Doug: My oldest son is getting into buying films on video. He's amassed quite a collection already, from action pics to Disney animated features to the ESPN "30 for 30" series to some of the "classics". He's become a real sucker for the large $5 bins found at stores like Wal-Mart. When we were moving the boys into college a week ago we did run to the local Wal-Mart for some things they needed for their rooms. Sure enough, we made it to the electronics section and checked out their budget offerings. I made strong recommendations for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Bonnie and Clyde. Previously, I'd purchased him Stripes and Caddyshack -- hey, these are the "classics" I was referring to above!Doug: So what are some flicks that you might expect to see on a discount rack that you would highly recommend to a friend? This can be anything from 1960's staples like The Graduate to '80's films such as Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club. I'm thinking today of films that when I catch 'em on the TV while flipping channels, I'll stop for a few moments -- or even the entire show -- because I just love them!
Sometimes I'm even surprised at the caliber of films one can find in those "deep discount" bins (although we do avoid WalMart like the plague, I must admit). And sometimes they'll be films that are alternately available in expensive Anniversary Editions (and the like) elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteYOUNG FRANKENSTEIN; THE WARRIORS; THE WILD BUNCH; STAND BY ME; pretty much any Stephen King film (some good, some awful); EVIL DEAD series; the entire original SHERLOCK HOLMES television show from the 50's; THE BIRDS; but of course about 95% of those bins will be crammed with utterly forgettable mainstream films that lacked any staying power whatsoever.
HB
Something really common here in Croatia (and neighboring countries) is cheap DVDs at newspaper kiosks and at grocery store checkouts. Most of them I find uninteresting, but here's some I've picked up for about $5-6 dollars over the years which I would definitely recommend:
ReplyDeleteBlues Brothers
Gosford Park
Apocalypse Now
Broken Flowers
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Man Who Wasn't There
The Third Man
Amelie
La Dolce Vita
And also several Pixar (Incredibles, Bug's Life, Monsters Inc.) and non-Pixar animated features (Robots), the complete Fawlty Towers, and more documentaries than I care to list here.
By the way: Stripes. Just watched this on TV about a week ago. Still pretty funny, although I have to admit that I like that last part, where it basically turns into an action film, less and less with repeated watchings. Also, I think it's one of those movies, like "The Man Who Knew Too Little" or "Larger Than Life," that completely depends on Bill Murray to not only make it watchable, but actually enjoyable.
If we're strictly discussing films we WOULD find in those binds, not just 'classic must-see' films in general.., I found 'Galaxy Quest' at Walmart for $2.99 once, HAD to buy it.
ReplyDeleteIf your son's interested in, well, date movies for a perhaps budding interest in college coeds, you CAN'T go wrong with 'Love Actually', one of my all-time favs.
Definitely 'Ferris Bueller'.
I recently scored 6 of the early Marx Brothers Paramount films (incl. Duck Soup and Horse Feathers) in a 2-disk set for only $9.99. Juuuuust outside of today's financial stipulation, but still a steal for awesome entertainment.
An even better deal is grabbin' those Fleischer Studios Superman films on those $1.99 DVDs. Can't beat 'em.
Edo, Great call on Fawlty Towers, STILL on my list to pickup someday soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, typically 'Firefly' boxsets are A MUST..!! Cheap enough as well.
'Stripes' never gets old, and I first watched it a few years before I went to Basic Training at Fort Knox where it was filmed. Oddly enough, Murray summed it up his time filming at Knox pretty well..:
"It captured what it was like on an Army base: It was cold, you had to wear the same green clothes, you had to do a lot of physical stuff, you got treated pretty badly, and had bad coffee".
Yeeeeah, that pretty much nails how I remembered Knox back in 1987...
HB raises a great point about films simultaneously living in the discount bins AND being re-issued as collector's cuts, director's cuts, what have you...
ReplyDeleteAnd just about all of the Mel Brooks movies are a fun watch for $5!
The Warriors -- I do need to see that again!
Doug
Wal-Mart had a Sherlock Holmes DVD set in the $5 bins. It included the 1950s TV series and a couple of feature films, some with Basil Rathbone, some with Arthur Wontner. I wish it had included the 1939 version of Hound of the Baskervilles, but I guess you can't have everything.
ReplyDeleteWhile in Seattle at the beginning of the summer, the wife and I stumbled upon a used record/DVD/video games store and picked up a bunch of discs.
ReplyDeleteThe DVDs were 5 for $20!
We ended up getting Children of Men, Edward Scissorhands, High Fidelity, Magnolia and something else. . . I forget.
I am not usually one much for buying movies though - I just don't watch them enough.
But for $5 definitely Deliverance (one of my all-time favorite films), Princess Bride, just about anything by Spike Lee (but esp. Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and Crooklyn).
If I found a $5 copy of GalaxyQuest I'd definitely pick it up - I think it might just be the best "Star Trek" movie of all time. :)
I wouldn't mind finding cheap copies of Galaxy Quest and (especially) Warriors, which I just love, but they're hard to come by in my neck of the woods. In fact, in the case of the latter, I may just break down and buy a used copy from the Amazon UK marketplace, as there are often copies for less than a pound available.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Breakfast Club and Stand By Me. Also Princess Bride, Some Kind of Wonderful, American Graffitti, The Quiet Man; and obviously the original Star Wars trilogy and the Back to the Future movies...but everyone KNOWS they're classics!
ReplyDeleteMike W.
That "previously viewed" market that's become so mainstream may drive the price down even farther on unsold new DVD's. The Giant Food that I was getting groceries at today had a large bin of previously viewed DVD's for $5.99 each. Included among many first-tier, recent films were both THOR and CAPTAIN AMERICA. (Although I still refrained from picking them up, as times are a trifle tight right now. . . )
ReplyDeleteHB
I found Excalibur several years ago in the $5 bin. I hadn't seen it since I saw it in the theater years ago. Also found a nice Get Shorty/Be Cool combo in the same bin much later, which led me to Elmore Leonard's books.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Lots stores are great for their $3 bins. I picked up several Bond films, After Hours,Memento,Arsenic & Old Lace, Outland, Great Escape and tons more. They also have a $5 rack as well, but I've had less finds there.
ReplyDeleteI recently found Harold and Maude, Outlaw Josey Wales and Bullitt in the Bin of Bacteria.
ReplyDeleteAsking this group to discuss the merits of various films is a dangerous game, friend-o. But hell yeah The Wild Bunch, Apocalypse Now and Excalibur. I might mention Once Upon a Time in the West, Repo Man, The Thing (first one), anything Cohen Bros, Watchmen. For a guilty pleasure, Blair Witch Project. And Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels! Good clean fun for all.
ReplyDelete