One of my players goes into Stop mode if you try to play some of the trailers on the "Rent" disc. I think there's an authoring problem with some Sony discs, especially the more recent ones when they decided they were no longer a quality company.

I was just at a Big Lots and all they had were a bunch of copies for some made for tv movie about a horse.

The ice finally melted enough for me to go to my BigLots to see if they restocked. They did - about 10 discs, nothing that hasn't been mentioned before.

It seems there are a lot of horsey movies, lots and lots of horsey movies :)

The Big Lots nearest to me is one of the best I know about getting in new titles frequently. I've bought probably close to 100 titles for $2, $3, $4, and very rarely $5 a piece there in the last 6 months or so I'd say. It's hard not to when you can carry a an armful, mostly of independent and foreign gems, and not pay more than $20-$30.

I hit 91. Thankfully I got Christmas $$$ :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...g?t=1169584092

For anyone that bought a bunch and plans on opening them, would you mind checking a few to confirm they are anamorphic?

The back covers don't list them as such and reviews sometime state contradicting info and I'd rather not keep any that aren't.

I checked 5....

Atlantis - Anamorphic
Dark Blue World - Anamorphic
Die! Die! My Darling - Anamorphic
Le Dernier Combat - Anamorphic
Pauline & Paulette - Anamorphic

Thank you kindly for checking. Didn't mean to have you do so randomly though.

Here are the ones I'm hoping for first hand confirmations on if anyone wishes to check. All of these don't list them as anamorphic on the back covers but I can find reviews on some that state anamorphic. Looking for a first hand confirmation though as I've been burned in the past from reviews that say yes and back covers that say no (PowerDVD will let you know just by playing the movie based on whether a square window opens or a widescreen window for those that don't have a widescreen TV).

:Yet Unconfirmed:

The Alarmist

:Confirmed Anamorphic:

Big Brass Ring Thanks Lokimok
Desert Blue Thanks Ken Cline
The Mystic MassuerThanks Ken Cline
Secret Ballot Thanks Lokimok
Son of the Bride Thanks Ken Cline
Splendor Thanks Lokimok
Wilder Napalm Thanks Lokimok

Big Brass Ring
Secret Ballot
Splendor
Wilder Napalm

are all anamorphic

(the rest on your list I didn't buy)

Confirmed 3 of the 4

Desert Blue - Anamorphic
The Mystic Massuer - Anamorphic
Son of the Bride - Anamorphic

Didn't get The Alarmist.

It's been my experience that Sony almost always does anamorphic - except for maybe their full frame discs :( In fact, most of their discs that I've gotten lately state on the packaging that they have been remastered in HD - for future re-releases I presume.

I verified these with DVDDecrypter and IfoEdit. You can find more info about how to check anamorphic discs here http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1640712

Thank you both very much. :)

Watch out guys. Sony regularly releases DVDs with fool-frame on one side and wide-screen on the other, and then somewhere down the line they go and drop one side of the disc without changing the UPC and if they still have FF/WS slipcovers in the warehouse they use those until the run out. So, just because the case says WS or a UPC-based database says they are WS does not mean they are. You can only be sure by actually checking the physical disc - if you are lucky it will be labeled, otherwise you gotta play it to know for sure.

Since these are remaindered discs, they were probably the last off the production line, so they are probably most likely to have been reduced to FF only.

In case it helps anyone, the following are most of the wide/full releases from Ken Cline's list of found titles (might have missed a couple but otherwise it should be most of them from that list).

The Big Picture
Cold Steel
Earth Vs. The Spider
The Evil That Men Do
Fat City
The Front
Gloria
The Governess
Hanky Panky
I Capture the Castle
Jackpot
Just Looking
Loser
The Man Who Loved Women
Me You Them
There's a Girl in My Soup
They Came to Cordura
Trixie

My copy of "Just Looking" says only Widescreen on the cover, but the disc inside is 2-sided with a "bonus" foolscreen version- first time I've seen that happen!

Anamorphic Verification
 

Here's a list of DVDs I verified anamorphic. I also noted what the packaging states and if it's a flipper. Maybe you will find it useful. I'll add to this list as I go throught my discs.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v5...anamorphic.jpg

I am uncertain about this widescreen and fullscreen situation but I can say that my copies obtained from Big Lots of Trixie and Desert Blue are in widescreen.

I stopped by my Big Lots this morning and finally got a bunch of titles mentioned previously. I was in a hurry so just picked up titles I recognized from being mentioned here, although I am pretty sure there were some out not previously mentioned as being seen. One I remember is Once A Thief. I will try to go back tomorrow to check. They evidently are still putting these titles out, although seemingly 1 at a time.

I was able to get:

Mr. Sardonicus
The Mystic Masseur
Son of the Bride
Mission Kashmir
Dark Blue World
Haiku Tunnel
The Luzhin Defence
Desert Bloom
Eat a Bowl of Tea
Desert Blue
Vanya on 42nd Street.

Don't forget to visit the Big Lots "Buzz Club" coupon thread for a 20% off coupon. Good through February 3d.

This is to let everybody know that the coupon worked for me instore at a Big Lots I visited on Saturday (and fortunately it was a store which had restocked with a lot of different titles since I had first visited it a couple of weeks ago).

Initially when the clerk saw I had a coupon, she quickly said "We don't take coupons."

But when I pointed out that it was one of their own coupons, she said "OH. The Buzz Club," so she was familiar with the program.

She called the manager over for instructions on how to enter the coupon and gave me a 20% discount off the total. She was told to hit "employee discount" and then scan the coupon.

The coupon wouldn't scan (probably due to my crappy printer) so she entered in the number sequence from the coupon and - Voila! - I got $10.00 off the $49.99 worth of DVDs I was buying (23 titles) for a total of $39.99 + tax.

Thanks to docdoowop for the heads up on the coupon and to clappj for the link on the other thread to the club signup page!!

Titles Still Available
 

Stopped in the Modesto CA (east side) store and acquired:

Davey and Goliath - Volume 2 $3
Davey and Goliath - Volume 3 $3
Angels Over Broadway $3

passed over

Dead Heat On a Merry Go Round $2
Oh God Book II $4.99
Oh God You Devil $4.99
and many other titles already listed in this thread

(looking for Harry and Walter Go to New York)

Used the 20% off coupon at the Twin Cities Coon Rapids store. All $3 before discount:

Adam Had Four Sons
The Alarmist
Big Brass Ring
Desert Bloom
Desert Blue
Eat A Bowl Of Tea
Fat City
First Shot
The Front
Gloria
Happy Times
Jackpot
Myth Of Fingerprints
Nina Takes A Lover
Slugger's Wife
Sweet Hearts Dance
They Came To Cordura
Tokyo Joe
Vanya On 42d Street

Most of the above were re-buys, since I sold my first copies to either Second Spin or Wherehouse during their bonus 20% offers.

Stopped by my local Big Lots and picked up:

Die! Die! My Darling!
Double Vision
The Experiment
Facing Windows
Ignition
Innocence

About $1.60 each after using the 20% off coupon.

The store closest to my house restocked, but not with anything I hadn't seen elsewhere. It's the only area store (including two in Kentucky) that has restocked, as far as I can tell.

I noticed at several stores they are putting out a bunch of new Echo Bridge titles. Some of these seem to be TV and "B" movies. The reviews on Echo Bridge's quality don't seem very good though.