I was hoping Amazon would have a better discount but I suppose that's the going price $39.95 MSRP Blu-rays.

The Third Man is up to $35.99 at Amazon.:(

Just noticed it and Bottle Rocket had shot up in price. Waited too long to order. I may hold on to my DVD of Third Man for awhile longer. I couldn't even get $15 for the 2 Disc Criterion version on Half.com.

Are you sure? They still have the Bottle Rocket BD listed for $27.99, but the DVD is $35.99.

I'm usually not one to pre-order early, but I went ahead and did so for Chungking Express before it goes up. This does not surprise me, as they often don't discount Criterion titles as much as they do for studio titles.

Yeah, I ordered Bottle Rocket and Chungking Express last week. That sucks about The Third Man, it was in my Goldbox one day last week for $26 something.

Pre-ordered Chungking Express. Bottle Rocket, and The Last Emperor for $27.99 each, after tax it came out to about $30.10/title...wish I would've gotten in on The Third Man at this price.

You are right. I was looking at the listing page and saw the DVD price. Great, I will order that one while it is still $27.99.

Glad I preordered all 5 of them when they were $27.95-$27.99

Very disappointing that Amazon raised the price on those. And here I was thinking how crazy some of you guys were for going ahead and pre-ordering it! But I guess if you know you want something, then you should just pre-order from Amazon early and enjoy any price drops -- or get the low price as it turns out this time.

I always place pre-orders as soon as they show up, then cancel later if I change my mind. Not so much to get the lowest price, but to get in the pipeline ASAP in case they don't get too many copies the first week. Don't know if it makes too big of a difference in the long run, but that's my Amazon M.O. I bet the prices on these go back down come release date.

FWIW, the 'Third Man' cannot be found via the Blu-ray pulldown Search button at Amazon (at least by me.)

Also, their Blu-ray page still reads:

"Blu-ray
Save at Least 30% on All Blu-ray Movies & TV"

So there may currently be a price/classification error associated with the 'Third Man' blu-ray (which can be found via the Movies & TV Search pulldown.) If there is no error, they need to get to work on updating the Blu-ray page (changing "at least" to "up to" or something similar.)

Something I've noticed on the bluray criterions is that they don't have all of the same features as the dvds.
for example,the bluray is only 1 disc whereas the dvd is 4, and the dvd has the extended tv cut, whereas the bluray does not, at least according to the special features list.
also, the bluray for the man who fell to earth doesn't have the book that comes with the dvd.
does anyone have any more details on this?

The Last Emperor is a BR of the single disc + extras, not the full boxed set- this was announced at the first announcement. You are correct, the book is not included on TMWFTE. And also I think 1 or 2 essays from the 3rd Man is not included.

This was posted over at the Criterion forum:

oh and I JUST bought the Seventh Seal import - phhht!

Isn't that always the way?

[bangs head on wall repeatedly]

I'm satisfied with the Seventh Seal Blu-ray. If it's not going to come out till next year, well that's a long freakin time away.

The same email mentions a future revisiting of Black Narcissus as well, thought that should come as no surprise, as the transfer is one of Criterion's worst.The R2 Optimum looks marginally better, with identical extras, but the unfortunately OOP French WB disc towers over the othert two SD editions. The ITV Blu looks quite sharp as well, though it is only single layer, so there is certainly room for improvement. Hopefully a Criterion Blu will arrive sooner rather than later.

It is a surprise in some sense, as a previous inquiry from a Criterion forum member just a few weeks ago was responded to with a "no plans" stance on Narcissus. Either way, I'll stick with my ITV version.

Just wishful thinking/jumping the gun on my part, as the actual email reads There's that "immediate" qualifier that leaves the door open...

DVD Aficianado cover art for upcoming titles. Probably not official, finalized artwork, but still a close approximation.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ttlerocket.jpg http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ingexpress.jpg http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d.../111378-d1.jpg http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d.../115843-d1.jpg

I was opposed to buying Last Emperor because of the aspect ratio issues, but since it looks like this is the final word for a while I ordered the Blu Ray. Ordered all of the first batch because it's the first batch and titles are stellar but don't think I will do that very often if ever again.

I have a feeling I know the answers I will receive, but is Chungking Express a good blind buy?

One of my favorite movies, but I'd give you the same advice I'd give anyone: get a Netflix subscription instead of spending your money on a movie that me or someone else might recommend you purchase. Per month, it's cheaper than a single blu-ray, and I bet you'll be watching far more movies than you do now, and I suspect ones further outside of your comfort zone.

But if you won't do that, then just go ahead and buy it. Even if you hate it, you'll be supporting one of my favorite filmmakers on my favorite format from my favorite DVD producer. There's no way I can lose! ;)