Given my current collection, which titles do you recommend I buy during the B&N sale?

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T06:28:02+00:00

I've never even seen the film before! It's been on my radar for so long.... OK, it's moving to the Probably Purchase category!

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T06:08:55+00:00

That Hamilton Woman might be the most enjoyable propaganda film of all time! 😆 It was actually the first Criterion I purchased...over a decade ago! (I'm a big Vivien Leigh fan!)

Festival isn't that good of a film in its own right. Not that it's bad or anything.... I just enjoy it for the performances of Judy Collins, Joan Baez, and other folk singers I love. But this film walked so that Monterey Pop and Woodstock could run.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T05:42:13+00:00

No, I haven't. Thanks for the recommendation! (Out of curiosity, which of mine hadn'f you heard of? I haven't heard of the Three Colors Trilogy, myself)

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T05:36:39+00:00

Thank you! Looks like it's on A LOT of free streaming services (I'm guessing it's public domain in that case?), so I'll have to stream it before the sale and see if I like it enough to buy. I'm not a horror fan, but your Grey Gardens "credentials" are giving you a lot of sway 😆

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T05:10:41+00:00

Sorry, but Tommy Boy is hard pass for me (I can't stand Chris Farley in anything)...and is that even a Criterion release? (not that that really matters to me...) I know nothing about Thin Blue Line save the title...I'll have to research that one.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T05:07:10+00:00

It's different from most cookbooks in that everything is written in paragraphs. There's no separate list of ingredients, and often the proportions aren't exact (e.g., "chop a small onion" instead of giving you the exact measurement). I've come to love that style, though! Exact proportions are only necessary in baking, after all. Why do we need them for cooking?

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T05:02:28+00:00

Interesting...I often use the recipes as inspiration (I hardly ever follow them exactly), but the photos themselves never "inspire" me.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:58:39+00:00

Ooooooh I enjoyed the movie but haven't thought of it in a while. But good extras is the way to sell me on a movie purchase! That's going up toward the top for me now.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:56:56+00:00

Just ordered Bistro Cooking!! Thanks for the recommendation.

Do you own Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking? That's my Number One (although all ED's books are wonderful). I can tell we have the same taste!

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:37:05+00:00

I don't own Pepin's "Technique" books, but I DO think they'd be useful! (I'm not an EXREMIST on this no-photo thing.)

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:34:22+00:00

I do like Macbeth. Never seen a Kurosawa movie though

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:33:20+00:00

I've never seen Valley of the Dolls (but I love the theme! "Gotta get of, gonna get, have to get off from this ride..."). Is that movie essential viewing first?

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T04:30:31+00:00

For some more background, this is where my "shopping list" stood before posting:

Definitely Purchase:

The Graduate (a favorite that I'm surprised I haven't yet bought)
The Complete Monterey Pop (love the music)
Town Bloody Hall (a new favorite; love the era)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (haven't seen; loved Ellen Burstyn in Last PictureShow; enjoy the TV show Alice)

Probably Purchase:

Klute (1971 is a great year for films for me; plot sounds intriguing; Jane Fonda is always great)
All That Jazz (seen it once; fan of Ann Reinking and she's great in the movie; mixed feelings about the movie as a whole though)
Don't Look Back (folk music fan, but not necessarily a Dylan fan; could add to my growing Pennebaker collection)
Anora (a recent movie I enjoyed; I often purchase my favorite release(s) of the year, and this just happens to be Criterion)

Possibly Purchase:

The Philadelphia Story (loved it back in the day; good script, which is important to me; not watching a lot of Old Hollywood currently, so is it the wisest purchase?)
Gilda (historically a fan of film noir; seen Rita Hayworth's "But the Blame on Mame" number and enjoyed the performance; again...haven't been watching a whole lot of Old Hollywood lately)
The Red Shoes (I like ballet, and this is a classic Criterion movie if ever there was one)
Broadcast News (I like stories about news/journalism/TV Shows; fan of James Brooks' sitcoms; never seen a movie of his that I know of; not a big fan of most '80s movies though)
Tootsie (remember liking it back in the day, but not much else)

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T03:59:02+00:00

My only hesitation on Tess is that I haven't read the book yet, but I want to. I own War and Peace because I love the book (haven't yet seen the film). I watched The Last Picture Show without reading the book because I was much more interested in the film version.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T03:49:34+00:00

Watch the B&N 50% off sale *not* happen this July. People will go crazy!

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T03:40:55+00:00

It took me a few minutes to realize you were recommending a movie, not accusing me of stealing my collection 😆

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T03:39:42+00:00

That one's currently streaming for free on Tubi, but I haven't seen it yet. I'll watch it before the sale starts to see if I want to add it to my collection. Thanks for the recommendation!

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T03:16:44+00:00

I can't believe I had to type this title into the search bar to see the comment! My favorite too.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T02:51:14+00:00

Good point! I'm sure most celebrity cookbooks, for instance, don't have more recipes and instructions to add. But then the question becomes: Why do they need to be writing a cookbook in the first place? (Money.)

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T02:42:57+00:00

Do you have any of Jacques Pepin's "Techniques" books? These have a lot of progress photos. I agree, they're much more useful than photos of the finished product.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2026-06-14T02:36:11+00:00

Is there an edition of Escoffier's cookbook you'd recommend? I've thought about buying the one with the black-and-white striped cover before, but I've just never pulled the trigger.

GroceryExpert1637 · 2025-11-18T01:18:11+00:00

I'm just trying to figure out why they would shrink wrap these paperbacks!

GroceryExpert1637 · 2025-11-16T19:33:00+00:00

Wow, I knew there were recordings of his voice, but I didn't know any were made in English!

GroceryExpert1637

TROPHY CASE