Cheap DVDs

More To Score at Big Lots!

Wed, 14 May 2008 03:22:03 GMT

Just like a few months ago, my local Big Lots! location (downtown Los Angeles in the basement of a 100 year old former department store...yeah, it is pretty cool) got in a huge shipment of DVDs from Sony/Tri-Star, which they are selling for 3 bucks each.

Like the last load, there was a large number of garbage titles, but a few real treats that were well worth 3 measly bucks once you dug through the stacks for a few minutes.

Here's what I picked up:
Johnny Mnemonic - Superbit Edition
Gattaca - Superbit Edition
XXX - Superbit Edition
The Dark Crystal - Special Collector's Edition
Labyrinth - Special Collector's Edition
The Cavern - (looks like a rip-off of "The Cave.")

There was a bunch of heinous junk too: the final episode of Dawson's Creek, Married With Children "Best of" discs, The New Guy, Edison Force, plenty of Jean-Claude Van Damme, some movie with Paris Hilton and a ton of other chaff. But a few notable items to make it worth looking.

Rin Tin Tin

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:21:01 GMT

Several of Mill Creek's smaller combinations have been showing up at Big Lots
(Best of Jack Benny, Best of Cisco Kid) for $6 and WalMart (Robin Hood Season one -- Richard Greene) for $5.

Yesterday, I picked up "The Legend of Rin Tin Tin" at WalMart for $5, expecting it to be 48 episodes from the TV series. A quick look at the back cover told me different. This is 4 movie serials:
Included
1. Adventures of Rex and Rinty, The
2. Law of the Wild, The
3. Lightning Warrior, The
4. Lone Defender, The

I probably would have gotten it, even if it were the TV series (I was a big fan once) but I definitely got it when I realized what it was -- I mean, I think these are all available elsewhere for, at best, $9 each. Have not looked at them to assess picture quality yet.

Greg

a quick note about Digiview's Bullwinkle DVDs

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:11:44 GMT

I just got three DVDs from Ebay put out by Digiview that feature Bullwinkle material. Of course, these were taken from the old TV syndication prints that I used to see as a kid in the Seventies. Anyhow, I was googling around for more info, and I discovered a thread on the GAC forum. That's Golden Age cartoons. I dunno if any of you are part of that forum, but since I could not register because they have that graphic you need to copy which my screen reader cannot read, I thought I'd post a quick note here and hopefully one of you can pass it along for what it's worth. A few posters on that thread indicated that when they went to play these Digiview DVDs, there was no audio. I got audio on my DVDs, but my DVD player is part of a combo with a TV and it has stereo speakers. By using headphones, I discovered that for some reason, the cartoon audio has been recorded out-of-phase. So depending on how your DVD player is set up and how you actually hear the audio, if you have, for example, a mono TV, if you mix down out-of-phase audio to mono, it just cancels out, so you get either no sound or very faint sound. I've noticed out-of-phase audio on a few isolated cartoons on other Digiview DVDs, but not throughout the whole DVD. One poster to the forum wrote to Digiview and was told they'd replace his DVDs when he explained the problem to them. I hope this means they ran a new batch with the sound in actual mono and not out of phase.
Just for those of you who are curious, I don't know which volume is which, but one volume, which I assume is the first one, involves a storyline concerning a newspaper's publicity stunt for a treasure hunt. You only get three episodes, which contain six Bullwinkle episodes and other elements but do not complete the full storyline. Another DVD contains mostly the other stuff outside of Bullwinkle stories, such as "Aesop and Son," "Fractured Fairy Tales" and a "Dudley Doorite" episode and two or three "Mr. Peabody" episodes. The third DVD seems to be the expanded version of the first one, as you get all the episodes encompassing the newspaper treasure hunt storyline.

New St. Clair collection: Classic Tales of Adventure

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:50:30 GMT

I stumbled over this when I was looking at the Suncoast website for a cheap copy of Three Musketeers with Douglas Fairbanks, Senior.

Classic Tales of Adventure is supposed to retail for $10. Suncoast online had it on sale for $6 at the time. Best Buy online had it for $9. Tried to pick it up locally, but finally ordered it from Suncoast online (postage was $3). Took a week to reach me.

It contains (on 3 DVDs)
Three Musketeers (Fairbanks)
Iron Mask (Fairbanks)
Robin Hood (Fairbanks)
Thief of Bagdad (Fairbanks)
Beloved Rogue (John Barrymore)
Son of Monte Christo (Louis Hayward)
East of Borneo (appears to be the runt of the litter)
Scarlett Pimpernel (few of the reviews even mentioned this was there)
-- the box claimed this starred Marius Goring (he was in a TV series)
-- It's the Leslie Howard version.

For some reason, my wife found it hilarious that 5 of these movies were silent. "You can watch them while I take a nap!"

Greg

recent finds

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:02:34 GMT

Here is a list of movies I picked up in the last 3 months from Big Lots, Walmart , and Dollar Tree
All Discs were priced at $1 except 2 which are noted as $2.

Adventures of Skippy - The Vandals 1992 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV4015-17

Watch Mr Wizard - 1951 (TV)
Eps:
Everyday Illusions
Musical Instruments
Puzzles in Geometry
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV4003-17

Watch Mr Wizard - 1951 (TV)
Eps:
Six Kinds of Electricity
How Animals Move
Sticks and Stones
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV4002-17

Note: had in another dual movie disc
Attack of the Monsters - 1969
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2009-17

Dragon - 2006
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2022-17

The greatest thing that almost happened - 1977 (TV)

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2016-17

This is the Army - 1943
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-585

Note: had in a 9 black action movie set
Mean Johnny Barrows - 1976
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TEX61M

Anna Karenina - 1948 / Hell's House - 1932
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2001-17

Note: Animated
The fabulous adventures of Baron Munchausen - 1979
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID:CC5021-17

Note: Animated
Burbank Films Australia - Kidnapped
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC5020-17

Note: Have also Mr Know-It all from digiview
Toon Facory - Rocky And Bullwinkle "Peabody"
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC5017-17

Studio One - 1952 (TV) A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court / Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 1955 (TV)
Supplier: Digiview
Source: Walmart
ID:MV58E

Charade - 1963
Sorce: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID:FA3008-17

Climax! - 1954 (TV)
Eps: Casino Royale
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2007-17

Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2021-17

When The Bough Breaks - 1986 (TV) / Congratulations It's a boy - 1971 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV 2011-17

Ski Troop Attack - 1960 / The Conquest of Everest
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID:MV 2027-17

Hood Angels - 2003
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TEX54M

Legend of Cougar Canyon - 1976 / Toby McTeague - 1986
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID:MV50E

Bay of Love and Sorrows - 2002
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV 2017 - 17

The Brave Lion - 1977
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID:MV 2003-17

On Fire - 1989 (TV) AKA Ballbuster
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV 2015-17

Phra-Apai-Mani aka The prince, The Witch, and The Mermaid - 2002
Thailand
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV2005-17

Note: Animated
Kimba The Lion - Vol 3 - 1994
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC5014-17

Note: Animated
Captain Nemo - Vol 3 The Coral Maze
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC5019-17

Note: Animated
Captain Nemo - Vol 4 The Coral Maze
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC5018-17

Note: Animated
Panda and The magic Serpent (Animated) - 1958
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: digiview
ID: CC54E

Note: Animated
Raggedy Ann - Suddenly it's Spring
Eps:
Suddenly It's Spring
The Enchanted Square
Freedom River
Old Macdonald Had A Farm
Naughty But Mice
Sport Chumpions
Big Man From The North
Ups and Down Derby
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: digiview
ID: CC54E

Note: Animated
Hunky & Spunky and friends - You Cant Shoe a Horsefly
Eps:
You Can't Shoe a Horsefly
Land of the Lost Jewels
Boy Meets Dog
Goal Rush
Once Upon a Time
Invisible Moustache of Raoul
Tender Game
Freedom River
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: digiview
ID: CC54E

Against All Hope - 1982
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier: digiview
ID: MV9-A

At war with the army - 1950
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier: digiview
ID: MV58-B

An american summer - 1991
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier: Tango
ID: C56182

Note: Had Katherine on Digiview disc
Ginger in the morning - 1974 / Katerine - 1975 (TV)
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier:Movie Classics
ID: 69749

Note: Had Seven Alone on Treasure Box Dual Movie disc
A Sensitive passionate Man - 1977 (TV) / Seven Alone - 1974
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier:Movie Classics
ID:69859

Coach of the Year - 1980 (TV)
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier:Digiview
ID: FA1-A

Note Had Moon of the Wolf on treasure box dual movie disc
Moon of the wolf - 1972 (TV) / Prisoner in the Middle - 1977 aka Warhead
Source: Dollar Tree
Supplier: Movie Classics
ID: 69869

Note: $2
Silver City - 2004
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Columbia TriStar
ID: 09321

Note:$2
Don't Do It - 1994
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Blast Films
ID: 7002

Note: Had Gold on mill creek 10 disc set, Had Born to Win on Movie Classics and Digiview Dual movie discs
Gold - 1974 / Born to win - 1971 / Death Sentance - 1974 (TV)
Source: Big Lots
Supplier:Double D
ID: 0002

Note: Have Escape from Sobibor on digiview dual movie disc
Escape from Sobibor - 1987 (TV) / Beyond Justice - 1992 / The Inside Man - 1984
Source: Big Lots
Supplier:Double D
ID: 0004

Note: Have Guilty Conscience on Digiview and Treasure Box disc, Killing Affair is on Digiview
BMX bandits - 1983 / Guilty Conscience -1985 (TV) / A Killing Affair - 1986
Source: Big Lots
Supplier:Double D
ID:0006

Alfred Hitchcock: The Legend Begins from Mill Creek

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 06:44:51 GMT

I know this sounds like a bad Christmas present to some people, but considering the income of the person who gave it to me and my love for these cheap ass sets, I'm actually happy to have it, especially since it's one I've been wanting for a while now.

The set, released by our old friends Mill Creek, contains four dual-layer single-sided DVDs with five titles on each one. Disc four also contains several trailers for Hitchcock's films, including Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds, among others. The set contains several silent films as well as two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. These discs come packed in a double alpha case.

I've previewed the films, and most of the transfers are at least watchable, with a few fairly nice ones that are below studio quality, but above typical public domain DVD fare. The only unwatchable one, in my opinion, was Secret Agent...at least I think that was it. The image had a shaky effect like a videotape with bad tracking, which is what I imagine the source to be.

More info on this set can be found here. It doesn't list the two episodes of AHP separately - it lists them as just AHP, so there's only 19 listings on there. The two included episodes are The Chaney Vase and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Belleville, Ontario Giant Tiger/Liquidation World Roundup, Starring the Great Negroe Actors

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:12:15 GMT

Really uninspiring selection of closeout DVDs at this point in time. It's usually either typical Hollywood fare, the odd Anchor Bay title or stuff I've seen before (hello, Jimmy MacDonald's Canada and Atomic Betty!) There's also the odd anime (Robotech and Dragonball GT, essentially.) Giant Tiger had some box sets on for $29.99 or $39.99, and I don't feel like paying that much for The Outer Limits Season 4 or any season of Beastmaster. Dollar DVDs? What they?

GT
Bamboozled (2000) $3.99
This is Wonderland: The Complete First Season (2005) $19.99
Overnight (2003) $3.99
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special (2003) $3.99
"The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" (1987) $3.99 - Volume 1: The Journey Begins
Thunderstruck $4.99

For the Felix fans, First National Pictures also released a few volumes of "Baby Felix" (2000) and Felix the Cat Saves Christmas (2004), both of which were $3.99. I only saw the first volume of Baby Felix and Friends (American title), but the Felix and Teddy Ruxpin DVDs veered close to bootleg-quality box art. I'm amazed Baby Felix is even on DVD in this continent.

LW
King of the Ants (2003/I) $4.89
Delirium (a/k/a Delirio caldo; 1972) $4.89
Spike and Mike's Twisted Festival of Animation: Contagious (2005) $4.89

Er, that's it!

The Height of Low

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:14:04 GMT

I had been meaning to blog about these DVDs for some time, but my internet connection was down for WEEKS, so all 10 of you that read this blog have been deprived of my wry anecdotes. For this I apologize.

I picked these up some months ago, in fact it was so long ago now that I can't remember exactly where, but I think it was at a 99 cent store in (appropriately) a basement in a 100 year old building near Skid Row. Charming, I know, but I don't live too far away from there.

Anyway, these horror/comedies are the lowest of low budget indie movies. So low you've never heard of them, and I've never heard of them, (and I seek out this kind of bargain basement cinema) with one exception. More on that in a minute.

They're on a label that I've never seen before or since, SRS Cinema. The Address given is the unhelpful "New York, NY USA," but based on the typography they look like an offshoot of our old buddy Miracle Pictures. They are "distributed exclusively by Vidtape, Inc."

I should note that these are all still sealed and I have not yet watched them, but here's a quick rundown based on the box descriptions:

BRAIN DRAINER: "Director Mike Legge is back with his funniest movie yet!" WHO?? Anyway, this is a "sci-fi spoof that has to be seen by all true lovers of the high camp movies of the 1950's." No review on Rotten Tomatoes. Sounds like it's right up my alley, though. Imdb rating: 6.3.
WORKING STIFFS: "An unscrupulous temporary employment agency discovers the secret to cheap labor. Through the use of voodoo spells, freshly killed employees are brought back to life to become workaholics from the grave." Funny idea, sounds like THE OFFICE meets NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Has one relatively positive review on IMDB. Listed on Rotten Tomatoes, but no reviews.

DOGS IN QUICKSAND: (Picture not shown): "A quirky, offbeat tale of sex and betrayal in a rural farming community" with "the structure of a b movie who-done-it." ImDb rating: 7.0. Could be worth watching.
SHUSTERMAN LEVINE (Picture not shown):A drama about a boxer competing in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Not listed or reviewed anywhere.

CHEERLEADER AUTOPSY:Another goofy horror comedy. A busload of cheerleaders are wiped out in a freak accident (aren't they always freak accidents? Are there any other kind?). "An Alzheimer's afflicted mortician, his college dropout nephew and a simpering night janitor...soon find themselves pitted against each other" in a race to bring the nubile cheerleaders back to life with a magic potion. Wow. What a plot. Has a 2.6 rating on IMDB.
FART - THE MOVIE: Here's the film I have a familiarity with. Around 1991, this guy was advertising in the Hollywood Reporter soliciting music that he could put in this movie. This is something I had done before (and been paid for), so I sent the guy some music...long story short, I never heard back from him. But who knows, maybe he used my music without telling me. I'll have to watch the movie and find out, as stupid as it sounds. Plot: A guy who loves FARTING falls asleep in front of the TV, and dreams all the TV shows are about FARTING. WOW! I'm speechless at how stupid this idea is (though I would have happily taken $200 from the guy if he used any of my songs...) This "movie" gets a 5.7 rating on IMBD, but I can't help but thinking this rating is skewed by sarcastic wiseasses who are giving it an insincere 10 rating as a great work of art.

Of all of these messes, Working Stiffs has a funny idea. Might watch that. I'll have to watch "FART" also, but only as a homework assignment. The Cheap DVD Hunter must sacrifice his own sanity for the greater good, sometimes.

UPDATE: I watched one of the DVDs, and it does in fact contain the "Passion Productions" logo, part of Miracle Pictures. The movies are also shot on video, and since they date from prior to HD, I mean lousy VHS video. Not even as good quality-wise as the sketches I shot in college.

Recent buys

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:50:17 GMT

Well, Mill Creek's gotten my money more than once this month. And so have a couple of other companies.

Thanksgiving Thursday, I took advantage of some sales a local store was having. I picked up the new Celine Dion CD for $10, but that's irrelevant. They also had several Mill Creek 20 movie packs on sale for $5. (Whilst their regular price is $7.99 - about $2.50 more than the ones you'll find in Wal Mart's $5.50 bin, but Wal Mart's 35 miles away, so what are ya gonna do?) I picked up the Musicals 20 Movie Pack. I actually watched one of them this morning - Glorifying The American Girl. Interesting little film from the infancy of sound on film. I hear UCLA recently did a restoration restoring the two-strip Technicolor scenes and all the censorship edits, such as some *gasp* nudity. I'd love to see that, especially since this print was pretty nasty. But it was watchable and fairly enjoyable. A bit stagy, but most early sound films are. There were actually two or three films in the set that I was very much impressed with how great the transfers were, but at the moment, I couldn't tell you which ones. I've previewed all the titles, though, and they're all at least watchable.

Today, I was at a store called Mighty Dollar, and among several DVDs, they had the Mill Creek Detectives 10 Movie Pack. Well, a Mill Creek set for $1? You bet I snatched it right up. Having just previewed it, I have to say I'm blown away. This set offers some of the best transfers I've ever seen on budget DVDs of public domain fare. The Dick Tracy and Sherlock Holmes movies, save for the last one in the set (Can't currently remember the title.) are all near the quality of an official studio-released DVD.

I also picked up The World Of Hans Christian Andersen from Digivew and a double "cult classics" feature from Intercontinental featuring D.O.A. and Hell's House. I already had The World Of Hans Christian Andersen on a PC Treasures disc with The Pied Piper Of Hamlin...that's actually the reason I bought that disc, since I have The Pied Piper on DVD from Brentwood already. However, in the time I've been buying $1 DVDs, that may be the one time I've gotten one that was nearly unwatchable due to poor quality. It was obviously taken from a VHS that had been dubbed at least 5 times over in SP mode, with some considerable tape damage in some parts. Digiview's isn't much better, but it's definitely an improvement. As for D.O.A./Hell's House, the video and audio quality on both is quite good for public domain fare. However, this DVD had a price tag on it from Tower Records, where it sold for $4.99, so chances are they may have had access to better source materials. D.O.A. is the better of the transfers. Again, close to legit studio-released DVD quality.

I also bought a CD/DVD set from Starlight Records called The Humphrey Bogart Era. The CD contains popular 40's songs in listenable sound quality intro'd and outro'd with clips of Bogey speaking. The DVD contains the film Beat The Devil and the complete episode of The Jack Benny Show in which he appeared. The transfer of Beat The Devil is very nice. Not quite that of a legit studio-released DVD, but better than most. Wish I could say the same about The Jack Benny Show. The contrast and brightness are turned up so much on this, it's absolutely unwatchable. First $1 DVD purchase I've ever made that has something where the quality is so crappy that it's actually unwatchable. But for the music and the decent transfer of Beat The Devil, it's absolutely worth it.

THE UNEXPECTED PLACE TO SELL A MILL CREEK 100-MOVIE DVD SET.

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 20:16:44 GMT

Minor item here, but this is a companion to the Publishers' Clearinghouse post I made about two years ago. This is from the recent Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue of curios (the Canadian version, which means slapping the maple leaf flag on the cover and seemingly little else) and UPPER-CASE CATCHY ITEM DESCRIPTIONS FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD.

It's our old friend* Mill Creek and Hammacher Schlemmer's selling one of its bog-standard repacks for $45! Granted, the thing is supposed to retail for that much, but come on, when does it ever? It'll go great as a Christmas gift with the Marshmallow Shooter™!

*billing not contractual

Millcreek $5 packs at Wal-Mart

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:05:59 GMT

Wal-Mart has started carrying a bunch of 20 movie/50 episode Millcreek packs for five dollars. In a quick look, I saw TV Westerns, the Best of Bonanza, Best of Lucy & Friends, The Very Best of One Step Beyond, Mean Guns, Family Pack and Alfred Hitchcock, in addition to the John Wayne

All the films are listed on Mill Creek's website. The suggested price on their website is $15, so this is a pretty decent deal.

Mean Guns is a mix of fairly recent Westerns with a few old PD films tossed in. The website reveals a few films that aren't available in the other Western sets (except the 250 movie boxed set.)

The Family Pack looks like a pretty decent collection of old family films. If many of them are those we've seen time and time again (Gulliver's Travels, The Inspector General, The Little Princess), they're still good for the more general audience, and some of these are, according to Mill Creek's website, aren't on any other collection, including Father's Little Dividend (which looks like a fairly high-budget movie) and The Magic Sword (from Bert I. Gordon=not so high budget).

I've grabbed my copy of Alfred Hitchcock's films. It doesn't look like Mill Creek has taken much advantage of Hitchcock before, but I've seen Thirty-Nine Steps and a few of the others several places. I haven't seen the silents elsewhere, though--though I have a hard time imagining how these British movies are legitimately in the public domain.

The John Wayne 20 pack copies a lot from the other Mill Creek packs, but it's a cheap copy of McClintock and Angel and the Badman, plus a bunch of lousy B&W Westerns from the 30s.

They're missing quite a few I'd like; in particular, I'll have to get Cult Classics from Amazon sometime. Do other stores have a different or broader collection?

Mill Creek MegaMega Packs

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:16:07 GMT

Just noticed that the Mill Creek site has added a 250 movie pack category.
So far there are only two: Family and Horror.
Haven't delved deeply into the contents of either (the Horror contents list isn't complete yet) but they appear to be consolidations of previous packs.

List price is $100 each for 60 discs.

Greg

Digiview at Dollar Tree!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:39:18 GMT

Just a brief note to tell you that at a nearby Dollar Tree I found a number of movies for 50 cents each. These all are Digiview and the copyright is 2004. I'm not going to list titles just because these are the usual public-domain suspects, with an emphasis on general drama titles with some family-friendly stuff and a little action thrown in. Didn't see any cartoons or horror or sci-fi unless they were in a different section and we just didn't find them. So if you don't already have some of the usual movies like "Penny Serenade" or "The Fast and the Furious" at least at my nearby Dollar Tree they're two for a buck!

Big Lots

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 03:00:44 GMT

Got a few new titles from Big Lots today at $2 a pop.
Passed on several previously viewed recent titles at $5 each.

Hollywood Palms - 2001
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Blue Laser
ID: 8-2725-06036-2-7

Dust to Dust - 1994
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Blue Laser
ID: 8-2725-06006-2-6

Hard Bounty - 1995
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Blue Laser
ID: 8-2725-07005-2

BAADASSSSS! - 2003
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Sony
ID: 04368

Dollar Tree cartoon DVDs from East West

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:58:16 GMT

Finally some new discs arrived at my local dollar tree store:
Last movies there were VHS titles.
Then old books on tape from cassettes.
Cartoon titles are from East West.
First time to my knowledge that they have carried this companies discs.

Here is what I was able to get.

Once Upon a Time : Vol 1
Tobor The 8th Man & Friends : Vol 1
Clutch Cargo: Vol 5
Junior and Friends: Vol 1
Casper and Friends: Vol 3
Mutt and Jeff: Vol 1
Popeye and Friends : Vol 1
Talking Magpies and Friends: Vol 1
Diver Dan: Vol 2
Little rascals Vol 4 - 1955 (TV)

Digiview discs from local Walmart this past month or so

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:50:23 GMT

Breathing Fire - 1991
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV143E

Studio One - The Kill - 1952 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV66E

Cry of the Penguins - 1971
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV132E

Studio One - Laugh maker - 1953 (TV) / Studio One - Confessions of a nervous man - 1953 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV67E

Dennis Rodman Down Under -Wrestling
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV142E

Toon Factory: Rocky And Bullwinkle Mr Know It All
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC19E

The World of Hans Christian Anderson - 1971
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC56E

Johnny vs The Giant- 1950
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC64E

Commandos - 1968
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV0-A

A Dangerous Summer - 1981 / Night of the Sharks - 1987

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV79E

The Legend of Bigfoot - 1976 / Escape from Angola - 1976
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV61E

Beyond Obsession - 1982 / A Killing Affair - 1986
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV76E

Victory at Sea - Vol III - 1952
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TEX78M

Broken Dagger - 2001 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV45E

Omega Cop - 1990
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-1113

VIP, My brother superman - 1968
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC46E

Sandy the Seal - 1969
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV49E

Shattered Dreams - 1998

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-1122

Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story - 1991 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV139E

Criminal Desire - 1998
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV138E

Last man on Earth - 1964 / Devil's Messenger - 1961
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV42E

Don Candy's Law - 1974 / Any Gun Can Play - 1967

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV63E

Big Chuck, Little Chuck - 2004
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV130E

Karate Kids - 1980
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV140E

The Man In The Iron Mask - 1985 (TV) Burbank Studios
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC52E

Double Cross on Costa's Island - 1997
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-1124

20000 Leagues under the sea - 1985 (TV) Burbank Studios

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC-35E

The Red Skelton Show - 1951 (TV) 6 Eps
Eps:
John Carradine
Marilyn Maxwell
Mickey Rooney
Mary McCarthy
King Sisters
George Rait
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV9-B

Cisco Kid - 1950 (TV)
Eps:
Pancho Hostage
Bell Jar Jellies
Jewelry Holdup
Lynching Story
New Paper Crusader
The Phoney Sheriff
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV5-B

Frequent Flyer - 1996 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV136E

Dot and The Whale - 1986
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV134E

Ground Rules - 1997
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-1119

Room to Move - 1987 (TV)

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV17E

Guilty Conscience - 1985 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV5-A

Eliza's Horoscope - 1975
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV73E

My Dear Secretary - 1949 / The Big Trees - 1952
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV121E FA8-B

Last Time I Saw Paris - 1954
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV124E (FA1-B)

Mesmerized - 1986

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV44E

Sword of lancelot - 1963
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV122E (FA6-A)

Strike Force - 1975 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV1E

A Minor Miracle - 1983 / Crossbar - 1979 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV56E

Exit The Dragon Enter The Tiger - 1976

Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-135E

Dreamland Features Unauthorized Footage of Area 51
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV-74E

Deadly Drifter - 1982 / The Cold Room - 1984 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV64E

Scruff - Smells like an Adventure
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC68E

Deadly Down Under: an In Depth Look at Australia's Most Venomous CreaturesSource: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV133E

Massacre - 1985
Source: Big Lots
Supplier: Blue Laser
ID: 8 2725 06016 2 3

Restaraunt - 1998
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TEX65M

Scruff : Staking Out Territory
Source: Walmart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC67E

Crusade in the pacific - 1951 (TV)
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: TV746

Hell in Normandy - 1968
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: MV128E

Cartoon Craze : Gaby and Friends It's A Hap Hap Happy Day

Eps:
All's Well
Fire Cheese
Gaby Goes Fishing
it's a Hap Hap Happy Day
King For A Day
Parrotville Post Office
Parrotville Old Folks
Scottie Finds a Home
Spinning Mice
Source: Wal-mart
Supplier: Digiview
ID: CC54E

Big Lots Once Again Forces Two Bucks Outta Me

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 02:01:00 GMT

A new cheap-ass DVD vendor has plopped down its wares at Big Lots. It's called Dreamline and it's biggest selling point is that they have now THREE movies on a single-sided DVD for a buck. Needless to say, cramming three films on to one side of a DVD is not good for quality, but who's complaining for a buck? Eh?

The downside is that they are releasing (mostly) the usual PD suspects. His Girl Friday, Africa Screams, Night of the Living Dead, etc. There was a small display of about ten different 3-movie discs. I say mostly the usual, because I picked up two of these discs. I spotted two films I thought I didn't have, and for two bucks, why not take a chance?

I already had Kansas Pacific and Roy Rogers' The Bells of San Angelo on a few different multi-film releases. But THE JACKALS starring Vincent Price was one that had eluded me. I saw the trailer for this flick a while ago on an obscure Grindhouse film trailer collection, and based on that it looked gratifyingly violent. How can you go wrong with Vincent Price? I wonder how many Westerns he actually did?

Same thing with Beneath The Twelve Mile Reef. This was a major studio release, in widescreen and Technicolor. The previous DVD I have of this film looks stunning, with amazing color. I'm sure most DVDs have this nice transfer. Worth getting if you haven't. High Risk with James Coburn was more obscure to me, maybe I don't own it. I'm sure I didn't have this film of Charlton Heston in the Jack London classic The Call of the Wild. Haven't seen any other releases of this one on DVD. Looks good. I liked the source novel in any case.

The Good, the Bad and the Hobbit

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:08:21 GMT

Two great recent finds...

EastWestDVD, which a year or so ago released the animated Rankin Bass version of The Hobbit in its dollar-DVD line, has come through with RB's second and final "Rings" installment, 1980's The Return of the King.

Those of us old enough to remember its first broadcast will recall curious elements such as:

An artistic style that looked as if the entire movie had been done in watercolor
Roddy McDowall as the voice of Samwise (and as the evil, taunting voice of the ring)
The non-Tolkien addition of a strumming minstrel to fill us in on all the details we missed in the previous books, voiced by Limeliter folkie Glenn Yarbrough ("Frodo of the nine fingers, and the ring of dooooooooom!").

I picked this up in National Wholesale Liquidators. Worth every penny of the dollar, it was. I recommend it to all.

A similarly great deal was the box set of nine spaghetti Westerns I picked up at Stop & Shop for $7.50. None of them star Clint Eastwood, but many of them star Lee Van Cleef. Four of the nine titles are widescreen format, but with three on each DVD, don't expect wonderful quality. To its credit, St. Clair Entertainment Group includes a disclaimer at the beginning about deterioration of the original negatives causing uneven quality. Hey, for $7.50 I'm not complaining. There's also a few extras, including a bunch of spaghetti Western trailers.

It includes these movies:

The Grand Duel
This Man Can't Die
It Can Be Done, Amigo
Minnesota Clay
Johnny Yuma
Any Guy Can Play
Death Rides A Horse
The Hellbenders
White Comanche (not really a spaghetti Western, but it's a kick to see William Shatner as Indian twins)

Happy viewing!

Mike

Mill Creek Has New Releases

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:48:14 GMT

Mill Creek has yet more releases, but I'm not fainting with excitement over them.

In addition to the new 50 Packs mentioned below, namely Night Screams and Western Legends, There's also Suspense Classics.

There's also a new 100 movie pack coming out next month, Sci-Fi Classics. Like the other 100 packs, these films are all repeats from other Mill Creek multipacks. Some of these movies have been repeated a sickening amount of times; "Moon of the Wolf" is featured on NINE different multi-packs. This huge box of sludge is only worth it if you're just starting your collection, otherwise, nothing new there methinks.

Night Screams is also a tad heavy on repeats, with 16 of the movies recycled. The rest of the stuff is common PD fodder (like "The Wasp Woman") or stuff they grabbed from Alpha Video (I think they are the only other ones offering "Daughter of the Tong" and some of these other REALLY old movies from the 1930's.) "Manfish" is a rare Lon Chaney item that Retromedia had released on a special Lon Chaney disc.

Suspense Classics has movies that are all repeats, but are mostly repeated from the Action Classics 100 Movie box only. If you're not ready to commit to one of the Big Boys, this box might suit you nicely. Most of these movies are from the 70's and 80's and are in color, so you might enjoy this release if watching black-and-white stuff from the 30's or 40's is not your bag. Also, many of these are Italian police films, which I know some people have a fetish for.

Western Legends has only 5 repeated movies from other Mill Creek products (4 John Wayne movies and a Roy Rogers), so this might work out for western fans, but I must warn that many of these are "Poverty Row" type Westerns from the 1930's (directed by Sam Newfield), peppered with a few from later decades. No Spaghetti westerns this time, it seemed like.

Classic Superheroes is actually two serials, "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" and "The Green Archer." MSRP is $7.98, so look for this at 5 bucks or so. At that price it's well worth it as both are among the better serials produced. A recommended purchase.

The Ultimate Pirates Collection is 15 pirate-themed movies(Duh), with an MSRP of 14.95. Should be selling for 10-12 bucks. Only a few repeats there. Obviously released to tie-in with Pirates of the Caribbean. Looks like some good stuff and I might pick up that one.

Port Hope, Ontario - The Bargain! Shop roundup

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 01:55:28 GMT

Quality/Direct Source Special Products had two displays of $5 "bargain" discs. The titles were mostly culled from FremantleMedia made-for-TV movies and the usual suspects that budget labels tend to rely on - Our Gang, Sherlock Holmes, The Jack Benny Program, Petticoat Junction, Laurel & Hardy shorts and The Beverly Hillbillies. There was also something called TV's Greatest Toons and Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave(?!) As for the films, they are as follows:

The Glass House (1972)
It Happened at Lakewood Manor [DVD title: Ants] (1977)
Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women (1979)
Frank Nitti: The Enforcer [DVD title: Nitti: The Enforcer] (1988)
How to Murder a Millionaire (1990)
The Entertainers (1991)
The Nightman (1992)
The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story [DVD title: Seeds of Deception] (1994)
Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story (1994)
Death in Small Doses (1995)
Derby (1995)
The Perfect Getaway (1998)
Blood on Her Hands (1998)
My Last Love (1999)
In Love and War (2001)
Mothers and Daughters (2002)

There were some other $5 titles and multipacks. They were mostly titles from Lionsgate/Maple Pictures, Madacy, Platinum Disc and a few leftovers from the dollar DVD craze. The notable titles:

- From Platinum Disc: a 2-disc set of Zorro serials; The Adventures of Robin Hood and Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (both 2-disc sets); a Ronald Reagan-themed 2-fer and a TV Cartoon Classics 2-fer, as if that's going to make "You Can't Shoe a Horse-Fly" any better
- A five-disc Red Skelton set from Madacy
- VSC put out a release of Till Murder Do Us Part and its sequel (really A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story and Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter; both 1992)
- A Catcom (!) double feature - Blood on the Sun (1945)/'Gung Ho!': The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (1943)
- Genius Entertainment makes an appearance with dollar discs of "The Betty White Show" (really Life With Elizabeth; this one I bought for $1), One Step Beyond and The Adventures of Jim Bowie
Gold (1974; from Direct Source Special Products but the DVD is from 1999 and not in the special displays)
Terrahawks (1983; Volume 3 - I see this title a lot; it's the TV equivalent of Keys to Tulsa)
Little Buddha (1993)
The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1999)
Rhinoceros Eyes (2003)

There were also some $3 VHS tapes. Among them was a copy of Quayle Season (1992) featuring Lewis Black long before he hit big in stand-up - well, that and the real reason I bought it was for a Harry Shearer appearance. It's a bit of a rip at $3 for thirty minutes of material but since the video is a compilation of Dan Quayle clips the humour tends to write itself.

MIll Creek

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:47:01 GMT

Regarding previous post, you can findi nformation on the "Decrepit Crypt" 50 pack DVD in the Mill Creek listing for "pendulem Films".
These are recent low budget indeprendent films shot on video.

Mill Creek related observations

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 23:55:39 GMT

In this context: “new” means not in a previous Mill Creek collection.
1) 1 month old: Seen in the $5.50 (or 2 for $11) bin at Wal Mart
.a. 20 John Wayne Movies (half from 100 Westerns, half “new”)
.b. 20 Roy Rogers Movies (all from 100 Westerns)
.c. 20 Mean Guns (all from 100 Westerns)
.d. 10 Westerns (all from 100 Westerns)

2) 3 weeks old: Seen for $5 at Big Lots
.a. 20 Burnt Rubber – a lot of non collected stuff including a serial: “Burn ‘em Up Barnes”

3) 1-2 weeks old: Announced new packs
.a. 50 Comedy Kings
.b. 50 Western Legends
..i. Has John Wayne movies previously only in the 20 pack
..ii. Has some “new” Roy Rogers Movies
..iii. Several not in any of their packs.
.c. 10 Ninja Assassins (from 50 Martial Arts)
.d. 10 On the Run (all appear in other collections)

4) Today: Non-announced – I just happened to look and there they were
.a. Three slasher sounding 6 packs: Hardcore Horrors, Morbid Mutilations and Sadistic Sinners. Half the movies are “new”. What’s interesting is that half also claim to appear in…
.b. 50 Decrepit Crypt of Nightmares (sounds like a joke title, doesn’t it?)
..i. I can’t find a listing for that one. However, in looking for it I found…
.c. 50 Night Screams (I want this one!)
..i. Has all of the not-previously-collected movies in 100 Horror
..ii. Has NONE of the previously mentioned slasher flicks
..iii. Also has a lot of “new” stuff on the border of Mystery and Horror

Greg

Big Lots is a Total Disaster

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 07:40:08 GMT

I got these a while back but I hadn't gotten around to posting about them until now. Not too much activity on the site recently, so here we go.

I am a sucker for cheesy disaster movies. When I find a whole bunch together like these, I have no choice but to pounce, especially when they are so obscure like these, and cost only two or three bucks each. Most of these are on Questar Video, a label which previously I identified with boring non-fiction or travel videos like "World's Greatest Journeys by Llama."

These are all obscure TV movies. I doubt any of these even made it to DVD until now. Let's quickly go through the scary threats menacing the earth in each one of these:

FIRE: NATURE UNLEASHED - Forest fire set by killer arsonist
RAGING SHARKS - Pissed-off sharks made insane by magnetic fields unleased by ocean-floor earthquakes threaten scientists in an undersea lab complex (wow, that's...original)
SUPERNOVA - the sun may blow up, destroying the Earth, but military and political leaders fail to heed the warnings of a heroic astrophysicist who tries to warn the world.
TRAPPED: BURIED ALIVE - Arrogant architect builds "state-of-the-art ski lodge" right in an avalanche prone area! He does his best to try to discredit the heroic fireman who tries to warn the town!
CALIFORNIA QUAKE - Earthquake researchers uncover black market nuclear weapons dealers while fleeing Los Angeles after a massive quake!
AVALANCHE - Another avalanche movie, this one takes place in Russia
KILLER FLOOD: THE DAY THE DAM BROKE - The dam is old and in danger of breaking! But the corrupt construction company president is doing his best to discredit the heroic architect who tries to warn the town! (Sounds a little familiar...)
LIGHTNING: BOLTS OF DESTRUCTION - Violent lightning storms caused by sunspots threaten to destroy the earth! The military and political leaders refuse to heed the warnings of the heroic climatologist who tries to warn the world!
COMBUSTION - Underground methane gas pockets threaten to explode, destroying a small town! No one will believe the heroic (fill in blank) who tries to warn the town!
FROZEN IMPACT - The earth is in severe danger from...killer hail! Killer HAIL? Are you flipping KIDDING ME? That's it. They have officially run out of things to menace the earth.

I've only watched SUPERNOVA so far. That one was actually a mini-series (4 hours with commercial breaks, 3 hours without). Just the level of great acting you'd expect. The special effects were not too bad CGI stuff, honestly. You get some pretty good stuff nowadays pretty cheap.

The cover art here is spectacular. Most of them are the same: head shots of the three main "stars" over a background of fire, water, or whatever the threat of the week is. I also like the C-level talents on these. Ted McGinley, Stacy Keach, Luke Perry, Bruce Boxlietner, Reginald VelJohnson, Jack Scalia, Emma Samms, and wow, Gabrielle Carteris twice! Do I smell Emmys? No, I don't.

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:04:30 GMT

If you have a Dollar General or Dollar General market nearby, keep an eye out for some TV season set DVDs available for $10. My trip to the Dollar General Market today revealed these finds:
Miracles: The Complete Series
Ellen: The Complete First Series
SCTV: Volumes 1-5
All-American Girl: The Complete Series
World Poker Tour: I don't recall which season

And, as has been the case for about 2-3 years now, I continue to see complete seasons of Sex In The City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Oz, and Everybody Loves Raymond on VHS for $10. I picked up All-American Girl, though, which retails on Amazon for $35.99. VERY good find.

Just letting you all know to keep an eye out. You may not find any, as the stock in stores like Dollar General vary from store to store, but yes.