MooMooMooMoo

This talk of VCI burns motivated me: I finally broke down & bought the Prowler while I can still get a factory pressed edition (I ASSUME). For DVD Beaver to call a budget release dvd of the year for 2011 it must be pretty stunning!

ProfessorEcho

THE PROWLER is without question one of VCI's best releases, if not THE best (A CHRISTMAS CAROL Blu is right up there). Done in conjunction with UCLA Archives and The Film Noir Foundation, it's a great package. I wasn't crazy about the move though, LOL, it's a good noir, but a little overrated. Still worth having in your collection though.

Living Deadpan

Maybe they took a look & saw how successful our Warner Archive sale thread seems to be doing...

I really hope this isn't the first step in a series of boutique/budget labels going all On Demand on us. (Though "Mill Creek On Demand" is kind of a funny notion.)

docdoowop

ProfessorEcho

Now you're just being silly. I mean that's like saying Mill Creek will release Blu Rays someday. Er...uh....

thetao

For anyone keeping count, I just traded emails with VCI and the following serials have yet to go DVD-R:

Buck Rogers
The Green Hornet (all versions)
The Green Hornet Strikes Again (all versions)
The Lost City (1935)
Return of Chandu
Secret Agent X-9 (1937)
Secret Agent X-9 (1945)

So the only serials I know that went DVD-R are "The Phantom Creeps" and "Underwater Kingdom". But of course there are dozens of other serials in their catalog. I'm off to ask Roan/Troma the same question...

The Valeyard

I never picked up "The Phantom Empire." I should probably do some investigating and grab a non DVD-R version as soon as possible.

ProfessorEcho

The first GREEN HORNET is not a great serial, but the VCI transfer is gorgeous, all taken from archival materials at Universal. One interesting thing about it as compared to other serials is that each chapter is more or less self-contained. There is a cliff hanger, but it's rapidly dispatched in the following chapter and then a new story starts. If I remember right there may be a central villain masterminding all the various schemes, but each one is told in a single chapter rather than a developing storyline. I haven't seen the second one yet so don't know if this dramatic format continued.

The 1937 SECRET AGENT X-9 is a lot of fun and pretty exciting, though the lead actor isn't all that interesting in the role.

Film critic and historian Dave Kehr recommended THE PHANTOM EMPIRE to me personally and while I wanted to love it, it was pretty much of a snooze. It has some great sets and costumes and the odd B western-sci-fi idea is really out there, but it just didn't gel for me and was a pain to sit through the entire thing.

MooMooMooMoo

Does anyone know if VCI's "Actors & Sin" is still factory pressed? It's another I've been procrastinating on, hoping the price would go down.

thetao

FYI, I just checked VCI's web site and some serials are now listed as DVD-R's. But I would call it a work in progress, as Undersea Kingdom still appears as a DVD. It's great to know they're responsive, but I still wish they hadn't gone the DVD-R route in the first place.

In other news, I got an email from Roan/Troma, but they don't appear to know which titles are which. Guess I'm gonna take a chance, but make sure the vendor has a good return policy.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

You know a business is a success, when they don't even know what they're selling.

MooMooMooMoo

Problem is most of the "vendors" selling the Roans are drop shippers, so they have no way of telling what their vendor is going to be sending you..........

And the other ones are too large for the CS person to be able to see the actual product.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

I understand about vendors but usually the company making products has some form of database or other way to find information(aka asking someone with a clue) about what they're selling and then answer the email.

To me, that seems like common sense but then I go outside and see how things work in the real world.

MooMooMooMoo

I HATE drop shippers. Used to be one had to have a clue to sell a product. Now one just needs a database.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

In addition to drop shippers, I hate Hastings online selling practices. They list stuff at amazon and ebay at the same time, from the same inventory. So if you go and buy what they have at amazon and then buy it at ebay, which I've done recently, they'll cancel one of your orders and not say why. Since it's happened a few times in the last couple weeks, it's pretty obvious what they're doing.

thetao

That assumes people actually give a damn and take some degree of pride in their work. Yeah, I've been there first-hand, and it's bewildering.

I just bought the Roan versions of Underwater Kingdom and SOS Coast Guard, and am keeping my fingers crossed.

MooMooMooMoo

The Roans are great, of you get a real factory pressed. I own both.

thetao

FYI, Undersea Kingdom and SOS Coast Guard arrived today. I bought them from ImportCD's (http://www.importcds.com), got a good deal (roughly $11.50 each w/shipping), they were not drop-shipped per the tracking information, and both are real, double-sided DVD's. SOS is an original Roan, while UK is a Troma, with the Troma logo on the back panel, a green Troma security sticker across the top, and the Troma web site cited in the on-disk credits.

Very, very happy. But VCI's Phantom Creeps is gonna be a project...

MooMooMooMoo

Keep in mind Import cd's is part of the DD family, so likely everyone's SOS & Undersea are probably real ones right now.

MooMooMooMoo

Is VCI's Phanton Creeps the one to get? I have Whirlwind 20132, & memory is it isn't too bad; though it's been a few years since I watched it

thetao

Not sure what one has to do with the other, but you're probably right. The Roan/Troma SOS and UK should be safe everywhere. I was looking for a company with the best intersection between price and return policy, and ImportCD's fit the bill. Didn't realize they had shared ownership, but do recall DD changing owners a few times.

After the DVD-R revelation, I did a lot of research, and the best serial buyers guide is likely here: http://cliffhangerproductionsmessage...rogress?page=1 . According to that, VCI's Phantom is the best. Pity it's now DVD-R only. BTW, the serial folks seem to have a lot of in-fighting going on...

ProfessorEcho

EASTER12

Coupon code for an additional 15% off all VCI DVDs and Blu Rays from their site. Code expires 11:59p on April 10.

Another B.F.D. from VCI.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

I was going to post that but you'd be better off creating a new account with a new email address and getting a 20% off coupon.

MooMooMooMoo

FYI: there is a new batch of Roan's hitting the overstock market. I do not know if they are real or burned. I spoke with the wholesaler in question yesterday. I was considering making a pretty large purchase. They refused to check; I don't know if that's because they're lazy, arrogant or are drop shipping.

They were actually quite rude about it; they permanently lost me as a customer.

thetao

It's also possible, per my comment here

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-bargain...l#post11152023

that they don't know because Troma isn't publicizing which are which. FYI, I did just have the misfortune of buying a DVD-R copy of Roan's noir D.O.A. I have no idea if it's this way for every Roan DVD-R, but mine had a small, white "DVD-R" sticker on the spine. The disk itself used a generic design the "artwork", with just the name of the movie to distinguish it.

I have since returned that version and bought a real DVD copy. Used.