Does anyone know why the sale hasn’t been announced on their website yet?
I bet that B&N is trying to delay the announcement till the last minute, trying to get people to buy the Criterions at full price while they can.
I just got a 15% coupon off of one item to top things off. Looks like that Cassavetes boxset will be just over 40 dollars for me.
Possible Blind Busy
Salo
Kicking and Screaming
Russian Ark
Army of Shadows
Which one would you recomend?
If someone recommends it, it isn’t really a blind buy
Berjuan – Army of Shadows. No question.
Yes, Berjuan you are breaking all the rules.
Technically what you should do if you want to successfully pull off a blind buy is walk into the DVD section with your eyes closed, grab something random, and than some how get out your wallet. Tell the person working there to take the right amount of money, and then remain with your eyes closed until you have hidden the DVD in the trunk of your car. After driving home, close your eyes once more, get the DVD out of the trunk, manage to get to the DVD player in your house, and put the DVD in. You may open your eyes when you hear sound, and then you must watch the movie.
I feel very strongly like I’m being attacked.
Haha don’t feel that way. I was only kidding. And above all you are correct, about that no longer being a blind buy.
I am now considering walking to the Criterion section and just pulling something at random with my eyes closed, just for the fun of it.
Sam Fuller box set
or
Colonel Blimp + Ikiru ?
Fredo
The more I think about it the more sense it makes, Le Samurai is in my top 3 best films of all time.
Drew
lol, I don’t know the B & N floor plan that well and I run the risk of ending up with a yoga instructional dvd, not to mention the drive back home.
Berjuan – If Le Samurai is in your top 3 of all time, you’ll definitely like Army of Shadows. I’m actually planning on buying all of the Melville Criterions (minus Bob Le Flambeur and Les Infantes Terribles) even though there are two I still haven’t seen. Le Samourai is great but Army of Shadows is slightly better in my opinion because it’s dealing with a more serious topic.
ikiru is amazing. col blimp, i couldn’t get through.
Fredo, Isn’t it the best to suddenly discover an amazing director? I am taking your advice, and getting at least Army of Shadows, and maybe more Melville, so I am crossing my fingers they have as much of an effect on me as they did to you.
Ok, so I’m new to Tarkovsky…should I get Andrei Rublev or Solaris?
Drew – It’s like a miracle. I was just talking to my roommate about that – he loves Spielberg so I told him, “Imagine you had never heard of Spielberg or any of his films and I just said, you gotta check this directors’ work out. It’s amazing. Here, watch these movies.” And then I would hand him Jaws, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, whatever. That’s sort of how I feel about discovering Melville. It’s very exciting and this is why I constantly am searching out new movies. Yeah, there are a lot of films that I have seen that I didn’t like but every once in a while, one pops out. This is why I go to the theater a lot. People say “There are no new good movies anymore” and my response is always, “Yes there are, you just have to search for them.” Almost all the great movies I’ve seen this year are ones I wouldn’t have heard about had I not been seeking out lesser known films (Three Monkeys, Tetro, Moon, Julia, 12).
Here’s what I’ll say about Melville and this should be a good indicator of whether you think you’ll like his films. What I appreciate most about his movies is his technique. A lot of his films are not deep character studies or emotional dramas. What appeals to me is the cinematic technique he uses to tell his story. His precision is incredible and his confidence in what he’s doing reminds me of the confidence Kubrick had. He is not Cassavetes, he is not Todd Field. Melville seems to me someone who influenced people like Billy Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Brian De Palma, etc. If you like the films from the 70s that had that very deliberate pacing (The French Connection and The Day of the Jackal are the most obvious examples of the kind of pacing I’m talking about) where tension is built through lots of transportation and long sequences with no dialogue, you should like his films. Army of Shadows is a good place to start because it actually is an interesting character study but I’ve also been very impressed with both Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge. I haven’t decided which of those two I like better – I’m inclined to say Le Samourai because it’s shorter than Le Cercle Rouge. But I really need to see them all again, which I plan to do once I buy them.
I am going to start on Melville too. I hope I love him.
Man, I’m about to be stealing from B&N. Ordering offline gives me %10 off, then being a member gives me another %15 off, then I just got a coupon from B&N for another %15 off in addition to the already going to be %50 off for the sale! This is awesome!
Where do all of you get these coupons from?
Fredo, I’m excited. Also Le Cercle Rouge is in a double feature with another of his at the Aero in August!
Oh man, I may have to check that out. The other one is Le Doulos, which is one of the two I haven’t seen but plan on buying. Damn, why do they show all the good movies at the Aero? The Egyptian is so much closer for me!
Maybe I’m just being paranoid, because like some people have mentioned, the sale hasn’t been posted on B&N’s website, and I will be EXTREMELY pissed off if this sale somehow turns out to be a hoax. I’ve had my eyes on Late Spring, Rashomon, Ran (if I can find it in the stores) for a while and will be down at the store on the fourteenth; those are the first three I have to get, but I will get more later.
2001 Space Odyssey on Blu-ray at Amazon for $11.49, damn that’s hot!!
I heard about this sale from a Barnes and Noble clerk.
It isn’t a lie: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav.asp?r=1&PID=28991
It also states: " ‘50% Off Criterion DVDS & Blu-rays’ icon on select DVDs online at Barnes & Noble.com." So online and in store purchases will count. The term “select” worries me though.
hmmm…select huh….
Select means that it is only the criterion movies as opposed to ALL DVDs. You can stop being paranoid, folks. I promise it is what I/Loofrin say it is.
“The term “select” worries me though”
uuuuugh… me too
Melville titles are absolutely great choice ( Le Samourai & Army of Shadows are musthaves). I might pick up Le Doulos or Le Deuxième Souffle
Law
Will this affect online stock? Because paranoia is one my specialities.