Info and forum posts by 'SteveGough'

X files on VHS 9.99 per season

I did a search and couldn`t find any previous mention on this.

Also I know this is VHS and not DVD but for anyone who just wants a reference viewing set ...

In "The Works" in Birmingham town centre, on New Street next to the cinema - the remainder book outlet - they`re offering X-Files series 1 to 8 on VHS at £9.99 per set.

Looks like a warehouse clearance, there were many many copies of all the series this morning.

RE: LG 32" Widescreen £579

No-frills Daewoo of same size available at many high street retailers for £399

RE: Straw Dogs - £9.99 inc. delivery

Edging away from a bargain thread to a review thread, but if this helps someone decide for/against buying the thing ....

Straw Dogs is typical of a certain type of 70s movie, and of a certain type of 70s "cult" movie. A bit like Clockwork Orange before it was re-released, its reputation in the UK is closely bound up with the fact that it`s banned. Alarmists and cultists alike will tend to ignore the fact that it was about 10 years old when it was banned, and until the Bright Bill video nasty hysteria was a late-night TV movie.

How horrified and outraged you`ll be really depends how upset you`re likely to be by the legendary rape scene. Male or female, if the portrayal of violence against women upsets you at the core, this is unarguably a film that will offend. I wouldn`t attempt to argue its case, just suggest that you don`t buy or watch the film. You will find it upsetting, and agree that is an example of media pandering that encourages men to degrade and objectify women.

If you`re not upset by the dramatic use of rape in pursuit of a story, you will find a pretty routine pot-boiler revenge-action movie with only vague artistic value. It`s shot in the 70s style, largely on location and in a very naturalistic style. It has quite a lot in common with "First Blood", about an oddball loner isolated in a hostile community who ends up in a blood-bath. There are no real surprises - except right at the end - but it is an effective and energetically made slow-burn shoot-em-up.

I`ve seen it more than once, and would happily watch it again.

RE: planet of the apes

I second that emotion. Get the original, the DVD transfer is excellent, or save a bit longer for the box set. The sequels aren`t all of the same quality but three and four are pretty good and none are quite as offensively dumb as the "re-imagination". Anorak note - David Gerrold`s novelisation of the fourth, "Conquest", is worth reading if you can find it.

RE: DD & DTS at Lidl £129.99

The page of which I speak is www.thedvdforums.com, presently out of action due to a server move. I warn you, they are a bit of a contrast to the usually quiet decorum of this page, but they do have a dedicated bargain forum.

RE: DD & DTS at Lidl £129.99

Second hand information again, but another web DVD bargain page suggested that this is very similar to a Goodmans package available from one of the major high street electrical retailers, and scorned the quality. As far as I know, Goodmans stuff is all re-badged from other sources.

RE: 25% off at Gameswire.com

2nd hand warning from the dvdforums - this company has just been through a period of dubious performance and was recently sold to Software First. All it seems you`ll get out of them at the moment are apologetic emails about the delays in shipping.

RE: Any Thunderbirds Fan around here??

A word of warning for anyone tempted by cheap DVDs in French packaging. I was in Lille last month, on a long weekend, and was seduced by a single-package set of "The Persuaders" (or "Amicalement Votre" as they know it en France) in one of the big multimedia department stores. The packaging said English and French audio, with French subtitles, but when I got it home discovered that the menu set up only offered 2 options - either French language or English with French subtitles. In other words, to watch in English you had to have the French subtitles on screen. The disk setup also disabled the remote control audio and subtitle switches, so you couldn`t change them on the fly. I did find a workaround, but it could be a bit fiddly for children. Also all the extras were either French language or English with subtitles burned in. I raise this because my DVDs are ITC/Carlton, which I believe is also the pedigree for the Gerry Anderson stuff.

This item was edited on Thursday, 21st February 2002, 09:58

RE: Avengers Box Sets 2 for £25 at HMV

Stores won``t accept these vouchers to buy stuff if it`s already in a "twofer" deal - tried it last month.

RE: new hmv offer

Checked this out on Oxford Street. With the exception of the Avengers box sets, this seems to be the traditional crappy sale that follows a good one. On a quick review, a significant percentage of the 2 for £25 seems to have been in last month`s 2 for £20 or in the January sale for £9.99 - Crouching Tiger just one case in point.

RE: RoboCop:Prime Directives out NOW on UK DVD!!!!

Thanks for the heads-up, I usually ignore this wasteland of full-screen TV Movie weepies.

RE: Anyone want half price X files season 3?

Blank faces and a complete absense of either promo paperwork or copies of Terminator at the Oxford Street branch at 9.30

RE: woollies boxless

A few words of caution. Bargains like this arise because as a shoplifting deterrent Woolies don`t leave discs in their original cases. My past experience is that they keep the discs on a shelf or in a drawer under the counter, usually in scratchy cardboard sleeves, occasionally just ... well, loose. Check clearance stock like this for scuffs and damage before you part with hard-earned.

RE: WH Smith Sale

In all fairness to the WHS empire, their new release prices generally compete well with the rest of the high street and, with a couple of Empire vouchers taking the price down further, I think the Smiths budget rack is actually a pretty good deal. Their New Year supply of Warner - and some MGM - disks are as cheap as the prices offered on the DVD web-sites play247 and under18. The selection includes new and back-catalogue films I was happy to pick up - Deliverance, Heat, Three Kings, Perfect Storm - as well as the Seven 2-disk. You also have the happy-to-take-it-back-wth-a-receipt, bang-on-the-counter option so tragically lacking on most web sites.

RE: Soho DVD shop - Mister CD

A word to the enthusiastic, who haven`t visited Mr CD before. They are a cash-only operation, and while I`ve had no problems with CDs they tend not to issue receipts as a matter of course.