First of all, Happy Independence Day, everyone. God bless America.
So, Amazon had a an item I wanted on a deep sale, and a coupon for another item I had on my wish list (used to keep track of things I eventually want to buy, especially if the price drops enough). The two items in total were about $110, minus the $12 coupon. So $98 dollars. Plus $10 tax (so the coupon basically covered the tax). Finally I had about a $30 credit on my Amazon Points on my credit card from previous purchases. So the actual money cost for this order around $80, although the points/credit are basically fungible money in a way, so it could be argued I still paid $110. Whatever.
I had already had my eye on Years of Lead, Arrow’s new set of Italian policiers, basically Italy’s run of sleazier, more violent flicks inspired by Dirty Harry. Many of them are pretty great. So Arrow recently put out a five film box set of some of them. The set lists at $100, which arguably at $20 a film isn’t outrageous, especially with the remastered presentations and extras. However, it was a tad high based on my interest in this material, although I do like them. Luckily, though, Amazon is currently selling the set for $50, half price, and at that price it’s definitely attractive.
The box features three discs in separate cases. Two of the discs, obviously, offer two films. Those two cases feature flippable box art so that you can pick the movie you want showcased. Disc 1 features Savage Three and Like Rabid Dogs. The second disc features Colt 38 Special Squad and Highway Racer. Finally, its own disc is No The Case is Happily Resolved. All feature new scans taken from the original camera negatives, as well as copious interviews with actors and filmmakers, and a featurette here and there. I don’t see any indication of commentaries or anything.
There’s also a nice little Blu Ray case-sized, squarebound 60 page book featuring articles on the films and lots of color photos. Very nice.
The second item, again bought because of the coupon, was the blu ray set for the second season of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor Who. Honestly, even with the initial $10 Amazon discount, and the $12 coupon, I probably could have gotten it cheaper later at some point. But meh, it’s definitely worth $48, and you want to grab this stuff before it’s memory holed/digitally altered.
The set features the arcs Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space and The Daemons. The latter provided the Brigadier’s signature line, “Jenkins! Chap with the wings there, five rounds rapid.” That’s a whopping set of classic Who, and I can’t say that set isn’t worth what I paid for it. And now I have it and until the firemen come around to my trailer, it’s safely in my possession.
Anyway who knows the releases from the past knows the zillions of extras you get, with long detailed making of documentaries, interviews, commentaries featuring directors, writers, the actors and the like. New to the Blu Ray set is updated special effects (meh), and lot more stuff. Anyway, good stuff.
