Here in a few years when I hit 30 and am still unmarried/single/what-have-you, I fully expect to delve deeply into some form of unhealthy collecting, if not several different forms, depending on what my income is looking like. Left-handed guitars are plenty expensive and I love them ever so. I’ve never been completely sucked in by collecting vinyl because I’ve never lived anywhere close to a decent record store, but I’ve sold some records on Ebay recently that I never liked to begin with and I found myself longing for some new ones. Also, I just realized that I have hundreds of books and I keep buying them faster than I can read them. I want my DVDs to be absolutely essential. Although, glancing over at the shelf, I’m having a hard time finding DVDs I would be willing to let go of… Say Anything, I guess. The Lonely Guy. Forrest Gump maybe. Everyone here talks shit about it but I loved it in the theater. The DVD was six bucks and, while I’ve not watched the DVD yet, I like to think I will still like it if I ever do. About a Boy and About Schmidt could probably go. I don’t like this.
I have almost 400 titles. Not sure how many are Criterion. I no longer rent movies as I have found that if I am patient many titles will show up at the flea market for a few bucks. Not a lot of Criterion discs but we do run across one occasionally – my son got the Criterion edition of Grand Illusion for $1. Used CD/DVD stores and half.com are also excellent sources. There is one used disc store that even has a separate Criterion section. Occasionally I’ll splurge and pay real money for a “must have it now” title or an “I give up and I’ll never find it for cheap” release. I usually try and wait for birthday/Christmas and get these discs as gifts. It is possible to build a decent collection without breaking the bank.
To the people who say they own 100’s and even 1000’s of movies I ask: When do you have time to see them, or do you even watch them? I’ve read some of the posts on this and other sites and there are people who actually purchase EVERY Criterion dvd that comes out. That just makes me wonder. Do people just buy them to say they have them or do they really like the films. I can’t say I’ve ever purchased a dvd that I didn’t already see and like enough to know I’m going to watch it again and again. It should be about the films, not the size of your collections. The few movies I’ve purchased without seeing before were in sets with other movies I really wanted. JOHN CASSAVETES FIVE FILMS boxset was one. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is one of my all time favourite movies, but I was pissed off to have to buy the whole set just to get it. Now years later, Criterion is finally putting them out individually. Sometimes Criterion really pisses me off.
Close to 500, with about 100 Criterions. I have the collecting mania – it’s a terrible disease. Why the hell else would I pick up Paddle to the Sea? IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL, to quote Bob Mould. The spines sure look purty all lined up and everything, though.
Every time I come home a little late ( ok, very late ) and a little wobbly (ok, very wobbly ) I put in The Exorcist. I just can’t help myself. There’s nothing like waking up an hour or so later to Mercedes McCambridge’s demon voice screaming “Fuck me!!!” or other various obscenities in surround sound. Scares holy hell out of you. Try it sometime (if you’re single). I usually get my moneys worth out of almost all of the films I own. ( Somewhere between 400 and 500 ). Many repeated viewings. I recently cancelled cable tv because I just don’t watch it and it’s all garbage anyhow. For some reason I’ve been addicted to The Bad News Bears lately. Odd.
“To the people who say they own 100’s and even 1000’s of movies I ask: When do you have time to see them, or do you even watch them?”
I watch as many as I can, but I get so many review copies that many end up filed away for when I need them for research. But I sometimes deliberately suggest writing projects that will involve watching a clump of them.
“I’ve read some of the posts on this and other sites and there are people who actually purchase EVERY Criterion dvd that comes out. That just makes me wonder. Do people just buy them to say they have them or do they really like the films.”
I can’t begin to fathom the mentality of people who buy stuff just because it’s on a particular label and has a particular number on the spine. I mean, if you have no interest in modern dance, why would you buy the Martha Graham box? Or the Antonio Gaudi release if you have no interest in architecture? (Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of the Gaudi release, but I had a pre-existing interest in the subject).
Mind you, there’s one distributor whose discs I do indeed blind-buy, but that’s because the Polish PWA label covers stuff I’m already interested in (Polish documentary and animation). More to the point, the DVDs are exceptionally cheap, and they only release five or six titles a year, so I’m hardly bankrupting myself – and I also have time to watch them!
“I can’t say I’ve ever purchased a dvd that I didn’t already see and like enough to know I’m going to watch it again and again. It should be about the films, not the size of your collections.”
Yes, but what if you literally had no opportunity to see the film except on DVD? The PWA releases are a case in point – before they started sticking English subtitles on this stuff, it was pretty much totally off-limits to non-Polish speakers. In fact, most of the stuff I watch and write about has been previously unavailable to English speakers, unless you happened to catch a festival screening years if not decades ago. This is probably the single best aspect of the DVD medium – it’s opened up unprecedentedly vast tracts of world cinema, so for those whose tastes were already pretty adventurous it’s like manna from heaven.
I stopped blind buying for a long time and I think it kinda took the fun out of collecting. I try not to a lot because I make about half as much a year as I used to. I rarely even have money to buy any. It’s exciting to take a gamble once in a while though. Knowing nothing about the movie before purchasing it can be rewarding sometimes. More than not so. Now that I know a bit about the film world I rarely go wrong blind buying. I used to also keep everything I bought and keep it in chronological order. To see were I started and where i am at. I gave up on that though.Some things just weren’t worth holding on to.
Regarding the time you need to devote to watching films… Usually, I tend not to watch TV, apart from the news and a couple of shows, so two hours or so a day to watch a movie isn’t too much of a strain. It’s about what’s important to you and how you spend your downtime. Most of the people on this site are big movie fans, so it stands to reason that they would try and watch as much as possible, time permitting. I’m not married and don’t have kids, leaving me a lot more free time to pursue my passions. Everyone has their vice. Everybody…
“It’s exciting to take a gamble once in a while though. Knowing nothing about the movie before purchasing it can be rewarding sometimes.”
I have an arrangement with a Budapest-based friend whereby I send him British DVDs that he specifically requests, and in exchange he sends me Hungarian films. But I realised very early on that if I chose the films, I’d invariably stick to the obvious stuff – the Miklós Jancsós, the Béla Tarrs, the Károly Makks, the auteurs who have made an international splash. So I decided to let HIM choose the titles, with just three stipulations:
1. The film had to be something I hadn’t seen before (he had a complete list);
2. The film had to have a certain reputation (high critical acclaim, a huge local hit, that kind of thing);
3. The DVD had to have English subtitles on the main feature (well, duh!)
And what’s great about this is that when the DVDs turn up and I stick them in the player, I have quite literally not the faintest idea what I’m going to see (I don’t even know the English title most times until it pops up on the screen after the film has already started) – and in a world where most English-language films are hyped into the ground well before you ever get a chance to see them, I find that wonderfully liberating.
Not to belabour the point, but I think some important issues have been brought up by these latest posts. Michael B. points out that we can collect some dvds strictly because that is the only way to see them – they are not available anywhere. Andrew K. points out, with others here, that what we collect is very individual. A big collection might work for some or a small collection for others. Because of cost factors, I limit what I purchase, but by no means what I see. If you have a good library system or access to an online rental service, you can get many things to see for free or cheaper than buying – except those lucky enough to get good films cheaply, as mentioned above.
I don’t mind admitting that if I really like a film I have gotten just to see, I will occassionally make a copy of it for repeat viewing. However, for me the essential question to ask yourself is: do you want to see a particular film repeatedly? If the answer is yes, then by all means get it one way or another. I have recently gone through a viewing of about 35 different films, many Criterion titles, all of which I got from the local library. Only a small handful would I see again – most were one-timers. I have a copy of those I really want to see again. So, I suggest we really only want those films that we can’t really live without or can’t get or see otherwise for our actual collection. Is that the consensus? I am much more interested in exploring with other auteurs what you DO like and watch repeatedly than the size of anyone’s collection. Also, it really doesn’t matter what you watch as long as you enjoy it.
I have about 200 and a few VHS.
I usually watch them more than once, especially if someone I know hasn’t yet.
i have 500 dvds, 300+ are Criterions…. AND a big peen ;-)
I vaguely remember a conversation from some film about books, but it applies to DVDs as well: a character goes into another guy’s home and sees a vast book collection. “Have you read all these?” he asks. The other guy replies: “Why would I want a library full of books I’ve already read?”
I take pleasure in always having about 20 DVDs still in their shrink wrap… When I open one, I have to replace it as soon as possible.
I spent my most obsessive film watching years raiding the library, online, borrowing, netflix, etc. and never amassed that large of a DVD collection due to finances. I now add those that most left an impression and I plan to revisit. However, that is going to be one hell of a lot..
Collecting can be a bug… I started with music. I owned about 1500 vinyl albums before CD’s were invented. I then updated and have about 6000 CD’s now. I buy or keep films I like… getting them free or cheap being in the game helps incredibly, and I’m always lending them out and often finding one gone when I want to watch it. D’oh! … there’s a software program a mate of mine is giving me to catalogue my collection, which has a column for who has borrowed the disc. Woo hoo! It’s a pretty harmless obsession as obsessions go……
Never counted them, but at least 400, including 99 Criterions and both Herzog box sets.
I have about 330 right now. I’m usually constantly buying them, but have had to take a break lately. I’m hoping to start up again soon. It is super addictive, and like many others have said already, I could never own as many as I’d like.
I was up to nearly 900 and hit the blu-wall. Now I’m just busy scrambling to replace my DVD’s with their hi-def counterparts. I’m up to about 70 BD’s. And for once in my life, can proudly gloat that I own every Criterion available on a specific format! (Though 4 isn’t a terribly impressive number)
@Craig Boone
Second, on the big peen. I can’t see enough of my collection in order to count them since my big peen gets in the way.
I think all collectors function with some obsessive complusions, so I don’t actually begrudge any of you for counting. I just can’t be asked to count. That’s quality time I could be watching or reading.
About 80 of my own not including my TV box sets. It’s definitley addicting buying films you’ve seen and some you’ve never. I usually come home with two or three by the end of the weekend.
5 × 2.75 ft long shelves full of DVDs. I don’t know how many exactly, although I do have a list on Criticker.com, but I’d say about 160.
i use dvdpedia to keep track of my dvds, nerdy it may seem, but i dont care, as its pretty damn useful. at the moment i have, according to dvdpedia 867 dvds, with 62 being criterion. if criterion discs were more accessible over here i would own a huge bunch more, as there are still vast amounts of the films that i cant wait to see. my girfriend is a teacher so we have lots of time in the house on an evening and on a weekend while she works, and as television pretty much is worthless i get to watch at least one film a day, sometimes two, so i dont particularly have a problem with getting around to watching stuff. as im studying film theory at the moment, as i have been for the past ten years on and off, watching as many films as possible is a good thing, as is building up a library. i dont feel i spend too much on dvds, hell, its my hobby, i know people who spend more on a friday night out than i would all week on dvds and socialising, neither does it impeach on any other aspect of my life.
as for buying films youve never seen, i really dont understand the problem with blind buying. i love walking into hmv on a saturday afternoon and picking up a film iv never seen, in the same way that i browse websites checking out the latest releases. i honestly feel that i have strong enough knowledge to pick up a film on a whim, or based on connective factors (most of my viewing is in waves, ie one week i may decide to explore the work of antonioni and pick up anything i can get my hands on by him, regardless of past viewing). i love film, its fun exploring it.
about 1300 mostly dvd some blu ray maybe 30-40? criterion
I use MediaMan to keep track of my collection, Adam and, I agree, it’s useful. Once you have more than a small collection, it’s not easy to remember what you actually have and what you are are pretty sure you have. At least for me it’s hard to remember. I’ve seldom bought a dvd with no idea what it’s about but most of my collection was bought before ever having seen the movie. I read this board and others like it and conduct internet research and get good ideas and suggestions about which films I might enjoy. Every film anyone ever watched had to be viewed once without ever having seen the film before. Just so happens that many of my first viewings happen to be of dvd’s I purchased. The majority of these dvd’s were purchased used and cost from $1 to $5. I have found several Criterion titles for $5 or less. If I buy a movie and don’t like it, I can trade it to my used dvd vendor. My collection is large enough that I don’t have to visit Blockbuster and I always have a good movie to watch.
i am up to about 725 dvd’s. and i have to say it is the best collection i have ever seen!!!
In the hundreds not sure how many are criterion. I think about 20-40.
Up to 860 with about 50 of them being Criterions.
This is a disturbing and frightening thread.
I own three DVDs, most people don’t realize DVD collecting is like golf; the lowest score wins.
SOYBEAN
It’s a sickness!!!!!!!!!