Weekly RoundUp 3/1/05 (1 Viewer)

Kitty: I was reading a book the other day.
Carlotta: Reading a book??
Kitty: Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
Carlotta: Oh, my dear. That's something you need never worry about.
–Marie Dressler as Carlotta Vance and Jean Harlow as Kitty Packard (Dinner at Eight – 1933)


Bambi: What happened mother? Why did we all run?
Bambi’s Mother: Man was in the forest.
–Donnie Dunagan as Bambi and Paula Winslowe as Bambi’s Mother (Bambi – 1942)



The Weekly RoundUp

TITLEAmazonBestBuyCrcCityTargetCostcoDDDBambi SE$19.49$15.99$17.99$15.99$18.29$19.88Brady Bunch: Season 1$27.29$27.99$24.99$29.99-$27.19Bringing Up Baby SE$18.89$16.99$19.99$15.99--Chisholm ‘72$14.98$18.99$15.99---Classic Comedies Collection$48.29$69.99$68.98--$48.55D.C. Cab$9.99$8.99$9.99---Dinner at Eight$13.98$14.99$15.99---Easy (2003)$25.18$14.99$22.99--$20.40**Exorcist: The Beginning$19.57$17.99$17.99$17.99--**Flight of the Phoenix$20.99$16.99$19.99--$21.96Ghost Dad$9.99$8.99$9.99--$6.00Hoosiers CE$20.99$15.99$22.99--$21.44In the Weeds$20.99$24.99$24.99---Incident at Loch Ness$25.18-$19.99---Libeled Lady$13.98$14.99$15.99---Lost in Space: S3 V1$27.99$29.99$34.99---Max & Ruby: Springtime$15.29$14.99$12.99--$11.76My Own Private Idaho (CC)$27.97$28.99$34.99---Nirvana$26.99$25.99$24.99---Paradise Alley$9.99$8.99$9.99---Philadelphia Story SE$18.89$19.99$19.99---Rameses: Wrath of God or Man?$14.95$14.99$15.99--$13.91The River (1951) (CC)$22.46$24.99$22.99---Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch$24.47$22.99$19.99---SCTV: Volume 3$62.99$59.99$99.99---Seagull’s Laughter$26.95$24.99$24.99---**Spongebob Squarepants Movie$19.47$19.99$14.99$15.99$18.49$21.14Stage Door$13.98$14.99$15.99---Super Bowl XXXIX$17.49$22.99$16.99-$14.99-To Be or Not to Be (1942)$13.98$14.99$15.99---Toulouse-Latrec and Montmartre$17.95$14.99$15.99---Virginia’s Run$17.98$14.99$15.99---White Palace$9.99$8.99$9.99--$6.00Wonder Woman: Season 2$27.99$29.99$27.99$29.99$26.99-Yanks$9.99$8.99$9.99---

DDD = deepdiscountdvd.com This is a one week experiment.

(CC) = new Criterion Collection release this week.

Classic Comedies Collection: Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, Dinner at Eight, Libeled Lady, Stage Door, To Be or Not To Be.

Standard disclaimer: All prices are taken from the websites of each chain, or from their printed advertisements, the Sunday of the week of release (so as to catch any week-of-release sale prices). All prices are subject to change by each chain. Prices and inventory in-store may or may not match the website price. If a price is marked "$_N/A_" in the grid, it means that this title is not shown as available on that chain's website or perhaps in their ads...but it COULD still be in-stores!

$_"LP" means the advertisement says "Low Price", and $_"HP" means the advertisement says "Hot Price". Use of either of these in the Roundup grid indicates that I could not locate a definite price for the item, and the ad is all I have to go on. Retailers use these phrases in advertisements so that they do not violate MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) agreements with the studios. Doing so can cost them thousands or even millions of dollars in co-op advertising funds.

I only include the titles I feel like including (or the ones Dave tells me he's looking for ;o)). In fact, the titles are pretty much the ones I'm personally interested in, with few exceptions. I don't get paid for this, and I don't have time to devote to doing every DVD. So, please don't complain. If there is a title not included in the Roundup that you want to see, just look it up yourself, and be nice enough to post and share the results with everyone...like Dave & I do!

Note that Circuit City does not guarantee their sale prices in Hawaii. Also note that I cannot include Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club prices in the standard Roundup: they set prices at individual stores based on nearby competition, so there is not a way I can say here what price you'll find at YOUR local Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club location. When it comes to Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club prices mentioned at all, just remember that "Your Mileage May Vary".


**BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL! Flight of the Phoenix AND Exorcist: The Beginning AND The Spongebob Squarepants Movie are all available in both OAR and MAR versions...get the correct one.

--Amazon is still featuring free shipping on orders over $25. Restrictions apply.

--Best Buy is offering a FREE “Exclusive” plush Thumper with its copies of Bambi this week. Minimum 75 per store. No rainchecks.

--At Best Buy, if you buy The Exorcist: The Beginning ($17.99) and also purchase The Exorcist (2000 release-The Version You’ve Never Seen) ($14.99), you can get both DVDs for $25. $18+$15=$33 $33-$25=$8 savings.

--Best Buy is also advertising a FREE movie ticket to Robots (in theaters March 11) with its copies of a new single-disc release of Ice Age ($12.99) Up to a $6.50 value. Minimum 10 per store. No rainchecks.

--Circuit City is offering a FREE MousePad with the purchase of The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. In-store only. While supplies last. Minimum 25 per store.

--Also, Circuit City is offering 10% off any family or kids movie with the purchase of The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. In-store only. Purchases must be on same receipt.

--Circuit City is offering “your choice of movie candy” with the purchase of Bambi. The types of candy pictured in the flyer are Milk Duds, Mike & Ikes and Raisinets…but I cannot tell the size of the packages.

--Target is offering a FREE exclusive disc with its copies of The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Featuring “The Flaming Lips”. Items are packaged together. Quantity limited. No rain checks.

--Target also has on sale for $12.99 an exclusive DVD called ToddWorld: Todd’s Best Friends.

--Target also has pictured in its $7.50 section this week the SE of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (with the gold border around the cover). I would suspect that is a mistake.

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Let me also announce that I would love to continue the discussion which started in last week’s RoundUp thread. To anyone who regularly reads the RoundUp, I ask the following question:

If YOU were putting together the Weekly RoundUp...what sources would you find most useful in determining your DVD-buying patterns?

In other words, would anyone like to recommend any changes/additions to those stores surveyed for prices in the RoundUp. Here is a quote of my own from last week’s thread as I discussed my thinking:


-------------------------

The latest markdowns according to DavisDVD:

EFFECTIVE: March 1, 2005 (Studio/Titles/New SRP)

20th Century Fox

The Day After Tomorrow, Man on Fire ... $19.98

Buena Vista
Adventures in Babysitting, Holy Smoke, Stella, The Tall Guy ... $9.99

American Dream, Behind the Sun, Blue, Brassed Off, Captives, Citizen Ruth, Ethan Frome, Hamlet, Heaven, I Love Trouble, The Innocent, Iron Monkey, Italian For Beginners, Little Buddha, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Moondance, The Night and the Moment, Pinero, Purple Noon, Red, Restoration, Smoke Signals, The Substance of Fire, Summer Fling, They, Tower of Terror, Velvet Goldmine, Waking Up in Reno, White ... $14.99

Air Bud Spikes Back ... $19.99

Sony (Columbia)

Bite the Bullet, Black mask 2, Cruel Intentions 2, Double Team, The End of the Affair (1999), Get on the Bus, Girlfight, Godzilla 2000, Jackie Chan's Who Am I?, Ghosts of Mars, Knock Off, Like Father Like Son, Limbo, Lone Star State of Mind, Loser, Lost in Yonkers, One False Move, The Pest, Starman, Stealing Harvard, Swept Away, Tokyo Raiders, Universal Soldier: The Return ... $9.95

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Black Dragon, No Good Deed, Stark Raving Mad ... $14.95

Asylum of the Damned ... $19.95

Warner Bros

Friends: The Finale, Firefox, Police Academy 7, The Spitfire Grill ... $9.97

Circuit City on sale DVD items:

$12.99 each:
Troy
The Forgotten
Alien Vs Predator
The Village
Spider-man 2
I, Robot

$14.99:
Shrek 2

$17.99:
Aladdin

$19.99 each:
Ray
The Grudge
Shark's Tale
Mulan 2
Friday Night Lights

$7.49 each:
Dumb and Dumber
Beetlejuice
Blade Runner
Swordfish
Menace II Society
Neverending Story
Love Jones
Twister
Player's Club
Blade
Devil's Advocate
Love & Basketball
A Little Princess
Rush Hour
Perfect Storm
City of Angels
John Q
The Incredible Mr. Limpet

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Best Buy on sale DVD items:

$17.99;
Friday Night Lights

$14.99:
The Exorcist (2000 version)

$12.99:
Ice Age w/ free Ticket to see Robots (up to $6.50 value)

$9.99:
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)

2 for $15:
Far From Heaven
The Whole 9 Yards
Any Given Sunday
The Fugitive
Traffic
Ocean's 11
Heartbreak Ridge
Frequency
Austin Powers
Austin Powers 2
Airplane
Shanghai Noon
Shanghai Knights
Next Friday
Thin Red Line
Con Air
Reindeer Games
The Mummy
The Scorpion King
The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2
Mission Impossible
New Jack City
Broken Arrow
Face/Off
Swordfish
Grease
The Road Warrior
Payback
Final Destination
Knockaround Guys

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Target on sale DVD items:

$12.99
Toddworld: Todd's Best Friends (target exclusive)

$9.99 each:
The Love Bug
Flight of the Navigator
The Parent Trap
Escape to Witch Mountain
The Cat from Outer Space
The Apple Dumpling Gang
Candleshoe
Follow me, Boys!
Davy Crockett 2 Movie Set

$7.50 each:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
When Harry Met Sally
Much Ado About Nothing
Guys and Dolls
Nora's Hair Salon
A Chorus Line
The Birdcage
The Terminator
Bowling for Columbine
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Magnificient Seven

Since I read what Mr. Harris said about this release of Bambi, this is a definite for me. Where's the pictures this week, Mike?

I'm getting the following:
-Bambi
-Flight of the Phoenix
-Spongebob Squarepants Movie (Reserved at Gamestop)

I want SCTV:Volume 3.

Good work as always Mike and Patrick.

I'm picking up Bringing Up Baby and Bambi this week.

As for your question. I love the roundup as it is. The only stores that are near me (outside of the ones you already list) are Borders and Barnes And Noble. They're generally more expensive than most places so adding them to the list would be essentially useless to me.

I really apprecite your hard work on the weekly roundup. It really helps me plan where to pick up my discs. Thanks!

I never got to see all the rest of Bambi, but I going to pick this title up before the parents "hunt" this title. *gets told to stop using bad puns by Mike* As for the poll, I personally don't mind Amazon in the list, but Deep Discount wouldn't be a bad idea to add in (or replace if you planning on removing Costo).

Thanks for the round up Mike.

Just Bambi for me this week.

Mike, for your question I would like for you to include DDD on a regular basis, since it's the e-tailer I use most as I know a lot of people do. The problem I see with including DDD's prices is that they typically lower new release prices on Tuesdays to beat BB's online price, due to DDD's lowest online price guarantee.

For example, Bambi is currently listed @ $19.88 but Tuesday I fully expect it to drop to $17.14 - 10 cents lower than BB.com's $15.99+$1.25 shipping. I expect Hoosiers to be lowered to the same $17.14 on Tuesday, even though it's currently listed @ $21+ @ DDD.

So again that presents a problem because the DDD price you post on Sunday morning will likely be lower on many new releases by mid-week. So because of that it doesn't make it practical to include DDD in the Roundup. Other than possibly adding DDD, I say keep the roundup the way it is.

I have a question for you, though: why so many "-" in the DDD column? I found it shocking that they wouldn't carry that many new releases, so I tried searching for "bringing up baby" and "chisholm," finding results for Bringing Up Baby SE and Chisholm '72..., respectively. In my experiences with DDD (over 3 years by now), I have found the less you enter in the search (i.e. don't include punctuation), the more likely you are to find something. For example, you probably searched for "d.c. cab" (with the periods) but a search for "dc cab" (sans periods) turns up DC Cab. But their search engine is definitely lacking, as you apparently experienced in searching for their prices.

Regardless of what you decdie to do regarding the Roundup, Mike, keep up the good work. It's really helpful and I (as well as everyone else here I'm sure) really appreciate the work you put into it week in and week out.

Thanks Mike. Heavy, heavy week.

Bambi
Brady Bunch
Bringing Up Baby
Libeled Lady
Philadelphia Story
Rutles 2
To Be or Not to Be

My wallet is hurting just thinking about it.

There won't be another week this good for...two whole weeks.

Mike,

Please don't remove Costco. While DVDTalk's Tuesday update is useful, it often comes a little late. Thanks.

FYI, SCTV v. 3 is $57 at DDD.

Mike,

I notice you didn't include the Classic Comedies Collection box set in the roundup. I don't know about b&m prices, but online, it's clearly cheaper even if, like me, you only want 4 of the 6 films in the boxset.

just a funny note, target has the pic of the origional flight of the phoenix instead of the new one in their ad.

plus a price match tip for sctv.
if you can find one at CC, it is apparently $99.
its $59 at BB so a price match would get you another $4 off at CC.

I know i'm hoping for a lot but is The Good,the Bad,and the Ugly pictured in Target's ad the SE?

Just Bambi for me this week. There are others I'll pick up eventually (Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, Hoosiers) but funds are a bit tight this month.

Regarding the round-up, I think it's just fine the way it is. It would be great if Walmart could be included, but if they offer different sale prices in different areas, it wouldn't make much sense to include 'em.

Hmm, absolutely nothing this week. Thanks anyway.

Does anyone know if Sams Club or Costco will have Warners Classic Comedies Box in stock this week? It doesnt show on either of their websites but then again neither did any other of the Warner boxsets like Film Noir and Gangsters.

I'm considering Bambi, that's about it though. Thank's Mike and Patrick!

I think it only has 6 movies: Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be

You're right. The way it's listed at Amazon, the Eight in Dinner at Eight is such, that I looked at it too quickly and thought it said eight titles. I'll adjust my post. Thanks.

Mike,

Thanks for the helpful prices, as usual. I'll be picking up Bambi, Spongebob, Hoosiers, and Exorcist The Beginning.

If I were you, I wouldn't add any other retailers to your list. I have a Wal-Mart, Borders, and Toys R Us near me, but Wal-Mart's prices are all localized (as you know), Borders are never competetive with Best Buy/Circuit City (and their sale prices are not shown online - you need to visit the stores in person or call), and Toys R Us generally do not have any stellar deals. Best thing to do would be to simply add any noteworthy deals from these, and any other retailers, in your "notes" section below (which you usually do anyway).

I'm personally interested in Toys R Us prices this week, because I redeemed a $50 gift card from my American Express rewards points. Anybody know if TRU price-matches competitors' prices? I'd like to get those BB prices there and make full use of my GC

Fry's has Bambi listed for $14.99 on Tuesday only. I will try for Best Buy's deal with Thumper. If I don't get that, then on to Fry's.