[I've wrestled with posting this as I don't want it to be incorrectly taken as criticism of an active HTF sponsor, which it most certainly is not. Here goes...]
I know why I love and collect movies, but what's come as a surprise has been my escalating rate of accumulation. There's been an urgency to it that I think I'm starting to understand.
I'll refer to it as "TT Frenzy" - for a couple of reasons: 1) HTF members are mostly familiar with the Twilight Time pre-order ritual; 2) although these feelings can apply to all distributors, they're more prominent and transparent when it comes to TT.
TT's limited edition disc releases are an upfront business model - everyone (studio, distributor, consumer) knows where they stand. Dawdle too long and you might miss out on a coveted title and that's that. So every time there is a pre-order of a perceived popular title, potential buyers like me need to weigh up the different variables involved, before deciding whether and when to take the plunge.
These variables include item price vs current state of personal liquidity, probability of rapid sell-out, and the likelihood of other distributors (be they US-based or international) ever releasing the same title again to as high a standard on physical media (and if so, maybe at a much cheaper price). For some - although this has never been a factor for me - there is also the consideration of potential resale value, given the items' limited edition nature.
All of this leads to a degree of angst whenever TT flings open its virtual doors for pre-orders. If the pre-order succeeds, that angst is followed by a sense of relief for some, elation for others and manipulated resentment for yet others. For me, all of these in sequence. All for what? Buying a disc?
Is the resentment directed towards TT? No. It comes from the persistent feeling that just when technology has unfurled the red carpet of possibility for a century of priceless film heritage, market realities are threatening to pull that same rug from under my feet.
As stated earlier, this phenomenon isn't limited to TT, for while we may not know the stock levels of titles released by other studios, we do know they are finite. I'm sure we've all missed out on titles because we assumed they would be around forever, only to find they've gone out of print and are now only available at cut-throat prices on the after-market. As a result, TT Frenzy occurs (for me) on a broader scale across all labels, although less obviously and acutely.
This anxiety that the clock is ticking down, both on specific titles and on the physical medium of disc itself, has been the fuel of my accelerated buying habit.
Still, I comfort myself that there are far more damaging habits around than accumulating movie discs, and this one happens to have a lot of up-sides.
I know why I love and collect movies, but what's come as a surprise has been my escalating rate of accumulation. There's been an urgency to it that I think I'm starting to understand.
I'll refer to it as "TT Frenzy" - for a couple of reasons: 1) HTF members are mostly familiar with the Twilight Time pre-order ritual; 2) although these feelings can apply to all distributors, they're more prominent and transparent when it comes to TT.
TT's limited edition disc releases are an upfront business model - everyone (studio, distributor, consumer) knows where they stand. Dawdle too long and you might miss out on a coveted title and that's that. So every time there is a pre-order of a perceived popular title, potential buyers like me need to weigh up the different variables involved, before deciding whether and when to take the plunge.
These variables include item price vs current state of personal liquidity, probability of rapid sell-out, and the likelihood of other distributors (be they US-based or international) ever releasing the same title again to as high a standard on physical media (and if so, maybe at a much cheaper price). For some - although this has never been a factor for me - there is also the consideration of potential resale value, given the items' limited edition nature.
All of this leads to a degree of angst whenever TT flings open its virtual doors for pre-orders. If the pre-order succeeds, that angst is followed by a sense of relief for some, elation for others and manipulated resentment for yet others. For me, all of these in sequence. All for what? Buying a disc?
Is the resentment directed towards TT? No. It comes from the persistent feeling that just when technology has unfurled the red carpet of possibility for a century of priceless film heritage, market realities are threatening to pull that same rug from under my feet.
As stated earlier, this phenomenon isn't limited to TT, for while we may not know the stock levels of titles released by other studios, we do know they are finite. I'm sure we've all missed out on titles because we assumed they would be around forever, only to find they've gone out of print and are now only available at cut-throat prices on the after-market. As a result, TT Frenzy occurs (for me) on a broader scale across all labels, although less obviously and acutely.
This anxiety that the clock is ticking down, both on specific titles and on the physical medium of disc itself, has been the fuel of my accelerated buying habit.
Still, I comfort myself that there are far more damaging habits around than accumulating movie discs, and this one happens to have a lot of up-sides.
