Top Ten Discs You Own...But Never Watch (1 Viewer)

[Joe Karlosi]

Yes, even favorite films that we all own and love and want to watch again and again need a long break sometimes! Besides, I'm so busy renting and discovering great older films for the first time (the down side there is that I keep accumulating MORE titles that I want to add to my ever -mounting collection) that I don't have as much time to revisit the favorites! I could probably spend the rest of my years just going through the 1,000 movies I already own, and KNOW I like, multiple times...

 

[StephenA]

I have quite a few that I haven't watched at all, and I've owned them for 3 or 4 years. I guess subconsciously I'm thinking since I have them that it doesn't matter when I watch them. Some of the discs that I haven't watched yet are:

Godfather trilogy
Indiana Jones trilogy
Star Wars trilogy
Lord Of The Rings trilogy extended editions
Ben-Hur
Sparticus Criterion
The Seven Samurai Criterion
Alice In Wonderland
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
American Graffiti

 

[TravisR]

I buy so many DVDs that I almost never rent them. I'd like to join up for Netflix (mainly to see some TV shows that I don't want/can't afford to buy) but the time I spend watching DVDs is on the stuff that I buy.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I've been burned too many times by blind buys on films I have no intention of ever seeing again, so I turned to Netflix and I can't recommend it enough! Great way to test the waters to see if films are worth owning.

 

[TravisR]

I totally understand that, Joe. I may blind buy one movie every three months (maybe). The majority of the stuff I buy is catalogue titles and TV stuff (that I've seen) and then a few new movies. Usually if there's something I'm interested that I've never seen, I can bum it off a friend. Cheaper than renting

 

[Jim Tudor]

Looks like I'm more guilty of this than most of you, but I don't care - I intend to EVENTUALLY watch everything I buy. I tend to go through phases watching movies (silent, musicals, horror, etc.), and some phases come around less often than others. I own a number of films I purchased sight-unseen, but I tend to have very good luck with that. (Only twice have I gotten burnt.)

As I type this, I can't help but think that if I spent a portion of the time I spend reading threads like this actually watching my movies, the backlog wouldn't be so daunting!

JiM T

 

[Kain_C]

Wow, are you doing yourself a disservice. I have seen the entire series probably close to 10 times. It's one of the greatest "movies" I have ever seen. Jeez, I cannot believe it. I cannot express enough just how much you are missing out.

And some others have but haven't watched Star Wars, Indy, Godfather, etc?? My god.

 

[Ernest Rister]

What am I supposed to glean from watching Band of Brothers the 4th or 5th time that I didn't glean from watching it the 1st time? I can't imagine that repeated viewings of this are going to reproduce my heart-in-my-throat reaction to seeing it for the very first time. I'm going to let some time pass, and then see it again one of these days.

 

[Kain_C]

I thought you meant you never watched it at all. Sorry, your post wasn't too clear on that.

And actually, you do pick up stuff from repeat viewings. You tend to be able to keep characters straight (because there are many roles in that series) and so you can follow things alot better. Plus just taking in the visual mastery is a pleasure.

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Well, a few days ago I could say for the first time in years that I had finally watched all of my DVDs - not a single one lying around waiting. Until I received a couple more for the weekend.

The question seems to imply, though: "...never watch - regularly".

That makes the question impossible to answer. There are in fact very few of my DVDs that I've watched more than once. Practically all of my slightly over 300 DVDs have the potential of being watched over and over again, though.

 

[Mike Frezon]

That's fine, Ernest. What ever works for you. And that's the bottom line of this whole discussion.

I agree with most posters here. Its all about the time. The time and the fact that my wife doesn't like many of the same films I do. Throw in the mix my 14-year old son and we find there are very few films the three of us can ever agree to sit down and watch together.

One of the good things to come out of a serious medical scare I had just about a year ago was that, during a long convalescence, I had a chance to watch a number of films in my collection that I would never have had time for (the entire Band of Brothers among them!)

I have a number of DVDs in my 400+ collection which I have yet to watch and cannot wait for the opportunity. Their day (actually, my day) will come!

 

[Jim Dalton]

Message In A Bottle (came free with the player)
The Stand
Die Hard
Mask Of Zorro
The Longest Yard
The Presidio
Serpico
There's Something About Mary

 

[Dan_V]

Part of the rewatchability factor with me comes from the fact that dvd's are cheap. With the constant barrage of new releases and special editions, there is always something new to watch. At times it gets hard to keep up, let alone watch something I've already seen. Back in the days of laserdisc , I watched Schindler's List, Blue Velvet, The Abyss, and Glenngary Glenross numerous times. My collection was small and they were all great films.I bought the dvd of the same titles and have watched them each once. They are still some of my favorite films but my time is limited and there is so much I haven't seen.And I see where Ernest is coming from with Band of Brothers. It absolutley floored me the first time I watched it, and it is still probably my favorite dvd, but I can't seem to find the time to rewatch it. On the other hand, it's good to be able to pull something off the shelf you haven't seen in awhile just because your in the mood for it.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i've been thinking about this a little more and came to realize that a year ago my first response to a thread like this would have been my two season sets of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
i had those sitting on the shelf for over a year, never once feeling the urge to actually watch them, while still planning to pick up one of the upcoming seasons.
i went around thinking i must be out of my mind- that i had to cut out this foolishness. why did i feel this need to aquire something when it was obvious that i never intened to get any pleasure from actually using it?

out of shame, i forced myself to start watching the ones i already had, and before you know it, i became obsessed with the show all over again.
there was this thunderclap epiphany- "oh, ok...now i remember why i shelled out $70 on these"
by the end of the year i had bought and watched 6 more seasons of it and loved every minute of it.

 

[Dane Marvin]

I have a relatively small (just over 100 titles) collection, but all of them are either Criterions, 2-disc SE's or boxsets, so I have no lame-o catalog titles (like Battlefield Earth or White Chicks) sitting around. That said, it is still a matter of time for me. These are the top 10 discs off the top of my head that I have sitting on the shelf that I've never seen before (not even theatrically or rentals):

1. West Side Story: 2-Disc CE
2. The Honeymoon Killers: CC
3. Written on the Wind: CC
4. Sanjuro: CC
5. All About Eve: Fox Studio Classics
6. Magnolia: New Line Platinum Series
7. Brazil: CC
8. The King of Kings: CC
9. Short Cuts: CC
10. Notorious: CC

I know, I know ... I've got a lot of watching to do. I could go on longer even (Malcolm X: WB Two-Disc SE, Spellbound: CC, etc.), but I think I have angered enough people already.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Exactly! Whether or not people like to hear it, sometimes you have to "make" yourself get moving when it comes to watching all the discs you've accumulated. It's not like collecting stamps or something where you simply stare at the stamps in a book; you have to actually PHYSICALLY TAKE THE DVD OUT OF ITS CASE AND VIEW THE MOVIE/TV SHOW!

People who have hundreds or thousands of DVDs and imagine that they're on the shelf for some alleged time where they'll "get the urge to watch that particular movie or TV episode" are only fooling themselves. Sure, there will be a handful of favorite titles you'll always tend to feel like watching, but the only way is to make a deliberate and conscious effort to watch everything - maybe even work in a schedule of One television episode each evening, for example. But there is just NO WAY you can live till 90 and get an individual "urge" to watch 1,000 movies or hundreds of individual TV episodes, over and over.

I know this sounds like a job instead of fun, but once you begin to take advantage of the DVDs you've acquired, you'll love them. After all, that's why you bought them and life is short.

 

[george kaplan]

Well I don't go by urges, I basically cycle through my films. But all of the over 1000 dvds in my collection is great, and I always thoroughly enjoy rewatching each one even though I didn't have an urge to watch any particular title.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

That's the main way to do it, George, to get use of the films you buy and get more bang for your buck, so to speak. But do you ever get the urge to buy newly discovered first-time favorites with potential re-watchability? That's happening to me constantly as I discover more films I try out and want to see again.

 

[WillardK]

Jules and Jim has nothing on Testament of Dr. Mabuse

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Aw, don't bite your tongue! Can you elaborate?