Non-Criterion Boutique Home Video Discussion (Kino, Warner Archive, Arrow, Indicator, Vinegar Syndrome, Code Red, etc.)

But, then again, I don't read stickers!

My birthday present to you!

I love you

The studio killed the original UK Gaslight in various ways such as renaming it so as not to compete with the US remake, iirc..

Okay, MGM destroyed the negative at the time, and one or both versions were variously known as Angel Street and The Murder in Thornton Square.

Bonus films are indeed an awesome feature, though tbh I'm not sure I'll ever get around to the earlier version of Holiday

I haven't looked at the Warner Archive site in years, but I remember being wary because the DVDs (and maybe the blu-rays?) were sometimes DVD-Rs/MOD. The fact that a even some factory-pressed Warner titles from about fifteen years ago became unplayable over time helped sour me on buying Warner releases. But I also just rarely watch physical discs any more, unfortunately.

xxp Another bonus feature IIRC is The Traveler on Criterion's Close-Up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/arts/gaslight-movie-afterlife.html
J. Hoberman's overview.

xpost Warner Archive DVDs are, unfortunately, usually DVD-Rs and thusly not generally something I'm inclined to pay money for (except that I'm probably going to fold on the Forbidden Hollywood sets eventually). Their blu-rays, however, are legit manufactured discs and well worth checking out. They have so much good stuff.

I'm slapping myself just now because when I started this thread I knew I was forgetting to mention a major player and sure enough: Shout/Scream Factory is probably the most dominant boutique label in my collection. And sure enough: they're having a sale (on box sets).

https://www.shoutfactory.com/page/list/id/282131?utm_source=rejoiner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BOXSET+SALE+FEB+2021+-+FIRST+DAY&utm_content=BOXSET+SALE+FEB+2021

You see, this is how I blew through whatever stimulus money I received last year. Soooo many sales. It's a really easy way to go broke.

Olive Films puts out a lot of good stuff. Can't seem to find a proper home page.

https://olivefilms.com/

(doesn't show up on a Google search).

If you’re not buying the Maude box set from that Shout sale, seriously what are you doing in life?!

Lol

I was looking at the Barney Miller box.

Seeing that Homicide box, and remembering how ridiculously expensive the original season sets were back upon release in the early '00s: $80-$100 apiece (because of the music rights, iirc).

Wow, that is amazingly cheap, even at retail. Did they cut the music or something?

Looks like direct ports of the old discs.

When A&E did their complete series box, IIRC it was like $150-$200.

that
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up And Scald Myself With Tea film mentioned upthread fort mentioned in the guardian today in an article about a new (?) streaming service

https://easterneuropeanmovies.com/

which might be a bit off topic (being streaming) but looks interesting

(fuck autocorrect, you get the idea)

That does look great. I grumble about the big streaming services quite a bit but truth be told I could probably spend the rest of my life just watching old movies on stuff like this, the Cinephobe and assorted youtube accounts, without even getting into the Criterion channel.

the russian films are a separate (but related) website

and it has an interesting payment plan - $5 for a day, $15 for a week, $30 for a month, $100 for lifetime

you could probably get the cost per film down to $1 given a week and enough spare time (although probably avoid Satantango in that case!)

that's assuming this service lasts 2 years!

That's a great selection, quite a few I've loved and a good bunch I want to see, maybe someday.

Inspired by this thread I tracked down a complete list of Warner Archive releases, and wow! Need the third season of Young Sheldon on blu with no extras? They got you covered!

Come on, that's on par with dismissing Criterion because they released Armageddon. Every physical media company produces shitty loss leaders. Warner Archive is one of the few things I won't actively give WB shit for these days.

No man I'm not dismissing it, it's just that I mostly knew it as a purveyor of super niche old school Hollywood stuff and was surprised by their branching out.

Also Armageddon is totally Criterion-worthy what are you on about.

The Long Good Friday looks extraordinary in the new Arrow version. They even put together a fancy modern trailer which makes it look the bee's knees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B90zNzyFk-w

Man i'd love to see this print at the movies.

xpost Ah, gotcha. Yeah, more and more they're also using WAC as a repository for tv seasons that otherwise don't get a wide physical release (I think they manufacture these things like 1000 at a time?). Which...I don't even know what tv shows are considered for a wide release anymore, since Targets and other major retail outlets have all but given up on physical media.

bought a cheap 2nd hand blu ray player recently, what are good online shops in UK to buy these kind of boutique releases?
is there a place with an upcoming release schedule?

I extensively use blu-ray.com. This is their new release calendar but you may have to tweak the settings to get UK-specific releases (hint: select yr country in the search bar, do a search, and the site should then rejigger their listings such that they're specific to your region).

Warning: that link is extremely dangerous, as I realize now that I hadn't checked it in a while and now I'm seeing a bunch of stuff that I didn't even know had been released and, well...bye bye, money.

if you put the name of something, (ie Tomorrow I'll Wake Up And Scald Myself With Tea), in a search engine and hit 'shopping' it'll list a bunch of places with it for sale, most of which are ebay and the rest of which don't look like places that would care about films, just about selling units (one of which even has "SKU" as a sort order in its list)

places like
base.com
hive.co.uk
www.moviesandgamesonline.co.uk
hmv actually have a good selection (and i have tokens)
wh smith

amazon also. and they are quite good for recommendations, just terrible at the details. (for example, the first two reviews say there are no english subtitles because they've merged all the reviews for all the different releases together)

Usually, unless I'm just dying to see a particular thing, I wait until the boutiques offer a sale. Most of them do a couple times a year and the prices are often pretty good, and if you stay on top of things you'll find out about limited releases that are usually dropped during the sales (which I will endeavor to use this thread to hype when they pop up).

ta, blu-ray.com looks dangerously useful. funny seeing what is available and what isn't
I've only used amazon so far, they had a load of Ozu for £6.99 each the other day so grabbed a few

dismissing Criterion because they released Armageddon.

― Chokeslamming A Memory (Old Lunch), Sunday, February 28, 2021 2:18 PM

I missed this shitstorm and all the accompanying death threats

Why tf did Shout price the complete Pee-Wee's Playhouse box set for $35 on DVD and $150 on Blu-ray???

pixels aren't free

I dunno, I was waiting for the blu-ray but just wound up getting the old DVD season sets once I saw their MSRP. I guess there's a bunch of new special features but it wasn't worth the expense to me.

it's $90 on Blu-Ray, the $150 one probably came with bow tie or something

Now a big huge Kino sale (500+ titles, many @ $10 or less, lots of good stuff): https://www.kinolorber.com/list/view/code/march-madness-sale-2021

And then I think the Warner Archive sale starts tomorrow.

Sorry, wallet.

Just in time for the stimmy check

I bought Last Year at Marienbad and Transylvania 6-5000

Limited myself to just 4 because I've actually been going pretty hog-wild on Indicator/Arrow since getting a region-free player for the first time in a decade.

The Mortal Storm
The Best Years of Our Lives
On Dangerous Ground
Waiting for Guffman (I somehow keep losing this one to lendees)

On Dangerous Ground! Keep meaning to buy that one. Maybe this time...

Yup, the site even says Final $4 for $44. Maybe time to get some advance gifts.

SHOPWB15 brings it down to 4 for $37.50 (plus taxes and shipping)

ty!

Definitely snagging a copy of Dead of Night from Kino. Tempted to get the Classics of Yiddish Cinema box as well for $30, if only for the restoration of The Dybbuk, which I've only ever seen in a VHS dub ripped from YouTube years ago with patchy subtitles.

I mean, I consider The Apple a winner so

I enjoy kino's chaotic neutral approach

The Big Bus, Moving Violations, and Blind Fury are definitely all winners!

kinda surprised they haven't released Midnight Madness on Kino yet

I enjoy kino's chaotic neutral approach

Heads up for people buying the Phase IV 4k/blu- the guy at Vinegar Syndrome who reassembled the original cut(s) says that the Saul Bass shorts that VS didn't carry over from the 101 Films UK release are being cleaned up and should be released within the year by another, as yet unnamed label

Kino Lorber March Madness Sale: https://kinolorber.com/collection/march-madness-sale-2024