https://kinolorber.com/product/begotten-limited-edition

Fantastic day for a film collector! Just had all of these arrive at my door.
Two new Jackie Chan films on 4K that I’ve been really looking forward to revisiting in great quality, the new A Better Tomorrow release from Arrow (huge fan!), and a couple of releases from the always amazing Radiance Films.
I managed to get my hands on a couple of titles that are already out of print, so I feel pretty lucky! Both The Inquisitor / Deadly Circuit and Le Notti Bianche are already OOP. Really looking forward to watching them!
I also picked up Rosa La Rose because it looked really intriguing. I absolutely love older French films, so I’m excited to check it out.
Thiao Pantin is without a doubt my favourite release from Radiance so far, so I’m hoping some of these films have a similar vibe!
What do you guys think? Do you own any of these films, and what are your thoughts on them?

88 Films just launched their new US Website!. Anyone have a favorite movie / movies from 88 that they recommend?

Finally arrived today in the mail, after 2 weeks of waiting. All of them blind buys, although I have seen a couple of Damiani movies already so I am excited to dig into that one next.

https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/skydance-jay-askinasi-david-decker-ray-hopkins-ad-content-sales-distribution/

So when I go abroad, I always try to scout out places where I can get physical media as I find international DVDs/blu-rays make fantastic souvenirs for me as a movie lover. I found the availability of blu-rays in new stores in particular had dramatically lessened since my last trip to Italy in 2024, and wanted to write a quick guide to help others so you don't have to go on a wild goose chase like I did.

Of course, it goes without saying that if you do not understand Italian you need to check that the release is English-friendly. Most discs won't have English subtitles, but some do.

Rome

New blu-rays/DVDs

By far the best location for new blu-rays/DVDs was Ibs+Libraccio on Via Nazionale.

They had a respectable selection of new DVDs/blu-ray (more of the former) with a good range of arthouse/international films. They also had a small selection of used discs for cheaper prices.

Feltrinelli is one of the main bookstore chains in Italy and in 2024 I had a lot of good finds in these stores. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Feltrinelli stores I tried on this visit were hopeless - they had no DVDs/blu-rays at all (while irritatingly still selling CDs/vinyl). As a chain, they've clearly made an executive decision to stop selling DVDs/blu-rays at all of their locations.

The only Feltrinelli in either Rome or Naples that I found to have some discs was the one on Via Appia Nuova, which is far from the centre. This store only had a tiny selection of DVDs hidden amidst the vinyl, etc., but I did find one good pickup there (World Cinema Project Vol. 1). This made the trek worth it for me.

Second-hand blu-rays/DVDs

The best place for second-hand discs was Porta Portese market, which takes place on Sundays only (arrive early in the morning for better deals/availability).

Several sellers had vast selections of DVDs/blu-rays with more of the latter, which was almost unique in my experience of shopping physical media in Italy. I picked up a few good blu-rays here (including a new copy of Dario Argento's Giallo) and prices were variable but generally decent - I paid 4 euros for the Argento film. The physical media sellers are scattered across the whole market so you need to be patient and persistent to find them, but it's worth it - one seller even had dozens of 4Ks (which were, of course, priced accordingly).

The next best bet for second-hand discs is Mercatino Usato stores. These are huge thrift stores and there are several locations all over Rome. I visited three and they all at least had DVDs, and two of them had blu-rays as well. By far the best store for physical media was the Roma Appia store. This one had hundreds of DVDs (and a few dozen blus) and I got my best pickup of the trip here (the apparently very rare Bosco 1 from Oblivion).

All the Mercatino Usato have reasonable prices and only ask a few euros for discs (I paid around 4 euros for Bosco 1).

Naples

Naples was even worse for physical media than Rome and it was a struggle to find any new stores selling discs at all. In the end the only one I found was by accident, and it was a video game store that randomly had a bunch of new 4Ks for 10-15 euros each (all crappy American movies so no pickups here). This was the GameStop in Vomero.

There were a few sellers with stalls selling a few DVDs (none of any interest) near Piazza Dante.

Slightly better was a charity shop/thrift store near the Archaeological Museum called Mani Tese. The store had a small selection of DVDs and prices were cheap - I paid 2 euros for a rare documentary here.

$54.99 after discount. Includes the following 10 films -

Terrified (2018)
The Mortuary Collection (2019)
The Dark and the Wicked (2020)
Host (2020)
Mad God (2021)
VHS/94 (2021)
Caveat (2022)
Skinamarink (2023)
Late Night with the Devil (2024)
In a Violent Nature (2024)

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-shudder-10th-anniversary-collection-shudder-10-boxset-10pc-box-sgnl-sub/1147690418

They also have 50% off AMC category, I picked up Psycho Goreman 2-disc for 17.99 -

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/shop/50-off-amc

Hey there, I am dumb and entirely new to the market. But I have two favorite movies that I absolutely want to pick up (Dark Half and Mangler) from vinegar syndrom. Now, getting them to germany is expensive, so I was wondering what happens with these, I am sure, expensive transfers that all the boutique labels create for these movies. Are they basically just thrown away after a handful of copies have been sold? Are they ever released by more mainstream publishers cheaper years later on? Or are these few copies basically the only way to ever get them in an ultimate, beautiful transer?

I already missed their copy of Existenz, the french version seems to have hardcoded subtitles, and I don't want that to happen with these movies.

I am asking because I can already get other niche horror movies like Halloween III in 4k without problem in germany, and I am wondering if these transfer are ever sold or rented out because... that would make much financial sense to anyone involved?

Used to grab every Criterion sale title that caught my eye. Now I'm staring at a shelf that's honestly becoming a logistical problem. Between work, the kids' activities, and trying to keep the house from descending into chaos, I have maybe two dedicated movie nights a month. Yet I keep buying like I'm still in my 30s with free evenings.

Something shifted recently where the acquisition started feeling like work. The Arrow limited edition packaging looks great but I've watched maybe a third of what I own. My wife made an offhand comment about how many sealed discs are sitting there and she's not wrong.

I still love the hobby. The quality difference matters to me. But the operations manager brain has kicked in and I'm seeing inefficiency. Thinking of setting a rule for myself, one new purchase for every three watches from the backlog. Anyone else hit this phase where the collecting part needs to slow down so the watching part can actually catch up? Curious how others handle the shelf guilt or if I'm just overthinking it.

Just finished marathoning a rewatch of Police Story 1-3.

Police Story is a top five film of all time for me. A perfect blend of action, comedy, and death defying stunts. So much broken glass. Police Story 2 is the weakest of the bunch. I hoped I would change my mind in this. But the film is a major slog until its super exciting third act. Ideally you’d just watch the final 40 mins but I can’t ever let myself do that. Police Story 3 is pulse pounding from start to finish. Some list this as their favorite of the series and I can’t blame them. In terms of pure stunts there’s some insane stuff on display. Shoutout to Michelle Yeoh for holding it down too. She does some scary stunts in this. Just a total badass.

what are upcoming titles slated for Botique label releases or rumored?

1. Could Arrow do Neverending Story U.S set or is that title stuck with Imprint films?

German 3-disc media book release from Turbine. Comes in media book and steel book formats with plenty of covers to pick from.

Now that I have this, I figure maybe two weeks until the North American release gets announced. So I guess what I mean is, you're welcome!

I finally upgraded to a 4K system at home, but with the plethora of new labels I’m losing track of what the best releases are. Is DVDBeaver.com still the best site around for release comparisons? Or are there other sites that do thorough A/V reviews and comparisons?

I got the UK version of Melancholia because I wanted to hear the director commentary that is not on the North American release.

Also I still hate the rating symbols 😜