General Discussion Digital Movie/TV Deals (6 Viewers)

[Scott Merryfield]

Fan Flix has a 2 for $10 sale. Not a lot of films, but some decent ones. I picked up the 4K version of Ragtime and HD of Le Mans.

 

[Mark-P]

Very decent Tuesday sales this week. Lots and lots of Criterion titles for $4.99 each. How often do you see that? Criterion uses the same transfers digitally as are on the discs, so I can tell you at 1/4 the price, I’ll be picking up quite a few Criterions on iTunes rather than buying the Blu-rays.

 

[Tino]

Huge $4.99 sale. As mentioned tons of Criterion titles too. This is one of those sales that comes along once or twice a year. Gobble em up while you can.

 

[Tino]

The only downside to the iTunes Criterion titles is there are no extras included.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The only downside to the iTunes Criterion titles is there are no extras included.

Also, none of the titles which they released on UHD 4k disc are 4k streaming transfers.

 

[JohnRice]

The only downside to the iTunes Criterion titles is there are no extras included.

Also, none of the titles which they released on UHD 4k disc are 4k streaming transfers.

Both good things to know, however it's still a great opportunity for titles that you're on the fence about.

 

[Tino]

Both good things to know, however it's still a great opportunity for titles that you're on the fence about.

Absolutely. I picked up a few.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Both good things to know, however it's still a great opportunity for titles that you're on the fence about.

What Criterion titles did you guys pick up?

You know all these movies better than I do (though I own the most notable ones) so I am always looking for recommendations. And, though they are only $4.99, I would really love to know the cream-of-the-crop titles worth owning out of those offerings as I am certain I could go hog-wild with purchases today.

 

[David_B_K]

The only downside to the iTunes Criterion titles is there are no extras included.

Yes, but the titles I only kinda sorta want are much more affordable this way. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[JohnRice]

What Criterion titles did you guys pick up?

You know all these movies better than I do (though I own the most notable ones) so I am always looking for recommendations. And, though they are only $4.99, I would really love to know the cream-of-the-crop titles worth owning out of those offerings as I am certain I could go hog-wild with purchases today.

I could easily pick up 20-30 titles. I probably will get quite a few. I'll post a list once it's done, probably later today.

In general though, some Tarkovsky, Lars von Trier, Kurosawa, Beauty and the Beast, Children of Paradise, Battle Royale, come to mind right off the top.

Can anyone verify this version of Children of Paradise is corrected from the screwed up BR I got a few years ago? I forget what was wrong with it, though.

BTW, Swimming Pool is a very cool, very raunchy mystery flick. (This is not the one from Criterion)

Also, I think Martha Marcy May Marlene is outstanding, though definitely not to everyone's taste.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

It's really kinda amazing how many Criterion digitals are in this sale. There weren't nearly as many the last time around same time last summer IIRC, and that might've been the 1st of such sale (so maybe this will become an annual summer sale) -- and a few of the ones I bought back then is also in this sale... though unfortunately, not the few that I missed out last time after debating too long and forgetting to buy...

PLUS there are also quite a lot of other similarly good titles (that would fit right in w/ Criterions) included in this sale too.

But yeah, some are still better to just get the disc version, which of course are also on sale for 1/2-off (at ~$20/each in most cases) right now (or might be available for a bit less during oft-recurring Target B2G1 sale)...

Agreed that this sale is best for those more fringy titles that you don't necessarily wanna pony up for the disc... Of course, some of us are also Criterion Channel subscribers who already get access to much of them most of the time too, so have to consider that as well...

_Man_

 

[compson]

I could easily pick up 20-30 titles. I probably will get quite a few. I'll post a list once it's done, probably later today.

In general though, some Tarkovsky, Lars von Trier, Kurosawa, Beauty and the Beast, Children of Paradise, Battle Royale, come to mind right off the top.

Can anyone verify this version of Children of Paradise is corrected from the screwed up BR I got a few years ago? I forget what was wrong with it, though.

BTW, Swimming Pool is a very cool, very raunchy mystery flick.

Also, I think Martha Marcy May Marlene is outstanding, though definitely not to everyone's taste.

Thanks. You sold me on Swimming Pool.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks. You sold me on Swimming Pool.

Holy @$%^, I'm telling you, Ludivigne is sex on a stick.

 

[Worth]

Holy @$%^, I'm telling you, Ludivigne is sex on a stick.

Criterion has a different Swimming Pool. Though Romy Schneider also fits that description.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

What Criterion titles did you guys pick up?

You know all these movies better than I do (though I own the most notable ones) so I am always looking for recommendations. And, though they are only $4.99, I would really love to know the cream-of-the-crop titles worth owning out of those offerings as I am certain I could go hog-wild with purchases today.

Ron,

I'm still going thru the list, but right off the bat, if you don't have whichever of these that John mentioned (and don't wanna pony up for the discs), they should all be easily worthwhile...

In general though, some Tarkovsky, Lars von Trier, Kurosawa, Beauty and the Beast, Children of Paradise, Battle Royale, come to mind right off the top.

Can anyone verify this version of Children of Paradise is corrected from the screwed up BR I got a few years ago? I forget what was wrong with it, though.

I'd at least add the Kieslowski titles as well, eg. Three Colours Trilogy (sold separately), Double Life of Veronique, but you might already own them on disc. There are apparently also a handful Fellini and Ingmar Bergman titles, but you might already have most/all them. Throw in a few of the best known Goddard, Truffaut and Antonioni while you're at it, LOL.

Hmmm... wondering if they're still adding some more because a few Robert Bresson titles I missed out last time might've just gotten added... though they don't seem reflected in my wishlist section on CheapCharts... Same for Tati's Playtime, which I'll probably get this time...

IF you still have your Criterion Channel subscription, I'd suggest checking out some of the other titles like Tampopo, which I bought last time (but still haven't gotten around to watch), before deciding -- you probably have a week to decide. Too bad Ozu's Tokyo Sonata recently left the Criterion Channel, so you can't check that out first for this sale.

BTW, Swimming Pool is a very cool, very raunchy mystery flick.

Also, I think Martha Marcy May Marlene is outstanding, though definitely not to everyone's taste.

Haven't seen Swimming Pool myself, but I own the disc for MMMM and like it well enough... though not sure you would as John noted.

_Man_

 

[JohnRice]

Criterion has a different Swimming Pool. Though Romy Schneider also fits that description.

Oops. This is not Criterion, and has Ludivigne Sagnier on the cover wearing a bikini.

 

[JohnRice]

I'd at least add the Kieslowski titles as well, eg. Three Colours Trilogy (sold separately), Double Life of Veronique, but you might already own them on disc. There are apparently also a handful Fellini and Ingmar Bergman titles, but you might already have most/all them. Throw in a few of the best known Goddard, Truffaut and Antonioni while you're at it, LOL.

I already have Three Colors on disc as well as the Fellini and Bergman box sets.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

What Criterion titles did you guys pick up?

You know all these movies better than I do (though I own the most notable ones) so I am always looking for recommendations. And, though they are only $4.99, I would really love to know the cream-of-the-crop titles worth owning out of those offerings as I am certain I could go hog-wild with purchases today.

Since everyone's tastes differ so much, that's a difficult question. I have most of the Criterion titles I want on disc, so I only bought Time Bandits from this sale.

If you like foreign films, I highly recommend The Three Colors trilogy (3 films for $15).

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Can anyone verify this version of Children of Paradise is corrected from the screwed up BR I got a few years ago? I forget what was wrong with it, though.

Apparently too much DNR (and maybe some other filtering or use of rather poor elements at least in some sections)... and maybe some weak/poor contrast tweaking (particularly in some sections)...

A Few Words About - A few words about...™ Children of Paradise -- in Blu-ray

One of the major French classics of any era, Marcel Carne's Children of Paradise is a brilliant film. Purportedly "restored," I was looking forward to bathing in this film's glow. It didn't happen. The image is so drained of grain, that I'm not certain what to make of it...

www.hometheaterforum.com

I never got the disc, but I just quickly sampled a bunch of moments of the iTunes digital (and also looked over the rather poor screencaps on BR.com that also seem plagued by motion blur, etc), and looks like it's probably the same transfer w/ same issues (although I don't see nearly as much motion blur as the screencaps even as I pause the stream a lot)...

It's also on Criterion Channel and looks about the same as the iTunes digital, except maybe CC is lower bitrate (so maybe a bit more compromised).

_Man_

 

[TonyD]

I picked up 4 during this sale
Wings of Desire
Is the only official CC title I think.
Lost in America
and
Tootsie
are not I don’t think.

Also picked up
12 Monkeys