Mike's Christmas Haul: DVD Edition

Let me preface this. First of all my birthday is on January 3 so some of this is a birthday haul as well. Some of this is also from boxing day shopping. Rogers Video (Canada's Blockbuster) had a sale on used DVDs where if you bought one you got 2 free. Beat Goes On, the place where I buy a lot of my hard-to-find movies used, had a boxing day sale where everything was 40% off. Barnes & Nobel also had a half off sale on Criterion Collection DVDs so some of these came from that as well.

One of my favourite sitcoms. Every season was on sale at Best Buy for $9.99.

This one came from Rogers Video. I haven't seen it.

This is one of the movies I wanted to see before making my best of list. It also came from Rogers.

Review here.

A beautiful farewell.

This movie was always kicking around and so I never got it and then it went out of print so I figured, I found a copy, may as well get it now. Thus concludes my quest to own all Chaplin features.

The only Dario Argento movie that I've seen that I've liked is Susperia, but this one is supposed to be one of his masterpieces as well. I guess we'll see.

My least favourite Daron Aronofsky movie, I always felt that a brilliant version of this movie is sitting on a cutting room floor somewhere, but with all the Black Swan love, I figured I'd give it another try.

One step closer to owning all Disney animated features. Just Lion King remains.

This was 2/$15 at Wal-Mart and I was getting one so I figured I'd pick this up as well as it seemed to work for a lot of people even though I'm only a so-so Polanski fan.

It's about time I picked this one up.

Another from Rogers.

2/$15 at Wal-Mart. Not one of Scorsese's best but still worth having because I have almost everything else from the master. Review Here. And more Here

Out of print Mike Figgis movie from his experimental digital period that also gave birth to Timecode and Hotel. This one is the best, and hardest to find, of the three.

God bless you Criterion.

Worth it for Ordet alone.

I've never seen this show but always wanted to, so when it came on sale at Best Buy I figured I'd pick it up.

Spike Lee's little seen musical masterpiece. I completely forgot about this movie and didn't even realize it had been released on DVD. I'm glad I stumbled upon it by accident when making my Christmas list.

All of the seasons where on sale at Best Buy for $9.99. Unfortunately this is the only one they had in stock by the time I got there.

The last Woody Allen movie I wanted to be in my collection.

I'll by anything Bergman so I was happy when Criterion announced they would be releasing this hard-to-get Bergman film.

After the 40% off I only paid around $25 for this 3 Disc edition of the Kurosawa masterpiece.

I had this recommended to me by one of my Film Studies teachers who I still keep in periodic contact with. I hope she's write about how great it is.

Minor Jim Jarmusch is still better than no Jim Jarmusch at all.

I've been waiting to get my hands on Last Year at Marienbad since seeing it for the first time many years ago so I'm so happy that Criterion finally released it. One day I'm going to write a great piece on this masterpiece.

Many consider this Godard's best recent movie. I guess we'll see.

Love Patrice Lacount.

Another recommendation from that Film Studies teacher when it comes to Godard. I think I now have just about every Godard movie I need until someone (wink, wink Criterion) releases Weekend.

I now own most of Louis Malle's major works (except Elevator to the Gallows) so I think I'll try to see some of the more obscure works before delving any deeper into his filmography. Any recommendations?

I have a love-hate relationship with Antoninoni in so much as that his movies are not pleasant to watch usually (especially for a Fellini lover) but some of them, like this one, his first in colour, are absolutely fascinating.

My love for Melville continues.

David Mamet's underrated crime film was finally released by Criterion so it was only a matter of time before I snagged it up. I now own all major Mamet films.

Review Here

Review Here

2 Kurosawa masterpieces at 40% off.

I love Tati and this is one of my favourites of his. So funny and lovely as Tati was famous for.

Mike's DVD Haul

As promised this will be my last Haul until Christmas. There should be seven titles within this set but I got hosed on a copy of Passolini's Teorema, which only had Spanish subtitles. This is of course a lesson to those who use Ebay. Read the descriptions before hitting buy:

Like any great filmmaker, Truffaut has those films that defined him. The ones that his name is always instantly associated with (400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Day for Night) and then there are those like The Soft Skin which not many people talk about. I haven't seen this one but since it has gone out of print I decided to scoop it up before the price gets to ridiculous highs.

David Mament, one of America's greatest directors, certainly one of the greatest of all screenwriters and playwrights. This isn't as good as House of Games but in typical Mamet fashion it weaves a complex web of mystery and thrills in a way only Mamet can. Steven Martin has maybe never been better.

John Sayles was on a hot streak in the 90s, making one great movie after another. This is one of those and one more off the list on my quest to own everything Sayles did (except Eight Men Out). Now if someone would only get City of Hope out there. Where's the Criterion Collection when ya need em?

Mike Leigh made one brillant film (Bleak Moments) and then dissapeared for many years, being lost in TV land. I have no idea if that TV output was any good as I've never seen any of it, but he certainly returned to feature film in a big way with High Hopes and hasn't looked back since.

Peter Greenaway is one of the most artistically challenging filmmakers out there. Whether or not you actually like his movies (it's hard) or just stand back and admire them, one cannot deny that he is a great and truely original filmmaker. This film is one of his most beautiful; a visual treasure. Anyone who thinks Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam are the definition of film style need get on this right now. So good you could watch it on mute and it would still be just as good.

I haven't seen this one but 13 Conversations About One Thing (by the same filmmakers) was one of the very best films of the decade so of course I needed to see their debute as well. This has been described as In the Company of Men with women. Good enough for me.