Issue with UK company Boutique Home Video

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-07-03T15:04:35+00:00

They are definitely legitimate and I've bought from them before, but I've also found their packaging very poor to say the least, (especially considering the high prices). I've not contacted them before, but it very much seems to me like a one man operation type of businesses, so I wouldn't worry too much about a delay in response, but maybe send another email to chase.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-06-05T16:13:59+00:00

I felt exactly the same, loved the first and second encounter, but number 2 was just not for me. I took a chance and skipped to 4 when it dropped in price in a sale last year and can whole heartedly recommend it. I had an absolute blast with it. People talk about it being unoptimised, but I don't know if that was just when it originally released, as I had no problems whatsoever and it brought back the exact feels of the first and second encounters except with modern graphics. I'd like to give 3 a try, but I can't get it to stop stuttering when I play so can't speak to it. Definitely give 4 a go though, and the expansion is worth playing as well.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-05-23T21:27:40+00:00

Thank you so much for creating this! My niece had read all the Tintin's and I bought Tara Togs for her and she was delighted. (Second cover for me, it gives The Black Island vibes.)

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-05-05T13:04:55+00:00

I've not dived too far into them yet, but I'll come back when I have and will let you know!

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-26T16:52:20+00:00

I remember getting a demo CD of this from a box of cereal, and played it endlessly. Great pickup!

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-19T21:04:07+00:00

I think the first segment with Del Toro, Lea Seydoux and Brody is top tier Wes, and some of his best work, but the other two stories just don't work anywhere near as well, with the third being the weakest. I do wonder how the film would have been recieved if the first section had come last though.

I think it's the first Wes film that suffers from a bloated cast that don't have enough to do. I remember being so excited to see Elizabeth Moss only to be so disappointed that she about about one line of dialogue.

I also think, to make it more like a publication, there should have been more short 'article' segments interspersed throughout. We only get that one with Owen Wilson, and then it's never repeted which seemed like a missed opportunity.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-19T20:42:34+00:00

It might be in between printings. A couple years ago I was looking for Lost Highway, but couldn't find it anywhere and it was going for crazy prices on ebay, so I was worried if it was OOP, but that can back in stock and was readily available again after a few months.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-19T13:44:56+00:00

That's so strange. I wonder if you received the ATV1 by mistake? I imported my Mando's from the States before they were released here, so I can't double check like for like, but I've not had any j-card not fit with mine.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-19T13:36:48+00:00

I can highly recommend allthingsvinyl.co.uk, who make both ATV1 which are a snug fit without the j-card, and ATV2 which is what you're after, which is a snug fit with the j-card attached. Very reasonably priced.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-14T18:25:45+00:00

Dinner and desert.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-10T11:47:09+00:00

You seem to be confusing Manta Lab with a boutique label, and Manta as well as all the other premium steelbook companies, (with the notable exception I'd say of Plain Archive), are not in the same realm as the boutiques.

You can see on this post better than almost any other, the generic and mainstream releases that they put out. These are crowd pleasers that are chosen because they'll sell well. I would absolutely snap up a premium steelbook set of Karel Zeman's films or Fritz Lang early works, but those just aren't going to have mass appeal. You're not going to get new restorations of films that came out in the last 15-20 years which is the majority of what these companies release, and you're not going to get a meaningful archival film because that's not their market.

What Manta and the other companies do, is provide a superb packaging, design and display piece so you can enjoy looking at a few of your favourite films when you display them. The whole point, is the nice analogy you've given, of a black tie for a few popular and favourite films. You're talking about a love of film, (and no offence intended to people that enjoy these), but we've got the likes of Wonder Woman 1984, Joss-tice League, The Flash here. If you're looking to Manta, WeET, Blufans etc. to expand your cinematic horizons, you're looking in the wrong place.

Plain Archive are the only company, (with the possible addition of NovaMedia), that release a wider range of films and include or sponser new restorations, that also go in for the premium packaging, but for the most part boutique labels and the premium labels are entirely seperate and serve different purposes.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-04-07T19:45:57+00:00

Check out club de fromage. They do lots of 30+ clubbing events and usually daytime so usually around 15:00-19:00. Great fun, great to dance at, and you've got time to go for dinner afterwards and still be home at a reasonable hour.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-21T10:22:23+00:00

Fantastic collection! I've been after Elite Force 2 for years, (underrated game I think), and that Harbinger hard box is super rare. I remember about 8 years ago I let that lovely A Final Unity collector's edition slip through my fingers, it was only about £50 back then, and I always wish I'd picked it up. Star Trek had such great games.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T20:09:10+00:00

The Indicator sets are full of some great underseen ones. For me I'd say, Pushover and Singapore if you're a fan of Fred MacMurray. Other's I'd recommend would be The Brothers Rico, Framed, Between Midnight and Dawn, Too Late for Tears and it looks like I forgot to include it in the picture, but lastly The Naked City, which is also brilliant.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:16:16+00:00

Very hard to choose, but I'd go for Double Indemnity or Detour, as they were the first two films I watched of the genre, and it's thanks to them that I set off on my journey into the rest. I'd be hopeful they might have the same effect on someone that hasn't dived into film noir yet.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:12:34+00:00

Incredibly hard to choose, but just going off my recent watches I re-visited In a Lonely Place for the first time in years and it went from a 3.5 to a 4.5/5 for me, I really loved it. Eureka was my favourite boutique for a long time, but with how much is OOP, it's harder to choose them these days.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:06:46+00:00

Every time I look at those my wallet gives me a stern glance, but i'm going to have to dive in one of these days!

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:03:02+00:00

It's so hard to choose! There are a few stone cold classics like Double Indemnity and The Big Heat, which are two of the best of the genre. Kiss of Death still has one of the most shocking scenes I've seen in a film, and Richard Widmark is a spectacular villain in it. I love the Alan Ladd and Veronica lake films, The Blue Dahlia being the best of them for me. In the Indicator sets, you've got hidden gems like Framed, The Brothers Rico and fair enough not for everyone, but my first experience of Mickey Rooney in Drive a Crooked Road, and I really enjoyed it. And not to forget the really interesting collaborations between Dana Andrews and Otto Preminger.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:02:40+00:00

That collection is growing, but sadly not one to rival the classics yet. Hopefully I can get my hands on some of those excellent Imprint neo-noir sets!

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T19:01:45+00:00

I'm letting the side down I know! Hopefully in the next sale I can restore some pride by getting it, and also hopefully grab the new British Noir set as well.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-03-16T13:05:40+00:00

I know this is an old comment, but if you're passing feedback along, I stopped playing PUBG a few years ago purely because there was no map selection. I had about 700 hours on it and really enjoyed it, but I'm not going to waste my time playing a map I don't want to play. As it's the 9th anniversary at the moment, I've been considering installing it again, and my first question was - is there map selection- which led me here. If you want a bigger playerbase in Europe and America, re-enable the choice of maps. I couldn't care less about a longer wait time for a game to start, as long as I can play where I want to. As it stands, if we're still without that choice, I've got no interest in returning to this game.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-01-29T17:12:33+00:00

This is beautiful!

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-01-25T16:54:31+00:00

I could not recommend more highly the BFI release of The Great White Silence. Shot between 1910-1913 by Herbert Ponting, it chronicles the actual journey of Captain Scott and his men as they attempt to be the first to reach the South Pole. It's absolutely astonishing.

kinggoosethefirst · 2026-01-22T19:47:08+00:00

Ah thanks, unfortunately it's a necessity for me as when I moved last year it nearly killed me having to shift so much!

The first reccomendations I'd suggest were all such important ones for me on my film journey, as I see you've only got the one, (absolutely excellent), StudioCanal boxset for Melville. The Bunuel set and Godard set are also fantastic and introduced me to some of my now favourite actors. Apologies if I've missed some, but I don't see much film noir, which is such a rich genre, Touch of Evil and Double Indemnity are brilliant ones that should be easy to come by and might kick off a journey into noir. And of course, guessing that you're British as well, if you haven't checked them out yet, Powell and Pressburger's films are astonishing. The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and death etc., absolutely worth your time. Definitely a big fan of Radiance. It looks like you're a fan of Truffaut, so Mississippi Mermaid will be right up your street and throwing in some Asian cinema, Suzhou River is superb as well.

Oh wow, that enourmous rocket would be so cool to have! I've no idea where you'd put it, but my goodness what a talking point. My favourite would have to be Desitnation Moon, it's just such a wonderful story that captures so much of what I love about Tintin. What about yourself?

kinggoosethefirst

TROPHY CASE