The BEST Blind Blu-Ray Purchase You Have Made? (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

One of our members recently started a thread asking about
the worst "blind" Blu-ray purchase you ever made based on
member recommendations.

That got me to thinking about what Blu-rays I actually bought
sight unseen -- based on HTF members (or friends) recommendations --
that I ended up absolutely loving.

One that immediately comes to mind is Red River.

It's rare that I'll pay close to $30 or more for a Blu-ray, but so many
members raved about this John Wayne film I never heard of that I
felt this must be one of those rare occasions I'll make an expensive
blind purchase.

Ended up immensely enjoying the film. What a terrific blind purchase!!

What was the best blind purchase you have made as of late (or ever)?

 

[Konstantinos]

Since I'm interested in film music and John Williams in particular, i got this because it has an isolated score (+ effects) track, but I found out that it was a hidden gem!
I really loved it! And even more when I read that it 's a real story.
Also, it is an excellent quality Blu-ray with the only downside for me that it hasn't got English subtitles and couldn't catch 100% of what they were saying..

 

[Richard V]

Black Death (2010). Knew nothing about this except it starred Sean Bean, who I like very much. Turned out to be a very good film, with good production values with a contemplative theme.

 

[schan1269]

Where do I start...MudRed RoadThe Oranges(Laurie-Meester)Frances Ha (Gerwig is fantastic in everything)ShameCity IslandCity of God

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

Possibly The Social Network -- not because of the movie, which I'm not overly fond of, but because of the thorough making-of documentary, which felt like the best and coolest film school ever.

 

[Everett S.]

Fantoms

 

[Tina_H_V]

I'll go with two recent BD purchases to answer this question.Mud--a very surprisingly great film, with Matthew McConaughey in the eponymous role as a mysterious drifter who befriends two teenage boys who agree to help him put something together to help rescue the woman he loves. I was pleasantly surprised at how this one turned out!!!! Matthew has been on such a roll of late...culminating in the Oscar he won last year for Dallas Buyer's Club.Just Like A Woman--the story of two women, whose love of belly dancing brings them together, as they travel across the country en route to a belly dancing competition which can help lead to a potentially better life. Belly dancing helps take them from their respectively unhappy marriages and family situations to a female bonding, though seemingly unlikely on the glare, yet which draws you in with them together until the end.

 

[JohnMor]

The Train. It was a blind buy on dvd based on a friend's recommendation, but I never got around to watching it because I read it was an inferior transfer. Jumped at buying the blu-ray, watched the film and loved it (and the new commentary). Great purchase.

 

[seangood79]

I don't blind buy very often, but when I do it's usually a Criterion title.Some of my favoritesArmy of ShadowsLife and Death of Colonel BlimpDavid Lean Directs Noel Coward--In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit (Brief Encounter wasn't blind)

 

[FoxyMulder]

A Turtles Tale, so many people were raving about the 3D, it was very much a blind buy, best 3D disc i own.

 

[jcroy]

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

 

[Walsh61]

Paths Of Glory from Criterion.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Most of my blind buys on Blu-Ray are limited to contemporary films since most of my classic purchases are essentially re-purchases of films I've seen / owned on Laserdisc and DVD. That's not to say that there aren't undiscovered gems that pre-date Blu-ray, merely that I haven't gotten around to them, whatever they may be. Having said that, here are a few blind buys that are worth noting:

Shame - Enjoyed the performances of the leads a great deal. This is the film that made me a fan of Michael Fassbender.

Le Quatro Volte - Really loved the quiet, contemplative nature of this film.

Never Let Me Go (2010) - As I mentioned in a recent thread, I'm a pretty big fan of written SF and I thought this film was a fine example of 'soft' SF in terms of its exploration of how certain aspects of science can impact society. Another film that featured strong performances from its leads. (I haven't read the source novel for this film, but I know that it is highly regarded.)

A few folks have already mentioned this title, but I should include it in the list:

Mud - Fine, fine film that surprised me. Solid performances anchor the film. I thought the movie did an excellent job of capturing the friendship between the two boys.

- Walter.

 

[SAhmed]

I bought Oldboy (2003) on Blu after reading several rave reviews about the movie. It definitely lived up to the hype including the most original ending/mystery reveal which I had seen in many years and which is a truly integral part of the movie as opposed to a "fashionable" twist that has become so prevalent in so many movies

Regards,

 

[SteveSs]

The Sweet Smell Of Success from Criterion. We had a group over to watch it. I was the only one who had even heard of it. You should have seen all the phone screens light up after the film ended, as everyone wanted more info! We had a great discussion after learning the history of the film.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

Brad here. Not sure yet about a absolute best blind buy purchase but I'll give a vote here to one Criterion blu-ray title that I blind-bought (though not without a little research). I was very pleased with The Last Days of Disco (1998) as I had not yet seen it. I came of age during the late 1970s-early 1980s and do remember the disco craze very well as well as the two main disco-themed movies of the day Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Thank God Its Friday (1978). And don't forget the roller-disco themed Skatetown USA (1979) (featuring a young Patrick Swayze).
Funny though I never got around to seeing LDOD until I my curiosity got the best of me and bought it this year. I won't go into a film review here but I was quite pleased with the film Having been made two decades after the height of the disco phenomenon, I found it a quality presentation as a look into the lives of the main characters and how it tied into the disco fever period.

Oh the producers got a couple things wrong. LDOD was set in the early 1980s but Disco Demolition Night (featured as a time point event in the movie) occurred on July 13th, 1979. Also noted the total lack of "feathered" hairstyles on the female characters. They looked more like 1990s girls dropped into 1979. A vast majority of girls (but not all) wore their hair in some variation of the feathered hairstyle back then. I considered this a glaring omission though in all fairness, Thank God Its Friday didn't have too many feather-haired ladies in it either (I counted two) and it was made in the time period.

More on this later as I might start a thread for LDOD (I did a search but haven't found one).

 

[Matt Hough]

I did the review for The Last Days of Disco, but that's in the review section, not in this part of the forum.

The review can be found here.

 

[AshJW]

My BEST Blind Blu-ray buy is not one title but several, wich I rated 90%

Movies:
- Argo
- The Dark Knight
- District 9
- Juno
- The King's Speech
- Låt den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In)
- WALL·E
Series:
- Hit & Miss
- The Tudors: Season 1
Music:
- Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis
- LennoNYC




My BEST DVD Blind buy is without a doubt Garden State - rated 100%

 

[Carl Johnson]

The Lion King. Somehow despite the fact that I was working as a projectionist at the time that the movie came out I never took the time to watch it. Over the next twenty years I never noticed the Lion King playing on television. The movie was on sale so I threw it in with another item and it's one of the most enjoyable titles that I've ever seen.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Just thought of another one, i purchased Super 8 and knew little about it other than a provocative trailer that had me wondering if it was a prequel to Cloverfield, turns out it wasn't, to get straight to the point, i thoroughly enjoyed it, the ending made a refreshing change from the usual one they come up with for this type of film and, i plan on re-watching it sometime this year.