher risk of getting a bootleg via the Amazon Marketplace than you would with eBay (provided you do your research).
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Mar 28, 2007 00:24
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What's that you say? Yet another bootleg copy of The Killer? 
Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Mar 29, 2007 |
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Mar 29, 2007 00:41
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caiman posted:drat, sorry to hear. Was this another ebay deal? Nah, I gave the Amazon Marketplace a try this time around. At this point, I'm just going to wait until I see an auction similar to the one I posted for Hard Boiled, or pray that someone bites in my SA Mart thread.
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Mar 29, 2007 01:35
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LaptopGun posted:Sorry to hear that slayn666 . I hope the world stops loving you over. Haha, man, I'm not that emo about it . At this point, knowing that a fundamentally better release is coming out later this year, it's just my stubborness and OCD making me keep at it  .
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Mar 29, 2007 03:45
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My face was just rocked by Hard Boiled. That movie is 100% concentrated  . Holy poo poo.
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Apr 1, 2007 05:14
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I just placed an order for The Seventh Seal (how did I go this long without owning this one?}, Le samouraļ, and The Sword of Doom. Next week will be a good week .
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Apr 3, 2007 05:02
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My fiance gave me this for our anniversary  . I just finished watching The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and while it was nothing like I expected from the description, it was still an excellent movie.
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Apr 7, 2007 03:29
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caiman posted:I got Hard Boiled and The Killer in the mail. Just wanted to show them to you guys to help confirm that they're authentic. Both have the NIMBUS logo on the underside of the disc. So long as the NIMBUS logo looks like this, you should be good to go. Slackerish posted:Which cut of it? I watched Cassavetes' original cut. I'll go back to the shorter cut sometime this week, after I finish watching the rest of the movies. To be honest, I can't see the shorter version being better; I'm at a loss to figure out how he cut so much out. Sure, there are one or two very, very short scenes I could see the movie removing with little or no ill effect, but on the whole, every scene builds on the ones before it, and removing any one of them is going to wreck the narrative.
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Apr 9, 2007 13:25
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caiman posted:Sweet. Looks like they're legit. Yep, a fellow goon sold me his copy. My lust for OOP Criterions is sated (for the moment).
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Apr 10, 2007 00:22
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The Sword of Doom is about the best samurai movie I've seen. It's a drat shame the sequel was never made.
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Apr 13, 2007 13:43
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| # ¿ May 13, 2024 14:40 |
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Why the hell not. Seven Samurai (single disc version (without the restoration feature) and the reissue) The Killer Hard Boiled The Seventh Seal Silence of the Lambs Robocop Armageddon Brazil (3-disc reissue) Sanjuro (original release) The Night Porter Life of Brian Chasing Amy Haxan The Cranes are Flying Royal Tenebaums Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Straw Dogs John Cassavetes: Five Films (Shadows, Faces, A Woman Under the Influence, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night, and A Constant Forge) Kagemusha Sword of Doom Le Samourai And Videodrome, but someone's borrowing it and I'm too lazy to look up it's spine number .Not a large collection, but it's still growing.
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Sep 21, 2007 02:35
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