Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
#26
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
It made more sense the first time around, even though it was wrong.
Most of these movies have been floating around as public domain releases (from shady and legitimate companies) since the days of videotape. Mill Creek takes it to it's logical conclusion in the age of physical media--i.e. bundling it in cheap multi-disc sets--and that qualifies them as ripoff artists? By that rationale, every single company that has released these films in the past 30 years is a ripoff artist, even though their activities are within the law. I can't even count the number of title in my 6 sets that are widely available online at places like YouTube. All perfectly legal, too. We have to face facts: this is the fate of the vast majority of titles in these sets. They'll never get any better treatment, no matter how much we might hope.
I assume this isn't about artists not getting their due or anything like that. Public domain may suck if you were one of the many whose work ended up falling under it, but it most cases, it was a fate that could have been avoided if anyone involved truly cared back in the day (or had any kind of foresight about home viewing).
On the other hand, I cringe when I see p.d. releases of major studio titles where good prints do exist and the original copyright owner is still around (e.g. NOTHING SACRED, A STAR IS BORN). The more p.d. copies circulate of major studio releases from Universal, Fox and MGM, among others, the less chance for a good new legit edition from that copyright holder. I'm thinking of things like CHARADE, ONE-EYED JACKS, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY, SCARLET STREET, THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO, MEET JOHN DOE, Roger Corman's THE TERROR, various studio-era cartoons, etc. (And, no, I haven't checked to see if any of these examples have been released in high-quality legit editions.)
But I have seen a lot of interesting movies in p.d. prints that I wouldn't have been able to see otherwise, esp. lots of the all-black films from the 1930s and '40s, including Paul Robeson in SONG OF FREEDOM, Lena Horne's first movie, THE DUKE IS TOPS, Nat King Cole in KILLER DILLER, and Cab Calloway in HI-DE-HO. Plus, how else would we have discovered what a great filmmaker Edgar G. Ulmer was if it wasn't for p.d. releases of such films as STRANGE ILLUSION, BLUEBEARD, and his masterpiece, DETOUR. But I tend not to see these in those 50-film sets.
Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 05-19-09 at 05:11 PM.
#27
DVD Talk Limited Edition
#28
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
On the other hand, I cringe when I see p.d. releases of major studio titles where good prints do exist and the original copyright owner is still around (e.g. NOTHING SACRED, A STAR IS BORN). The more p.d. copies circulate of major studio releases from Universal, Fox and MGM, among others, the less chance for a good new legit edition from that copyright holder. I'm thinking of things like CHARADE, ONE-EYED JACKS, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY, SCARLET STREET, THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO, MEET JOHN DOE, Roger Corman's THE TERROR, various studio-era cartoons, etc. (And, no, I haven't checked to see if any of these examples have been released in high-quality legit editions.)
Plus, how else would we have discovered what a great filmmaker Edgar G. Ulmer was if it wasn't for p.d. releases of such films as STRANGE ILLUSION, BLUEBEARD, and his masterpiece, DETOUR. But I tend not to see these in those 50-film sets.
Incidentally, for those with a serious PD jones, check out the film collection hosted at Archive.org. Over 1600 feature films and counting, all rigorously vetted for inclusion, many of which have never seen DVD releases. If you're primary goal is just to SEE these pictures, this place is heaven:
http://www.archive.org/search.php?qu...moviesandfilms
Main page:
http://www.archive.org/details/feature_films
#29
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
Someone else mentioned the "Cult Classics" set. Got that one too. BTW, Escort Girl might be the only movie in that set to be in the worst condition, but even when TCM aired the movie on Underground, it was the same jumpy print. So whatcha see is whatcha get.
Oh and I think every movie from the "Chiller" set has been uploaded online on those various "Free movie" sites.
#30
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
None of these collections have had any movies I felt worth wasting my money on. Even if they had a few good movies I wanted, I would dread the quality and would rather wait for an official release.
#31
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
As mentioned earlier, the waiting would never end for official releases of virtually everything in these sets, especially in an age of declining disc-based media sales and hard times for niche distributors, so it's probably a good thing if you don't see anything worthwhile.
#32
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
Yeah Milpitas monster is the movie the town of Milpitas, CA made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vCu4C1szCk
If your box is made of cardboard, it's probably the older version which has this movie and the others I mentioned. If it's plastic, it's probably like mine I'm guessing. I was disappointed it wasn't included.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vCu4C1szCk
If your box is made of cardboard, it's probably the older version which has this movie and the others I mentioned. If it's plastic, it's probably like mine I'm guessing. I was disappointed it wasn't included.
You can find Memorial Valley Massacre in this set which is conveniently named Deadtime Stories yet doesn't contain that movie you also wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/Deadtime-Stori...2787642&sr=1-2
This is the first set of movies like these I ever bought and some have real nice prints, in some cases they're restored. I used to like sets from this company until they stopped selling older stuff and went to newer low budget horror films that looked like they were made by college students with rich parents. Stuff similar to the movies put out by Dead Alive.
It was nice when Mill Creek started these sets, especially for the price.
#33
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
You can find Memorial Valley Massacre in this set which is conveniently named Deadtime Stories yet doesn't contain that movie you also wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/Deadtime-Stori...2787642&sr=1-2
http://www.amazon.com/Deadtime-Stori...2787642&sr=1-2
Before I ended up with a big stack of the Mill Creek 50 packs, I put together a nice collection of the Brentwood 10's and 20's for very reasonable prices (the Blaxploitation collection "What It Is What It Was" is still a personal favourite). Definitely some overlap between companies, but still plenty of "exclusives".
Didn't notice this earlier, but the film in question here is Ruggero Deodato's HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, is I'm not mistaken. Gorgeous widescreen print in pretty much every PD release, likely sourced from a Laserdisc master, possibly Japanese as I recall reading somewhere many moons ago. I actually upgraded to the Shriek Show "official" edition because I figured the budget releases had to be compromised in some way, but was surprised to discover that the cheaper versions were virtually identical to the SS version, and just as uncut. Shriek Show may have done a proper anamorphic transfer (can't recall) and tossed in some worthwhile extras, but otherwise the two presentations of the movie were pretty much the same viewed on a regular television. Also, many PD versions of CARNIVAL OF SOULS utilize the exact same print as the Criterion Collection. This may very well be in violation of the laws governing "ownership" of restoration work, etc., so indeed some companies might be pushing the envelope a bit in that regard, but I can't say for sure.
Last edited by Brian T; 05-20-09 at 02:31 AM.
#34
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
Bought 3 or so of the Horror & Si-Fi collections. But then they released the 250 Horror Set so I bought that one and sold the 50 packs. Not bad, that came out to 32 cents per movie.
Last edited by dkedvd; 05-20-09 at 08:27 AM.
#35
Moderator
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I have "Dark Crimes", "Mystery Classics" and "Nightmare Worlds", IIRC two were given to me and one I bought myself... can't remember which was which though. Haven't gotten around to watching any of them yet though.
#36
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I recall one of these Brentwood/BCI 10-movie sets--possibly the one linked above--actually had the feature DEADTIME STORIES in it for a short time, until Brentwood was advised that it wasn't public domain and removed it.
Before I ended up with a big stack of the Mill Creek 50 packs, I put together a nice collection of the Brentwood 10's and 20's for very reasonable prices (the Blaxploitation collection "What It Is What It Was" is still a personal favourite). Definitely some overlap between companies, but still plenty of "exclusives".
Didn't notice this earlier, but the film in question here is Ruggero Deodato's HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, is I'm not mistaken. Gorgeous widescreen print in pretty much every PD release, likely sourced from a Laserdisc master, possibly Japanese as I recall reading somewhere many moons ago. I actually upgraded to the Shriek Show "official" edition because I figured the budget releases had to be compromised in some way, but was surprised to discover that the cheaper versions were virtually identical to the SS version, and just as uncut. Shriek Show may have done a proper anamorphic transfer (can't recall) and tossed in some worthwhile extras, but otherwise the two presentations of the movie were pretty much the same viewed on a regular television. Also, many PD versions of CARNIVAL OF SOULS utilize the exact same print as the Criterion Collection. This may very well be in violation of the laws governing "ownership" of restoration work, etc., so indeed some companies might be pushing the envelope a bit in that regard, but I can't say for sure.
Before I ended up with a big stack of the Mill Creek 50 packs, I put together a nice collection of the Brentwood 10's and 20's for very reasonable prices (the Blaxploitation collection "What It Is What It Was" is still a personal favourite). Definitely some overlap between companies, but still plenty of "exclusives".
Didn't notice this earlier, but the film in question here is Ruggero Deodato's HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK, is I'm not mistaken. Gorgeous widescreen print in pretty much every PD release, likely sourced from a Laserdisc master, possibly Japanese as I recall reading somewhere many moons ago. I actually upgraded to the Shriek Show "official" edition because I figured the budget releases had to be compromised in some way, but was surprised to discover that the cheaper versions were virtually identical to the SS version, and just as uncut. Shriek Show may have done a proper anamorphic transfer (can't recall) and tossed in some worthwhile extras, but otherwise the two presentations of the movie were pretty much the same viewed on a regular television. Also, many PD versions of CARNIVAL OF SOULS utilize the exact same print as the Criterion Collection. This may very well be in violation of the laws governing "ownership" of restoration work, etc., so indeed some companies might be pushing the envelope a bit in that regard, but I can't say for sure.
#37
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
#38
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
nope I've never bought any of these but might someday if there is ever some movies in these sets I wanna see or own
#39
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I don't have any. There haven't been any movies in those kind of sets that I've had any interest in that I couldn't get by itself in a better release.
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I generally like to have one of these on "play all" when I'm working in the garage, hobby room, shop, painting, cleaning house, etc.
It works great as I usually spend more time listening than watching.
It works great as I usually spend more time listening than watching.
#41
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
All the 50 movie sets I own are cardboard. Haven't seen the plastic cases yet.
You can find Memorial Valley Massacre in this set which is conveniently named Deadtime Stories yet doesn't contain that movie you also wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/Deadtime-Stori...2787642&sr=1-2
You can find Memorial Valley Massacre in this set which is conveniently named Deadtime Stories yet doesn't contain that movie you also wanted.
http://www.amazon.com/Deadtime-Stori...2787642&sr=1-2
#42
Member
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
Check out this blog. This guy watched every movie in the "50 Horror Classics" set and wrote a review of each one.
http://ryanwatches.blogspot.com/
http://ryanwatches.blogspot.com/
#43
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I have never bought any of the 50 dvd movie collections. Simple reason is I havent seen one that I really wanted to own.
#45
DVD Talk Gold Edition
#46
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
The idea isn't bad but if you have to watch everything in the set and the first one isn't good, you know what you're in for on the second one.
I voted for the guy being the good guy and she was the bitch.
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#50
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Re: Okay admit it, how many of you have bought those 50 DVD movie collections?
I own six or seven of these sets. I have no intention of watching everything in them, nor should anyone else (talk about obsessive compulsive!). I bought them for literally dozens of movies I DID want to see for which there are NO "official" editions, nor will there ever be (despite many of the film's being utterly deserving of the treatment). And many of said films are worthy of watching, have rated thoughtful reviews and articles and even scholarly analysis in genre magazines over the years, and have acquired cult status over the years. And who here has NO cult pictures in their undoubtedly massive collections of DVDs? Come on . . .
Considering the title of the thread, I'm surprised so many people who've never bought one of these sets--and apparently never will--feel so compelled to join in . . .