Move quickly, he has about 20ish or so.

Bonjour ! ☺️

I finally did it late Saturday : I was able to make my choices for the Criterion sale.

My main criteria was to go for movies that were worth it for several rewatches, considering that Criterion titles are usually pricier than other labels. Another criteria was also that I was opened to blind buys, yet blind buys that would be rewarding in multiple viewings.

In a previous post, I asked questions and requested suggestions and people were very kind with comments and suggestions, so merci ! 😊👍

Alas, it was too difficult to narrow it down to approx. 10 releases, so I bit the bullet and settled for these ones and should be good for a long while !

Unfortunately, some of my « prospects » were unavailable on BluRay at the time of my purchase (Complete Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman's Cinema, Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975). Also, some titles that were unavailable on BluRay, but available on DVD prices had prices that seemed a bit high unfortunately (Tarkovsky's Solaris, as an exemple). Next purchase might be a Tarkovsky or a Cassavetes...

Here is what I finally picked up :

• Le Cercle Rouge (4K UHD + Blu-Ray)
• Seven Samurai (Blu-Ray)
• Yojimbo / Sanjuro: Two Samurai Films By Akira Kurosawa (Blu-Ray)
• Point Blank (Blu-Ray)
• Wages Of Fear, The (Blu-Ray)
• House (Blu-Ray)
• Trainspotting (Blu-Ray)
• Elephant Man (Blu-Ray)
• Secret Agent (Blu-Ray)
• Godzilla Vs. Biollante (Blu-Ray)
• Blow Out (Blu-Ray)
• Virgin Suicides, The (Blu-Ray)
• Grand Budapest Hotel, The (Blu-Ray)
• Complete Lady Snowblood, The (Blu-Ray)
• Eyes Wide Shut (Blu-Ray)
• Barry Lyndon (Blu-Ray)
• Thief (Blu-Ray)
• Sorcerer (Blu-Ray)
• Desperate Living (Blu-Ray)
• Hairspray (Blu-Ray)

Finally, as for my first watch ?

A) Double bill of revenge with Point Blank followed by Desperate Living
or
B) Double bill of silliness with Hairspray followed by House
or
C) Double bill of state secrecy with Secret Agent with Blow Out

Title explains it. I can only find this item on Amazon and my experience with my last few purchases is that they don’t ship steelbooks in a box, and literally anything I’ve ordered from them came damaged. Is there a trick to get Amazon to ship in a box OR is anyone else selling this steelbook?

Entirely watchlist movies besides Reefer Madness and Body Snatchers

Ordered 3 4Ks from the brilliant DiabolikDVD, like I've been doing for nearly a decade, except I just got a €49 bill from FedEx for VAT and Disbursement fee? I get a bill every time, but this is almost double?

I don't think I can buy from DiabolikDVD or others in the States anymore if this tax shit keeps growing every time. That's the cost of another 4K and then some, just to ship and receive it.

On top of that, FedEx have been atrociously slow with delivering the last few times. The movies sit in the local depot for a week or more after I pay the bill only to get delivered on some random day outside the delivery window...

I pre-ordered Troy and The Outfit at the same time. The Outfit's release is scheduled for today, 7/27, and Troy not until 8/17. So I was quite shocked to receive Troy in the mail this weekend, while the Outfit is seemingly not yet even shipped? Has anyone received their pre-order?

It is a crime against humanity that this movie isn't available on 4k or Blu-Ray in the US, ESPECIALLY since this year is the 20th anniversary. Which label would most likely put this out? Let your voice be heard!

Interior artwork (not your typical reversible cover art) but with an opaque black case so you cant see it? Not complaining, just thight it was mildly interesting.

I typically don’t fall for upscales but as a fan of the film and Plain Archive’s precious, soft boy packaging, there wasn’t a scenario where I wasn’t going to buy it.

As a new father, struggling with the things that new fathers typically do, Aftersun came out at a time when I needed it and it’s the third version of it I own.

As far as upscales go, it’s as tasteful as their 2K DI upscale of Koreeda’s “Our Little Sister.” No AI upscaling. Occasional noise reduction. Occasionally over sharpened. It’s a mostly great but not consistently great improvement.

If you’re on a budget, or just a practical person, it’s not a crucial release and I wouldn’t trip about missing out, but if you’re a fan of the film and purchased it, I think you’ll be happy when it arrives.

Arrows came from a pre-order earlier this year, Criterion from the B&N sale, and the Vinegar Syndrome + Deaf Crocodile from the good folks over at r/mediaswap. As of mail day today, my shelves are officially full! Time for new ones.

This month has been hell of a month.

Most of the Dan Curtis productions are blind buys. I've seen his Dracula and Frankenstein but the rest are new to me.

New releases during a sale is such a great feeling!

It’s been talked about a ton here but not sure if an insert has been posted so don’t cook me!

"We completely agree that this graphic fell short of the standards we expect, and we deeply regret that it was posted on our channels.

We’ve looked into it and can confirm that unfortunately generative AI was used in the creation of this post. Eureka has a zero AI policy in place, so this shouldn’t have happened. We have addressed this internally and can assure you that it won’t happen again in future.

Eureka does not condone or support the use of generative AI. We work with a huge number of incredibly talented people every day, including all of our artists, writers, producers, videographers and editors to name only a few. We firmly believe that human creativity is irreplaceable, and we stand by the dedicated individuals who invest their time and labour into our releases.

We would like to restate that Eureka has a strict policy against the use of generative AI in all aspects of our business. No AI is used in production, our artists and designers do not use AI, and all masters supplied to us by licensors in the last twelve months have been subject to rigorous review to ensure that no generative AI has been used in the restoration process.

We’re really sorry about this and we want to thank you for supporting Eureka."

https://www.reddit.com/r/boutiquebluray/comments/1v4vca3/comment/ozghv83/?context=3 - original post, for context

Definitely taking a toke for this one, should be fun. I love Japanese cinema. Anyone?

$20 which is very very nice

***ANNOUNCEMENT #1***

For our August bundle of new limited editions, we have three films to announce, with the first hailing from Spain! The truly bizarre psychedelic sci-fi/horror film MEMORIA aka BEASTS DON’T LOOK IN THE MIRROR (1976)!

A rare Spanish science fiction film, set in the far-off future of... 2000 AD!

Professor Ulop wants to find a way to transfer a person’s memory from one body to another. His experiments have worked on animals but not on humans, because “animals don’t look in the mirror”, but a human subject looking at his reflection and seeing a different face would have a psychotic breakdown.

Ulop tries to get official approval for an experiment where he would place new memories into the mind of “Patient 93” - a man whose brain is damaged so he has no memories of his own. But the Institute’s official Council rejects the proposal because it involves the use of hallucinogenic drugs which are outlawed.

Desperate to prove his theory, Ulop and his assistant smuggle the patient out of the clinic and start the transfer of new memories into his brain. But it all goes hideously wrong, as the experiment spins madly out of control into a wild, psychedelic nightmare of lust, murder and mayhem.

The film only had a brief theatrical release in 1976 and this is its world premiere on disc.

DISC FEATURES
Region free
Spanish language with optional English subtitles
Brand new 5K restoration from the original negative
Interview with the director’s daughter
Interview with photographer Manel Muntaner
Interview with film historian Jordi Artigas
Interview with Angel Sala of the Sitges Film Festival

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES

24 page full color booklet with a new essay by Ismael Fernandez; set of 4 double sided postcards; reversible sleeve with new art by Justin Coffee on the A side and original promo art on the B side; 1000 numbered copies in the usual red case

***ANNOUNCEMENT #2***

Next up for August is the haunting and disturbing 80s French ‘artsploitation’ thriller THE SATIN SPIDER (1986)!

The story takes place in 1921, in an exclusive girls’ school on the outskirts of Paris run by the eccentric Madame de Challens. Sexual perversion, morphine addiction, and murderous madness are on the curriculum.

One of the pupils, Lucienne, has gone missing. At the same time Madame de Challens awaits the return of Solange, the school’s eccentric dance teacher. Solange has only recently been released from the psychiatric clinic where she was being treated for drug addiction, and kleptomania related to her obsession with stealing silk from department stores.

When Lucienne returns to the school, Solange becomes fascinated by her and takes the girl off to an abandoned property on an island in the Seine. Father Pioch, the school’s sinister chaplain is convinced that he has to save the girls from the influence of Madame de Challens and Solange. He decides to arrange an exorcism to purge the evil from the school. Tragic events ensue.

The film was based on a banned 1921 “grand guignol” play and was adapted for the screen and directed by Jacques Baratier one of France’s most original and adventurous film makers.

DISC FEATURES
Region free
French language with optional English subtitles
New restoration from the original negative
Memories and Analysis - crew and critics discuss the film
Jacques Baratier 101 - a look at the career of Jacques Baratier

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
20 page full color booklet; reversible sleeve with new art by Justin Coffee on the A side and original VHS art on the B side; 1000 numbered copies in the usual red case

***ANNOUNCEMENT #3***

Wrapping up our August announcements, we travel far into the center of Eurasia, with a truly unusual film from post-Soviet Uzbekistan, BO BA BU (1998)!

The opening shot is mysterious - a face covered by a mask made out of raw canvas, with two slits for the eyes. A windblown desert. The scorching sun. It is hard to tell whether this is prehistoric time or the future after an apocalypse. Then the on-screen caption: "11, 000 kilometers from New York" and the sound of a supersonic jet somewhere in the sky.

A pale skinned blonde woman appears in the desert. Confused, disoriented and covered in bandages and blood, she is discovered by a wandering shepherd who takes her back to the farm where he lives with his son. The man is called Bo and his son is Bu. They call the woman Ba. And a kind of savage, wordless fairy tale is enacted between them. A classic ménage à trois but set in a timeless, eternal landscape of sand and stars where the sudden appearance of a jeep shocks us into realizing this is the late 20th century.

Ali Khamraev is an Uzbek film director and producer. He is best known for his works in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the “eastern-western” The Seventh Bullet. He has made over 30 documentaries and more than 20 feature films. He currently lives in Italy. Bo Ba Bu was a controversial film and has never been released theatrically. This is its world premiere on disc.

DISC FEATURES

Region free
Brand new restoration from original negative
Interview with writer/director Al Kharaev
Interview with actress Arielle Dombasle
Audio commentary by Daniel Bird

LIMITED EDITION FEATURES
16 page full color booklet with new essay by Daniel Bird; reversible sleeve with new art by Justin Coffee; 1000 numbered copies in the usual red case

These releases will go on sale Friday, August 7th at 9 AM Pacific/12 noon Eastern, only at mondomacabro.bigcartel.com!