Embarrasing DVD collections. (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

Me personally I don't have much respect for a person so shallow as to judge someone based upon the content of their dvd collection...that's pretty shallow indeed.

I have a nice mix I guess but I have always enjoyed the good & the bad, I sometimes find artistic merit in the shittiest films and zero enjoyment in the highest brow offerings..it is a matter of personal taste after all. I have Citizen Kane bordered by Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things & C.H.U.D....ah the classics.

One of my recent favorite purchases is the urban L.S.D. Psychopaths film Blue Sunshine, is it a great important film meditating on the meaning of existence and the wonder of the human condition? No, but I get a kick out of it!


Oh, and I bought Rashamon along with it.

 

[Jason_H]

And here is the list of "mediocre" movies.

Al, I agree with that list 100% and I own none of those "films." That is exactly the kind of refried crap that makes me CRINGE when I see it on the shelves of other people's homes. Obviously, everyone has their guilty pleasures, but when peoples entire collections look like that list....well. I don't care what anybody says, you really CAN tell a lot about a person by looking at their movie (and music!!!) collections. But you do have to look at it as a whole, a few titles you don't agree with means nothing.

 

[Stacie]

I have two of those "mediocre" titles: Blast From the Past (what can I say? It's not a great movie, but I love Brendan Fraser and Dave Foley, and I paid about $7 for it), and Mad About You season 1 (a show I have a real fondness for, especially the early seasons -- and it's gotten hard to find in syndication).

In my husband's and my collection of about 300 titles, we have a few things that we probably won't watch again (largely purchased during the golden age of Internet DVD shopping). We have a lot of classics and foreign films (lots of Criterion), Star Trek, as well as more recent films that aren't necessarily great but that we really liked (Galaxy Quest, Bridget Jones' Diary). But we have tried to be really selective, since between LPs, Laserdiscs, CDs, and books, we were looking at serious media storage issues before we ever started with DVDs.

We'd probably have more crap in the collection if we had more space.

 

[Julie K]

The only time it is appropriate to wince or cringe or be horrified at what others have on their DVD shelves is when they force you to watch their filmic abominations. Otherwise, why should anyone care what others watch? (Besides snobbish posturing, of course...)

I've purchased each of my 350+ DVDs with only one thought in mind - do I/will I enjoy this movie? Enjoyment comes in many forms and I refuse to be embarrassed by any title I own.

And yes, sometimes you just have to watch movies about mutant killer snowmen.

 

[streeter]

Al, I agree with that list 100% and I own none of those "films." That is exactly the kind of refried crap that makes me CRINGE when I see it on the shelves of other people's homes. Obviously, everyone has their guilty pleasures, but when peoples entire collections look like that list....well. I don't care what anybody says, you really CAN tell a lot about a person by looking at their movie (and music!!!) collections. But you do have to look at it as a whole, a few titles you don't agree with means nothing.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I'd have to say the largest gap of cinematic quality in my collection has to be between Grand Illusion and this crappy Japanese double feature called Scorpion: Double Venom. I bought that one because of the chick on the cover. Teh.

 

[Todd Hochard]

I don't care what anybody says, you really CAN tell a lot about a person by looking at their movie (and music!!!) collections.

Like how much they are concerned with what others think of their tastes, for instance.

 

[Neil Joseph]

BTW, I have 3 movies from the "mediocre" list and I am proud of it....

- Jurassic Park 3
- Men In Black 2
- Vertical Limit

 

[Chris Smith]

I have A LOT of movies from that list. I'm a sucker for teen/early 20's comedys (Saving Silverman, Loser, Can't Hardly Wait, 40 Days and 40 Nights, The New Guy *well, this one sucked* etc.)

But I don't apologize. I love ALL types of movies including really bad ones. Sometimes it's more fun to watch The Fast and the Furious than Citizen Kane, depending on your mood.

 

[Jason_H]

The only time it is appropriate to wince or cringe or be horrified at what others have on their DVD shelves is when they force you to watch their filmic abominations. Otherwise, why should anyone care what others watch? (Besides snobbish posturing, of course...)

Well, I certainly would never openly show any emotion or say anything to the person unprovoked, I'm not an asshole. I just hope that the topic doesn't come up in conversation so I don't have to pretend they have great taste.

Why do I even care? I dunno, I guess it comes down to the fact that life is too short as it is, and I just hate to see people waste their time on such things and blindly accept what is fed to them through the mass media and corporate marketing machines. By NO MEANS do I think that everyone should have the exact same tastes that I do. But geez, I just wish more people would set their standards higher than the bottom of the barrel. There are plenty of films/albums/books/operas/plays out there that I do not care for, but I recognize have substance to them and were crafted by skilled artists (with passion).

If this sounds snobby or condescending, so be it. I respect people's right to choose whatever they want, but I also reserve the right to disagree with those choices. Anything less is WAY too politically correct in my book, something of which is becoming all to prevalent in our society. The pendulum has swung too far in that direction, and "having an opinion" or "taking a stand" on something is perceived as being offensive to anyone who might disagree with you. What a boring world this leads to!

[/end rant]

 

[JakeMcM]

you guys should go to WAL-MART and bolster your bad collections w/the $6 dvd sale. I have a few that fit into the categories. For whatever reason I have teenage mutant ninja turtles...Milo and Otis (it is funny to see the film abrubtly cut in a few places when an animal starts attacking another one) The Street Fighter (not the video game one, cult asian film w/Sonny Chiba), The Hobbit (animated, has huge nostalgia value for me), Collateral Damage, Space Balls, The Musketeer (blind buy, my worst one), and Pale Rider (the most god awful eastwood movie I have ever seen) Some of these movies are downright embarassing.

On my rack Raging Bull is right next to the Rocky Box Set...wrap your mind around that for a little bit.

 

[Brian Lawrence]

and Pale Rider (the most god awful eastwood movie I have ever seen)

Great flick

 

[MarkHastings]

On my rack Raging Bull is right next to the Rocky Box Set

Just as long as you don't have ROCKY and BULLwinkle in the middle

 

[Todd_Brown]

I happen to love horror/Sci-Fi films of the 40's-60's (and have quite a nice original movie poster collection to add to my movies), I suppose they represent the type of movies being discussed as embarassing, but I also love classic films like Sunset Boulevard , Key Largo , Citizen Kane , and others. Popcorn flicks are also represented in my collection cause they're fun.
Todd

 

[Terry St]

The odd thing is that I have a much easier time letting go of some of the classics and a harder time parting with the dreck. I happily sold my copies of "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "The French Connection" but here I am holding onto copies of "Bring it On" and "The Beastmaster."

I absolutely love "The Passion of Joan of Arc". I also have "The French Connection", but have only viewed it once. I never liked "The Beastmaster" and am strongly alergic to cheerleader films. I suppose it's a matter of how you're exposed to movies. I'd probably hate cinema if I tried to make a living on something cinema related. Nothing ruins a hobby like getting paid for it.

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Is anyone ever sorely tempted by unseen, but known to be bad films at ultra-cheap prices? The local A&B has been steadily marking down "Wing Commander" for months now. Last I checked, it was down to $7.99 CAD. ($5.60 USD) It's almost in the same price as a rental at Blockbuster... Every time I see it for that cheap I am tempted, but a little voice in the back of my head holds me back. Somehow, I just know I'll feel ripped off even at that price!

 

[Patrick McCart]

I can't criticize anyone...

I have masterworks like 8 1/2, Citizen Kane, Lawrence of Arabia, and Metropolis. Then... I have Big Trouble In Little China, UHF, Kung Pow: Enter The Fist, and Airplane!

 

[Jeff D Han]

I have about 300 titles. Everything from dumb comedies
to THE SIMPSONS to romantic comedies to slow dramas
like IN THE BEDROOM and THE CIDER HOUSE RULES- and I
love them all. I know people would knock some stuff in my collection, but I'm proud to say that I have a wide
variety of films. I think the only knock I would have
against any collection I saw would be how limited it
is as far as one type of film- only comedy, only
popcorn flicks. If the collection has different
types of films, then it's a good collection.

 

[Bob Black]

I have over 90 titles from this list, and I can find merit in all of them. "Chocolat" was actually nominated for Best Picture for God's sake! "The Mummy", "A Civil Action", "Kiss The Girls", "Hope Floats", "2 Days In The Valley", "While You Were Sleeping" - I find all these titles to be entertaining.

I have over 1,200 DVDs in my collection because I am a collector and I love movies, and I also want to have an abundance of titles for my guests' viewing pleasure. Like others have stated, I also have classics like "Citizen Kane", "Lawrence Of Arabia", "Chinatown", "Westside Story", etc. But I've yet to have guests over who want to watch any of these flicks! After all, movies are entertainment first and foremost.

 

[Louis C]

I thought a lot of the mediocre list was in fact mediocre.

I have several titles from that list. The ones I bought were "Soldier" (Reminds me of "First Blood" - action hero says little, does a lot), "Family Man" was kind of corny but Cage makes it well worthwhile anyway, and "What Lies Beneath" was excellent! I am proud to own all three of these.

Buying some other titles for my child like "The Grinch" Crocodile Hunter" and my wife's titles like "Return to Me" and "American Pie" are embarassing. My 7 y/o loves the Grinch and Scooby Doo a LOT. Ewwwww!

 

[Julie K]

If this sounds snobby or condescending, so be it.

Sounds more like the ideals of a crusader. The true snob knows he or she is so far above the common herd that it simply doesn't matter what they enjoy.