CLASSIC SCI-FI ULTIMATE COLLECTION, VOLUME 2

The Burgomaster · September 12, 2007, 09:00:28 PM

Today, I picked up this second installment of Best Buy's exclusive sci-fi classics collection. It contains the following movies:

* Dr. Cyclops

* The Land Unknown

* Cult of the Cobra

* The Deadly Mantis

* The Leech Woman

I just finished watching Dr. Cyclops, which is an unusual movie in that it's a sci-fi flick that was released in Technicolor in 1940. The plot (a mad scientist who shrinks people) is ahead of its time . . . similar movies didn't become trendy until the late 1950s. Another excellent sci-fi collection from Best Buy.

Torgo · September 12, 2007, 09:04:21 PM

How much do these run? I don't think I've seen them at the Best Buy near where I live.

The Burgomaster · September 12, 2007, 09:16:17 PM

They're $19.95. The quality is top-notch. I have the first volume too, and I recommend that one as well.

Xenorama · September 12, 2007, 09:25:52 PM

that first collection is OOP now, and commanding rather ridiculous prices these days. i wish i had bought four of them when they were on sale at BB, since there were tons of them around for months.

the second set is great also.

David

Shadow · September 12, 2007, 09:42:50 PM

I swung by the local Best Buy tonight looking for this, but as expected, they didn't have it. I am really beginning to hate the local store.

Pilgermann · September 12, 2007, 10:03:08 PM

Used copies of the first volume sell for $70+ which is kind of crazy. This new volume is selling for more than $30 on ebay which is even crazier. If you can find it in the store, get it. Hopefully Best Buy will get their act together and offer this on their website.

Dennis · September 12, 2007, 10:04:36 PM

I don't think that every Best Buy stocks the same stuff, but I've been told that any thing at one Best Buy can be ordered from another, haven't tried this yet but it might be a way to find those DVDs you're after.

Torgo · September 12, 2007, 10:12:18 PM

The problem I've noticed at the Best Buy in Roanoke, VA is that they've devoted an entire aisle to HD/Blu-Ray stuff and have cut back a bit on the regular DVD stuff that they would usually carry as a result. They still get in the big titles and the such but like when I went to get From Beyond on Tuesday, I was also planning on getting The Burning. But they only got in From Beyond.

I've had the worst luck ordering stuff online in terms of damaged discs for the most part that I prefer to buy in a store if I can and order online if all else fails.

horseshoe crab · September 12, 2007, 11:25:55 PM

Bought this as well, they had any number of copies at the one near me. I'd been looking for The Deadly Mantis.

P.S. We've been complaining about Best Buy in the 'recent purchases' thread. They didn't have any of the new Midnite Movies either.

RCMerchant · September 13, 2007, 05:24:19 AM

the DEADLY MANTIS- A fun one!

Worthless trivia time: Director Nathan Juran also did 20 MiLLION MILES to EARTH (ya know-with the Ymir?),the 7th VOYAGE of SINBAD, and used the name Nathan Hertz for such stinkers as The BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS and ATTACK of the FIFTY FOOT WOMAN. In the mid sixties,he did most of the episodes of TIME TUNNEL,and VOYAGE to the BOTTOM of the SEA,and ended his directing carraer with the BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF...with fellow SINBAD alumni Kerwin Mattews. I read in an interview with him (in PSYCHOTRONIC magazine) some years back that producer Irwin Allen was a real cheapskate prick.

Doc Daneeka · September 13, 2007, 05:26:16 AM

The classic sci-fi ultimate collection contains 5 films and no extras?

The Burgomaster · September 13, 2007, 06:21:08 AM

Mr. Briggs:

I believe the only extras are the theatrical trailers.

trekgeezer · September 13, 2007, 07:05:20 AM

Dr. Cyclops has some outstanding special effects, especially for the time period when it was made. I'll bet it looks really nice on DVD.

lester1/2jr · September 13, 2007, 08:32:56 AM

cult of the cobra is awesome. I recall liking the leech woman alot too

The Burgomaster · September 13, 2007, 10:17:23 AM

Quote from: trekgeezer on September 13, 2007, 07:05:20 AM
Dr. Cyclops has some outstanding special effects, especially for the time period when it was made. I'll bet it looks really nice on DVD.

I agree. The special effects are superior to most giant / miniature people movies. The fake giant hand they use when Dr. Cyclops is holding his miniature prisoners is far better than the cheesy ones they used in LAND OF THE GIANTS more than 20 years later. And the rear-projection effects aren't bad at all. Much better than many of the 1950s sci-fi flicks.