« What is the point of DVD region codes? | Main | NVU is Not Quite Ready for Primetime »
Bring on the Bargain DVDs
Last week my girlfriend and I were able to find some discount collections of old movies on DVD. The woman loves all sorts of movies made before 1970. We got a horror collection chock full of old Bela Lugosi movies and a crime collection full of the film noir pulp fiction that she loves. All of these DVD packs were under ten bucks. Last year I found a DVD set of ten Sonny Chiba movies for 15 bucks. There was a two disk DVD set of Black and White Dragnet episodes from the 50s for ten bucks. Granted most of these movies and TV shows were made before residuals became standard so that helped
Just the other day we were at a dollar store and they had movies from the 40s and 50s on DVD for a buck a piece new. These were no frills DVD with no extra bells and whistles but they work. They did not have a clam shell case but came in a printed card board sleeve. Some of the DVDs did not have menus but they did have chapter stops.
The manufacturing and distribution costs of DVD is now below that of VHS tapes and since they take up a much smaller foot not on shelf space it allows retailers to stock a much greater variety of selection. Buying a season of a TV show on DVD is now a common consumer choice. The smaller size of media makes sales of archives much easier.
I remember before the DVD standard was set and Nicolas Negroponte of the MIT New Media Lab claimed that the DVD standard is important because it is the last of the consumer media formats before networked media distribution takes over the physical distribution of media. It is way to early in this century to know if the eye in the sky predictions of wired magazine type hyperbole are really going to take shape.
Until then I say bring on the bargain DVDs and would it kill you people to release more Peter Gunn on DVD.
Jake at May 4, 2004 
Raves
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/cgi-bin/mtype/mt-tb.cgi/605
Comments
I got two big collections from treeline films, bought from heartland -- fifty family classics, and fifty mystery stories, each on 12 dvds. Fun if you like old movies!
http://treelinefilms.com/product/video/multipacks.shtml
http://www.heartlandamerica.com/
I think Jack found these linked on slashdot or something.
Posted by: Anita Rowland at May 4, 2004 10:48 AM
thanks for the info. I just looked at the heartlandamerica sight and ordered the mystery pack. It is so great to find these old classic movies so cheap. Thanks again I really appreciate it.
Posted by: Kymberly at May 4, 2004 11:10 AM
I only wish The Prisoner boxset would have been released for less, but what're you going to do?
Posted by: InsaneDavid at May 4, 2004 10:57 PM
*starts to hum the Peter Gun theme*
Posted by: Sean at May 7, 2004 9:37 AM
Hmm, criminal movies before 1970! It's time that I get my hands on some of the old Edgar Wallace Moves again. They were always nice!
Posted by: drcolossus of dataleak at May 7, 2004 10:17 PM
ps: and dr. mabuse movies! ;) ..... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054371/
Posted by: drcolossus of dataleak at May 7, 2004 10:22 PM
