Videodrome is a great movie, but in case you didn't know it is about to get released on blu ray so if you want to wait for that then you could return the DVD. I hope they release "Naked Lunch" on blu ray sometime soon. It is another great Croneberg film.

Watching Naked Lunch as we type. Loving it so far, strange crap.

Hope they don't announce a BD of it anytime soon, as I just now opened the DVD.

I grabbed 3 blu-rays today...going to try and limited myself to 10 total during the sale, we shall see.

Can't wait until Tuesday as the Red Shoes and Black Narcissus are two blu's I would have gladly paid full price for.

Yes, the beginning is really awesome but the end just goes way strange and out there. Dead Ringers is another crazy Cronenberg film but the Criterion DVD version is out of print. I was lucky enough to pick one up a few years ago.

If you have ever seen "Night Breed" Mr. Cronenberg plays a really crazy character in that film but it is not a Criterion release. Gotta love some Cronenberg.

Went this afternoon and got the Rossellini War Trilogy - my #1 DVD release for the year. ($30 & change w/ member card & 15% off) Money's been so tight that I've been holding out since it was released months ago in hopes of this sale happening again. Thanks, B&N!

I'm shocked at the lack of people buying box sets. Those are really the best deals. For instance, John Cassavetes' Five Films (six if you count the 3-hour documentary packaged with it), at $62, comes up to under $13 per film - films which individually sell for $39,99 at regular price. Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz, which runs for over 15 hours minus the bonus features, is also a tremendous buy.
The BRD Trilogy, Bergman's trilogy, and Costa' Letters from Fontainhas also come up cheaper when you calculate what you're paying for each individual film.

Or maybe you buyers already own all those sets...but I'm willing to bet you don'r.

Go watch the documentary film "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" and see what Neil Peart says about his fans. Then maybe you can understand what it is like to deal with all these strange people that want to be in your life somehow.

picked up 8 1/2, gomorrah, and revanche.

I bought most of the sets last year with the 25% off coupon, and picked up the last few I needed yesterday with the 20% off one. Agree that they are perhaps the best deals, at least if you just go by price per film.

Oh, and possibly a bit more of useful information for those interested:

The Criterion blu ray release of "A Christmas Tale" is not carried at but 2 of the entire Barnes and Noble stores and they are FAR from me. I tried to order it in to the store near me but they said it was a "seasonal related" movie so they could not get it. It was the only Criterion blu ray like that. The only way to get it otherwise is an online purchase from B&N...but... I was able to get Best Buy to price match the $19.99 price shown on the B&N website in store at customer service. I used Reward Zone certificates for the BB price match purchase so I really got a great deal on it even though I didn't get any % off the $19.99. The reward Zone certificates were a free bonus so I didn't spend any cash. I now have every Criterion Blu ray released thus far including the 2 different versions of "The Third Man". I will go back on July 20th to get the next 2 new CBR releases...

Glad I was able to get the Kurosawa 25 disc set last night for $199.99 less 20% new account coupon less (possible 8% bing, not sure yet) so worst case $169.99 delivered or $150 if Bing.

Agreed. I'm pretty happy taking advantage of 60% off simply by using the sale and my membership (yes, indeed, it does have its benefits, including an extra 10% off the 'Buy 2 get the 3rd Free' sales). For what Criterions normally go for (and what they will probably stay at until DVDs go defunct), B&N's 50% sale is already the best price you're going to get for new, sealed copies of these films. GREAT deal. I'm not interested in pushing my luck.

After some debating, in-store, I picked up Chungking Express and two of the possible-Canal upcoming departures: Last Year at M. Blu and Le Cercle Rouge. Double-dipping on Chungking and Last Year, but there's nice new features, and I'm teaching a HK/Chinese film class in the fall, so I can kind of call that one work-related... People say that Last Year won't leave Criterion, but I have a weird gut feeling that they're wrong ;-)

A few points related in my local online purchases and in-store pick-ups during the last 24 hours:

-- I used the first hours of the sale last night at B&N online to grab a couple more of the Canal departures: Billy Liar was in stock, so I went for that and Port of Shadows. They must have only had a few copies of Billy, because over the past 24 hours, it went from "Ships in 24 hours" to "Ships in 2 to 3 days" to "Ships in 3-5 weeks" -- i.e., it's gone, folks...(though still on Amazon, etc.)

-- In a visit to my local store today, Royal Tenenbaums was in the bin/on sale with the Criterions, for anyone who's interested -- which would make it under $8-9 for someone with a membership (their retail is now only $20).

-- They had most of the digipack BDs, i.e. Last Year at M., 400 Blows, Chungking, etc. -- although I don't have a problem with digipacks like most on here seem to. I rather like having unique packaging whenever possible.

-- My store did indeed have a lot of empty DVD spaces already when I stopped by around 5pm...the buzz is out there.

Would have loved to get more, but just can't afford it right now... Although it will be hard to pass up the double-whammy of The Red Shoes and Black N. Blus next week...

Can anyone recommend if they feel The Last Emperor DVD is worth it/more or as much as the Blu, and if the extended TV cut is worth the purchase? Haven't seen the film since childhood, but I believe that's the only real difference between editions..?

The Last Emperor DVD is a MUST HAVE. The extended cut is amazing. Well worth it. The DVD still looks great upconverted on my Toshiba A35 HD-DVD player. Not sure why Criterion didn't do the Blu Ray the same as the DVD, but the extra footage is worth a small loss in image quality. I have both versions but the DVD is the one I watch for the better fuller story.

Yes, the DVD version over the BD for sure on that one. The BD may look slightly better, but it loses a few special features and an entire cut of the film.

Thanks for your comments. Saw it today and almost went for it, but the packaging had been roughed around just a bit too much for my liking, even with the big discount! I'll admit that I'm very into finding as nice a copy as I can! Luckily I have a few other B&Ns around, so I'll check.

You can also tell them to order it to the store and you don't have to pay for it until it gets there and you inspect the condition. I am the same way about everything being in MINT condition so I can understand.

Ahh so that's the reason I couldn't order it to get shipped to my store. A shame since it is a great film. I saw it last month for the second time and it definitely improved upon the first viewing. Mathieu Amarlic gives a great performance; so does the rest of the cast for that matter.

Does Last Year in Marienbad improve upon a second viewing? I'm considering purchasing it. Definitely buying Army of Shadows since it's about to be OOP.

Ok questions here (Pick one)

Night and the City or Pickup on South Street
L'Eclisse or Red Desert
everlasting memories or close up
man bites dog or danton

I've got several CC at home (rented from the Library)that I'm waiting to watch including The Leopard and My Own Private Idaho. Luckily I'll hit a bn either on the weekend or monday.

Last one, I'm thinking of getting Au Revoir Les Enfants but I think it might be released on BD later and will hold off on that one for now.

Ordered the Rossellini Was Trilogy last night using new member and Library link. I'm glad I didn't wait until later (early bird got the worm).
Then went to some local NYC stores and things went stranger than last sale. The one store that I had greatest success previously gave me a hard time even though the clerk I recognized from before. Eventually the manager had to key in the sale correctly and the system accepted the coupon after she manually entered the amount (-$5). Not likely to be going back to that location.
8 1/2
Gomorrah
Lola Montes
Walkabout
Red Desert
Vivre Sa Vie

Make Way For Tomorrow

My thoughts on 8 1/2: One of Fellini's greatest (La Dolce Vita is Numero Uno) and takes a certain appreciation of the era to fully appreciate. I was a young adult when I saw it at the time of its original release and it resonated with a lot of us.

I've stayed away from the Criterion release of Last Emperor, solely on account of the modification done to the OAR. Vittorio Storaro, the Cinematographer, got permission from Bertolucci to modify it from 2.35:1 to 2.0:1, based largely on his unique "vision" of standardized AOR.

Many here have pooh-poohed this objection as going overboard, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend any money on a zoomed image with the sides chopped off. It's a beautiful film, and I want to see it as it was originally intended, shown, and awarded as Best Picture. Storaro be damned.

Interesting -- didn't know this, thanks. The substantial bonus material here still makes the set worth a purchase to me, though. But I'm with you.

I too am very adamant that the original released version of any film should remain available. If the filmmakers want to muck around with OARs and the cinematography (i.e. The French Connection), it's bad enough, but all I ask is that the original theatrical version of the film remain available or in existence in some capacity...

All films are a product of their time, and they should be preserved as such, flaws and all.

Just my feelings.

RE: 8 1/2
Well, it's a good DVD to have if you want to impress your Intro To Cinema teacher.

Have you seen Falling Down? The opening sequence w/ Michael Douglas in the traffic jam is an homage to 8 1/2's opening dream sequence.

Wow I was expecting people to get pissed off by my post! But all 8 1/2 fans I've encountered thus far (here & IMDB) have been quite civilized & open to politely-stated contrary views.

(har har)

My favorite "writer's block" film is probably Adaptation, did that affect your writing aspirations at all?

Be careful, Videodrome SD & BD is evidently a heated topic on this thread.

I have yet to see Falling Down, but I'll keep that in mind when I do. The real question is: What in Batman & Robin is an homage to a Fellini movie?

It's been on my list for awhile until I picked it up yesterday for $23 shipped. Not bad for a $59.95 SRP