Walmart DVD finds

[trekgeezer]

Vanishing Point is definitely an interesting movie from various aspects, but in particular in trying to define it. At times it seems allegorical in its context perhaps representing a movement of anti-authoritarianism gaining ground in a relatively short span of time with a public both rallying behind it and wanting to see it stopped.

I saw this movie when I was 16 at the drive-in (yes, the year it came out). There was definitely an air  of anti-authoritarianism going around back then. We were neck deep in Viet Nam and the government was lying to us and spying on it's on citizens, so myself and most of the other teenagers I knew had very little respect for anyone in a position or authority. We quite regularly p**sed the high school principal off. He even kept our entire class after a pep rally once just to tell us he was going to declare war on us if we didn't shape up. (I can tell you some stories about how he didn't succeed).

We cheered Kowalski on because he respresented something that seemed to be lost. He was an individual who was damaged by the events in his life and his "purpose" had become the road, plain and simple. Plus he was saying f*** you to "the man".

A lot of movies in that time period had the same attitude, even those that featured military and law enforcement types.  Take for example Dirty Harry and The Last Detail. 

As for Kowalski's death, only Kowalski can know the true meaning of it.

[Shadow]

Today I found Enemy Mine and The Golden Child in the Walmart cheapie bin. Both are favorites that I recall watching a zillion times on HBO back in the 80's.

[Susan]

I'm always amazed when I see "The Edge" in the bin, that's such a fun movie. Once in awhile I do see some interesting ones like "Altered States" or "exorcist III".  I recently picked up "Hollow Man" and "The Haunting" to have something to watch on my vacation.

"The movie Trading CompanY' is local here in dallas and I think a subsidiary of Blockbuster. Anyhow they sell movies dirt cheap, you can get brand new, or used in their cases for decent prices. But they also sell some movies next to nothing - you may only get them in a cd case or slipcase. They also have a refund guarantee, they take trade-ins in case something is wrong with it and buy back movies. So if I have a movie that i've tired of and nobody i know would want it I just go sell it back or trade it. I found that my penny seems to go further there than in that Walmart dvd bin.

[Ash]

Yeah...the Wal-Mart cheap bin has its ups & downs.
For weeks on end it'll have crappy junk that no one wants, and then out of the blue, they'll restock it with some decent films.

[Yaddo 42]

Ours was full of Friday the 13ths after the Halloween horror/suspense flicks went in there. But since when does Narc fall in that category?

There always seem to be copies of: Kiss the Girls, 28 Days, Hollow Man,, some Best of Gallagher disks (Why sell blank disks that way?), that spaghetti western 4-pack I bought a while back, some twofer of Lifetime type flicks one starring Vanessa Marcil, the other with Corbin Bersen, and some others that will come to me later clogging up the bin. Oh and there are always copies of Conagher and The Shadow Riders as well.

Sometimes I find that TV movie based on a Norman MacLean story starring Jerry O'Connell, Sam Elliot, and Ricky Jay. I need to pick that one up.

Hopefully after the purging the bin got on the 26th, they'll load up with a new batch of stuff. Luckily, it's been too easy to say "no" to the call of the dump bin lately.

[Torgo]

Back during the summer, I made out like a bandit at the Wal-Mart near where I live.

I got the following during that particular run:

Bevery Hills Cop  (special edition)  4.88
The Brood        4.88
Invasion of the Body Snatchers  (70's version)  4.88
Rambo First Blood: Part 2             5.50
Little Shop of Horrors     (1986 version special edition)  4.88
Cliffhanger              5.50
The Craft            4.88
End of Days          4.88
Hercules in New York    4.88 

[Gerry]

I picked up MORTAL COMBAT in the $4.88 bin at my local Wal-Mart.

[clockworkcanary]

Yeah our local wally world has a plethora of stink to choose from but I did get a few cheapies in the last several months such as a few of the Friday flicks, Mazes and Monsters, and Rambo III.    Much of the selection was mediocre just like Andrew said.

If you want to find real obscure stuff and don't mind VHS, I recommend locating some ma and pa video rental places -most are selling their VHS and you can find some real gems really cheap.  I recently acquired Slaughter High, Deadly Friend, and Barry Lyndon, which I don't even think is on DVD yet.  A couple years ago my girlfriend and I went ape$h!t over the local grocery that sold all their VHS for $1 a piece, which is how I ended up with an old WWF Slammies vid, Barb Wire, Ghoulies III, and a few other old flicks.

[Menard]

...a few of the Friday flicks...Much of the selection was mediocre just like Andrew said.

Now since when are Friday flicks mediocre?

[peter johnson]

Oh, baby! 
VHS just rules rules rules right now, because, as during the huge fad turnover from vinyl to CDs a few years back, you can find HUGE bargains on VHS nowadays, even from the mainstream video stores, 'cause nobody wants them.
For big instance:
We have a Hollywood Videos store in Boulder.  Not as good as Video Station, but what the hey -- ANYWAY, my friend figured out that rather than rent them, he would just take VHS tapes up to the counter and BARGAIN for them with the clerks!!  It works!!!  We have gotten sooo many cool things for $1 and $2 -- sure, they're used, but still watchable, and better than renting!!
Try it at YOUR local store:  "Aw, c'mon, man . . . it's a TAPE . . . Who wants a tape??  C'mon, I'll take it off your hands for a dollar . . ."
It works -- TRY IT!
peter johnson/denny weasel

[Torgo]

I picked up MORTAL COMBAT in the $4.88 bin at my local Wal-Mart.

You mean Mortal Kombat...      or better yet MORTAL KOOOOOOOMBAT!!

[Yaddo 42]

Apparently the big VHS sell-off among the little stores was about three years ago in my area. The stores are still selling off tapes, but the interesting stuff is gone for the most part. Some of it turns up at pawn shops now, but you have to look for it.

I got a few videos from a grocery store selling off Hollywood Video tapes, but the selection was thin when they first got them, and has only gotten worse as no "new" stock has come it to top up the shelves.

I wish I had gone back to the place when Green's Video had their big going out of business sell-off around 2000. I got some fun cheese - Deep Space, Demons, Demons 2, Tough Guys Don't Dance (hey, I like that trainwreck of an ego trip), but never went back for other stuff that I really wanted - Cutthroats Nine, Near Dark, and anything I could afford from their horror section, they had a good b-movie selection, wish I had gone to that store when it was open. Should have bought less mainstream stuff, since it was going to hit DVD sooner for the most part.

Probably for the best if I'm serious about paring down my collection.

[El Dogo]

Ah yes, the $4.88 Wal-Mart bin.  The only thing that'll make me set foot in one of those dumps.

I've got nothing against VHS.  It's been a while since I've nabbed some though.  I've managed to find some real interesting obscurities that way, like Confessions of a Police Captain, stuff that'll probably never be out on disk unless if falls into public domain.