Hey all you Criterion Gurus out there - I went to a CD Warehouse today and my heart almost jumped out of my chest when I saw Spinal Tap Criterion Collection sitting there... I quickly opened it and it was priced 15.99, not bad... I looked it over and almost immediately I began to wonder if it was real. I had to see the disk itself. I acted calm and tripped my way to the checkout counter. The guy didn't even blink when he threw the disc in, charged me and spat me out the door.

Now, I could scrutinize: The first thing that bothered me was that the disc itself had no cover art. It was a flipper... I can't recall any Criterions that were flippers... However, it does seem to say Criterion , Spinal tap around the edges. Looked real. Then I looked at the DVD case and artwork. No inserts - ugh. Then, I looked at the art - the corners were not rounded. Not sure if this means anything, but the stock seemed to be real DVD quality and it was definately not cut out by hand...

What do you all think? Is it real? So far, I think it is.

What a find if it is!!!

Spinal Tap CC is a flipper and the corners of the artwork are square. But there is an insert. Yours probably got lost. But enjoy the extras and commentary! The value here is in the watching....

This is Spinal Tap: CC is a flipper. I have it. The insert is pretty nice, but getting the disc for $15.99 is a great deal considering its worth about $100. I would keep it and enjoy it. Don't worry about the missing insert, whats on the disc is worth it.

Awesome! I could care less about the insert!

WOOHOO!

Congrats man. I love finding deals like that in used places.

Yep, that is quite nice. A couple days ago I managed to find a used but perfect copy of Disney's Beauty & The Beast Platinum Edition for $14.99. It even had all the original stickers on the slipcover and all the inserts/advertising booklets. Completely blew me away. Now if only I could find Snow White like that. Congrats on getting a killer deal Kerborus.

If you are at all interested, you could probably give Criterion a shout to see if they could send you an insert . . .

I have question for you guys. I have the "Special Edition" of Spinal Tap. Is it worth the upgrade if I find the CC version? I really don't like "flippers", and am not to concerned if there are more extras, unless they are real good additions. Is the picture quality leaps and bounds better than the "Special Edition", or is there not much difference?

I don't have the CC version to compare but I'd guess the SE would have better sound. Picture-wise, I don't think it would be much different considering the film style. It's supposed to look like a cheap documentary....err rockumentary.

But I would recommend the CC for the extras. I had the laserdisc and I believe all those extras were ported over. The original 20 min short is included... plus the 2 original commentaries. I also believe the 1 hour's worth of deleted scenes are different from the the deleted scenes of the SE.

I'm sure someone can give you a better rundown....sorry.

In a nutshell, if you're a big fan, you'll want both. One of these days I'll shell out the big bucks for the CC version but I keep hoping to make a nice find like Kerborus did.

Yes, this is a movie with extras that (unlike, say, a *3* disc version of the Panic Room turd!) are really worth watching! Some of the outtakes are the same as on the SE, but many are different. (And those are good enough to make a 2nd movie, as you know.) THe original 20-mminute demo reel is great--they made that shortie to sell the idea rather than scripts etc.

Pkus, the commentary is completely different--full-length commentaries by both the actors and a separate one with Rob Reiner, all *not* in character. (They were in character on the SE commentaries.)

It was a no-brainer for me to get both. They are both excellent and worth watching/keeping IMO. The only reason it's a flipper is because they made it one disc with all the extras.

Thanks TomOpus, and Drmoze.

I think I will upgrade, the next time I see it stores. thanks again for your help.

raiders757 - You won't find Spinal Tap criterion in stores. It has been out of print for several YEARS and goes for around $100+ on Ebay. I believe the SE version (available everywhere) has different special features, but very good audio and video quality. I know the criterion has an extra commentary track that many people like. Just a heads up.

So you've actually seen the 3-disc Panic Room extras to know that they're not worth watching? Or you're just ignorantly trashing something you haven't even seen?

DJ

Really I see OOP DVD's all the time so your never sure what your going to see on a shelf. I can't beleave people are willing to pay that much money for a damn movie. I mean WTF makes someone want a disc so bad? So you miss one movie you got 1000's and 1000's of others to pick form no movie is that damn good now. OHHHHHH well to each his own I guess.

Snow White DVDs are pretty common around here. I found two or three a few weeks ago.

Just wanted to jump in and clarify the remarks about Spinal Tap CC being a "flipper": The film itsself is on one side of the disc, with the majority of the extras on the other. A "flipper" is a disc which has to be flipped to view the entire film. This was not uncommon the early days of DVD when many releases were single layer encoded. Hope this helps.

Well at least offer to pick one up for the man you mean bastrad you

That would take all the fun out of it. Finding the movie somewhere after looking for it for a while is part of the fun. But after a while, not finding it would probably drive you insane.