50% off Criterions at Barnes and Nobles.

I just thought I should keep you guys informed about this, apparently the sale is going to end August 1, 2011. (They do these a few times a year, my best guess is the next one will be hosted around November). Also the sale is being held at Barnes and Noble stores and online, so if you don't see titles in store you want you can try online HERE. I usually save my pennies for these events, (it's why I own most of the collection), so if you have too, now's the time to have some fun. Anyway, just thought I'd give my fellow MoFoers a heads up!

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Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of 'Green'?

-Stan Brakhage

I'm ordering a few of their blu-rays from the online shop because their sale price and postage to Britain is cheaper on some of them compared to Amazon.com where I usually buy Criterions from. Thanks for the heads up about August the 1st, should start ordering a few.

Thank you, Dog Star. I went and purchased a few Criterions today (Crumb, The Night of the Hunter and Ride with the Devil.) May go and purchase some more before the sale ends.

just a general question why are the criterions so fricken expensive lol

I dunno. They're supposed to take tender, loving care to the prints and make sure their DVDs/Blu-rays look *perfect*. They get director approval and all that if they can. They usually put out arthouse-type films, stuff that's not mainstream, but stuff that's also judged to be special, relevant, artistic, meaningful and bold.

I ordered Black Narcissus on blu-ray from them yesterday, worked out about £7 cheaper than getting it other places. Yay. I'll order another tonight.

Their reprints add so much more quality to the film which you can see by any of their video examples of how they do that. They also spend a lot of time getting a lot of supplements, which can be anything from super old interviews to different films entirely, their booklets are at least 20 pages each (except for the first 100 spines or so), and I'm sure there's more.

Same reason Jaguars are so frickin' expensive: if you want the best, you pay more.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

well I'm thinking of heading my way there then. If anybody has seen what B&N has for criterion, what are the best choices? I'd definitely like to get Night of the Hunter, but not sure what else. And I already have the criterion collection of Royal Tenenbaums.

They have a pretty big selection. You may want to try going with your gut based on the backs of whatever seems interesting. Then you can say "my ESP is growing"

You could always browse their online selection that I listed above to give you some ideas. Though its hard for me to provide a response to, "You should get this." Because ethically telling people how to spend their money is wrong in my eyes, and my choices may not be something you'd enjoy. Though if things don't work out this sale, rent a few more until the next deal comes around so you have a broader sense on what you want and don't want.

It will all depend on your taste, of course, coupled with what your particular Barnes & Noble location has in stock, but there is a thread where a bunch of us tried to list our top ten Criterion titles....as impossible a task as that is.

Click HERE.

If your local store doesn't have something you're craving, the 50% discount does apply to online purchases as well. Though there you'll obviously have to pay for shipping. But if there's something you really want...

And given the movies you have listed as your favorites, I'd suggest possibly...



Your list is very Eastwood-heavy, and while Criterion has none of his films they do have Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, which Clint had seen when it was released in America, and his fondness for it made him take a chance on Sergio Leone's Western reworking, A Fistful of Dollars. Leone was one of Eastwood's filmmaking mentors, the other was Don Siegel, and Criterion does have one of his efforts, the 1964 version of The Killers starring Lee Marvin, which is paired together with the original film of the same name starring Burt Lancaster and directed by Robert Siodmak. You may also like The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a gritty '70s crime picture starring Robert Mitchum about an illegal deal to buy some guns gone wrong, and like your faves Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River, it is also set in Boston, Mass. You have Hitchcock on your list, and while the Hitch movies Criterion had are long out of print they do have other "Hitchcockian" type thrillers, including Henri-Georges Clouzot's masterful Diabolique (1955) and Michael Powell's creepy Peeping Tom (1959), which is often compared to Psycho. With your penchant for revenge actioners, I'd say take a look at Jean-Pierre Melville's stylish Le Samouraï.

Happy shopping!

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WtR-mi6VtU

Yeah, I did pretty well on this year's sale:

My spree:



...More to come I imagine.

I wanted the BRD trilogy

This is cool because I have a coupon that I have been sitting on for awhile now. It has no expiration date and it is 25% off total of any purchase and it can be uses with sales prices. It was a BBB thing because of how they screwed me on my Nook. I might have to use it now.

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Thanks Holden! I could definitely see myself getting some of those when I get there tomorrow or Saturday!

... I promised more, now you'll all see, :



...my work on box-sets... 95% complete.

I think I might just have enough money to get a few once I get home.