sigh * I don’t even have the time to watch the backlog of DVDs I have now, let alone find the time to watch more, but dammit, I got sucked back into the bargain section at Target and at the grocery store.
From Target:
“A Man for All Seasons” - I have seen bits and pieces of this film in the past but have never been able to sit down to watch it all the way through.
“Three Days of the Condor” - action-thriller with Robert Redford as a CIA analyst and a pre-whackjob Faye Dunaway as his love interest.
“Mirrormask” - never heard of it, but “Man” was part of a “buy on get one free” sale and the other DVDs were mostly Adam Sandler vehicles and kiddie fare, so it was this or “Labyrinth” and this won. Written by Neil Gaiman.
From the grocery:
“A Scanner Darkly” that real-people-with-animation-drawn-over-them movie. Never seen it, haven’t heard great things about it, but it was six bucks and if I hate it I can sell it at Half Price Books and be out about the cost of a rental.
“Identity” - a thriller starring John Cusack. I’ve seen it previously and was fascinated by it. Five bucks, can’t beat it.
What bargain bins have y’all been digging in lately and what did you find?
Assuming that’s the 1967 Robert bolt/Fred Zinneman/Paul Scofield version (and not Charlton Heston’s Cable TV remake), you’ve got a winner.
De gustibus and all, but this is one of my favorite movies of all time. That someone couldn’t watch it all the way through boggles my mind, but we’re all made differently, I guess. I remember watching for it to come out on DVd. Then it came out, but was ridiculously expensive. Then it came out affordably, but was hard to find. Now it’s in the Bargain Bin. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
Watch it, and pay attention to Bolt’s dialogue. All of Thomas More’s good lines are actual quotes. Notice the way Bolt uses water and water travel heavily. It’s also a metaphor for the wat human relationships change. In the original play many of the roles – Matthew the servant, the publican, the chief juror, and the executioner – were played by the same character and meant to be the voice of practical conduct. Some of the best dialogue got blunted in the transfer from stage to screen, but it’s still worth it.
You’re lucky – when I hit the bargain bins I get things like Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. I think I have a half a dozen copies of the silent Phantom of the Opera.
Just picked up Labyrinth for $5.99, and my kids now love David Bowie! The 8 year old watches with subtitles so he can learn the songs faster.
Recently I hit the “4 for $20” bin at Blockbuster and scored Flags of Our Fathers, 28 Weeks Later, 1408 and Hot Fuzz. Other recent bargains were Inside Man and Red Eye (both $3.99 each), American Gangster, and 3:10 to Yuma.
I had never heard of this before, either, but my friend Justin brought it over last night and we watched it. Admittedly, we were drinking, but man, that was a confusing and bizarre movie. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it or anything! I’m all about confusing and bizarre. Just know that going in.
“Mirrormask” has different characters played by the same people - a la “The Wizard of Oz”. But no, I wouldn’t recommend alcohol consumption during viewing.
Visually, a fantastic movie. Aurally, the biggest catastrophe since Ladyhawke The thing sounds like it was scored by a cut-rate Kenny G. Tragic, really.
If it is this version, I hope you have a big screen to watch it on. It is visually a stunning film.
On a slightly different bargain bin note my son and daughter have history of giving each other joke gifts. For Christmas 2006 my daughter gave my son a copy of Gigli. For her birthday she got that copy back plus another copy. For his birthday he got both of those. for last Christmas she got a total of 6 copies, all lovingly gift wrapped. Since the local bargain bins no longer stock this tittle, my son had to resort to Amazon where copies are available for just a penny or two.
Ridley Scott’s Legend has two scores - one by Tangerine Dream, one by Jerry Goldsmith.
I so wish Ladyhawke had done something similar. It’s one of my favourite films, and is ruined by that synth nonsense. It has some orchestral music throughout, but just not enough.
I stay away from Blockbuster for this very reason. I can never stay away from their 3 or 4 Used DVDs for $20 area if there are movies out that I want. I think the last set I ended up getting Shoot 'Em Up, Superbad, and Eastern Promises.
I manage to convince myself otherwise when I go to Target or Wal-Mart, though, just because there are so many movies I want and I always feel like I could be spending my money on something more important. Like food. :dubious:
I was at Big Lots Saturday and they had a four disk box set of The Beverly Hillbillies; another four disk box set called Strange Tales of fifties sci-fi movies; A Kiss Before Dying (the Robert Wagner original not the Sean Young remake); Don’t Come Knocking; Bank Shot; and the documentary Rock School - all from three to six dollars.
Saturday at our local Hollywood Video scored Inside Man, Thank You For Smoking and the two volumes containing the complete second season of Weeds, all for the grand total of 20 clams. Very pleased indeed, especially the Weeds. Classic stuff worth multiple rewatchings IMHO.
My latest bargain scores were ‘The Great St. Lewis Bank Robbery’ with (a very young) Steve McQueen and a factory shrink wrapped VHS ‘Casablanca’ and a used ‘Unforgiven’ for a buck each.
You gotta love Big Lots. Where else can you find VHS tapes about the secret indiscretions of Bill Clinton packaged for retail? It’s like stepping back into a dimmer, scrungier version of time. The furniture there is awesome though.
I just watched A Scanner Darkly about a week ago. I enjoyed it a lot! It’s one of the movies I suggest to people who think they hate Keanu Reeves, because he does a pretty respectable job in it.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t make it through the film, it was that other things intervened as the film was on.
Oh I have that too, from the dollar store. I posted about it in a thread about films that have the horrible copout “it was all a dream” ending and someone scolded me for spoiling it!
I do the same thing, but I haven’t even heard of some of these titles. I’ve gotten in the bargain bin at the supermarket: Erin Brockvich, The Graduate, Syriana, Thelma and Luise, things like that. I keep them on hand for teachers to use at the last minute, because it takes time to get them from the library. And yes, I find them between five and ten dollars.
But some movies you’ll never get at a bargain price in Ralph’s and you want to keep them, like Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria, or María Novaro’s Danzón, or 친절한 금자씨 (*SympathyforLady Vengence*) by Park Chan-wook (박찬욱). These you just have to check out or buy on Amazon.
the previously viewed bin at block buster used to get me every time. now i ended up renting movies on itunes (its like one click and then i end up with like half a dozen charges on my credit card…oops)
The 8 year old watches with subtitles so he can learn the songs faster.