Weekly RoundUp 8/2/2005 (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

The Weekly RoundUp

The Features


–The High and the Mighty - 1954


Theo: I mean, you're a doctor, Dad. And Mom is a lawyer. But I don't love you any more because of that! So if I just want to do something normal with my life, then maybe you should accept it and love me because I'm your son.
Cliff: Theo... that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life! No wonder you get D's in everything! You're afraid to try because you're afraid your brain is going to explode and it's going to ooze out of your ears. Now I'm telling you, you are going to try as hard as you can. And you're going to do it because I said so. I am your father. I brought you into this world, and I'll take you out!
–Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo and Bill Cosby as Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show – 1984)


Nick Charles: I'm a hero. I was shot 2 times in the Tribune.
Nora Charles: I read where you were shot 5 times in the tabloids.
Nick Charles: It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.
–William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man – 1934)

The Prices

TITLEAmazonBestBuyCrcCityTargetCostcoAfter Image$20.99-$24.99--Alexander: Theatrical Cut$15.98$16.99$14.99$16.99-**Alexander: Director’s Cut$15.98$16.99$14.99-$19.99Austin Stevens-Snakemaster: Vol. 1$11.20$12.99$14.94--Avant-Garde (20s & 30s)$20.97$24.99$24.99--The Boatniks$13.99$14.99$17.99--The Complete Thin Man Collection$41.94$44.99$49.99--The Cosby Show: Season 1$34.99$29.99$29.99$32.99-Cypher$20.99$24.99$24.99--Downfall$20.96$16.99$24.99--Dukes of Hazzard: Season 4$27.99$27.99$27.99$27.99-Elvis Has Left the Building$18.89$24.99$19.99--Evel Knievel (2004)$13.99$14.99$15.99--Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Gift Set$13.96$12.99$12.99--Guess Who$16.98$17.99$14.99L/P$18.99Greatest American Hero: Season 3$27.99$24.99$34.99--Hearts Afire: Season 1$27.99$34.99$34.99--The High and The Mighty SE$13.99$14.99$12.99--Island in the Sky SE$10.49$12.99$7.99--Jeff Corwin Exp.: Out on a Limb$10.46$12.99$14.94--Johnny Tremain$13.99$14.99$17.99--Momentum (2003)$22.49$24.99$24.99--Over There: Pilot Episode$9.98$6.99$9.99--Pippi Longstocking (1997)$9.97$8.99$9.99--This Old Cub$18.71-$19.99--Throttle$22.48$24.99$22.99--Toby Tyler$13.99$14.99$17.99--When Billie Beat Bobby$20.99$24.99$24.99--World’s Greatest Athlete$13.99$14.99$17.99--X-Files Mythology: Vol. 2 Black Oil$27.99$29.99$34.99$29.99-

Individual Titles included in Collections listed above:

The Complete Thin Man Collection: The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, and Song of the Thin Man.

The Disclaimer
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".


The Specials

**BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL! Alexander: Director’s Cut is available in both OAR and MAR versions...get the correct one!

--Hey gang! Summer fun will be interfering with complete Weekly RoundUps this week and next. I wrote both the 8/2/2005 and 8/9/2005 RoundUps in advance. This means a couple of things. All my prices will be from the web-sites of the respective stores listed in the RoundUp. There are no Target prices (admin note - Target prices now added to the grid). And, I won’t have the Sunday flyer deals in this section. Sorry, but thanks for understanding. I hope you folks will post the specials when you get them so you can all share and compare & contrast. Thanks! And, thanks to Patrick Sun for posting the RoundUp for me in my absence.

--Don’t know why…but the release date for The Greatest American Hero: Season 3 appears to by July 31.

--In an unusual circumstance, circuitcity.com is advertising the P&S version of Alexander: Director’s Cut to be $13.88…$1 cheaper than the OAR WS version. All other e-tailers and retailers seem to be offering all versions of Alexander at the same price.

The Appeal

Any visitor to the Weekly RoundUp should be sure to check out the new Main Portal Page of the Home Theater Forum….FOR TWO VERY GOOD REASONS!

First: Parker & Ron have re-formatted the Portal Page to include exclusive HT industry news you won’t find in any place on the HTF! Second: You will help support the Home Theater Forum and keep it up and running.

Operating the HTF is not free for Parker and Ron. That is why there is advertising throughout the forum and there has been the occasional membership fund drive. THIS IS AN EASY WAY FOR YOU TO HELP…AND IT’S FREE OF CHARGE…AND INFORMATIVE, TOO!

If you simply link to the Portal Page when you start your visits to the HTF, that act alone wILL bring revenue to the forum. While it would also be nice if you wanted to click on some of the advertisers’ links and check out their deals and sales (that form of “window shopping” would bring even more revenue to the forum), the simple act of landing on the Portal Page registers a “hit” or “impression” that creates revenue for the HTF.

So, if you’ve been “sneaking in” to the HTF through links to your favorite thread or forum, please take an extra second of your time and land first on the HTF Portal Page. You’ll see the new Industry News sections AND help out financially. THANKS!

The Markdowns

The latest markdowns according to DavisDVD:

EFFECTIVE: August 2, 2005 (Studio/Titles/New SRP)

None to report.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Circuit City on sale DVD items:

$19.99 each:
The Upside of Anger
XXX 2

$17.99 each:
Constantine
King's Ransom

$7.99:
Island in the Sky

$7.49 each:
Alexander the Great
Over the Top
Perfect Storm
From Dusk til Dawn
Simpsons Bart Wars
Raging Bull
Rain Man
Monty Python: Meaning of Life
Coming to America
SWAT
Fargo
Player's Club
12 Monkeys
Liar Liar
Y Tu Mama Tambien
I Got the Hook Up
Van Wilder
Love Jones
Love and Basketball

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

Best Buy: on sale DVD items:

$48.99:
Battlestar Galactica, Season 1 (UK)

Save $15 when you buy Battlestar Galactica and any of the following:
Earth 2: Complete Series
Cleoptra 2525: Complete Series
Sliders: 3rd Season

2 for $25:
Guess Who
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

$19.99:
2-pack: Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy

$17.99:
2-pack: Meet the Parents & Meet the Fockers

$9.99 ea, or 3 for $25, or 6 for $40
The Rock
The Waterboy
Swingers
Serendipity
40 days and 40 nights
Crazy/Beautiful
Crimson Tide
Sorority Boys
10 things I Hate about You
Iron Monkey
The Recruit
Mystery, Alaska
The Grifters
Deuce Bigalow
High Fidelity
Mr. Holland's Opus
He Got Game
25th Hour
Cocktail
Reign of Fire
Out Cold
Scream
Can't Buy Me Love
Confessions of a Sorority Girl
The Hot Chick
Grosse Point Blank

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

Target: on sale DVD titles:

$39.99:
Barbie Movie Collection

$14.99 each:
Annie Double Feature
Barney Let's Play School


$7.99:
Over There (Pilot)

 

[Michael Reuben]

According to Best Buy's printed flier as well as their website, they're the exclusive source for the abbreviated season 2 of Tru Calling on Aug. 2. Price is $24.99.

M.

 

[Steve...O]

Thanks Mike!

I've had the Thin Man collection on pre-order for months and await its arrival next week.

Also, word of warning to anyone considering the Cosby Show set: all the episodes are edited.

Steve

 

[george kaplan]

Thanks as usual, though I'm sort of surprised you included The Cosby Show, even with a prominent picture. It was on my to buy list, but not since they're edited syndication versions.

Still, even dropping the Cosby show, this is still a great week.

The Thin Man Collection finally, plus what looks to me to be improved transfers on Ghostbusters 1 & 2.

Wow, I see a bunch of Disney stuff is in there that I thought wasn't coming for a couple more weeks. I'll be adding that too.

 

[Kenneth Cummings]

Thanks for the round up Mike, but there is nothing for me this week...well Ghostbusters will get purchased, but not at the moment.

 

[GarySchrock]

I'd have considered Cosby, but if it's syndicated versions, I'm just not interested enough to put up with that. Anyone know about Boatniks and whethre it's presented properly? I used to love that movie as a kid, although I'm not sure how well it holds up. Probably will pick ghostbusters up though.

 

[Dillon*G]

I will be getting:
-Cosby Show:Season 1
-Ghostbusters:Giftset
-Guess Who
-Tru Calling:Season 2

Thanks Mike and Patrick for the round up.

 

[DonRoeber]

I've been looking forward to the Thin Man set for a long time. Thanks for this thread!

 

[pitchman]

As always, thanks for the list, guys!

The only thing I will probably end up buying, but possibly not this week (how's that for vague and noncommittal??) is the Thin Man collection. The Greatest American Hero season 3 set seems a bit pricey (even at its first week advertised sale price) considering it is only 13 episodes and does not contain much in the way of extras. I enjoyed the first season, but really struggled with the second season set (I still have not completed it) and was more than a little put off by the "jarring" music changes. My guess is that we are in for more of the same here, so I will put this purchase off indefinitely and wait for a big, big sale to complete my collection...

 

[TravisR]

I'll be picking up:

Alexander (both cuts)
Ghosbusters/Ghostbusters II
The X-Files: Mythology- Black Oil (new commentaries!)

Thanks for the list!

 

[TonyD]

any info on worlds greatest athlete eing proper aspect ratio?

 

[Jason_V]

Prolly Tru Calling S1 and S2 for my BF's birthday.

 

[ChrisBEA]

Not much this week.
Probably just Downfall.
I am curious about the DC of ALexander...

 

[Ernesto.Morin]

Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Gift Set for me.

 

[Craig S]

Fry's has some good "Tuesday only deals" advertised, for those who have one nearby.

Alexander (both versions) - $13.99
"Te Coby Sho" S1 - $27.99 (why anyone would want this is beyond me)
"Dukes Of Hazzard" S4 - $24.99

Just Alexander (TC) for me this week. I would have bought "The Cosby Show" S1 in a heartbeat, but I have no interest in this "Te Coby Sho" thing they're selling...

 

[Scott_J]

Thanks, as always, Mike & Patrick. But nothing for me this week.

 

[Michael Moulton]

Thanks as always! Just Ghostbusters for me this week.

 

[BrianHass]

Target on sale DVD items:

Alexander DVD 16.99
Guess Who DVD Low Price (16.99?)
Black Oil - Volume Two DVD 29.99
Over There DVD 7.99
The Cosby Show - Season 1 DVD 32.99
The Dukes of Hazzard - Season 4 DVD 27.99

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Well, I was going to buy Cosby Show, but not anymore.

Maybe Ghostbusters gift set. If not, then I'll pick up MTM season 2 from last week.