Best to Import?

News on Eureka and Masters of Cinema.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
nsps
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:25 am
Contact:

Best to Import?

#1 Post by nsps » Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:44 pm

It seems like this topic would have already come up, but my searches have been fruitless. Please direct me elsewhere if need be…

I only recently became region-free, and am curious which MoC titles people in North America (or elsewhere) consider the most worthy of import. I understand that there are many great MoC releases, but would like to hear which ones importers were most happy to sacrifice currency conversion and shipping fees in order to obtain.

Obviously everyone has different criteria, but here are some reasons that come to mind:

1. Better Source material/transfer (and accompaniment in the case of silents) compared to other releases.
2. Superb selection of features.
3. It's not even out in the US and it's an important piece of cinema history!

User avatar
Poncho Punch
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:07 pm
Location: the emerald empire

Re: Best to Import?

#2 Post by Poncho Punch » Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:17 pm

Here's a place to start. That topic's qualifier is not-Criterion- rather than MoC-specific, but I'd say a plurality of the recommendations are geared towards MoC/Eureka and BFI releases, and most are certainly non-R1.

Also, DVDBeaver's Top 100 DVDs and reasons to go region-free should be helpful.

User avatar
nsps
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:25 am
Contact:

Re: Best to Import?

#3 Post by nsps » Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:53 pm

Thanks, Poncho. These sites will come in handy as I delve into the region-free world. Too bad that Polish Dekalog release looks to be unavailable.

User avatar
reno dakota
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:30 am

Re: Best to Import?

#4 Post by reno dakota » Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:17 pm

nsps wrote:I understand that there are many great MoC releases, but would like to hear which ones importers were most happy to sacrifice currency conversion and shipping fees in order to obtain.
If you are in the US, the current exchange rate makes most MoC titles better deals than Criterion discs. Most MoC discs are listed between £9.98 and £15.98 on Amazon.uk; that range decreases to between £8.49 and £13.60 once V.A.T. is deducted (which Amazon.uk does for US customers). At today's exchange rate, that means that the prices of these MoC discs fall between $13.08 and $20.96. Shipping is £3.08 ($4.75) for the first disc, then £0.99 ($1.53) for each additional disc. I'm not sure why many people think MoC discs are so much more expensive than Criterions, but there you are.
nsps wrote: 1. Better Source material/transfer (and accompaniment in the case of silents) compared to other releases.
2. Superb selection of features.
3. It's not even out in the US and it's an important piece of cinema history!
My recommendations, in each of your groups, are:

1. Kwaidan (183m version not available in US; better transfer); Rocco and His Brothers (better transfer), La vie de Jésus (better transfer); Frau im Mond (beautiful transfer);
2. Faust (includes domestic version and export version); Michael (includes US version and European version); (Also, all of their silents have inter-titles in the original language);
3. Humanity and Paper Balloons, The Naked Island, Naruse Volume 1, Judex, L'Enfance-nue . . .

User avatar
Tommaso
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:09 am

Re: Best to Import?

#5 Post by Tommaso » Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:40 am

Add all the unavailable Mizoguchis to the list, even if you might have to double-dip on "Sansho" and "Ugetsu"; these other films are really worth it. MoC's "Akasen Chitai" very obviously beats the barebones Eclipse disc in the extras department and is a must have even if you already have the "Fallen Women" set.
If you don't already have the CC "Vampyr", you might consider the MoC version, too. Wonderful booklet, partly different extras, and exceedingly good del Toro commentary in addition to Rayns.

User avatar
reno dakota
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:30 am

Re: Best to Import?

#6 Post by reno dakota » Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:17 pm

Tommaso wrote:Add all the unavailable Mizoguchis to the list, even if you might have to double-dip on "Sansho" and "Ugetsu"; these other films are really worth it. MoC's "Akasen Chitai" very obviously beats the barebones Eclipse disc in the extras department and is a must have even if you already have the "Fallen Women" set.
If you don't already have the CC "Vampyr", you might consider the MoC version, too. Wonderful booklet, partly different extras, and exceedingly good del Toro commentary in addition to Rayns.
Agreed. The Mizoguchi sets and Vampyr are all wonderful. And I'm sure I'll be adding L'Argent to the list once it arrives . . .

User avatar
nsps
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:25 am
Contact:

Re: Best to Import?

#7 Post by nsps » Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:16 am

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! Lots of stuff out there... I do already have the CC Vampyr, so I'll probably be picking up some other material beforehand—even though that del Toro commentary is tempting. L'Enfance Nue, L'Argent, Toni, the Mizoguchis and the Keaton shorts are among my most likely first MoC purchases. (Thanks to zedz for the suggestions as well.)
reno dakota wrote:If you are in the US, the current exchange rate makes most MoC titles better deals than Criterion discs. Most MoC discs are listed between £9.98 and £15.98 on Amazon.uk; that range decreases to between £8.49 and £13.60 once V.A.T. is deducted (which Amazon.uk does for US customers). At today's exchange rate, that means that the prices of these MoC discs fall between $13.08 and $20.96. Shipping is £3.08 ($4.75) for the first disc, then £0.99 ($1.53) for each additional disc. I'm not sure why many people think MoC discs are so much more expensive than Criterions, but there you are.
Good point. Part of it (for me, anyway), is that you can't rent UK discs. Criterion prices at a premium, so with movies that I'm not that interested in and/or haven't seen yet, it's nice to have the option to rent for a small fee. Thanks for the VAT info, too, by the way. Good to know that it's deducted.

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: Best to Import?

#8 Post by zedz » Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:03 pm

Great MoC sale from the horse's mouth here, including the Pialats, Vampyr and cheapest-ever-apart-from-misprices Naruse, Keaton and Shoah sets.

They offer free shipping within the UK, which implies that the sale also applies to overseas buyers, but I can't seem to get international shipping to register on check-out. Can anybody confirm or deny that this isn't UK only?

User avatar
reno dakota
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:30 am

Re: Best to Import?

#9 Post by reno dakota » Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:20 pm

zedz wrote:They offer free shipping within the UK, which implies that the sale also applies to overseas buyers, but I can't seem to get international shipping to register on check-out. Can anybody confirm or deny that this isn't UK only?
I posted a note about that here.

Post Reply