How much are your old laser discs worth? (1 Viewer)

[JoshZ]

I have that Japanese LD for The Cell. Would happily sell it for $2,500, but sincerely doubt anyone would pay even 1/10th that price.

The claim that the Blade Runner: Director's Cut is worth $999 is also highly dubious. That disc was produced in mass quantities and there's nothing particularly special about it.

 

[The Drifter]

I'm surprised that anyone would pay any amount of money for most LD's. I.e., these films are primarily available - via superior & Anamorphic Widescreen prints - on DVD/Blu. And, if they're not, you can always find them available via streaming.

Plus, if you buy LD's for the purpose of watching (not just collecting) you'll need a working LD player. Are these even made anymore?! And, even if they are, if they break does anyone out there know how to repair them?! And, if you can find someone to repair them how much will they charge for this service?! I.e., just having to keep this LD machine going may prove to be expensive.

 

[Worth]

The only advantage laserdisc has at this point is that it often contains original sound mixes in high resolution.

 

[Worth]

I have that Japanese LD for The Cell. Would happily sell it for $2,500, but sincerely doubt anyone would pay even 1/10th that price.

The claim that the Blade Runner: Director's Cut is worth $999 is also highly dubious. That disc was produced in mass quantities and there's nothing particularly special about it.

Just out of curiosity, I had a quick looked on ebay, and presently there's an unopened Blade Runner disc going for $25.

 

[Malcolm R]

I have two milk crates of LD's and a player, but haven't looked at them for years. I don't really recall what I have, though I do recall buying the big deluxe boxes of Jaws and Bram Stoker's Dracula at the time. I've kept my LD player hooked up to my AVR, but I don't think I've used it (or attempted) in over 10 years or more. I should try and give it a spin sometime.

I do recall the last time I did use it, I gave my Lethal Weapon disc a spin and it had largely succumbed to disc rot (picture full of static and specks).

 

[David Norman]

I'm surprised that anyone would pay any amount of money for most LD's. I.e., these films are primarily available - via superior & Anamorphic Widescreen prints - on DVD/Blu. And, if they're not, you can always find them available via streaming.

Plus, if you buy LD's for the purpose of watching (not just collecting) you'll need a working LD player. Are these even made anymore?! And, even if they are, if they break does anyone out there know how to repair them?! LOL.

First part is mostly true, but there are some items never went further than LD. There are items that were re-mastered poorly (in some people's opinion) and edited. Commentaries are often unique to LD

You do need a working player. They aren't made anymore and there are still some people who can fix them
Currently I have a Pioneer CLD 99, two 704 (actually 3 counting their Mitsubishi Clone) for redundancy and built-in parts warehouse is the worst happens.

People don't own them for Visual Superiority (-- not even the LP pseudo Analog sound style self-superiority ) though some of the audio tracs still hold their own. They are cool, they are legacy, they are something Unique like owning lacquer discs or 8-16mm film prints

 

[Jeffrey D]

Off the top of my head, the best LDs I still have are the 3 Star Wars special editions (the big faces with short featurettes) and the big box edition of My Fair Lady. I got rid of It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World a long time ago- the version with the additional scenes and the hour-
long documentary (I wish I still had that one).

 

[bigshot]

I was the one all my friends dumped their laserdiscs on. I have thousands of them, including three copies of Song of the South. I'm planning to use them for some sort of Calder-esqe mobile someday. Or perhaps wallpaper a room in them and put a disco ball in the middle. I'm sure they would make a great craft project. I just haven't figured it out yet.

 

[JoshZ]

Just out of curiosity, I had a quick looked on ebay, and presently there's an unopened Blade Runner disc going for $25.

I don't actively track current market values, but I could believe that the Criterion CAV edition (European theatrical cut) might retain some value, given that it had some exclusive supplements that never made their way to DVD or Blu-ray. Nowhere near $999, though.

I have that disc as well, but the jacket has taken a beating over the years, unfortunately.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Have my Criterion CAV Blade Runner with the $9.99 price sticker still on it.

 

[The Drifter]

That BR LD picture looks to be a re-drawn version of the original BR poster. Harrison Ford & Sean Young look slightly different from the way they do in the original one-sheet.

 

[JoshZ]

That BR LD picture looks to be a re-drawn version of the original BR poster. Harrison Ford & Sean Young look slightly different from the way they do in the original one-sheet.

I believe that's right. It's either a variation or recreation of the original art. The spinner car and building are also much lower in the image than the poster.

 

[JoshZ]

Off my shelf:

 

[JoshZ]

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I sometimes miss laserdiscs because of the large disc jacket and artwork and going to Blockbuster to rent or buy more.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’ve never owned a laser disc player and I’ll admit to being tempted more than once to buy some just to display the art.

 

[Bryan^H]

Have my Criterion CAV Blade Runner with the $9.99 price sticker still on it.
View attachment 56132

CAV is awesome

I kind of wish I had not given my entire collection of 75 discs, and player away for free. But after a few of the discs developed "rot", and DVD was so new I figured they were worthless. I would love to go back and revisit the theatrical version of 'Last of the Mohicans' one more time. I loved the color on that one, and have never found the BD, or DVD to equal it.

 

[Worth]

I hated CAV. Having to interrupt a movie every 30 minutes to switch sides is hardly an ideal way to watch something.

 

[The Drifter]

I’ve never owned a laser disc player and I’ll admit to being tempted more than once to buy some just to display the art.

I may be interested in getting a book devoted to LD cover art. I know there's a book with VHS cover art that looks interesting. Though I didn't like the VHS format either, some of those box covers advertising the films were better than the films themselves - LOL.

 

[RobertR]

Have my Criterion CAV Blade Runner with the $9.99 price sticker still on it.
View attachment 56132

Pretty lousy depiction of Harrison Ford.