Topic: The Movie Thread

I can also thoroughly recommend “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”.

However I will add, that if you can, check out the movie that inspired it. Preston Sturges’ “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941). Arguably the funniest American movie ever made. Which is thoroughly subjective, I know. In fact, once again, almost every Preston Sturges comedy is an absolute classic.

In case you ask, he is not related to John Sturges, the director of The Magnificent Seven, and the Great Escape.

I'm going to migrate this comment to the movie thread for tangents sake @BearsEatBeets But I can recommend today's... "mystery film", as it is well worth a watch. And Nicolas Cage has been in a few good movies since you last partook, to be fair, and actually it seems like he is in some kind of movie making resurgence period right now, I didn't realise he had worked this much recently to be honest, after a run of quite a few years (decades, nearly) of pretty bad to awful movies. I knew there were a few modern outliers, but, looking now, there's actually a few more I've not seen that I wasn't even aware of.

Dream Scenario sounds like a bit of a modern day Being John Malkovich affair, for example, so I'm going to have to investigate that one, for sure.

And to bring a tangent full circle to a recent movie thread discussion, I now need to see if Red Rock West is also hard to find physical, like Bringing Out The Dead, Wild At Heart etc. (Seems like there is a questionable quality Blu Ray available. But the good release was limited to 6000 copies) maybe one for the digital pile.

@Ravix

Red Rock West is available from Amazon UK easily enough.
Blu-ray is £14.99.

It seems to have properly remastered, so the quality ought to okay.

And I had forgotten all about that movie. And ‘The Last Seduction’ is another excellent John Dahl neo-noir. I may have to track a copy of them both for myself, too.

@Ravix I'll keep an eye out for it if it's added to Prime. I've dropped all the other subs for a while so maybe I'll start taking a chance on some random films on there.

Unrelated topic and it's a documentary show, but about films. I recently stumbled upon the 'Icons Unearthed' series on Prime and thought they have been an interesting watch. Basically each series is devoted to a franchise of film. I've watched the Spider-man and Batman ones and nearing the end of the Lord of the Rings series.

@Matthewnh my concern is that it was the region A locked limited release that was from a 4K restoration, whereas us chumps in region B seemingly only have an old transfer from an old master which hasn't reviewed that well on Bluray.com

It isn't even available digitally on Amazon, which was my backup plan. So I guess the bad blu is my only option if I do want it 🤷‍♂️ guessing they didn't have enough interest to create a 4k release from the 4k master either 😭

I understand.

That is the good thing about 4K UHD discs, in that they have no region coding. You should be able to import one from anywhere, and it will play on any machine. As far as I am aware. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Whilst I was investigating Red Rock West on Amazon, something popped up.

Master And Commander:The Far Side of the World. (4K Steelbook). Getting a release in September.

The moment I saw that, I instantly preordered it. As I say, I am trying to rebuild my collection.

The funny thing is that I have just bought a turntable, so I would like to start collecting vinyl as well.

@Matthewnh 99% of 4k's are region unlocked, I believe, yes. Another plus for that format.

Ah, collecting. People warned me it would be like this... so I wouldn't want to also be starting up a Vinyl collection at the same time. Good luck with that 😁

Personally i'm going to try and limit impulse buys (ha) and maybe get round to listing what would be best owned in 4K, Blu Ray, or digital for lesser available or lower quality physical movie releases. And weighting that list against the quality of each release on both physical formats. And maybe focus on specific genres at a time, or some kind of logic to keep it ticking nicely.

Part of me wants to make sure I have a higher quality collection than any digital streamer could amass, which is helped by the split in streamers forcing them to be spread much thinner than is ideal to the consumer, which is a large part of why I decided to go back to the physical format for the first time since DVD, really 😅 but for now, I should focus on getting my 'must own' titles sorted.

I will need Arrow and Second Sight to step up their game to help me out, though 😂 as the more I investigate, the more I find cult classics left wanting of a proper 4K release. And nearly everything I think of would suit their more boutique/limited market release type.

I tell myself that I am only replacing the discs I lost when I moved house last year, and yet somehow I still keep adding new ones.

I also keep telling myself that I am only planning to get the discs for movies that will be stunning visually. The kind of experience that will look and feel amazing on the big projector screen. I used to work in a cinema, and will always strive for that same feeling at home.

I also insist that if I ever manage to get ahold of “Lawrence Of Arabia” on 4K, then that will be the last disc I buy. That is the one I really want, and it would round out my collection.

But whether or not I have enough self control to hold myself to all of that, we shall see…

@Matthewnh I have a pre-order in for the 4K steelbook of "Lawrence..." that releases August 18th, so here's hoping I got it in early enough (the store I order from doesn't always get enough stock to cover all pre-orders when stock is extremely limited... as this one seems to be).

@Ravix I have a list on my phone and also on a wish list on Amazon.

I'm mainly only try to buy favourites that i know I like. I had way too many blu rays that i bought as an impluse buy, so try not to do that as much. And when I do, it is always something I've seen. Like i boought Universal Soldier on 4K as it was part of a deal, even though I wasn't sure I liked it that much. But I when I saw it I enjoyed more than I thought. The transfer is top too.

@Matthewnh @FuriousMachine I was going to say Lawrence was due out soon, but actually I think it sold out instantly in the UK 😂

🤞for Norway, Furious.

I think i'm going to have to start checking pre order lists just in case something long forgotten, or must-own pops up and is the type that would otherwise be a pain to find/risk selling out 😅

P.S.A Arrow are releasing the standard edition Dollars Trilogy this year, if that tempts any of you.

@JohnnyShoulder haha it's a good thing to do. My list is the random thoughts flying around my head at the moment. I nearly started putting pen to paper, as it were, but it got a bit complex when I started to look and half the stuff wasn't even available here in 4K.

Currently I have decided to watch a few standard Blu Rays, make up my mind on the quality of those. And then I can at least rule out the dreaded double dip. I know I'd want Resevoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, for example, but I already have a Tarantino Blu Ray Box set, some duplicate Blu's and maybe even some old DVDs of too 😂

I started with Kill Bill the other night, but I don't think it is one I'd get in 4K anyway as I just don't love it the same way, but that Blu Ray is actually pretty good quality so it does give me pause for thought on which movies to target for 4k. I might leave Tarantino alone for now. I did double/double dip True Romance, though, but i'm happy with the Arrow 4K for that (first 4K I had on, I think) and no doubt I'll be watching that once more around the time GTA 6 comes out. F*** maybe I should pre order the Pulp Fiction steelbook 😂 (hmm, is that a reissue or just first time released in the UK? as it says it was released in 2022 on bluray.com and was a limited edition)

@Ravix All the films on my list are on 4K, but they are some which aren't available in this country as the couple of reviewers I watch are based in the states.

Impulse failure today.

I grabbed the last 'In Bruges' (Second Sight) that was available and while I was at it the 'Flow' Limited Edition 4K just leaped at me scratching and clawing, as cats do, but then the Godfather 50th Anniversary Collection demanded to join the family, and, to be honest, it was an offer I couldn't refuse 😬

Still a little miffed that I missed the John Wick box set when it was on a good offer, so I will save some more of my wishlist items and check back on Black Friday or whenever there's a specific large sale for some more efficient collection building.

I am still pondering the Taxi Driver 4K steelbook as part of a zavvi 2 for £30 sale though 🤷‍♂️ but still not sure about Zavvi, or if i really want to pair it with D&D 😂

Didn't I recently say I was content for now, too 🤦‍♂️

@Ravix

@JohnnyShoulder I know, right? 😅

Any idea when the best sales tend to be, outside of black friday? I do at least try to be sensible in that regard.

I feel like Zavvi must have some catch too, Taxi Driver 4k Steelbook for £15 seems too good to be true, are they just buying stuff off CEX and newly shrink wrapping it or something 😅

@Th3solution Bit of a late reply but just wanted to add 'A Serious Man' to the Coen Brothers recommendations. A much quieter film compared to the rest of their output, but a smart exploration of faith, with one of my favourite closing shots ever.

Miller's Crossing is a personal fave too, although I've not seen it for years so I'm probably due a rewatch.

@Ravix Apart from the usual Prime day sales, I'm not too sure. The three for 50 quid deal has ended i think, so another one maybe not too far away,

In the past I've found some better deals just before black Friday, but the last couple of years it has gotten a bit better.

You seen Dark City? That has recently had a Arrow 4K release. Mind bending and noir-ish that tooke me a few watches to understand it.

@JohnnyShoulder cheers. Suppose I'll get my wishlist properly sorted and attack it once more maybe around black friday times. Maybe there will be some kind of late summer sale on box sets though🤞 so far i've used box sets being on sale quite effectively to go from not having a collection to having a decent collection, probably the cheapest and best way to add multiple quality titles at once.

You know what, Dark City popped up on a browse the other day and I surprised myself that I'd never even heard of it, considering i've seen all kind of cyberpunky, noiry, sci fi nonsense: Johny Mnemonic, for example 😅 a casual watch of the trailer made me think it probably isn't worth going for a 4K of, but I might rent it one day, or get a Blu to see what I've been missing. Apparently it is a good 4K, but it looks like quite a bleak, dark film, grimy film. Watching Blade Runner is next on the docket, anyway, and because i'm playing Cyberpunk again all these similarly styled things seem to fit together nicely.

@Gremio108 I can second more Coen recommendations, and you mentioning Miller's Crossing has made me think... i'm sure I had a Steelbook knocking around somewhere, and I can't for the life of me think where it could be. Considering i've been sorting out media storage recently, I can't remember when I last saw the box even 😬 mildly irritating

@JohnnyShoulder Dark City is an absolute gem! So many evocative shots. My Arrow copy is lying on my shelf and is my next 4K watch. Really looking forward to exploring the extras on this one

@Ravix If you have an OLED TV, Dark City will look well nice with those inky blacks.

Standard 4K's are on offer through the year, box sets, collectors editions and Steelbooks tend to be on sale in the main advertised sales.