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FitFortDanga
Nov 19, 2004

Nice try, asshole

quote:

* You don't see the guard on fire when the Police vehicle crashes during the chase.

This is the worst one, IMO. In Gilliam's cut, this scene is a condemnation of the kind of reckless, "heroic" stuff you usually see in the movies, where the lives of the "bad guys" are easily dispensible. The "LCA" cut transforms the scene into the exact thing it was supposed to be condemning.

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Og Oggilby
Feb 12, 2005
The "Love Conquers All" cut basically makes the entire movie pointless. The whole movie builds up to the ending. It's like ending The Godfather with the baptism scene... without the cutaways and without the scenes afterward.

The most ridiculous aspect of the "studio cut" is that it resorts to freeze-frames and zoom-ins to fake shots. I'm fairly sure a few shots are even repeated.

LaptopGun
Sep 2, 2006

All I'm going to get out of him is a snappy one-liner and, if I'm real lucky, a brand new nickname.
Sounds like I'm getting my money's worth. YEAH!

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

ClydeUmney posted:

Really, you can't fathom just how bad the whole thing is. The scene you refer to is edited almost out of existence; the bombing outside the TV shop looks victimless; when DeNiro is asked why he does it, instead of whistling and ignoring the question, a badly dubbed voice explains, in stultifying detail, exactly why he does it and spells out the moral of the film; the whole subplot about bringing the receipt to the wife is gone (in fact, I think almost every mention of Buttle or whatever that guy's name was is gone entirely)...it really boggles the mind. It's fascinating to watch, but far from good.

Once you've seen it, you owe it to yourself to watch the documentary on disc two called "The Battle over Brazil". GREAT look at what happened and why.

Better description of the changes, spoilered for those who haven't seen it:

I...I'm not sure I'd be able to watch that.

blindhaberdasher
Aug 8, 2005

your sins will be read to you ceaselessly, in shifts, throughout eternity

Slackerish posted:

I...I'm not sure I'd be able to watch that.

It's pretty interesting if you watch it with the audio commentary that explains all the changes.

blindhaberdasher fucked around with this message at 07:34 on Mar 18, 2007

Criminal Minded
Jan 4, 2005

Spring break forever
Just watched Rififi again (last time I watched it was when I bought it, some 13 months ago), and drat...I'm really in the mood for some more French noir. This and Bob le flambeur have convinced me to buy Quai des Orfèvres and Pépé le Moko when I get paid next.

FitFortDanga
Nov 19, 2004

Nice try, asshole

Someone wrote to them about Max Ophuls and got this response:

quote:

We will be releasing an Ophuls box in late 2007/early 2008. It will contain several films, including The Earring of Madame de... and Le Plaisir.
I hope that helps.

Sweet. I've only seen one Ophuls (Leibelei) but it was very nice. I know that he was one of Kubrick's favorite directors.

Nieuw Amsterdam
Dec 1, 2006

Dignité. Toujours, dignité.

Slackerish posted:

I...I'm not sure I'd be able to watch that.

It is hilariously bad. That's the nice part of the set, you always have the proper version to enjoy, so why not stir things up once in a while?

It's the most expensive single-film set I have ever bought and it was worth every penny. Something would be missing if they didn't include the Love Conquers All version, it's a rather unique example of severe studio butchering that makes The Magnificent Ambersons look like a tribute to the directors cut.

MatrixSchmatrix
Jul 1, 2006

Nieuw Amsterdam posted:

It is hilariously bad. That's the nice part of the set, you always have the proper version to enjoy, so why not stir things up once in a while?

It's the most expensive single-film set I have ever bought and it was worth every penny. Something would be missing if they didn't include the Love Conquers All version, it's a rather unique example of severe studio butchering that makes The Magnificent Ambersons look like a tribute to the directors cut.

The commentary is interesting not only in terms of what it tells you about studio cuts but as an indirect scholar's commentary on Gilliam's version- in telling you where the Love Conquers All version went wrong, it does a lot to explain where the normal cut did things well.

I've never managed to watch it with the commentary off, though.

InfiniteZero
Sep 11, 2004

PINK GUITAR FIRE ROBOT

College Slice

Criminal Minded posted:

390 is actually kinda :nws: :raise:
The black dots on the cover toward the bottom left remind me of MST3K.

I am convinced that this was not Criterion's intention.

LaptopGun
Sep 2, 2006

All I'm going to get out of him is a snappy one-liner and, if I'm real lucky, a brand new nickname.
Brazil came in the mail today. :) Don't know if I'll have time to watch it this weekend, but I'm pumped.

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish
Just got paid, debating about what DVD to get at my next Barnes and Nobel haul

Debating between:

Down by Law
George Washington
Contempt
Videodrome
That Obscure Object of Desire.

Videodrome is the only one of those I've seen.

And is that sale that Vertov posted still going on?

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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.

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

slayn666 posted:

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.

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.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

slayn666 posted:

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.

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.

And for the record, you don't come off as an rear end in a top hat at all.

Sheldrake
Jul 19, 2006

~pettin in the park~
Yeah, for the record, I work at a Barnes and Noble and I still get almost all of my DVDs online. Barnes and Noble, being a speciality book store, really doesn't try to compete price-wise with anyone. This is why you could find them charging $35 for The Departed the day it came out while at the Target across the street it was $15. My 20% employee discount doesn't come even close to matching up with the online prices most of the time.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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.

And for the record, you don't come off as an rear end in a top hat at all.

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

DeepDiscount.com ships your orders at no charge via USPS Standard delivery, allow 5 to 10 business days for delivery.* Expedited delivery via USPS Priority Mail and UPS Next Day Air service is available for a fee.

Ornamented Death fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Mar 24, 2007

dpvtank
Nov 13, 2005
I just bought Kurosawa's Ran on Criterion (my first Criterion DVD) and I don't regret it one bit. Having said that, I had to buy it from the US for a cheaper price and get it shipped here. Even that cost less than what I would have had to pay here in Canada.

Does anyone know much about DDD's shipping prices to Canada? I couldn't seem to find a Canada specific store for DDD.


Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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.

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

slayn666 posted:

I think DDD offers free shipping across the board. All the DVDs I looked at had free shipping.

Edit: Yeah, they do.

Nice! Thanks.

Cacator
Aug 6, 2005

You're quite good at turning me on.

dpvtank posted:

I just bought Kurosawa's Ran on Criterion (my first Criterion DVD) and I don't regret it one bit. Having said that, I had to buy it from the US for a cheaper price and get it shipped here. Even that cost less than what I would have had to pay here in Canada.

Does anyone know much about DDD's shipping prices to Canada? I couldn't seem to find a Canada specific store for DDD.

DDD doesn't ship to Canada anymore. They used to, and they had a separate Canadian site. When I ordered from the US site, it took weeks to get here but otherwise I had little problems. When I ordered from the Canadian site, I got my stuff in days. I ordered from DVD Planet this time around, which I think is the same company (they have the same stock and have the same sales) but you pay a bit more for shipping ($3.75 per order + $0.75 per disc). Ultimately it made little difference because they usually have coupons you can use to negate the shipping costs.

cryme
Apr 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Slackerish posted:

Debating between:

Down by Law
George Washington
Contempt
Videodrome
That Obscure Object of Desire.

Videodrome is the only one of those I've seen.

To answer this question, the answer is Videodrome.

not biased

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

cryme posted:

To answer this question, the answer is Videodrome.

not biased

I have the original out-of-print version somewhere in my house, but I can't find it. I've only watched it once and I was kinda-sorta impressed, but I want to give it another go now that I'm a bigger Cronenberg fan. How are the extras?

cryme
Apr 9, 2004

by zen death robot

Slackerish posted:

I have the original out-of-print version somewhere in my house, but I can't find it. I've only watched it once and I was kinda-sorta impressed, but I want to give it another go now that I'm a bigger Cronenberg fan. How are the extras?

Terrific. Cronenberg always gives fantastic commentaries, and the James Woods/Deborah Harry track is pretty good too. The booklet has some very good essays that will increase your appreciation for the movie (there is a lot to be gained by multiple viewings). The second disc has a great documentary on the awesome practical effects used in the movie, as well as uncut 'broadcasts' of the Samurai Dreams film as well as the videodrome 'transmissions'. The Cronenberg short is interesting, and the rountable disscussion and promotional materials are all worth a look. It's one of Criterion's best discs.

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish

cryme posted:

Terrific. Cronenberg always gives fantastic commentaries, and the James Woods/Deborah Harry track is pretty good too. The booklet has some very good essays that will increase your appreciation for the movie (there is a lot to be gained by multiple viewings). The second disc has a great documentary on the awesome practical effects used in the movie, as well as uncut 'broadcasts' of the Samurai Dreams film as well as the videodrome 'transmissions'. The Cronenberg short is interesting, and the rountable disscussion and promotional materials are all worth a look. It's one of Criterion's best discs.

Sooold!

LaptopGun
Sep 2, 2006

All I'm going to get out of him is a snappy one-liner and, if I'm real lucky, a brand new nickname.

cryme posted:

Terrific. Cronenberg always gives fantastic commentaries, and the James Woods/Deborah Harry track is pretty good too. The booklet has some very good essays that will increase your appreciation for the movie (there is a lot to be gained by multiple viewings). The second disc has a great documentary on the awesome practical effects used in the movie, as well as uncut 'broadcasts' of the Samurai Dreams film as well as the videodrome 'transmissions'. The Cronenberg short is interesting, and the rountable disscussion and promotional materials are all worth a look. It's one of Criterion's best discs.

I second this. It was actually the first Criterion I ever bough when I worked at Best Buy. I didn't save a lot, but totally satisfied. The extras are great. I guess the one thing I kinda shrugged on was having no stereo presentation, but I guess the mono is the original audio. I have a surround sound system and wish it offered 5.1 blah-blah-blah yet I realize that could end up with mixed results. Still it sounds fantastic for as old and as low budget as it is.

I gotta say when I heard Cronenberg say he really shot a softcore porno for the movie I thought he was kidding. Then when I watched the Samurai Dreams, :sonia: and then you get to the part that didn't get into the theatrical engagement at all...

MatrixSchmatrix
Jul 1, 2006

Videodrome is one of those discs where I just look at it and admire how great Criterion is. Not only is it a two disc set where everything on both discs is worth watching (Woods' commentary is one of the top two or three actor ones I've ever heard) but the packaging itself is absolutely beautiful. It's those little touches, like the Criterion logo coming out of the filing cabinet before Brazil and the art on the actual DVD of Man Bites Dog (the whole thing is just a large blood splatter, with the information in tiny print around the edge) that make me love them.

LaptopGun
Sep 2, 2006

All I'm going to get out of him is a snappy one-liner and, if I'm real lucky, a brand new nickname.
True story- an friend asked me what was teh difference between the actual look of VHS and Beta. As I know no one who owns any Beta, I showed them the inner case of the set. :) He was like, "Oh, so they look very similar..."

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

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.

Spatulater bro! fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Mar 26, 2007

MatrixSchmatrix
Jul 1, 2006

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.

I sold my copy on amazon for $65 or so a few months ago, so yes, I think so. Be very careful, though, about half of the copies of that DVD floating around are fake, there's some test about the inner ring being white or something that lets you know. Look into it, since I don't remember the details, but fake is definitely a possiblity.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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

vertov
Jun 14, 2003

hello

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.

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.

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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

vertov
Jun 14, 2003

hello

slayn666 posted:

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.

It's not another Criterion, it's from Dragon Dynasty. I made a post about it in the "Upcoming DVDs" thread.

http://www.dragondynasty.com/news/show/5

Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

vertov posted:

It's not another Criterion, it's from Dragon Dynasty. I made a post about it in the "Upcoming DVDs" thread.

http://www.dragondynasty.com/news/show/5


Cool, thanks for the link (again I suppose...). :)

Slackerish
Jan 1, 2007

Hail Boognish
Videodrome has been ordered! I think Down By Law is next up.

Spatulater bro!
Aug 19, 2003

Punch! Punch! Punch!

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.

So I'm a little torn. On the one hand I'd like to own a rare CC, but on the other hand, paying $30-$40 for a poor quality dvd with a better version available seems a bit silly. I only own a dozen or so CCs, so it's not like this is the key to completing an entire collection or anything.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

dpvtank
Nov 13, 2005

Cacator posted:

DDD doesn't ship to Canada anymore. They used to, and they had a separate Canadian site. When I ordered from the US site, it took weeks to get here but otherwise I had little problems. When I ordered from the Canadian site, I got my stuff in days. I ordered from DVD Planet this time around, which I think is the same company (they have the same stock and have the same sales) but you pay a bit more for shipping ($3.75 per order + $0.75 per disc). Ultimately it made little difference because they usually have coupons you can use to negate the shipping costs.

Is this price in Canadian Dollar or USD (I'm assuming USD)? I couldn't seem to find anything more about pricing on the website. And tell me more about these coupons. I'm about to make my first purchase from DVD Planet, and a coupon code would do me a world of good.

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Ornamented Death
Jan 25, 2006

Pew pew!

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.

So I'm a little torn. On the one hand I'd like to own a rare CC, but on the other hand, paying $30-$40 for a poor quality dvd with a better version available seems a bit silly. I only own a dozen or so CCs, so it's not like this is the key to completing an entire collection or anything.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

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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