The Frank Capra Collection & Frank himself appreication thread

[dsclassic]

For a week I had been frothing at the mouth to get the Frank Capra Collection with all 5 of his A list movies which I am sure you know..I loved all of them,been checking eBay, Tower, Amazon waiting for a sale

I decided to get rid of some CDs I don't listen to for a trade for this set

This is a great looking set,all the movies on separate discs and a book

Not bad for 45.00..for me it is better than spending close to that amount and then waiting for shipping

For some reason companies and ebay sellers ship DVDs at Media Mail which takes forever, when for few cents more it can go first class..

Thats besides the point

Anyway Capra the man and his box set are just great...I real treasure...

Anyone else own it ?

[CineSage_jr]

You can save yourself some money here:

 

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewproduct.htm?productId=6415623

 

Five dollars less, with no shipping charge (though delivery is slow).

[Swithin]

I don't think it has his A-list movies. I think his best film is LOST HORIZON, which is not part of the collection.

[dsclassic]

Cinesage Happy New Year !

Thanks for the tip, I have used DDD before and free shipping is media mail & it takes 2 weeks. For the Capra set I didn't want to wait.. I don't mind using them for less expensive DVDs like 10.00 ones or something I am not in a real hurry to get

I did go to their website to compare costs ..

Basically if getting it at a store is the same cost or 1-2.00 more than what I can get it online for I will just get it at the store,

For 5.00 more I got it at the store and no need to wait. There are so many video stores where I live sometimes I used think I am looney for ordering online when I can get things here, but online like Amazon, sometimes the cost of the item + shipping is still cheaper than a store

We have Amoeba ,Rasputin ,Virgin, Best Buy, and Circuit City here..

Here is a website in return

tower.com

They have the best prices from what I have noticed..

Very competitive prices..

There are certain things I will get if the deals are really great..

[MissGoddess]

Hi DSC! This set has been on my Wish List a long while but I had so many others to check off first. You really make me want to run out and get it if I could! I'm glad we now have a Capra thread anyway, so thanks for starting it. He's surely one our greatest filmmakers.

 

The Capra dvd I am MOST thrilled about eventually getting is The Bitter Tea of General Yen. I've frothed over this movie many times on this board and I was so happy when I learned it may come to dvd as early as this year. It's one of his most original works, and one of his most powerfully erotic. At least to me. It's also contains one of my favorite Barbara Stanwyck performances. But then, I have always been a sucker for those "exotic erotica" pastiches that were all the vogue in silents and even into the early thirties (Morocco, Shanghai Express, Wild Orchids, The Mask of Fu Manchu, etc.)

 

 

[dsclassic]

Hi MSG -

Go out and get the Capra set...your shelf will thank you and love you forever

[CoopsGal]

This is on my "To Buy" list on amazon. I can't wait to get it!!

[Film_Fatale]

> {quote:title=dsclassic wrote:}{quote}

> For some reason companies and ebay sellers ship DVDs at Media Mail which takes forever, when for few cents more it can go first class..

 

At least with individual sellers you should be able to ask if they can upgrade to first class, if you're willing to pay for it they probably don't have any reason to refuse.

 

> Anyway Capra the man and his box set are just great...I real treasure...

> Anyone else own it ?

 

I own it and I am greatly looking forward to the reported 2nd volume which may be released at some point in the near future, and which would include more of Capra's earlier films (late 20's - early 30's).

[TripleHHH]

I also own this set now, due to a few recommendations. I plan to watch them all around the Holidays when Im on vacation

I had rented & borrowed them all separately late last year & just fell in love with all the titles in the set, it is a great GREAT set of movies, and highly recommend it..

Speaking of ebay, I read an announcement that all DVD shipping costs will be no higher than 3.00 starting in October. That means any seller selling a DVD can only have the shipping cost 3.00 or less..I guess they noticed some sellers shipping costs were high like 6.99 ,etc..

I used to buy a lot on ebay but Amazon costs are better and they ship much faster.

[Film_Fatale]

> {quote:title=TripleHHH wrote:}{quote}

> I used to buy a lot on ebay but Amazon costs are better and they ship much faster.

 

Whoa, hold on a second. I'd say that for buying new DVDs, amazon is indeed the better choice. But for second-hand and OOP DVDs, it pays to shop around. You could find a good deal on either site.

[TripleHHH]

Ive had some bad experiences buying on ebay

# 1 - I avoid sellers who sell DVDs at 5.99 to ship

# 2- Ive bought a few second hand DVDs for myself and wife on ebay and ones described like new, sellers had failed to mention they had dogs or animals that use DVD cases are doggie chews and toys..

Ive had a lot more success on Amazon lately in all honesty..The sellers communicate, there is tracking and hardly any waiting.

I will say ebay sellers are better than the ebay power sellers when it comes to communication and shipping costs..anyone who doesnt sell in mass quantity that they neglect customer inquiries and such (it shows in their feedback)

That being said, you can get good deals on both, it just depends on your comfort level on whom to buy from. If I wasnt so lazy & just too tired to go out after work to go DVD shopping Id go that route..when I order, I dont have to go anywhere

[Film_Fatale]

Just caught this story on the wires a bit ago:

 

*Oscar for Capra's 'Prelude to War' given to Army*

 

By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 4, 7:24 AM ET

 

LOS ANGELES - The Army, with a hand from Hollywood, has received a long-lost Oscar back into its ranks.

 

The little statue took a long, and largely unknown path before being passed from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis to an Army general during a Wednesday night ceremony and screening.

 

In 1942, a few weeks after Pearl Harbor, filmmaker Frank Capra joined the Army and was assigned to create a film series, "Why We Fight."

 

Major Capra, who had directed such films as "It Happened One Night," "Lost Horizon" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was told to create the documentary "Prelude to War."

 

He showed the finished work to Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall, who insisted that President Roosevelt see the film.

 

In his 1971 autobiography, "The Name Above the Title," Capra wrote of a screening at the White House. Amid the applause at the end, FDR exclaimed: "Every man, woman and child in the world should see this film!"

 

"Prelude to War" was at first seen solely by soldiers in Army quarters, but the Army eventually relented and 250 prints were sent to theaters across the country.

 

The Academy staged a screening of "Prelude to War" on Wednesday night at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood.

 

"Sixty-five years later, 'Prelude to War' still continues to be one of the greatest documentaries ever made," said Ganis, the emcee for the screening.

 

In 1942, "Prelude to War" won an Oscar for Best Documentary by the U.S. Army Special Services but, Ganis explained, the prize wasn't an Oscar but a plaque. All of the awards were in plaster, not metal, during the war because of the metal shortage.

 

After the war the Army received an actual Oscar statue and it was stored in the Army Pictorial Center. When the center closed in 1970, the Oscar disappeared.

 

Capra, who died in 1991, made other documentaries for the military during the war, including "The Nazis Strike," "The Battle of Britain," "The Negro Soldier" and "Divide and Conquer."

 

Earlier this year, Christie's auction house advertised an Oscar for sale. It was the missing "Prelude to War" award.

 

The Academy notified the army, which claimed the prize.

 

On Wednesday night, Ganis presented a polished, 8-pound Oscar to Brig. Gen. Jeffrey E. Phillips, deputy chief of public affairs for the army.