Dvd Dissapointments & Suprises

[Susan]

I don't have an extensive collection by any means (probably just around 20) - I would love to but I only just got a player this year and budget just doesn't allow. So slowly I add, and have noticed that some movies that I liked just don't have that "watchability" factor once I own it. Others I remember liking years ago I now wonder what i was thinking when I bought it. These particularly include "The Changeling" and "Quest for Fire". Now they sit on my shelf and I wish I could trade them in, the only place that does that kind of thing here will only fork over $2 for each and that's almost not worth it. I wish we had a local group of moviefans who wanted to trade dvd's (maybe one dvd exchange for a dvd, regardless of face value)

On the other hand movies that I liked alright have been great as a part of my collection. While I might really enjoy "close Encounters of the Third Kind" - how many times can I watch it? I don't think i've even watched it since I got it. Yet, i'm almost embarassed to admit that "Nightbreed" I've watched over and over. It's just an overall great popcorn flick, nothing really dynamic about this cheesy 80's Clive Barker movie obviously, and the DVD certainly doesn't offer any special features. Who knew I'd end up burning that one in my player more than the others. Maybe films like this don't have to meet higher standards so they become easier to throw on and enjoy. I'm hoping "The edge" fairs that way too, I just got it.

It sure makes me realize that no matter how much I love or just kind of like a film, I'll never know until I get it home how often it'll break out of the case, I guess that fact makes it even harder to make purchases.

Do you own any movies that arne't really a favorite, but you can't help but have watched them over and over? Or Vise Versa, ones you love but you can't bring yourself to watch..no urge? Anyone want "Quest for fire"? heh

[Neon Noodle]

Don't really care for Quest for fire, thanks....

I can't seem to stop playing "Dragon's Lair" from the boxed set. Probably because the video game ate so many of my quarters back in the olden days.

As far as actual movies go, I have only watched Lord of the Rings once all the way through; Yet, I will watch "Drunken Master" several times.

[JohnL]

>Or Vise Versa, ones you love but you can't bring yourself to watch..no urge?

I have TV shows that I've taped every episode, but except for rare occasions, I haven't re-watched them.

[Susan]

>>\As far as actual movies go, I have only watched Lord of the Rings once all the way through; Yet, I will watch "Drunken Master" several times.<<

I think i watched that once myself too, it was great in theaters and I was rushed to buy it - but it's pretty long and involving and slow-paced at times that it's nothing something I'm anxious to break out. I realized there's no way i'm buying the sequels.

[The Burgomaster]

Susan:

Try selling them on Ebay . . . you'll probably get more than $2.00 apiece for them.
If you wait until they are out of print, you'll probably get more than you paid for them. I have sold out of print VHS tapes that I paid $10 - $20 for for as much as $50 on Ebay.

Watchability is a funny thing. I have great DVDs like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and DR. ZHIVAGO that I have watched only once. On the other hand, I have watched movies like BRIDE OF THE MONSTER and THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM numerous times. Go figure . . .

[yaddo42]

I think that's what makes some of the great films so special, they are "events" that can only be savored once in a while. I love Kurosawa's films but only watch them rarely. Among my DVDs and tapes I have classics like "Lawrence Of Arabia", "Bridge On The River Kwai", "The Man Who Would Be King", the Leone westerns, etc. that I watch maybe once a year at most. But all would make my list of all time favorites.

But also in my collection are b-movies and "flicks" like the Trinity westerns, "Time And Tide", "Slap Shot", "The Master Of The Flying Guilotine", "Killer Klowns From Outer Space", etc. That I go back to quite often and watch all or part of on a regular basis.

[Bernie]

I try to build my collection around films I know I will want to watch multiple times, rather than "best" films or even strictly my favorites.

[dean]

why is it that i get conned into buying the dvd for minority report, a film that i really liked and saw twice at the cinemas, but haven't even touched it since i bought it, not even to see the special features

i thinks its time to go to dvd-buyers anonymus, i have a problem...

:P

[The Burgomaster]

dean wrote:

>
> why is it that i get conned into buying the dvd for minority
> report, a film that i really liked and saw twice at the
> cinemas, but haven't even touched it since i bought it, not
> even to see the special features
>
> i thinks its time to go to dvd-buyers anonymus, i have a
> problem...
>

Welcome, my brother! I ALSO saw MINORITY REPORT at the cinema and purchased the DVD.  I watched the first 20 minutes late one night, but I got tired and went to bed, thinking that I would finish watching it the next day. But I never did! And it's still sitting there, waiting . . .

Right now, I have at least 30 DVDs "on deck" that I purchased, but have not watched. Many of them are still in the shrink wrap! And I have about 30 more on order that will be released over the next 2 months. I may never catch up!

So . . . where is this DVD-Buyers' Anonymous place anyway? I need help!



Post Edited (07-14-03 12:18)

[jmc]

As I said in an earlier thread, Netflix has saved me so much money over the last few years, by enabling me to see a lot of these one-time viewings without purchasing them--including Minority Report.  

I like it a little better than the video store because of the better selection--they have almost everything, including a lot of the Something Weird DVDs.

[Susan]

Burgomaster Wrote:

>>Watchability is a funny thing. I have great DVDs like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and DR. ZHIVAGO that I have watched only once. On the other hand, I have watched movies like BRIDE OF THE MONSTER and THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM numerous times. Go figure <<

I noticed it's that way, somehow the big classics or really 'big pictures' are harder to break out. I wonder if it's because they're built up so much in my head (even tho i may have seen them plenty of times already). I try to only buy movies I know i'll rewatch (nearly every film i've ever seen i've seen at least twice anyways) - but it's just hard to really know until you bring it hom. I thought about EBAY, there's plenty i'd love to sell but i guess i'm too lazy to figure out how that whole process works. Plus I can't imagine anyone really wanting to pay much for those movies in particular....I think i heard it's easier to sell movies in bulk there than one at a time.


I've thought about netflix, I know someone who used it and really had positive things to report. I guess I just like the idea of owning things. That's probably why my collection is very disturbing, because i'm painstakingly trying to figure out what movies I'll actually *rewatch* vs. movies I really LOVE. That's a weird concept, to have an epiphany that movies I love aren't really movies i want to own. I mean when I'm passing by "Jaws" (a film i highly regard) to buy "runaway train , I got problems. I guess nothing gives me more warm fuzzies than John Voight as a foul-mouthed prison escapee trying to save his ass on a runaway train