This week doesn’t have much for first time releases, but it’s got some fantastic upgraded or discount releases.
First, the DVD picks:
- Babylon 5 Seasons one, two, three, four, and five at a new, lower price.
- Baccano Vol. 4
- Bergman Island: A documentary on Ingmar Bergman
- Black Cat Complete Collection: Anime series about an assassin for a secret society who goes straight.
- Black Magic 2: Shaw Brothers wuxia film, which either has the heroes fighting Hopping Vampires or Zombies.
- Bleach Vol. 17
- Body Armor
- Born: This movie, about a woman impregnated by a demon in her sleep, is currently bestseller #53 in Amazon.com’s “Movies & TV > Special Interests > Parenting & Childcare > Pregnancy & Childbirth” category. I’m sure it’s loaded with useful tips for expecting mothers.
- Burn Notice: Season Two
- The Cell 2
- Chess in Concert: This is a new performance of Tim Rice’s smash hit musical Chess, inspired by the chess matches between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Except they moved the location of the match to Bangkok. Which is why one of the songs from the musical is called “One Night In Bangkok” (yes, that “One Night in Bangkok”).
- The Diary of Anne Frank
- Essential Art House releases (Criterion Collection transfers, no bonus features and a correspondingly lower price) for each of the following: Ashes and Diamonds, Forbidden Games, Hidden Fortress, Last Holiday, Richard III, and Variety Lights, all of which are available in a six movie box set edition.
- Eureka Seven Complete Collection Vol. 1
- Everwood: The Complete Second Season
- Family Guy, Vol. 7
- THE FBI FILES – Season 3 – AS SEEN ON DISCOVERY CHANNEL!!!!!!!!!!: That has to be one of the most unprofessional titles I’ve ever seen. How many exclamation points do you need before it’s just far too many?
- Friday the 13th (Theatrical Cut)
- Friday the 13th (Extended Cut)
- Friday the 13th, Part V: A New Beginning
- Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
- His Name Was Jason
- Gilmore Girls Seasons one, two, three, four and five.
- H2O Season 1
- I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single: Season One
- Jesse Stone: Thin Ice
- Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple Season 1 Part 2
- Moonwalk One: Director’s Cut: Starring Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins
- Morning Light
- One Tree Hill Seasons one, two, three, four and five.
- One Week
- The Perfect Sleep
- Rifftrax for each of the following: Best of the Shorts 1, Best of the Shorts 2, Carnival of Souls, House on Haunted Hill, Little Shop of Horrors, Missile to the Moon, Night of the Living Dead, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Reefer Madness, and Swing Parade.
- Saving Grace: Season Two
- The Secret Life of an American Teenager: Season 2
- Sergeant Preston of the Yukon: Complete Season Two
- Seventh Seal: Originally reviewed here.
- Simoun: Complete Collection
- South of Nowhere Season 3
- Sword of the Stranger: Period Samurai film. Also on Blu-Ray.
- The Three Stooges Collection, Vol. 6: 1949-1951
- TNA Lockdown 2009
- Transformers: Complete First Season (25th Anniversary Edition): Distribution rights have changed companies. Shout! Factory has an excellent track record for this sort of release.
- Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Vol. 4
- Undefeatable: Hong Kong action film starring Cynthia Rothrock.
- What’s Up, Tiger Lily?
- WWE Judgement Day 2009
- Zoey 101 Season 3 and Season 4.
Now, the Blu-Ray picks:
- American Gangster
- Burn Notice: Season Two
- The Cell 2
- Diary of Anne Frank
- Dr. Strangelove
- Fracture
- Friday the 13th (Extended Killer Cut and Theatrical Cut)
- Friday the 13th Part 2
- Friday the 13th Part 3 3D
- Ghostbusters
- The Greatest Game Ever Played
- John Adams
- Lost: Season One
- Lost: Season Two
- Miracle
- Morning Light
- Nightwish: The End of An Era: This is their last concert with Tarja Turunen on vocals.
- No Way Back
- One Week
- Rolling Stones: The Biggest Bang: This is the band’s concerts in Austin, TX and Rio de Janerio
- Seventh Seal: Originally reviewed here.
- Spaceballs
- Striking Distance
- Sword of the Stranger:
Finally, the picks of the week. AceCaseOR says, “This is a really good week. There’s Ghostbusters & Spaceballs on Blu-Ray. There’s Season 2 of Burn Notice. If I had to pick one thing, it would be Ghostbusters.” Fiziko says, “this week is all about the upgrades to existing content: Blu-Ray owners should pick up The Seventh Seal and/or Ghostbusters, and anyone with DVD capability should pick up Babylon 5 at the new prices if they passed the first time.”
Why is $54 seen as a “new low price” for B5? :-| I’ve seen them cheaper in most stores, when they’ve been in stock.
Also, the BluRay of Dr Strangelove should be at the top of anyone’s list.
I’d say Dr. Strangelove is up there, but The Hidden Fortress for $14.99 and the first season of Transformers for $19.99? For those of us without
Playstation 3sBlu-Ray players, the selection is quite nice.The original MSRP for B5 was more like $90.
I’m fairly certain I’ve seen seasons 1-3 in FutureShop and Best Buy for under $30.
Still, they’re hard to find and they’re definitely something that I’d like to own.
A lot of retailers drop the prices on current stock when a price reduction is announced. It’s easier than the alternatives, being
a) telling customers theirs are priced $40 higher than the competition’s because it’s older stock, and
b) trying to keep track of the date of the price reduced sets and changing prices months down the line.
Repricing stock that isn’t moving when the announcement comes is just easier.
Don’t I know it. I went through and dropped the prices on all the games in my store that haven’t sold since Christmas at the end of May. Of course, my reason for doing it was more because June is the fiscal year end and the more things I sell, the fewer things I have to count for inventory.
I hate doing inventory – “Oh look, someone stole a Master Chief figure. How wonderful.”
Man I still am waiting for B5 on blu-ray… Someday… maybe…
I suspect that will be a long wait. The visual effects shots already look grainy when cropped and widened to 16:9 on DVD. That’ll be worse on Blu-Ray, unless they get the budget Star Trek got to go back and recreate everything. (I’d pay extra for that, if anyone’s listening.)