How do I hunt down this obscure DVD?

April 4, 2008 8:56 AM

I'm trying to hunt down a copy of the out-of-print DVD "Black Like Me" for a colleague. I'm very inexperienced in trying to find obscure movies, so where do I start?

Fun Facts: Used DVD is not a problem. My town's two video stores are of no help. Ebay turns up a VHS now and again, but I was sort of hoping for a nicer format. (I see the Laserdisc there, also; pretty sure he doesn't have an LD player). I am near Winnipeg and willing to drive there, if anybody knows some good places to call. Other than that, I suppose it's up to the internet?

posted by Monster_Zero to shopping (14 comments total)

amazon and netflix don't offer it, neithers.
posted by tachikaze at 9:08 AM on April 4, 2008

I found DVD copies on google. I've never used the service or seller, so caveat emptor...
posted by mattybonez at 9:34 AM on April 4, 2008

and actually, this url has more detail about the quality of the DVD. It seems to be the same seller though.
posted by mattybonez at 9:36 AM on April 4, 2008

Interlibrary loan?
posted by box at 9:40 AM on April 4, 2008

I'm shocked that this movie's so hard to find. Is it really that obscure? I remember it as being rather good. For what it's worth, out of all the Canadian library collections that WorldCat is aware of, there's but a single copy (and of VHS edition, at that) and it's in the Seneca College Library in Toronto. Not worth an ILL, I should think.
posted by mumkin at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2008

You might try through the site iOffer. It's sort of an ebay clone for hard to find videos etc. and even offers swaps along with outright purchasing. a search for the title on that site yielded these results

I've used them before for obscure films, but as the others say above, caveat emptor.
posted by MeetCleaverTheatre at 9:42 AM on April 4, 2008

Roberts Hard to find Videos seems to indicate that it's only available on VHS.

http://www.robertsvideos.com/

It probably hasn't been released on DVD, and any you find on the net are probably VHS transcodes.

via Rick Forchuk's radio show:
http://rickspicks.ca/links.asp
posted by so_ at 9:47 AM on April 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

It probably hasn't been released on DVD, and any you find on the net are probably VHS transcodes.

so_: there was a DVD edition, published in 2002 by VCI Entertainment of Tulsa, OK. It might be a crappy transfer, but it was an official release.
posted by mumkin at 9:54 AM on April 4, 2008

According to imdb, there was a commercial dvd release in 2002, which I see in the rental inventory of the mighty Scarecrow Video. It looks like Intelliflix has it, too.
posted by hades at 9:55 AM on April 4, 2008

Clarification: I'd like to purchase and give it to my colleague as a gift. So rentals are sort of out...unless these rental places will up and sell it to me, I guess. Thanks for the answers so far!
posted by Monster_Zero at 10:16 AM on April 4, 2008

Ah, I think when you said "I suppose it's up to the internet" some might have interpreted that as meaning that you would be satisfied with a torrent of it, and thus other means of locating an original to be ripped were proposed.

I would suggest getting in touch with VCI Entertainment. Though they don't list it as a product in stock, they appear to be the only folks who have ever issued an official DVD version. It's conceivable that they might be able to help you.
posted by mumkin at 12:03 PM on April 4, 2008

I think the problem is that, barring an extremely lucky find on eBay, you're not going to find a legitimate DVD of this readily for sale. The copies at iOffer are bootlegs, as would be the copy you could get through the obscure movie finding service I've used. With a DVD rental, you could cut out the middleman and make the bootleg yourself. If you want to remain ethical (if not legal, probably), you could make a copy of the DVD, purchase a legitimate commercial VHS or LD of it, and give them both to your colleague. I could justify that to myself, anyway.
posted by hades at 12:10 PM on April 4, 2008

Well, if price is no object, here's a seller with a copy.
posted by dobbs at 1:06 PM on April 4, 2008

Search alibris.com. They have a VHS available right now that's fairly affordable. I think the DVD is hard to find, as others have noted.
posted by liketitanic at 1:49 PM on April 4, 2008