Tweet The Official Silents online deals thread

For the past couple of days some Marketplace sellers on Amazon have been offering some particularly good deals. I havent seen these titles offered as cheaply as this:

The Image release of Old Wives for New and The Whispering Chorus, both admirable DeMilles (at least in my opinion) are selling in the six-dollar range, new, from at least a couple of sellers: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BC ... ss_product

The Image release of Stroheim's Foolish Wives (the 117-minute cut, about half an hour shorter than the Kino version), new at $5.00 from the same sellers: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=new

and last but not least, the Image release of DeMille's Male and Female, new, at a silly $2.78: http://www.amazon.com/Male-Female-Thoma ... B00000JMOO

Don't know who these sellers are, but they're all highly rated, so I thought I'd pass this info on to y'all who are collecting silents on DVD and, like me, have a budget to (try to) respect...

kndy, nice catch on the Kino sale. I haven't seen Alibi, but I'll probably pick it up as I've been reading a lot lately about the silent-to-sound transition period and it always seems to be mentioned, usually favorably, and this is the lowest price I've seen for it. Thanks for the tip!

Alibi is quite impressive in a lot of ways. It's pretty ambitious for a 1929 talkie, there is some interesting use of sound, notably the rattle of billy clubs on a sidewalk. Plus you have Chester Morris as one of the first menacingly cool gangsters in film. He's really compelling, even as the villain. It's really hard not to dig him, I mean the cops are corrupt in the film, but totally presented as the good guys. The ending goes to absurd lengths to undermine Chester's swagger, but the middle section is really compelling stuff.

Anyone have any ideas why Kino wouldn't have brought Josef von Sternberg's Thunderbolt. It's another Universal picture, like Applause and Love Me Tonight (two must have Kino's), and I would figure with a name like von Sternberg, it would have come out somewhere by now. The film is pretty terrible, but very interesting nonetheless, particularly if you enjoy George Bancroft on all fours, barking like a dog.

Masters of Cinema newsletter is up and the Mabuse set is now on sale:

http://www.eurekavideo.co.uk/offers/octoberoffers.html

Also, it looks as if the next Criterion 50% off sale for Barnes & Noble will take place on November 1st and ending days before the release of CC's "Modern Times".

Deep Discount has started their Fall sale a month earlier than usual. It's 20% of their already discounted prices. Unfortunately, these don't apply to all labels or most pre-orders. http://www.deepdiscount.com/?utm_source ... aign=Brand

The New Fox Classic Quad Sets are arriving to Target this week ( #15-18 ). Set 15 has two silents (I believe no music accompany them):

Classic Quad Set 15 - Studio Classics
Move Over, Darling 1963 Michael Gordon 2.5
O.Henry's Full House 1952 Henry Hathaway 2.5
On the Riviera 1951 Howard Hawks 3
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! 1958 Henry King 2.5
Amazing Road to 'Move Over Darling' 2007 Henry Koster
Conversation with Polly Bergen 2007 Jean Negulesco
Doris Day vs. Marilyn Monroe 2007 Walter Lang
Girls 1927 Leo McCarey
A Man About Town 1927 John Cork

And these sets are $9.99 each.

The Laurel & Hardy 21-Disc Set on Amazon UK dropped.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... os_product

Not sure if it's for today or what...but the price is now:

£26.24 (note: On the site it says 31 but when you check out, the VAT is dropped and becomes 26). Total for me and I live in California is: £29.32

It comes to around $46 (US) but I have been waiting for this to go under $60 and this is the cheapest I have seen it since. That's pretty good for 21 DVD's (and I just bought the Abbot & Costello set which was $56).

Note: I believe these are PAL and you will need an All Region Player to play this. I have always recommended the cheaper Phillips to play all region and these can be found in Target or Wal-Mart.

I've been asked what is the cheapest Phillips DVD player in the US that can play these silents or discs from other country ala all Region. You have three choices (as of October 2010):

WAL-MART:

Philips DVP3982 1080p HDMI DVD Player (Factory Refurbished) $28.54
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-DVP39 ... d/14904295

How to make it All Region:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks?dvdpl ... rch=Search

Philips DVP3560/F7 - $39.00
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-DVP35 ... r/15032474

How to Make it All Region:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks?dvdpl ... rch=Search

TARGET:

Philips 1080p HDMI DVD Player with Up-Conversion - DVP3980 - $54.99
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/17 ... B001TLJY9W

How to Make It All Region:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks?dvdpl ... rch=Search

Just a reminder that on November 1st...the Criterion Collection 50% off sale at B&N is supposed to begin (November 2nd for the brick and mortar stores).

Definitely want the von sternberg set

I stopped today at my friendly neighborhood Barnes and Noble and they know nothing of the Criterion sale. I had them look in their computer system, and there was no word of it. I just perused "BN.com" where over 400 Criterion DVDs are for sale, and there is also no mention

Are you quite sure about the sale?

Here's a thread about the sale at the Blu-ray.com forum:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/movie-tv-deals/155988-barnes-noble-criterion-50-off-sale-november-2010-a.html

The Criterion Sale has now started...but the Von Sternberg...did they forget to make that 50% off?

Whoo Whoo! B&N lowered Von Sternberg and got it for $35.99! (using AAA 10% off)

We get a AAA discount??????

We get a AAA discount??????

Yes...if you have an AAA membership go here:

http://www.aaa.com/barnesandnoble

If you are a member of a public library go here:

http://www.bn.com/library

These two will give you 10% off!

If you don't have either...but are in the military, you get 6% off:

http://www.bn.com/military

And if you are more of an in-store person, you get a free membership for two trial months (just make sure to cancel it before your two months are up or keep it and pay $25 and get 12 months):

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/membershi ... -thimemups

And for those who are members, you have these unlimited coupons you can use:

Thanks for this wealth of valuable information.

My local Barnes and Noble had no information at all about this on Friday afternoon.

Thanks for this wealth of valuable information.

My local Barnes and Noble had no information at all about this on Friday afternoon.

No problem. Hope everyone finds what they are looking for. Received my von Sternberg yesterday which I'm happy about.

---
Btw...for those who ordered from the Silent Film KINO sale from Deep Discount back in September, have you received many of your items? It looks like a few started shipping last week but have yet to receive them.

Hi -- I've noticed that Kino's release of Raoul Walsh's Sadie Thompson, (1928), with La Swanson, Walsh, and Lionel Barrymore is selling very cheaply new and used on Amazon lately -- around eight and a half bucks plus three dollars shipping. Great disc, very much worth having...

http://www.amazon.com/Sadie-Thompson-Gl ... MLMLKZ8JA6

Added in edit: I would imagine that the sellers who are listing it new in the Marketplace have multiple copies of this, as they're relatively high volume sellers. I've bought from each of these sellers more than once without any problems at all. Merchandise from the UK seller arrived just as quickly as is usual from domestic sellers -- about a week.

kndy, my experience buying from DD was so annoying that I'm sure I won't order from them again. First off, it took around two weeks for them to ship -- way longer than I'm used to when buying online, anyway. Then delivery languished forever, and when I contacted them to find out why, they simply moved the goal posts of the expected delivery dates up another week -- during which, one package came and the other apparently was absorbed into the ether. They told me they processed a refund for the one that went missing a couple/three weeks ago, but it still hasn't reached my bank. And I used a debit card as I always do when buying online, so their caveat about the refund taking "up to one billing cycle" is horsepuckey too.

But -- you said they're just starting to ship orders from that sale now? Is that normal for them? I don't get it. I can get bronze-age DVDs from tar pits in Checkosnoobatchkia in less time.

On a less cranky note, I'm really looking forward to my Sternberg set from B&N too -- maybe tomorrow!

But -- you said they're just starting to ship orders from that sale now? Is that normal for them? I don't get it. I can get bronze-age DVDs from tar pits in Checkosnoobatchkia in less time.

I've had slow orders from DD this year also, and it's bothering me more than it used to.

1. If they are going to have a sale, they should have more than a one day's supply of the disc. I've had the best luck if I learned of a sale on the first day and ordered IMMEDIATELY.

2. But if you wait a few days, lots of things are "out of stock" and it takes a long time for items to ship.

3. If you go for the free shipping (which you are smart to do with them because there is no use paying for fast shipping when they might not get it in weeks themselves) then they ship it by "media mail" or whatever it's called, which means it gets thrown in the cart last, if there's room. If not, oh well, maybe next time.

4. I've eventually gotten most items, especially if purchased by credit/debit. If I've ordered via PayPal, the "purchase authorization", whatever they call it, can expire before DD ships anything. So you don't get it.

5. Occasionally DD have not been able to find a copy of an item, so that gets canceled also.

6. Using Amazon with Prime (2 day) shipping is a dream come true, but pricier. You have to watch what's on Amazon's sale, and in your "Gold Box."

Rick

See, that's just the thing, Rick. I ordered two discs same day the sale began, both in stock. Neither was anything I was really excited about, so it's not as if I was waiting with bated breath or anything, but after a couple of weeks I started to wonder, and found e-mail confirmation that each had been shipped separately ~3 to five days before. When two/three weeks had passed, and I checked in with them, my inquiry was replied to with a robo-mail instructing me to log in to the DD website and view my order history for updates. I'd click on it and get "You have no order history." Googling around I found some entries on some forum on the internet (sorry, didn't note which) that suggested this "no order history" thing was something that DD was supposed to fix last June. Not to be able to check the order history means you've gotta e-mail customer service and when customer service e-mails you back telling you to check your order history, it can make you very cross indeed.

Then there's the issue of their sending packages via what is basically junk-mail status, and the wait that entails. Who ships that way anymore (besides DD, obviously)? Virtually everything I buy online arrives within a week, no matter what it is. Ten days if it's from someplace like the Czech Republic. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Aaaand another thing (while I'm off and running) -- WTF, having a sale and not having the stock? Are they taking orders and then ordering stock from wherever the heck it is that they get stuff from, and then receiving it eventually and filling the orders as stock arrives? Great idea for an Arbuckle/Keaton short, but as a business model*?
Not so much.

Still, I guess DD makes a lot of people happy, so they can't be all bad. But what a lotta hooey with me -- lesson learned -- our stars are crossed, or something...




__________________________________________________________________________
*Probably a lot of online sources do things this way, I suppose. But when they get it right, nobody'd even think about it.

[silentfilm]

I got this in my email from Barnes and Noble today...

30% off for the Veteran's Day Sale through November 15th.

USE THIS COUPON CODE for $5.00 off: smodcast

One more to add for the day....

More 25% off coupons for the Criterion sale at B&N or other items...in-store coupons only.

Non-members:



Members:



and

Mazzette. Don't get me started on DD. I have had loads of trouble with them lately & I am not happy. Now they are advising that they are starting a Loyalty program. The last one in North America who did that went out of business(in Canada) & charged lots of people, me included, for DVDs they did not ship but gave a shipping date & for titles that were cancelled by the publisher and all sorts of figures that matched nothing.

I have told DD I wished I had a phone on the computer & I would call them and try & sort things out but alas I can't do that.

Mazzette. Don't get me started on DD. I have had loads of trouble with them lately & I am not happy. Now they are advising that they are starting a Loyalty program. The last one in North America who did that went out of business(in Canada) & charged lots of people, me included, for DVDs they did not ship but gave a shipping date & for titles that were cancelled by the publisher and all sorts of figures that matched nothing.

I have told DD I wished I had a phone on the computer & I would call them and try & sort things out but alas I can't do that.

Yay! I got my silents from Deep Discount....took about over two months or so.... 2 months 1 week...but...then again they were back-ordered. But that took a long while.

Bah! We all differ, but two+ months is inexcusable behavior to me, especially since it was a sale (see my post above).

But -- I got my Sternberg set yesterday from Barnes and Noble, and I couldn't be happier with the set or the price, or the delivery time. I wouldn't have got it for a while yet if not for your sale tip -- thanks!

Bah! We all differ, but two+ months is inexcusable behavior to me, especially since it was a sale (see my post above).

But -- I got my Sternberg set yesterday from Barnes and Noble, and I couldn't be happier with the set or the price, or the delivery time. I wouldn't have got it for a while yet if not for your sale tip -- thanks!

Oh it is definitely inexcusable...but I figured, I wasn't charged yet and wanted to see how long that company takes to get back orders. So, about two months... But maybe silents are harder to come by. I don't know....
=======================================
THESE COUPONS END TOMORROW (11/14/2010)

Sunday is the last day to use these 25% off coupons, so if you have a Barnes & Noble nearby, use it! Especially for the Criterion Collection sale that ends on the 21st. Tomorrow (Sunday the 14th is the final day). One is for everyone and three are for members.

For members, just remember that they will need to do separate transactions per coupon and if they tell you, that they can do only one coupon. Let them know that each coupon has a separate code and they will take it.

Just remember to right click and view image on the coupons so the Barnes & Noble URL shows up in the printout....

NON-MEMBER COUPON (ANYONE CAN USE THIS)




MEMBERSHIP COUPONS

And if you are a member...you have three more coupons you can use (total of four) which all end tomorrow as well:

Purchase a silent on Borders ala 33% off.

Use this coupon: BMH4838T

Expires tomorrow!

Kino's release of Son of the Sheik is currently for sale, new, by a couple of Marketplace sellers in the seven-dollar range, plus the usual $2.98 shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=all

A pretty good edition, I think: 1937 re-release source materials from Killiam, tinted, with a good organ score by Jack Ward. The Image edition (which also derives from the 1937 release) includes The Sheik and some good shorts, and gives the choice of what seems to be the 1937 score or a newish score by Eric Beheim; but for a total of around ten bucks, can't beat the deal with a camel whip, and this edition might be an excellent holiday stocking stuffer for someone you're trying to interest in silents.

Thanks for these updates. Has anyone purchased any of the silents offered by the Warner Brothers Archive collection, they are really cheap but are they restored editions of the caliber of a Kino or Criterion dvd?

Thanks for these updates. Has anyone purchased any of the silents offered by the Warner Brothers Archive collection, they are really cheap but are they restored editions of the caliber of a Kino or Criterion dvd?

No, they're not up to Kino, Criterion, or Flicker Alley; but they're usually fine. They have no special packaging and no extras. Silents are usually watchable, and have musical scores that are usually appropriate. If you've ever seen it on TCM, that's probably the score you'll get.

If you're curious about a particular title, search on this site and elsewhere; people do discuss some of these releases.