I got somewhat excited figuring that for $80 I'd gladly take a region 2 boxed set to sit next to my region 1 set. Then I realized 80.97 British pounds = 160.304406 U.S. dollars and I got slightly less interested. Is the thing really normally priced at 180GBP? That's insane.

war_machine | May 17, 13:31 CET

Yes. Media things over here - CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs tend to be a lot more expensive anyway. Most of our 'chart' DVDs are £14.99 each or thereabouts, so probably almost double that in dollars. Not sure how much you pay, but probably less. Ah well...

spikesdeb | May 17, 13:51 CET

And remember that this is the complete 39-Disk set, slightly different from the American Region 1 40-disk "Chosen Collection".



Also, currency conversion tend to put a lot of things into perspective.
Here in Brazil, sometimes you can on sale movies for R$10, which is about US$5.

Numfar PTB | May 17, 14:13 CET

Just think of how much the Buffy comics are costing us! £2.25 (i.e. $4.45) for a comic that retails for $2.99 i.e. £1.51. Import costs, blah blah blah, but still...(it's worth it).

moley75 | May 17, 14:26 CET

Anyone know if this UK set still has seasons 4-7 in widescreen? I know Joss says it wasn't intended to be viewed that way, that Angel 2-5 was deliberately framed for that format and Buffy never was, but I've gotten so used to seeing 4-7 wide that it just looks better to me that way. A reverse of the usual case where a fan's tastes trump a director's vision...

damaged justice | May 17, 14:34 CET

That's a very good price for over here, £110 is the cheapest i've seen it previously. I'd be snapping it up if I hadn't just bought it from the US a few weeks back (for a bit less still). Ignoring the missing extra disk, are there any compelling reasons to buy this one if you already have the R1 ? How do people feel about the wide vs full screen appearances for instance ?

And i've seen folk mention that issue with comics prices before moley75 but I don't pay anything like that much. $2.99 comics usually cost about £1.65 and $3.99s cost about £2.15 - that's from bricks and mortar Forbidden Planet and without bags/boards but other comic shops are comparable. Might be worth shopping around a bit.

(we definitely get stuffed on imported books though, a few times i've paid, teeth clenched ;), more in pounds than the dollar RRP - e.g. £6.99 for a $5.99 paperback - for a book that's not in print over here)

Saje | May 17, 14:54 CET

Anyone know if this UK set still has seasons 4-7 in widescreen?

Yes, this set is recorded in region 2 so yes. I'm still waiting an answer whether seasons 1-3 include the "Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...." intro.

Madhatter | May 17, 15:53 CET

Saje, it just isn't possible for me to go a comic store at all regularly despite living in London so I have to use mail order. And while Forbidden Planet is selling Buffy on-line for £2.15 their p&p makes each issue £4.15. I was using the more reasonable thecomicbookshop.co.uk (£3.52 in total) until I got a better deal getting comics from Black Dog in Germany.

Back on topic, I own the Chosen and the R2 sets for seasons 4, 5, 6 and I'm sorry Joss but I do like my widescreen discs. I love seeing what the characters are doing around the edges of the scenes. Although there is a classic moment in Who Are You? when Willow (who would be off-screen in 4x3) is mutely standing there but her voice can be heard.

moley75 | May 17, 16:10 CET

There's a moment on the Angel Season 2 region 2 -- which was released in widescreen, but filmed in full screen -- where somebody is visible in the background at the side of the screen eating a sandwich. They're one of the crew.

gossi | May 17, 16:17 CET

Forbidden Planet sells Buffy in the shop for £2 - unless the clerks just give me a discount becaue I look cute...

I can't bring myself to pay £80 for something I already have in separate boxes though, even with the extras. My sister got the complete boxset for Christmas, so i need to just steal her extras DVD for a bit.

Mehitabel | May 17, 16:28 CET

The R1 Angel S2 set was completely botched and done in widescreen instead of fullframe like it was meant to be.

KernelM | May 17, 16:57 CET

I can't bring myself to pay £80 for something I already have in separate boxes though, even with the extras. My sister got the complete boxset for Christmas, so i need to just steal her extras DVD for a bit.

The UK box doesn't have the bonus 40th disc.

Grounded | May 17, 17:23 CET

Forbidden Planet sells Buffy in the shop for £2 - unless the clerks just give me a discount becaue I look cute...

That makes cross (not you being cute, obviously) but the difference in prices between mail order and the shop - I got the first issue in the London store and I can't remember correctly but I don't think I did pay as much as 2.15.

moley75 | May 17, 18:51 CET

Widescreen Angel also allows you to see Boreanaz in one of the episodes joining the rest of the gang as they walk along in front of a mirror, somewhat spoiling the "invisible vampire" illusion.

On costs, it's only a few years since a single season of Buffy on DVD would cost about £80 (at RRP, anyway).

mjwilson | May 17, 19:07 CET

Non-reflective vampire, I mean.

mjwilson | May 17, 19:07 CET

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the entire "Angel" series was filmed in widescreen.

Now, the reflective vamp.....good thought:)

Madhatter | May 17, 19:43 CET

First, I was all like "wow", and then I was all like "click", but then it was all like "nope, ya can't have this item", and now I'm all like "f*cking...f*ck".

GreatMuppetyOdin | May 18, 02:16 CET

It seems to be sold out now. As for the Brits complaining to have to pay too much, think about the Dutch. We don't usually get better prices on these items than the British, and we don't even get free shipping from amazon.

As for shooting in widescreen, I believe everything is shot in widescreen, but sometimes with the intention of releasing the show in 4:3, so they don't care what's on the edges. I think this is the reason why they could release Buffy widescreen in R2, while it was meant to be fullscreen: they had the footage anyway. As for Angel I'm quite sure S1 was released in R2 fullscreen.

Personally I prefer fullscreen for repeated viewing of Buffy, as there are some (pretty few) distracting things at the edges (and frankly, I don't own a widescreen TV, so things look bigger fullscreen). Then again, most DVD-players can be forced to play widescreen stuff fullscreen, so having the DVDs widescreen is not a big problem.

Celebithil | May 18, 08:35 CET

Really? Curses. That means I have to find someone with the region 1 version and steal it off them instead... But at least it means I have even less reason to spend £80 on this.

Mehitabel | May 18, 09:28 CET