DVD Bargain Bin (4/17/14)

For you collectors out there, a few DVD bargains on some movies and TV I like (all prices, of course, subject to change without notice):


- I've spoken before about my affection for 1970s sitcom Barney Miller, and as I write this Amazon is selling Shout! Factory's DVD set of Barney Miller: The Complete Series for $65.99 - a healthy 59% markdown. That's just over 39 cents per episode and about $2.64 per disc. A good deal; I'd expect that price to change very quickly.

- Another outstanding sitcom from the 1970s is Taxi, and a seller on Amazon right now is offering Taxi: The Complete Series on DVD for $68.14. Not quite as bargain basement here for 17 discs, but at $4 per disc, it still is a pretty darn good price, and you'd probably struggle to find a used set at that price.

- Some independent sellers on Amazon have posted the outstanding The Tillman Story at excellent prices, with fulfillment via Amazon Prime. As I write this you can get the Blu-Ray at $8.03 here and the DVD at $6.35 here. Great documentary - see it one way or another.




- Amazon is also holding a sale on the Mad Max Trilogy on Blu-ray for $24.99. Buying them individually on Blu-ray would run you about $40, so it's not a bad deal if you don't already have any of them (but there doesn't appear to be anything new here if you have one or two already and are just looking to complete the set). I'd rank order them (1) Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior), (2) Mad Max, and (3) Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I highly recommend all three and all three have different feels while building around the same lead character (the role that made Mel Gibson an international star). Wildly influential in the last few decades.


- Both Wal-Mart and Amazon have the cheesy, but fun Highlander (Director's Cut) Blu-Ray for $5. Once you figure out which seller you can most live with morally and politically, you can buy it from Amazon here or at Wal-Mart here.

- Amazon has also price-matched Wal-Mart for Winter's Bone [Blu-ray] ($5.39), King Of New York [Blu-ray] ($5.39), and Reservoir Dogs [Blu-ray] ($5.00).

Enjoy.

Bargain Bin - Warner Archive Sale

FYI, for you DVD collectors out there, Warner Archive is having a "birthday" sale in which they are offering 5 DVDs or Blu-Rays for $50 from a selection of a little over 1400 choices from their catalog. Click the banner below to peruse the list.

A lot of them are from their made-to-order list, meaning that at $10 a pop via the deal it's likely to be the best price you'll find for many of the selections. By way of comparison, one of the selections, Personal Best, is being offered by Amazon on DVD for $21.99, SD download at $9.99, and HD download at $17.99. Regular prices ranges from $14.95 to $19.95 so partaking in the deal accounts for anywhere from ~33% to ~50% savings. 

A sampling of some of the titles: Cruising, Pretty Maids All in a Row, Razorback, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Spirit, Kung Fu: The Movie, Kansas City Bomber, Freejack, Mitchell, The Great Santini, Fingers, and much more. Unfortunately many are free of extras, but not all - e.g., the Get Carter made-to-order DVD is supposed to have the commentary track with Michael Caine and Mike Hodges which I have listened to before and is worthwhile. But note that Get Carter is being released on Blu-Ray next month and you can pre-order it now on Amazon for $9.99. 

As to be expected, there are a ton of Golden Age films from Warner's vaults, as well as some more obscure stuff like old TV movies, some oddball animation series (like Chuck Norris' cartoon) and some horror and B movies that Warner has acquired over the years. Looks to be pretty light on Blu-Ray availability unfortunately. 

My five picks: Fearless, Zero Effect, Vision Quest, The Outfit, and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

Searching the DVD Bargain Bin

One of the things I loved to do as a kid (and budding movie-lover) was searching the VHS bargain bins of the various discount stores (K-Mart, Zayre, Wal-Mart, Target, etc) for movies. Now video bargains are more available than ever thanks to the Internet (and a tanking DVD market), but also more in need of curating given the sheer breadth of the selection at consumers' fingertips. I thought I'd highlight a few films that I recommend at some good prices. Of course, prices may vary and are subject to change (and often will change, so double-check).

Selections after the jump.