Am I the only one buying DVDs faster than I can watch them? (1 Viewer)

[Thomas T]

I would never buy a movie I hated. What's the point? I have, however, bought a movie I liked at the time, only to learn to dislike it after repeat viewings.

There are also various films that I am not very enthusiastic about but feel belong in every serious film collection. I'm not a big fan of The Wizard Of Oz for example but I can't imagine it not being in my collection.

 

[TheLongshot]

I think most here have a backlog. I've mostly addressed it by buying less DVDs. Right now, I buy only if I really feel strongly that it should be in my collection, or if I get a good deal on a movie. Most of the time, I'm not a slave to release dates.

I'm actually finding it easier to pick up TV sets, because I can just spend a half-hour to an hour watching some random show. The Simpsons and The Muppet Show works well for that.

Time is also an issue, when you have so many entertainment options available to you. I find myself more often than not catching films on TCM rather than watching my collection.

I've been considering a NetFlix subscription, but I also think of the backlog that I have and wonder if it is worth it. I know there are some films I'd like to see, but probably wouldn't find worthwhile owning.

Jason

 

[Kevin M]

Obviously there is a reason I asked the question (and I'll bet a few of you know it already), I personally never buy anything I haven't seen or liked if at all possible...there are exceptions to this rule of course (the afore mentioned suggestions and reviews I read on the web sometimes lead to blind buys) but generally speaking I don't get it if I don't like it.

The reason I asked was to see just how many folks out there simply purchase every single DVD that they can so they can boast of how large their collection is...regardless of whether they like or indeed have ever seen the films, personally speaking I think this is shallow to the extreme but one man's sin is another man's virtue I guess.
Anyway, I was just wondering what the rational is for buying vast quantities of something you don't even know if you like aside from the "Oooo, look at my huge DVD collection" aspect.

 

[Noah U]

My unwatched pile was 75 DVDs at one point but has dropped to only 2 at the moment. Since I only add DVDs of favorite movies I have already seen to my collection I don't mind if they sit in the unwatched pile too much.

Another reason I don't mind having a unwatched pile is that I mostly buy DVDs based on price. When I see a favorite movie for $10 bucks, I buy it. I then save it until I get in the mood to watch it.

I use Netflix to watch DVDs of movies or TV Shows I have never seen before.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I can't think of one time where I felt proud to have so many DVD's. Certainly I would never boast about it. Most people I know are aware I have a lot of films, so they ask me about them. But sometimes I feel like I would have been better off if I stuck with say 200 films I absolutely love and just rented everything else I wanted to see. Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience my library affords me, but if I had it to do over, I likely would not buy as many films.

Kain said:



This is why I tend to watch more TV on DVD. I do not like to stop a film half way through. I like to experience it all at once, and watching 30 minutes for me would hurt my enjoyment. But this also means I have to plan for a time that I can spend a couple hours in a row watching something, which isn't as easy to do as putting a TV episode in for 45 minutes.

Then again, when I watch TV stuff, I tend to watch 3 or 4 episodes straight, so that's a film length sitting right there. But at least I know I can stop earlier and not break up the flow of what I'm watching.

 

[Kain_C]

Well, most of the stuff I watch at night is usually long and/or slowly paced, so breaking it up with a night doesn't hurt. I'd never watch something like Star Wars or Matrix before bed, because breaking up viewings with those kinds of film is a little harmful. Plus the types of movies I watch at night help me sleep since they relax me.

Documentaries are especially the case since many, like The World at War (with over 20 episodes!), have hours and hours of run time.

 

[Kevin M]

Fair enough Andrew, but you know there are people out there like this and I can't really understand/relate to the mindset behind it all...well...actually I tend to compare it to sports cars or ridiculously huge trucks, it is just a different form of penis surrogation IMO.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I'm sure there are people like that Kevin. Personally every movie or TV set I buy I wholeheartedly intend to watch, so I definitely wouldn't be buying stuff just to say I have it. That seems silly.

 

[Rocky F]

While my collection as a whole is smaller than a lot of folks, (probably around the 300 mark, but I haven't actually checked in a while) I still have this problem. I work about 65 hours a week, and the 3 nights of the week I'm actually home, me and the wife are usually trying to get some of the current TV stuff off the DVR. Like others have said, I usually only buy discs that I can get for a good price, and of course I try to research my buys here at HTF and other DVD review sites. I also buy a lot of movies blind, including stuff that may get bad reviews for the film, but I feel I would probably enjoy. One example that popped into my head that fits all those catagories is "Catwoman." I bought it blind, in a "buy two get one free" used disc sale, so it came out to about $7, it's generally considered a bad movie, and I still haven't watched it.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

You have to make a conscious effort to watch your DVDs. If you have hundreds or thousands of movies and you keep telling yourself "they're on my shelf for whenever the mood strikes me to watch one of them," that mood will NEVER come for each of those 1,000 films -- not even if you live to be 100. A little gentle prodding and self-discipline is required. That doesn't mean it can't be fun, it just means it takes some effort. YEARS can go by without enjoying the benefit of having bought all these films before you know it.

 

[David Deeb]

Maybe we need a DVD Anonymous so we can break our habits.

I'm compelled to buy some things when they come out and are on sale, but then don't have time to watch them. The next 2 Seinfeld sets next week are great examples. I gotta get them while they are cheap next week, before the price goes up, but yet, I haven't even unwrapped Season 4 which I bought 6 months ago.

Someone help me!!

 

[TravisR]

It's better than buying it after the first week, paying more and still not watching it.

 

[CraigF]

I guess I'm really in the minority, possibly more like Lars and the opposite of Kevin M: I probably have not seen 99% of the films/TV before I buy them on DVD. And I buy quite a lot, by even HTF member standards I think.

Why this is (blind buys) is fairly rationally explained, but I won't bother... I bet I haven't bought a half-dozen films I genuinely disliked, out of more than a thousand...I can live with that.

I find the TV sets take up a lot of time. Many of the programs on the American (largely) pay networks over the last 15 years are IMO excellent and highly addictive...whoda thunk it? Not me, for sure, I haven't watched TV since the early 70's and still don't.

And the very value-priced older movie sets that seem to be coming out pretty regularly are time-consuming.

Depending where you live, buying/watching DVD's is relatively dirt cheap entertainment, though if your personality/lifestyle etc. allows, renting them is probably somewhat cheaper.

 

[Paul McElligott]

"My name is Paul and I buy DVDs I don't have time to watch."

Admiting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.

 

[dailW]

"HI PAUL"

 

[CraigF]

I'll mention this again, the guy who should lead Videoholics Anonymous: Kevin Smith...you know, the director/actor. He says he buys *EVERY* DVD that comes out. I don't know what he means by "every", but let's suppose every one from a major studio in R1. He apparently has a ridiculous number, and he admits he can't possibly ever watch even most of them, but they're there for when he wants them. I can sort of relate to that, but on a much smaller scale...

 

[Jon Martin]

Well I still have VHS and Laserdiscs I have never gotten around to watching, so of course I have DVDs I haven't seen.

I've gotten better though. I rarely buy blind anymore, thanks to Netflix. At least for new releases. I do buy blind when I see something in the say $5 bin at Wal Mart. Today I picked up the two MA AND PA KETTLE sets from Universal. So, that is 8 films added to my to be seen pile just today.

I have no idea how many hundreds or thousand or more DVDs I have, but I know that a lot of the TV DVD sets I will probably never get around to watching in their entirety. Even when I bought them, I knew that. But, if it is a show I loved, it is good to have them around, in case I ever want to. BUFFY was one of my favorite shows, but I know that I will never watch every episode again.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Late to the party, are we?

I think my backlog problem started just a few months into my introduction to the DVD world. IIRC, I bought Guns of Navarone and Bridge On The River Kwai (just to use two older examples) upon release, I might have popped the disc in to have a quick look-see at the extras, but I haven't actually watched the movies (on DVD, I have seen the movies before over broadcast TV, but many years ago).

The problem has become much "worse" since TV started coming out in season box-sets. For instance, I've bought Homicide: Life On The Street, have seasons 1 through 4 (and 7, will get 5 & 6 soon to complete the set), but have only managed to get about a third through to S3. I have all of ST:TOS, ST:TNG and ST: DS9, yet have only watched all of DS9 on DVD (since there was never any broadcast of DS9 here), only the extras on the TNG sets, and have barely opened the TOS sets. But it's nice to know it's there whenever I feel like it.

Partly because of the growing backlog, and also because of the sheer volume of releases, I find that I've become much more discerning about what I actually buy. In the early days, I'd buy almost any major blockbuster that I reasonably liked from seeing it in the cinema, e.g. X-Men, though subsequently I've hardly watched the DVD. Since then, even if I enjoy the movie, I ask myself the hard question: will I really watch this much again, and if not, I won't buy (e.g. X-Men 2, Spiderman 1 & 2). On the other hand, if it's something I absolutely will re-watch, I'll buy immediately upon release (e.g. SW3, Batman Begins).

One advantage I've found of holding out is, the price drops after a year or two: e.g. Homicide sets have actually dropped to around US$37 at Amazon! Whew, those were pricey! Ironically a friend went to the US recently, I asked him to pick up S5-7 as long as they were below US$70, and he only found S7 for that price -- now it turns out I might as well have waited just a month longer...

 

[Ruz-El]

It's Warner Home Video's fault.

It was rare that I had more than 5 movies waiting to be watched on my shelf. Than Warner's got the great idea to start doing boxsets where you get 5 films for the price of 2, and next thing I know, my collection is up to 800 plus, with about 80 titles waiting to be watched. It doesn't help with all the extra features, and what not, I now have 2 "to watch" shelves: one with titles I haven't watched, and one with titles I;m trying to watch this week. And don't get me started with TV on DVD, it seems like this past year, every studio decided to release one of my "Holy Grail" shows, or put out something at a good enough price, that I might as well give it a try.

Not that I'm complaining! The way I look at it is: I'm buying titles I would of paid $80 a piece on LD. Thank GOD I never got into lazer disc!

The sad thing is, I went through my collection last weekend, trying to be objective, to see what I could sell off, guilt free. I got 8 titles: 6 of them double dips from upgraded boxsets! I'm a sad, sad man!

 

[Robert Holloway]

Same problem here

I have 950 DVDs and about 100 are unwatched.

The problem is that I am with Netflix and Bockbuster on line and do about 1-2 trips to the cinema each week.

grrr Lifeboat and In The Bedroom just turned up from Deep Discount DVD today. But I have 4 discs on my rentals to get through.

Rob