 | Studio Classics Collection Gift Set
Contains 40 movies from 1937-1969. The odd thing is nothing in this expensive and expansive set overlaps anything else on this list. Includes 3 best pictures. All but two films are very good to excellent.
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 | Best Picture Oscar Collection (18-Pack)
Buy used from: $311.39 Contains: Broadway Melody of 1929, Grand Hotel, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Great Ziegfeld, The Life of Emile Zola, Gone with the Wind, Mrs. Miniver, Casablanca, An American in Paris, Around the World in 80 Days, Gigi, Ben-Hur, My Fair Lady, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chariots of Fire, Amadeus, Driving Miss Daisy, and Unforgiven.
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 | Best Picture Collection (American Beauty / Braveheart / Forrest Gump / Gladiator / The Godfather / Titanic / Terms of Endearment)
Buy new: $62.99 / Used from: $21.03 Contains 7 of the box office blockbuster Oscar Best Picture winners since 1970.
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 | Mega Signature Collection
A better selection is to individually buy the signature collections of Alfred Hitchcock, Bogie & Bacall, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, Errol Flynn (V1&V2), Garbo, James Stewart, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy, Ronald Reagan, Robert Mitchum, & James Cagney. Total cost = $564.50. Advantage: Better movies and no overlap with the rest of this list.
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 | Astaire & Rogers Ultimate Collector's Edition (Flying Down to Rio / The Gay Divorcee / Roberta / Top Hat / Follow the Fleet / Swing Time / Shall We Dance / Carefree / The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle / The Barkleys of Broadway)
Buy new: $87.99 / Used from: $71.99 The best dance team and the best individual dancer we'll ever see - Fred Astaire. Plus there is some of the most memorable music of all time and the great chemistry of Astaire & Rogers.
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 | The Busby Berkeley Collection (Footlight Parade / Gold Diggers of 1933 / Dames / Gold Diggers of 1935 / 42nd Street)
Buy new: $44.99 / Used from: $32.48 Great musicals from a musical genius.
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| Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 1 (Ziegfeld Follies / Till the Clouds Roll By / Three Little Words / Summer Stock / It's Always Fair Weather)
Buy new: $53.99 / Used from: $27.49 Five-film collection of enjoyable but not-quite-top-tier movies from MGM's peak period between the mid-1940s and mid-'50s. The best films are the two with Gene Kelly.
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 | The Classic Musicals Collection - Broadway to Hollywood (Easter Parade Two Disc Special Edition / The Band Wagon Two Disc Special Edition / Bells Are Ringing / Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon)
Buy new: $42.99 / Used from: $31.09 THE BAND WAGON is the crown jewel here, of course, but the others are excellent.
If you like musicals you might also enjoy "The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection [Remastered]" which contains :The Sound of Music / The King and I / Oklahoma! / South Pacific / State Fair / Carousel.
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 | Eclipse Series 8 - Lubitsch Musicals (The Love Parade / The Smiling Lieutenant / One Hour with You / Monte Carlo) (Criterion Collection)
Buy new: $53.99 / Used from: $34.99 Four great musicals with the Lubitsch touch from the early talkie era. They are much better than musicals you have probably seen from that era.
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 | Alfred Hitchcock - The Masterpiece Collection
Buy new: $93.99 / Used from: $68.98 Contains some of his best works plus a couple of ones from after "The Birds" that weren't that great IMHO.
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 | The Premiere Frank Capra Collection (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington / It Happened One Night / You Can't Take It with You / Mr. Deeds Goes to Town / American Madness / Frank Capra's American Dream)
Buy new: $41.99 / Used from: $24.99 Frank Capra - the eternal optimist. Includes 2 best pictures.
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 | Preston Sturges - The Filmmaker Collection (Sullivan's Travels/The Lady Eve/The Palm Beach Story/Hail the Conquering Hero/The Great McGinty/Christmas in July/The Great Moment)
Buy new: $43.99 / Used from: $31.31 Sturges was the writer/director of some great comedies in the early 40's.
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 | John Wayne-John Ford Film Collection (The Searchers Ultimate Edition / Stagecoach Two-Disc Special Edition / Fort Apache / She Wore a Yellow Ribbon / The Long Voyage Home / They Were Expendable / 3 Godfathers / The Wings of Eagles)
Buy new: $55.99 / Used from: $39.97 John Wayne & John Ford made some of the best westerns together.
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 | The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 1 (Modern Times / The Great Dictator / The Gold Rush / Limelight)
Buy used from: $63.99 A great director and a comic genius.
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 | The Chaplin Collection, Vol. 2 (City Lights / The Circus / The Kid / A King in New York / A Woman of Paris / Monsieur Verdoux / The Chaplin Revue / Charlie - The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin)
Buy used from: $138.55 Part 2 of the two volume set includes the Chaplin Revue and other Chaplin shorts from the 1910's.
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 | Chaplin Mutual Comedies: Restored 90th Anniversary Edition
Buy new: $59.99 / Used from: $33.99 FEATURED FILMS: THE FLOORWALKER - THE FIREMAN - THE VAGABOND - ONE A.M. - THE COUNT - THE PAWN SHOP - BEHIND THE SCREEN - THE RINK - EASY STREET - THE CURE - THE IMMIGRANT - THE ADVENTURER SPECIAL FEATURES. No overlap between the three Chaplin packages as far as I can see.
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 | The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (The Cocoanuts / Animal Crackers / Monkey Business / Horse Feathers / Duck Soup)
Buy new: $42.99 / Used from: $34.92 The Marx Brothers at their rowdy best. Classic precode comedy.
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 | Classic Comedies Collection (Bringing Up Baby / The Philadelphia Story Two-Disc Special Edition / Dinner at Eight / Libeled Lady / Stage Door / To Be or Not to Be)
Buy new: $24.99 / Used from: $27.99 More comedies.
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 | The Complete Thin Man Collection (The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man / Alias Nick and Nora)
Buy new: $39.49 / Used from: $34.25 Comedy mixed with mystery.
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 | Warner Legends Collection (The Adventures of Robin Hood / Yankee Doodle Dandy / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre / Here's Looking at You, Warner Bros.) - Two-Disc Special Edition
Buy used from: $33.23 Three great movies from three more cool/tough guys.
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 | Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 1 (The Asphalt Jungle / Gun Crazy / Murder My Sweet / Out of the Past / The Set-Up)
Buy new: $36.99 / Used from: $25.00 The first edition of Warner film noir was the best with the essential "The Asphalt Jungle" and plenty of extras.
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 | Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)
Buy new: $39.99 / Used from: $34.75 Volumes 2 & 3 got off track somewhat, but volume 4 has 10 lesser known but top drawer noirs from WHV.
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 | Film Noir Collection, Vol. 1
Expensive set of 17 film noirs from Fox. There are some very good films in this set.
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 | TCM Archives - The Lon Chaney Collection (The Ace of Hearts / Laugh, Clown, Laugh / The Unknown)
Buy new: $33.49 / Used from: $23.49 Lon Chaney is often between horror and film noir.
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 | The Monster Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Dracula / The Wolf Man)
Buy used from: $51.90 Universal's horror franchise kept it afloat in the 30's.
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 | Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection (Doctor X / The Return of Doctor X / Mad Love / The Devil Doll / Mark of the Vampire / The Mask of Fu Manchu)
Buy new: $28.49 / Used from: $24.00 Warner and MGM have some good horror films from the 1930's in this set, although Universal still holds the premium properties from this era.
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 | Hammer Horror Collection (The Curse of Frankenstein / Dracula Has Risen from the Grave / Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed / Horror of Dracula / The Mummy / Taste the Blood of Dracula)
Buy new: $57.99 / Used from: $51.83 Classic Horror from the Hammer Studios.
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 | Fox Horror Classics Collection (The Lodger / Hangover Square / The Undying Monster)
Buy new: $22.49 / Used from: $20.31 A trio of horror films from Fox with all the trimmings. The Lodger & Hangover Square are top notch. If you remember that The Undying Monster is really a B monster movie flick, it is good too.
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 | Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection 1 & 2 (Tarantula/Mole People/Incredible Shrinking Man/Monolith Monsters/Monster on the Campus/Dr. Cyclops/Cult of the Cobra/Land Unknown/Deadly Mantis/Leech Woman)
Buy new: $30.99 / Used from: $29.99 Universal brings out 10 of their finest sci-fi films from the 50's. People just weren't that afraid of vampires and werewolves after the atomic age began.
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 | Essential Classics - Dramas (The Maltese Falcon / Citizen Kane / Ben-Hur)
Three great dramas from Bogart, Orson Welles, and Charleton Heston. There is no other collection that includes Citizen Kane that I am aware of.
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 | Singin' in the Rain (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Buy new: $11.99 / Used from: $8.90 Another top AFI contender, but also not a Best Picture winner or even a nominee for that matter.
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![TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge [1931] / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MBOPSGxwL._SL75_.jpg) | TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge [1931] / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman)
Buy new: $29.99 / Used from: $15.26 Controversial films with a sexual angle from the pre-code years.
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 | TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2 (The Divorcee / A Free Soul / Night Nurse / Three on a Match / Female)
Buy new: $35.99 / Used from: $29.97 A second helping of precode movies from MGM and WB. This one comes with a documentary on the genre.
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 | Controversial Classics Collection (Advise and Consent / The Americanization of Emily / Bad Day at Black Rock / Blackboard Jungle / A Face in the Crowd / Fury / I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang)
Buy new: $71.99 / Used from: $46.47 Movies that caused a stir in their day.
There is also a "Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media" containing: All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (Two-Disc Special Edition).
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 | The Tarzan Collection Starring Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan the Ape Man / Escapes / and His Mate / Finds a Son / Secret Treasure / New York Adventure)
Buy new: $44.99 / Used from: $29.48 The best of the original Tarzan pictures.
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 | Lassie Come Home/Son of Lassie/Courage of Lassie
Buy new: $13.49 / Used from: $8.99 The best of the Lassie films in a 3-pack.
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 | Warner Bros. Classic Holiday Collection (Boys Town / A Christmas Carol 1938 / Christmas in Connecticut)
Buy used from: $8.94 Boy's Town isn't a holiday classic, but it's a good family film with an Oscar winning performance by Tracy.
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 | Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 1 (The Public Enemy / White Heat / Angels with Dirty Faces / Little Caesar / The Petrified Forest / The Roaring Twenties)
Buy new: $46.99 / Used from: $45.00 The premium gangster properties of Warner Bros. studios with commentaries, short subjects, cartoons, and newsreels.
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 | Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 2 (Bullets or Ballots / City for Conquest / Each Dawn I Die / G Men / San Quentin / A Slight Case of Murder)
Buy new: $41.99 / Used from: $36.99 Features the gangster film after the code was enforced. Our tough guys are forced to clean up their acts.
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 | Warner Gangsters Collection, Vol. 3 (Smart Money / Picture Snatcher / The Mayor of Hell / Lady Killer / Black Legion / Brother Orchid)
Buy new: $41.99 / Used from: $30.00 Second tier gangster films are still good viewing. This one has some of Cagney's, Robinson's, and Bogart's best performances in lesser known films.
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