Went to another Big Lots today, a smaller display than the previous one I went to early this week. A few of the $2 Lionsgate titles were there, also mixed in with the normal dvd display.

I picked up Cutting Class for $2

from what i've read, The Sting was filmed in full screen format and originally shown that way to make it have the feel of an old film.

the widescreen versions that are out are actually "cut" versions of the film, with the bars actually blocking out part of the film.

Not sure of the validity of this, but this is just what i have read.

That's completely wrong:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070735/technical

I noticed pre-viewed DVD's at my Big Lots in Redwood City, CA for the first time today. Unfortunately the price was $8 a DVD. The DVDs were recent releases:

American Gangster
Beowolf
The Brave One (Jodie Foster)
Atonement
The Simpson Movie
We Rule the Night
Hitman
3:10 to Yuma

Are all I can recall right now. I loaded them into my cart. Then began to think, 8 bucks, that's Best Buy territory now, especially with BB offering 3.99 and 4.99 specials.
I can't pay 8 bucks for a Big Lots DVD. That's against the rules. I put them all back on the shelf. Even Blockbuster sells pre-viewed DVD's for less than that.

I tell you, those 2 dollar DVDs have really spoiled me and set the bar for other retailers.

The previewed dvd's are usually trashed also.

I picked up several of the ones on your ist for 4/$20 at Blockbuster - 3:10 to Yuma, Atonement, etc... Even by itself Atonement was only priced at $3.99 there.

I saw these in portsmouth the other day too, but didn't think it was worth posting, $8 for pre-viewed is no great deal.
I saw We "Own" The Night along with a few other you listed.

I found Vol.10 yesterday in Nashua. Still looking for Vol.9 so I can complete the 2nd season and start watching it. If anyone find Vol.9, please post.

Stopped by another Biglots and they had a small restock of HBO titles for $3 each.

These seem to be new titles:

Cher Live in Concert (HBO)
The Autopsy files (HBO) (starring Dr. Michael Baden)
Tristram Shandy - A Cock and Bull Story (HBO) (starring Jeremy Northam)

They had only a few left from the LionsGate/Artisan $2 dvds and they were thrown in with the $3 Sony dvds.

I dunno how "The Sting" was filmed or what different releases it had on DVD...but they had it in one of the stores here in Jersey and it definitely said full screen (so I passed).
They also had "Fracture" (Gosling/Hopkins), which I would have grabbed in a heartbeat if it had been WS, but they had FS only on that too.


Where Jersey are You (I'm NJ too).
Have You spotted:
The Moonlighting S3 box?
Woody Allen box set 1 or 2 (I found set 3 in the Egg Harbor store a few months ago)?

I picked up a bunch of those $2 titles, including Swimming with Sharks, Bread and Roses, and Dogville. Great deal! I know I pledged not to buy more DVD's with Blu-ray around but $2 is such a good price point I couldn't pass these up.

I love Big Lots.

More $2 titles in Sterling Hts/Shelby MI area:

Project Viper - WS
UFC 8
UFC 7
UFC 6
Searching for Debra Winge
Hail Caesar - Robert Downey jr

$3
found:
3-Iron
the Hitchhiker V3
Killing me Softly-UR (yum)
Last days of Frankie the Fly - want to see everything Dennis Hooper does
Breakfast on Pluto
Deathtrap - Michael Caine, Dyan Cannon & Christopher Reeve masterpiece
Adaptation superbit
The Beast - Stephen Baldwin
Saving silverman
Lightning In a Bottle: A One Night History of the Blues (2004)
Masked and Anonymous ~ Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Penélope Cruz, and John Goodman
The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave

Picked up a copy of Dog Day Afternoon (2-Disc) yesterday for $3.00. UPC was gouged, but I'll never sell it.

Haven't seen this one posted yet but my girl friend found Brick for $3 in the Natchez, MS Big Lots.

Sting was shot in the academy ration of 1:37. IMDb states the 'intended' ratio as widescreen, but I wouldn't put much store in them. For the Disney animated films from the '60s, they list intended ratios, even though they were all animated for 1.33:1.

I saw The Sting at the theatre when it originally aired and do not recall it being widescreen.

Big Lots also has Sneakers which was another fun Redford movie.

Yeah, the widescreen version does take away some of the picture. I remember doing a screen cap comparison and noticed that.

The Sting was shot widescreen. The screen captures at DVD Beaver show that it frames perfectly at 1.85:1. The full screen version is open matte, and shows way too much headroom. Just because it's on the negative doesn't mean that it was meant to be seen.

Nothing found last night at my store in Richmond, KY...only had about 30-40 dvd's total, all old stuff.

Partial list of newer stuff I've seen lately:

MGM:
Bigger Than The Sky
The Boost

Universal:
Brick
Empire (WS)
Evening
The Hurricane (Collector's Edition WS)
In Good Company (WS)
Mo' Better Blues (WS)
Prime (WS)
Prime (FS)
Sneakers (CE)
The Sting (FS)
White Palace (WS)

Lion's Gate:
The Big Empty
Bread And Roses
The Dead Zone (TV Pilot)
Dogville
Dust
Eulogy (WS)
A Good Woman
The Hard Word
Hit Me
I Am David
Lantana
Man About Town
Risk
Searching For Debra Winger
Shattered Glass
Swimming With Sharks (SE)
West Of The Pecos

Artisan:
29 Palms
Critical Care
Dr. T And The Women
Dummy
Elvis Has Left The Building
Good Advice
Novocaine
Permanant Midnight

Funimation (anime):
Beck (Vol. 4)
Full Metal Alchemist (Vol. 10)
Samurai 7 (Vol. 7)

Nope, neither. Near Atlantic City, eh? I'm Trenton area.

I found "The Corner" HBO series for $3 today.
Gulf Coast MS.

1st and Ten complete series $5.00 in MI

Also from DVDBeaver:

I stand by my assertion that The Sting was originally screened in 1:33.

Wow. I hope that title shows up at my local store. It would be a perfect companion to The Wire: The Complete Series that I picked up at Best Buy yesterday.

I picked up the following today for $3 each:

The Adventures of Baron Munshausen
The Big Red One: The Reconstruction (slashed UPC)
Brick
The Hurricane
In Good Company
Looney Tunes: The Movie (slashed UPC)
Superman Returns: 2-disc SE (slashed UPC)

In 1973, no major studio film would have been shot in Academy ratio, because theaters would have been incapable of screening it that way.