With the nearest open movie theaters hard to find, many fans look to home entertainment more than ever. If the kids are quarantined at home also, purchases, rather than rentals, start to look better and better for the inevitable repeat viewings. But with so many, it’s hard to know where to begin or what to afford. In this ongoing series, Superhero Hype takes a look at some of the better deals Amazon.com has running as of publication time. Please note that all deals are subject to change or sell out at any time based on supply and demand. These are the deals for Oct 22.
2001: A Space Odyssey (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)
$24.99
It may be the greatest sci-fi movie ever made, and was certainly the best G-rated movie ever made. Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick’s collaboration charts the evolution of mankind form primitive ape to future starchild. All while suggesting that what we think of as God may simply be beings far beyond our understanding, always observing and charting our progress. Any true fan of science fiction or cinema needs this.
Ghostbusters [4k UHD] [Blu-ray]
$16.97
Frustrated by constant academic bias, three libertarians start a novel business providing a service the city needs, all while bucking the oppressive big government regulations of the EPA. Or so some people would have us believe; most agree it’s a mistake to read real-world politics into Ghostbusters. At heart it’s still essentially two Saturday Night Live alumni and many other funny people fighting terror dogs, ghostly BJs, and a giant marshmallow. And it’s a stone-cold horror-fantasy-comedy classic.
Ghostbusters II [4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray]
$22.99
The sequel to Ghostbusters isn’t as good, but it’s aged all right. Unlike so many other sequels, it at least reassembled all the old cast. Hamstrung slightly by having to appeal to young fans of the animated series as well as older fans of the movie, it nonetheless gave us that gloriously bonkers performance by Peter MacNicol as Janusz, hapless apprentice of Vigo the Carpathian.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial [Blu-ray]
$25.02
The original, un-special edition with guns gets the anniversary treatment on 4K. Cited by Steven Spielberg as his favorite movie he made, because it persuaded him he wanted to be a father, E.T. was once the highest grossing film of all time. And for good reason. It gets a bad rap as being overly sentimental, but try watching it again, and notice how Spielberg shoots the whole thing against type like a horror movie. Combine that with the weird religious allegory that it is, and the ’80s pop cultural time capsule it evokes, and it becomes obvious why this is a classic.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Director’s Cut) 4K UHD [Blu-ray]
$22.99
If it came out today, Close Encounters would probably inspire prequels, sequels, and a cinematic universe. As is, it’s another Spielberg sci-fi classic in which aliens summon Richard Dreyfuss to meet them atop a giant mountain, and almost everyone possible tries to get in his way.
InterStellar 4K UltraHD [Blu-ray]
$14.96
Christopher Nolan’s personal take on 2001 sees Matthew McConaughey blast off from a global warming-riddled Earth to rescue Matt Damon and travel through time. On 4K viewers can appreciate all the epic visuals, while turning on the subtitles to understand all the dialogue that Nolan typically drowns out in the sound mix.
Star Trek 10-Movie Stardate Collection (Blu-ray + Digital)
$32.96
From V’Ger taking over beautiful bald ladies to Tom Hardy as a Picard clone, the Star Trek movie saga sure does love hairlessness. And that’s without getting into Patrick Stewart or any of those William Shatner jokes everyone makes. But there’s much more to the movies than that. Follow the adventures of Kirk and crew to the very end, and see the torch passed to Picard et al as they face off against several outstanding character actors. Will we ever see movies in this timeline again? It might seem logical, but the future is unclear.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Complete Collection
$24.96
Go ahead and sing it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, heroes in a half-shelf…Turtle Power! They’re the world’s most fearsome fighting teeeeee-am. All ten seasons on DVD is peachy keen! Including 23 DVDs…this $25 box set is the best deal we see!
Thundarr The Barbarian (4 Disc)
$22.11
Before He-Man…before Lion-O…Thundarr wielded his mighty Sunsword to fight evil wizards on a post-apocalyptic Earth. Cocreated by Steve Gerber with character designs by Alex Toth and Jack Kirby, Thundarr had no agenda to sell toys like its many spiritual offspring. Instead, it attempted to offer the best fantasy it could on a Ruby-Spears animation budget.
Tremors: Shrieker Island [Blu-ray]
$14.96
Stephen Keaton and Napoleon Dynamite have seen far better days. But both still live to fight giant mutant worms, which isn’t so bad of a retirement plan these days.
