What kind of collector you are? (1 Viewer)

[Sergio Martorel]

Thoughts?

Well.

A huge part of film buffs are interested in knowing more about the making of, anedoctes of the set, trivia and other goods. In that case, buying a SE *IS* a great way to have a good documentation of your favourite movies easily available on one (or two) silver discs. So, an array of good extras *IS* a perfectly good reason for buying an SE (besides the movie itself, duh!).

Those are movie buffs who just want the best edition of the films they love. A DVD full of good extras is akin to a library of good books about those movies. Cases in point: the Alfred Hitchcock and James Bond collections.


But on the other side of the spectrum, there are people who buy Special Editions just because they come in metalized, planet-shaped, embossed, tin-foiled, glow-in-the-dark boxes, or simply because the words "Special Limited Exclusive Ultimate Divimaxed Collector´s Issue" is written on the cover. But they don´t give a shirt about the movie, or movies in general; their goal is just to display the nifty cases on a shelf and show people how "cool" they think they are.

Those are the DVD Losers.

 

[Sean Campbell]

p.s. I think we also have to incorporate the type of beer Mr. J6P drinks as well, I can't see him with a 6 pack of Guiness, it's more like a 6 pack of Schlitz or Busch.

The J6Ps over here drink six packs of Guinness

 

[Robert Dunnill]

I know many people who haven`t got a sophisitcated home theater, but who are still avid DVD and filmfans.

You don't have to *have* a sophisticated home theater to have sophisticated knowledge of such.

A typical J6P is the "sanitation engineer" who bought a big-screen 4:3 RPTV for DVD use, and was subsequently distraught because of the black letterboxing bars (I should have kept that article, but I didn't).

RD

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Would the Irish ones be John-Michael Six-Packs?

 

[MarkHastings]

The J6Ps over here drink six packs of Guinness

And they're still alive?

 

[TommyT]

Definitely a 2-3er. I'm intensely fussy about the films I buy, I'm trying to build a personal 'ultimate' film collection. But, I still get away from the TV & get out with friends! Not that I have a real life, girlfriends are hard to come by in this godforsaken area...

 

[MarkHastings]

girlfriends are hard to come by in this godforsaken area...

And that area is called "Earth" I'd gladly cut down on my DVD buying/watching for the love of a good woman.

As others would agree, as much as I'm into DVD, I never let it stop me from getting out and doing stuff.

 

[MartinTeller]

I guess I'm a 2.5.

- I care a lot about movies, try to watch as many as I can, and usually watch the extra features (though lately not as often). Insist on OAR.

- I have a pretty lame TV, but aspirations for a nice big widescreen. On the other hand, I'm perfectly happy to enjoy stereo sound through the TV speakers, and have never felt a need for fancy-schmancy DTS high-end audio gear.

- I used to buy every movie I was vaguely interested in, but I've pared my collection WAY down to just the titles I really care about. For everything else, there's the library or the rental store.

- I have a girlfriend.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

Well, that's sort of true. There are also preamps and power amps, widescreen displays with DVI inputs, tower speakers systems, subwoofers, DVD-Audio, SACD, universal disc players, and Blu-Ray. And Home Theater Forum.

hahaha good one.

1. THE ANAL-RETENTIVE COLLECTOR.
this is about 30% me, i definitely have movies that i wouldnt ordinarily own because they are presented so well. example, lotr ee. i dont care much for the movie at all, but you gotta admit that it is a pretty special dvd package. i'll buy lotr tt ee and rotk ee when available, too. see also armageddon criterion. so-so movie that got the criterion treatment. i only got it because i heard the double-wide case was getting tough to find (probably not true). but it aws only $15 in my local used store, so i dont feel too bad about it. see also the anchor bay tins. i have 6 of them. only 2 out of those i like. wicker man is good, and repo man, which i absolutely love. other than that, i dont find heathers, evil dead II, the beyond, or maniac particularly good. but i have them anyway!

2. THE MOVIE BUFF.
this is about 60% me. i'd like to think i am a movie buff to some degree. i definitely think film is the highest art, although i admit that i dont follow many forms of art. i only have region 1 or 0 dvds, no region free player, but i have quite a few foreign films. i am the only one out of my friends who would even consider watching a foreign film, nevermind an old B&W hitchcock. because of my partial #1 status of buying criterions, i have been introduced to films like solaris and the third man and 8 1/2 that i would probably not have seen. i dont really prefer dts over dd, i dont have great speakers yet, so i cant tell the difference. and i watch my dvds all the time.

3. THE CASUAL BUYER.
this is about 10% me. i have a social life, and even a beautiful guh-guh-guh-girlfriend. however my dvd buying addiction is not casual, even though i have 'only' about 170 titles.

CJ

 

[MarkHastings]

Since people are mentioning price, I think we need another category. I definitely fall into the "What the hell, it's only $15" category - This explains a lot of my choices like "Sorority Boys" and "Dude! Where's my car?"

 

[Mikey]

Hi All
When I first acquired my 65 HDTV set nearly 3 years ago, I was a cat 2 and 3 type dvd buyer. About a year ago, I finally got a HD set top box (OTA and Sat HD recep.). HD movies are so much better than dvd, that I can no longer justify to myself buying any movie just to have an OAR version, or a place on my shelf. Sure I'll buy the Indiana Jones set, Matrix, some obscure titles, and a few other 'must have' releases, but I have really cut back on my dvd purchases. I now rent, or watch HDTV mostly. I will resume 'video' purchases at full steam when HDVD (hopefully) comes out in a couple-few years.
I still enjoy this site and everyone's contributions, though!
Mike

 

[MarkHastings]

HD movies are so much better than dvd, that I can no longer justify to myself buying any movie just to have an OAR version

Filet Mignon is better than a hamburger, but I still eat at McDonalds.

 

[Bill>Moore]

I'm somewhere between #2 and #3. I have a girlfriend (she's as into the DVDs as I am....almost!), but we have one main home theater system and no non-R1 DVDs. No region-free player either. We are the only people we know who have anywhere near the # of DVDs we do. Around here, our total isn't that huge, but to people we know, it's jaw-dropping. I have a lot of TV on DVD, so one title can suck up 20+ hours for a season's worth of episodes. So I haven't watched all my movies multiple times this year, but I've watched most of them at least once.

 

[Ray_Gootz]

I'd have to be a gebre scholar. If a slasher film comes out in a 3 disc box set and screams BANNED IN 52 GALAXIES on the box I'll buy it in a second. I love Horror Movies and of my 500 dvd's horrror is a good portion of them. However I will only buy special editions of these movies. The reason being is because I want to make movies so the extras help me with that a great deal. I'll buy some non-se of a movie if it's a good deal like The Brood or Troll 1 and 2 combo pack. But there's a reason why I never bought Dawn of the Dead all this time even though I ocnsider it the greatest movie ever made. I want a big fraggin' box set for it. And in Febuary it shall be mine!

i also am a completist with certain sets or series. I must have all the Disney Platnium titles. If I buy Season One of a show I must get every season after that, no matter what. Even though reports on AICN say battle Royale 2 sucks, I must get it to complete the series.

That's another thing. I don't buy too many Japenese movies but i'll get the hard-core really violent ones. I love violent controversial movies so i try to buy all the best ones.

 

[Mikey]

The filet mignon/MickeyDs point is well taken about dvd vs HD. As I mentioned, I still buy a few dvds now and then.
If one were to extend the bovine meat products analogy to tv/dvd, I would personally equate McDonalds to crappy cable/compressed Satellite, gourmet burgers chain steakhouse (Outback, Lone Star, etc..)to dvd, and filet mignon to HD, and Kobe beef to full 1920x1080 HD.

 

[MarkHastings]

Yes, HD definitely makes regular cable TV look HIDEOUS, and yes HD movies are much better than DVD, but DVD still looks great. I don't think you need to justify any DVD purchase just because HD is better. DVD still ROCKS hard!

I would personally equate McDonalds to crappy cable/compressed Satellite, gourmet burgers chain steakhouse (Outback, Lone Star, etc..)to dvd, and filet mignon to HD, and Kobe beef to full 1920x1080 HD.

Sounds fair. Of course the whole analogy to movies would have to be dependant on the price too. If HD-DVD's came out tomorrow and were between $50 and $80, I might have to think twice about spending $80 on an HD-DVD movie that I wasn't 100% sure I wanted as apposed to a $15 DVD. But if they were nearly the same price, then hell yeah, screw the DVD

 

[Steve Christou]

I'm in category 4, the life-long movie buff with a gorgeous girlfriend. I currently have 700+ dvds, and can't stop buying the bloody things, it's an addiction I tells ya!
Sadly Sandy isn't at all interested in dvds or home theater, and not much of a movie fan either, for example watched Matrix Reloaded tonight on dvd and she was reading a magazine and yawning thru most of it.
But she did see it with me at the cinema, so I'll let her off.

 

[WillKTaylor]

My habits and I wouldn't categorize them:

1) No need for me to have more than one version of a film, although I would always prefer Director's intended. I will search only region 0 or 1 titles until I go region free .. this Christmas!! Can't wait.

2) Oar always with exceptions given to the possibility of never getting a marred version. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective comes to mind. This was a must have regardless of presentation loss. My display is a 27" flat screen with anamorphic squeeze. When I have a more permanent living arrangement, I will be getting a bigger wide screen TV. Since this is a collection, I will always lean towards anamorphic productions, but I will upgrade eventually if necessary. Although, I'd rather get in done right the first time if possible.

3) DTS track is a necessary evil for me. Some films exhibit a much better Dolby Digital track (Akira), some equivalent and others not. I always prefer the option and will forgive the extra features for the option of a DTS track .. Saving Private Ryan for an example.

4) Never an anal-retentive collector with your example of having every numbered Criterion collection or a complete series of a movie or television run. Die Hard will never be complete, nor will The Crow or Alien. Buying is reserved for films that I consider likeable, for whatever reason, be it a soundtrack or quality of movie. For instance, the only .. and I do mean only, reason why I bought Phantom Menace was for the pod racing sequence (show off factor or my own personal enjoyment). Otherwise, and as much as I loved the original Star Wars trilogy, I have no further interest in it.

4b) Then again, I do show some signs, in that and although I have not yet watched Pink Floyd: The Wall and Jacob's Ladder since purchasing the DVDs, I will eventually get around to it. These films were ones from my youth that I enjoyed, for whatever reason, but have yet to be in the strict enough mood to watch. If I've seen a film once and enjoyed it enough, I will buy it eventually, period, regardless of how many times that I may watch it. Who knows, perhaps I'll lend it out knowing that I am sharing a certain experience to another that must be done.

But interestingly enough .. to counter your definition of a #1 buyer, I am able to rewatch over 75% of my collection without hesitancy.

4c) In addendum to the rewatch factor, I commonly view certain types of films of my liking three times at least, or certain scenes even more. The first time will be for general feel, the second for audio and lastly for summarization of what I may have originally missed. I could not do this before DVD .. also considering that I missed the laser disk era.

5) DVDs that I purchase are a 60/40 split between blind buys and films scene before, respectively. Blind buy purchases are based on a variety of factors. Director, type of film or limited review info are top. Since my local rental facilities do not carry foreign Asian/Panasian (and otherwise) films that I am heavily interested in, I have to rely on something to get by. Although, I do not extensively read reviews as a lot of the story is lost if known going in. However, I've had great luck and will continue to buy blindly.

6) Price is not usually an option. Obviously, I will seek out the best price when available and have been increasingly thrifty at it, but I will pay whatever it takes to get a certain version of a film if I feel that it offers more than its counterparts .. extras sometimes included.

7) I have to go see my guh-guh-girl friend now .. so, later all ...

8) .. will have to come later ...

... oh yeah, and if anyone thinks about messing with my collection .. ie. scratching a disk, not returning one if lended, I will kill them. Well, alright ... maybe I'll just give 'em a purple nurple ...

 

[StephanieC]

I have a 19 inch TV in my room and no speaker system to speak of, so I definitely don't buy DVDs for DTS and all that jazz. I just love (all types) of movies and love to have a "library" of them at my fingertips. I've started renting online as well, so now I really just buy the movies I know I love and will watch again and again.

But no, I don't have a girlfriend, but can a boyfriend count too? He's fun to watch DVDs with especially.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Number 2, with one exception.

All my DVDs are region 1.