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New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

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Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Kepler said:
Well, we all have our likes and dislikes. "Star power" for instance -- that's just the way they fill the theatres -- in retrospect, who cares? And personally I think Frenzy is a terrible waste of a good cast and The Birds, while OK, is one of the most overrated movies ever made. (Also, if you don't think Paradine is a great courtroom drama, I'm not sure what color the sun is on your world :) ). I made the "big four" list trying to be completely without controversy and also not too "challenging," in the way say the early Hitchs, particularly the silents, are. If it wasn't for that proviso I'd have included The 39 Steps, my personal favorite.
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Frenzy didn't have a star cast. Not sure what you mean there. "To Catch a Thief" is a all star power and no power. If you want a good coutroom drama by a director on par with Hitch you go with Billy Wilder's "Witness for the Prosecution". If you swapped out "To Catch a Thief" with Psycho or Notorious then I probably wouldn't have felt compelled to comment. "To Catch a Thief" you watch for eye candy (Grace Kelly) and the beautiful scenery of the French countryside, and that's about it.

Jamaica Inn was based on a story by the same women who wrote the original stories for Rebecca and The Birds (interestingly enough). Jamaica Inn was terrible. Probably the worst of his films that I have watched. I agree that all the elements were there but it was horrible. I think if I read correctly the changes Laughton wanted and Hitch agreed to had a lot to do with the ruination of the film.
 
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Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Kepler said:
Also in passing, if you know the Murder in the Red Barn story, another mainstay of late 19thC penny dreadfuls and yellowbacks, I always wish Hitch had, in his early period when he was doing those genre pieces, had explicitly done it (there are elements in lots of his films, but never a the real crux of the story). He should have loved it, to, with all the twisted sexual overtones and the infamy and social pressure that came from the crime, the trial, the execution, etc, etc...
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I never saw reference to that one and Hitch. Sounds like it make a good movie though. Hitch was supposed to make a movie about The Titanic for years but it never came to fruition.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

ScoobyDoo said:
Frenzy didn't have a star cast. Not sure what you mean there. "To Catch a Thief" is a all star power and no power. If you want a good coutroom drama by a director on par with Hitch you go with Billy Wilder's "Witness for the Prosecution". If you swapped out "To Catch a Thief" with Psycho or Notorious then I probably wouldn't have felt compelled to comment. "To Catch a Thief" you watch for eye candy (Grace Kelly) and the beautiful scenery of the French countryside, and that's about it.

Jamaica Inn was based on a story by the same women who wrote the original stories for Rebecca and The Birds (interestingly enough). Jamaica Inn was terrible. Probably the worst of his films that I have watched. I agree that all the elements were there but it was horrible. I think if I read correctly the changes Laughton wanted and Hitch agreed to had a lot to do with the ruination of the film.
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My star power and Frenzy comments were separate.

You may be right about "To Catch a Thief," but I still love it -- guilty pleasure.

"Witness for the Prosecution" is outstanding, of course -- Billy Wilder was a Cornellian, what do you expect?

Du Maurier was a wonderful story teller. Also, she was hot. Well, cute, anyway. And clearly DTF:

240px-Young_Daphne_du_Maurier.jpg
 
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Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Kepler said:
My star power and Frenzy comments were separate.

You may be right about "To Catch a Thief," but I still love it -- guilty pleasure.

"Witness for the Prosecution" is outstanding, of course -- Billy Wilder was a Cornellian, what do you expect?

Du Maurier was a wonderful story teller. Also, she was hot. Well, cute, anyway. And clearly DTF:

240px-Young_Daphne_du_Maurier.jpg
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Yeah, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the one film. Nice to have some other Hitch fans around though. Especially one who has seen as many of his films as I have.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

ScoobyDoo said:
Yeah, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the one film. Nice to have some other Hitch fans around though. Especially one who has seen as many of his films as I have.
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I got lucky a few years ago with one of those cheesy "100 Scariest Thriller" box sets they sell at B&N for about $19. In addition to the reasons I bought it (e.g., "I Eat Your Skin," and other such intellectually redeeming flicks) it included a dozen or more of Hitch's earliest work, mostly silents. I couldn't believe it -- I literally would have paid hundreds for what was basically thrown away as filler. Among what I can remember: The Farmer's Wife, Easy Virtue, Champagne, Blackmail, The Skin Game, Number 17 (really, really weird), The Man Who Knew Too Much (the original Brit version), and Jamaica Inn. I mean, seriously?! :)
 
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Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

fadetoblack&gold said:
the spanish inquisition scene/musical number is top 5 among the best comedic moments in film, as far as i'm concerned.
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!

(Yes, I know, but I changed it.)
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Kepler said:
I got lucky a few years ago with one of those cheesy "100 Scariest Thriller" box sets they sell at B&N for about $19. In addition to the reasons I bought it (e.g., "I Eat Your Skin," and other such intellectually redeeming flicks) it included a dozen or more of Hitch's earliest work, mostly silents. I couldn't believe it -- I literally would have paid hundreds for what was basically thrown away as filler. Among what I can remember: The Farmer's Wife, Easy Virtue, Champagne, Blackmail, The Skin Game, Number 17 (really, really weird), The Man Who Knew Too Much (the original Brit version), and Jamaica Inn. I mean, seriously?! :)
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All of those came in a box set for 20 bucks when I picked them up. I think those early Hitch's incorrectly became "public" domain and so anyone who could generate a copy could sell them. That's why they were so cheap. Found the details.

The Ultimate Hitchcock Collection (20 movies, 6 DVD's, 20 bucks.)

* The Lodger (1927)
* The Ring (1927)
* Champagne (1928)
* Easy Virtue (1928)
* The Farmer's Wife (1928)
* The Manxman (1929)
* Blackmail (1929)
* Juno and the Paycock (1930)
* The Skin Game (1931)
* Rich and Strange (1931)
* Number Seventeen (1932)
* The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
* The 39 Steps (1935)
* Secret Agent (1936)
* Sabotage (1936)
* Young and Innocent (1937)
* The Lady Vanishes (1938)
* Jamaica Inn (1939)
* "The Cheney Vase" (an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents")
* "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents")

To be honest I haven't watched them all. Some of the prints are bad and I can watch silent movies but I choose not to.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

JF_Gophers said:
That means their price point isn't at its optimum. If they lowered the price of items by say $0.50 and that gets 1.5x as many people to buy then they will be making more money.

But they don't seem to think like that. They think lets jack up the price so even if less people buy we still make something.
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I understand, and one theater down my way has actually started taking measures such as this, but I don't think any others have followed yet. The behavior of pricing strategies tends to favor being upwardly sticky, meaning once a price is set, it's not easily dropped. This is for a host of reasons, but it's as much a mindset of companies that they don't want to let go of that perceived extra income at higher prices.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Hamlet 2

Quirky little comedy/sendup of the "inspirational teacher" movies. You definitely have to have a certain kind of a sense of humor, I think, to watch this. I thought it was decent, and if I end up seeing it again sometime I'd probably like it a little more. Elisabeth Shue is great in her bit part, and the running joke about her is pretty good.
 
Went and saw the Green Hornet tonight. It's pretty good as long you're not expecting shakesphere. It's more like a summer popcorn flick. Shibby goes BOOM!! They have a cool car, some decent fights, a few funny moments and one liners, and some eye candy in there as well.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

bigmrg74 said:
Went and saw the Green Hornet tonight. It's pretty good as long you're not expecting shakesphere. It's more like a summer popcorn flick. Shibby goes BOOM!! They have a cool car, some decent fights, a few funny moments and one liners, and some eye candy in there as well.
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Thanks for the tip. I hate snowglobes.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

Good article on negative reviews of movies that went on to be successful. Then again, at least a third of them are dead on. :)
 
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Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

I don't have a problem with the Inception soundtrack. Then again, I play low brass instruments and marched for a combined 7 years. That soundtrack would make an awesome DCI show, and it will probably happen in the next five years.
 
Re: New/Rented Movies: Bring Back Laserdiscs!

state of hockey said:
I don't have a problem with the Inception soundtrack. Then again, I play low brass instruments and marched for a combined 7 years. That soundtrack would make an awesome DCI show, and it will probably happen in the next five years.
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You're one of those brown note people, aren't you?
 
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