I know I'm not the only person who hates the logic for DVD pricing. Certain movies show up constantly, while others are either always expensive or nowhere to be found.
The general rule is something like this:

Brand-new movie: $20 or more
Somewhat new movie: $15-20
Not new movie: $10-15
Old movie: $5-10
Ben Stiller/Adam Sandler movie: $2.99 or less

Of course, whenever a movie from before the 70's is rereleased as a "special edition", the marketing people think it's a good idea to charge 20 bucks for it, as if it's the hottest new thing. It's shameful when one has to pay more for a copy of Yankee Doodle Dandy than for the first 4 A Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined.*

Speaking of which, those "4 Film Favorites" packs by Warner Bros. are a little overblown. Yes, they are a good value. But not only do they take up less space on your shelf (not good for those who, like me, go for quantity), they look like crap. Who cares if you have the entire Lethal Weapon collection if it fits on two double-sided discs? (BTW, I also hate those easily damaged two siders.)

Even worse, they often force out the separate movies. I have no desire to purchase A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, 6, or Freddy vs. Jason. I would like New Nightmare, however, but the solo DVD is gone. I could buy the official Franchise Collection (which at least looks rather nice), but it's literally twice as much as buying the two 4-packs.

Finally, we come to Complete Collection packages. The official ones are usually fine, except for the thinner, less durable keep cases. Sadly, they often come with only the first discs of the movies, excluding many cool bonus features. (My purchase of Men in Black comes to mind; they didn't even reprint the disc, and it still says DISC ONE and asks you to put in DISC TWO for more features.)

Okay, time to shut up. Don't pay more for the DVD than you did for the movie, popcorn, candy and soda combined.


* I'm not kidding. $21.99 for a movie that came out before my grandparents did.

Optimist With Doubts wrote:

I would normally say iron man since it's a good movie but the dvd is a bit barebones.

Right you are. The only DVD I've seen with fewer special features is the release of Darkman III: Die Darkman Die that comes in the Trilogy pack. It's just the movie; there's not even a freakin' menu!

(On a similar note, if you want the aforementioned movies, get the separate DVDs. They have more features, weirdly enough.)

Syd Lexia wrote:

Wal*Mart is usually good for $16.99 - 18.99 on most major releases when they first come out on DVD. I hate double pack, triple pack, and quad pack DVDs that come on a single disc. There are rarely special features and the compression sucks. Plus, the packaging always looks like shit. I dunno, they feel very unclassy and they give off a "I collect welfare checks" vibe.

For me, the compression is rarely an issue. However, you're right about Wal-Mart. The people who manage inventory can't seem to make up their minds. All 4 Batman movies (the 1989 film through Batman and Robin) are available at my local one both separately and in the crappy 4-pack. The same goes for the ANOES movies, with both the official and awful sets for sale.

Thankfully, they have a lot of good movies available for sale separately for a good price. All 4 Batman movies separately would only cost 20 bucks.

Oh, also: I would like the full Nightmare collection as a gift, but the only one I'm spending my $$$ on is New Nightmare, and maybe a special edition of the 1st movie.