MovieChat Forums > Peeping Tom (1960) Discussion > Quite a costly DVD

Quite a costly DVD

posted 19 years ago by 80sgal4ever
33 replies | jump to latest

The thing that I'm most disappointed about regarding this film, is the price.
After seeing this movie on TCM, I wouldn't mind having it in my DVD collection.
But when I looked it up, I found the price to be over $30. ouch.
As interesting as the movie may be...don't think it's worth that much.
I'd think that $15 or less would be reasonable. sigh.

Don't know why many of these older movies cost that much.
I know that they want to add extras and charge more...
but how spectacular can the features be for that price?
I just want to see the movie...grr.

'There are no happy endings because nothing ends'
TLU'82

[–] psychophile84 19 years ago

I know what you mean - i'm based in the UK and i have 2 versions of it on dvd, the US "criterion collection" and a standard version - the criterion one i had to order from a specialist website dealing in shipping american/region 1 dvds to the UK and paid £26 for it, whilst i paid £11.97 for the standard one.
You could probably get it slightly cheaper if you bought a UK version but then, from what i gather, if you're based in the US most american dvd players don't let you play dvds from any other region. If i find a US copy for cheaper than $30, i'll let you know!

[–] DryToast 19 years ago

Criterion has no income other than its DVDs. They are not like the Hollywood studios, which have many outlets for their films. That's why the Criterion line of products is so expensive.

I have made enough faces.

[–] 80sgal4ever 19 years ago

Yep. I found many Region 2 DVDs for an excellent price, but can't use it.
sigh, wish I could though. There are so many UK DVDs that I can't get here.
Like 'Box of Delights' and 'Gulliver's Travels'(with Richard Harris)...all R2.

Ah, that Criterion group has other titles that I've been wanting,
but haven't got around to buying because the price is too high.
Like 'The Killers' set with the 1946 and 1964 versions.
It's not like any of these movies are big name titles, don't think Peeping Tom
is as popular as Psycho, so why raise the price so that no one buys it?

'There are no happy endings because nothing ends'
TLU'82

[–] SixteenHorsepower 18 years ago

People do buy it. Criterion is THE best. best transfers. best extras. best films. I bought the Criterion version and was lucky enough to find it used for $15. Im in the process of seeing every film in the collection, im not too far yet but damnit its gonna happen! people will pay quite a bit for movies in the criterion collection.The normal prices are 30-40 dollars but most box sets are between 70-120 dollars. Id be willing to pay the 60 or 70 bucks the "Brazil" set costs, and Im planing on getting the Virgin spring dvd. also the OOP sets are extremely rare, people are willing to pay a couple hundred bucks for an OOP criterion version of "Hard Boiled" or "Robocop". and of course if you ever see an authentic version of "Salo:120 days of sodom" Id suggest picking it up as its the most expensive and most searched for dvd around.
Id say if you can ever find this for under retail price you should buy it, most criterion discs are hard to find outside of the internet.

"I'm F---in' Cold Like A DQ Blizzard"

- W h y ?

[–] 80sgal4ever 18 years ago

Okay. I broke down and bought the DVD.
The movie is awesome and Criterion did a fine job with the extras.
I enjoy the the making of and interviews.
Found 'Peeping Tom' $25 at DVD Planet with free shipping.
It's a great addition to my movie collection...;)
I just didn't want to pay $39.95, or whatever it is, for a DVD.
:)

'There are no happy endings because nothing ends'
TLU'82

[–] daedalus1337 18 years ago

Criterions are worth it, almost without exception (only exceptions I can think of are Hard Boiled, The Killer, Salo, Silence of the Lambs, etc). They did a nice job with Peeping Tom, although they've done better.

[–] iain_m 18 years ago

go to either www.criteriondvd.com or www.deepiscountdvd.com - the cheapest prices for criterion stuff can be found there!

[–] iain_m 18 years ago

i mean deepdiscountdvd.com - sorry...

[–] tlay 18 years ago

> Criterion is THE best. best transfers. best extras. best films.

By and large, yes, but in this case, I find the transfer a little disappointing. Don't you think the colors are a little off? It's not a bad transfer, but Criterion usually does a little better, particularly these days. (This was one of their earlier releases, so perhaps the technology has improved since.) The extras are great, though, and most importantly, it's the only way to get it.

Tom

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 15 years ago

Some Criterion versions aren't so hot. Picnic at Hanging Rock had no extras except for a trailer, and the transfer is one of those (I don't know exactly what the techincal problem is) that doesn't scale to a large screen TV properly--if you watch it in the "dot by dot" mode, you've got black bars on all four sides of the image. You have to stretch it, zoom it somehow to avoid that, but the ways of doing that that do not distort the image cut off the second line of subtitles. So you either watch it as if you had a smaller TV (with black bars on all four sides), with the proportions being wrong, so that people are stretched out, or so you can't watch the second line of subtitles. There's no other choice . . . those problems might not occur on other kinds of TVs, but most DVDs do not have that problem, whether they're older or not.

http://www.rateyourmusic.com/~JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies

[–] BillieDove 15 years ago

Not only that. Criterion spends much time to do beautiful and quality releases for every DVD. The restoration is always flawless and they often include nice extra features and a booklet, or even sometimes books.

I don't pray, really, because I don't want to bore God.

[–] stompt-rexstomp 18 years ago

I got my copy in a 5 DVDs for £20 deal!

"Have you heard of Rice?" ... "I've heard of Rice Krispies."

[–] pbeforej 18 years ago

I think the price is being looked at the wrong way. You can get the super-mainstream-popular movies for cheap because they can be produced in huge quantities and a large number will be purchased. In order to make money off of older, special interest movies that won't have such a huge audience, they must cost more to make a profit. When we ask studios to release films like this for us, they're sticking their necks out there and the only way they can justify and get away with it is by charging a large sum.

AIM: bluebledthesea

[–] holliser 18 years ago

If you really like this movie, I think the price is fine. Criterion Collection offers lots of rarely seen footages and behind scene interviews. It is not only DVD, but also a kind of 'document' for you.

[–] psychophile84 18 years ago

I'm glad you were able to find it. Not bad, especially in a 5 for $20 deal! I think perhaps because Criterion offer some of the best transfers (i hear Superbit are also quite good, especially in terms of sound and image quality) and offer a lot of extras, for example the documentaries and commentaries that weren't available on the region 2 release. Plus, it is something of a "special interest" film that perhaps isn't as famous and mainstream as Psycho, but has developed a cult following.

"We all go a little mad sometimes..."

[–] uebetan12 18 years ago

critrions are really expensive,i have around thirty criterions but they are worth every cent of it.

yes they are right , this is a special interest film and also expensive to produce and not in large quantities, that's the reason for the price.

it's much more expensive for me since i'm from the philippines in asia.

it's really worth around $40 or more plus shipping,just for a criterion dvd and i am not a rich man! but i still buy and collect criterion dvds

[–] BronaLily 18 years ago

I got mine for 10 euros

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Hector_The_Toad 18 years ago

In Australia, its on special for $8 and I'm considering buying...

That man is being awfully forward with that donkey Jay, Clerks II

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Hezakiah4 15 years ago

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[–] Supernova90 15 years ago

$10 AU here

[–] concept00 15 years ago

Yes well it would of cost a lot more back in 2005.

[–] ironmaiden720 15 years ago

I was lucky to find this film for $1.00 at a one dollar book store yesterday, brand new, criterion collection, although I wouldn't mind paying the regular price at all.

Criterion deserves all the money they put out. Their dvds are clearly the best, and its obvious they truly admire the best films. Not only do they carefully choose what films to add to their collections, but they also manage to try and add extended special features, booklets, director "approved" footage and anything else you can think of, all to make the dvd more satisfactory and worth the price. They certainly don't waste your buck by shoving in pointless Digital Copies and they still stick to the old fashioned 2 disc: 1 disc is the FILM, while the 2nd disc is THE SUPPLEMENTS (the special features, as they call them).

I have spoken.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] DutchieVanHell 14 years ago

I bought this film for 7 Euro's.