Why I Own So Many Movies. (1 Viewer)

[PopBodhi]

When DVD was introduced in late '90s, I wanted *everything*. It was nice to have all my "shows" on a format that would age relatively well. I hated tape and still do. These days I'm transitioning from standard DVD to Blu-ray/4K discs and I only buy movies I know I'll re-watch. I've gone from 500+ DVDs to maybe a hundred Blu-ray discs and 4K. There is something about owning a movie or TV show you love that makes me smile. I treasure my copy of Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

People with as much money as him never do bargain hunt.

You can't paint all wealthy people with the same brush but many of them are pretty stupid when it comes to things like investing and saving money etc.

I think you would be surprised at how lazy and ignorant some are. I have seen a few funny stories about some of them.

It's why you see investment banks like Goldman Sachs setting up a a new business arm for Bitcoin investment. It allows all the wealthy people to get exposure in the space without having to do the dirty work of learning how to make the purchases independently.

Obviously Goldman Sachs will take them to the cleaners and charge them extortionate rates for the privilege of providing the service.

Rich people are too busy doing nothing and living a life of leisure to worry about the nitty gritty of saving money etc.

Funny enough I only watched a movie called The Exterminating Angel last night directed by Luis Bunuel.

An hilarious representation of the rich people I describe here. Really liked that one.

Obviously that guy in the video is probably not super rich or anything but he certainly is not on the bread line and can probably lend a bob or two to friends.

Guess I'll need to check out Bunuel's The Exterminating Angel at some point...

And yes, I actually personally know a fairly wealthy person who's a good deal like that... though he can be extremely thrifty (and even downright miserly) on the most trivial/mundane things and is that way due in part to his upbringing along w/ some unfortunate mental issue... But a lot of that sort inherited their wealth and might not be able to competently hold a job for long -- that's certainly him (and yes, he's lost pretty substantial amounts and will likely lose more due to mismanagement and generally poor judgment/choices)...

_Man_

 

[Carl David]

Guess I'll need to check out Bunuel's The Exterminating Angel at some point...

And yes, I actually personally know a fairly wealthy person who's a good deal like that... though he can be extremely thrifty (and even downright miserly) on the most trivial/mundane things and is that way due in part to his upbringing along w/ some unfortunate mental issue... But a lot of that sort inherited their wealth and might not be able to competently hold a job for long -- that's certainly him (and yes, he's lost pretty substantial amounts and will likely lose more due to mismanagement and generally poor judgment/choices)...

_Man_

Definitely worth checking out.

I watched that one going into it blindly without really knowing much about what the film was about which is something I usually try to do in most new films I watch as I feel I can form my independent opinion on it without any pre notions of how it was received etc.

The first 20 minutes I was baffled by what was going on as it just did not make any sense. I thought it was a serious drama the way the movie started and then thought that the movie was difficult to understand as it was a foreign film and so I thought maybe I don't get the culture or something.

Once the penny dropped I just burst out laughing.

There is a saying the "First generation makes it. 2nd generation maintains it, 3rd generation blows it".

Your friend might be 3rd generation.

You will probably find major inconsistencies in his financial decisions. His thrifty aspects will probably be offset by major spending binges on completely useless things that are probably expensive to keep etc.

 

[benbess]

Well, here's a reason I own so many movies on blu-ray. I've been fan of a lot of pre-1960 movies since I was a kid, but of course there are so many that there are hundreds of good ones I've missed over the years, including Green Dolphin Street, a 1947 epic starring Lana Turner, Van Heflin, and Donna Reed—plus all the production values that MGM could deliver when it was in its golden age. Anyway, the version I streamed a few years ago was rough, but I still liked this sometimes over-the-top movie. The Warner Archive blu-ray of Green Dolphin Street was released in April of 2021, but somehow I only found out about it last week. When I saw that the HD streaming version was available to own for only $5, I confess that I got that instead. But—buyer beware—that is the unrestored version of the movie. To get the restored version you need to get the blu-ray, which makes sense, I know, for how else are they going to fund these restorations. After talking with amazon customer service via text they reluctantly refunded my $5 for the streaming version. Anyway, I got not only Green Dolphin Street on blu-ray, but more than half a dozen other Warner Archive blu-rays as well.

 

[benbess]

Purchased in the last two weeks....

 

[DaveF]

 

[PODER]

Because it's fun to program Theme Evenings. As an example, I've been watching the well-regarded LUPIN series. So last night I pulled LUPIN THE THIRD: THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO to watch, and tonight I'll start with the Warner Archive Double Feature of ARSENE LUPIN (1932) and ARSENE LUPIN RETURNS (1938). I did the same when I was watching the new PERRY MASON prequel series, following episodes up with both episodes of the Raymond Burr TV series and several of the films in the Warner Archive PERRY MASON MOVIE COLLECTION. Who knew how suave Perry was when portrayed by Warren William, how many employees he had, and that he was canoodling with Della Street! I used to love the Film Festivals at the old Regency Theater in Manhattan, and can now assemble my own.

 

[OLDTIMER]

Because it's fun to program Theme Evenings.

I program Theme Weeks (or longer). I call them Fests.
For instance I might have a Bette Davis fest, or Alfred Hitchcock, or early gangster movies, etc. With streaming it's harder to organise such events.

 

[Martin_Teller]

It occurred to me today that pretty much the only time I ever rewatch a movie these days is when it comes out on a new format. Then it goes on the shelf, usually never to be touched again until the next new format. There was a period where I was revisiting films in my collection that I hadn't seen for a long time, but eventually that project fell by the wayside. Every once in a blue room I'll pull out a movie that I want to show my wife, but that's pretty rare.

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc? Do you have a system for it, or is it just whatever strikes your fancy in the moment? Do you feel any need to get through unwatched discs first?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc? Do you have a system for it, or is it just whatever strikes your fancy in the moment? Do you feel any need to get through unwatched discs first?

A little bit of all of the above.

I would say there’s probably 25-50 discs that I watch pretty much every year. I don’t know the exact number but it’s gotta be in that ballpark.

There are probably another 50-100 that get rewatched maybe every other year, or once every three years, it’s not really an exact science there but that’s probably about right.

Maybe another 100 that wind up being every five years or so.

Which leaves a whole bunch that I probably didn’t need to buy. Some of those are movies that buying them was the only way to see them at the time so I wasn’t really thinking long term when I got them, and just haven’t bothered to get rid of them. Others I thought I’d watch more than I do and I was just wrong. I’m much more selective now than I was five years ago.

Sometimes I’ll give myself some “homework” and decide to choose between things I haven’t watched yet or haven’t watched in ages. Sometimes I will rewatch old movies in preparation for new movies in the same series. Other times I will be inspired by seeing a new movie to watch similar older movies that I have.

So it really is a bit of everything with me.

 

[Robin9]

It occurred to me today that pretty much the only time I ever rewatch a movie these days is when it comes out on a new format. Then it goes on the shelf, usually never to be touched again until the next new format. There was a period where I was revisiting films in my collection that I hadn't seen for a long time, but eventually that project fell by the wayside. Every once in a blue room I'll pull out a movie that I want to show my wife, but that's pretty rare.

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc? Do you have a system for it, or is it just whatever strikes your fancy in the moment? Do you feel any need to get through unwatched discs first?

I certainly concentrate on watching discs which have just arrived because I don't like having a backlog of unwatched discs. However, I watch whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. That will be an unwatched disc if I have any but otherwise any of the discs in my collection. I do have a few I've watched only once but most of mine have been viewed at least twice and I've watched many of them several times.

 

[TravisR]

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc? Do you have a system for it, or is it just whatever strikes your fancy in the moment? Do you feel any need to get through unwatched discs first?

I seemingly always have a small backlog of unwatched discs which, barring a hankering to see a specific movie, I always try to watch first. No doubt I have tons of discs that I've watched once but generally, I just watch what I feel like seeing.

 

[TJPC]

I have series of movies (Marvel) and TV Shows (Walking Dead -- Star Trek) etc. that I keep up with and buy and watch first (Blu-rays). I also have a tremendous amount of home made DVDs from TCM that have yet to be watched. Consequently I almost never get around to watching an old favorite, unless I am replacing a DVD with Blu-ray.

My collection consists almost exclusively of discs I have watched once. I always think "when I am caught up I will watch an old favourite", but it never happens.

 

[BobO'Link]

It occurred to me today that pretty much the only time I ever rewatch a movie these days is when it comes out on a new format. Then it goes on the shelf, usually never to be touched again until the next new format. There was a period where I was revisiting films in my collection that I hadn't seen for a long time, but eventually that project fell by the wayside. Every once in a blue room I'll pull out a movie that I want to show my wife, but that's pretty rare.

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc? Do you have a system for it, or is it just whatever strikes your fancy in the moment? Do you feel any need to get through unwatched discs first?

The vast majority of my collection has been watched exactly once. There are a couple of hundred I watch every 2-3 years, another hundred or so that get watched every year or two, and a very small handful that get watched every year.

I watch whatever strikes my fancy. I normally favor the unwatched pile over what I've seen before but it's not etched in stone. Even then, 90% of the current unwatched pile is movies I've seen before and purchased on disc to watch again (basically not worrying about some streaming service having it available when I decide to watch it - the primary reason for the huge collection).

All but a handful of my BR purchases are upgrades from DVDs so, even though new, I consider them rewatches. Without exception *every* movie I've purchased has been something I wanted to see or see again and cost less to purchase than the price of a rental. Even if I never watch those again it was worth the cost for that single viewing.

It's much the same for the TV series I own (roughly 500 complete series with about half "unwatched" - most seen before, just not via my disc collection and about 10% being "new to me" material).

 

[Desslar]

I program Theme Weeks (or longer). I call them Fests.
For instance I might have a Bette Davis fest, or Alfred Hitchcock, or early gangster movies, etc. With streaming it's harder to organise such events.

Why does streaming make it more difficult? Isn't it easier?

I haven't done much of it yet, but as my collection slowly grows my intent is to program theme weekends by time period. So, for example, this weekend could be themed April 1982:
Das Boot, Victor/Victoria, Deathtrap, Three's Company, Dukes of Hazzard, Happy Days, Magnum PI, Spider-man and His Amazing Friends, Smurfs, etc.

But I don't quite have all of those in my collection just yet.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Odd. Seems I was somehow posting to the wrong thread... Deleted.

_Man_

 

[Josh Dial]

The vast majority of my collection has been watched exactly once. There are a couple of hundred I watch every 2-3 years, another hundred or so that get watched every year or two, and a very small handful that get watched every year.

I watch whatever strikes my fancy. I normally favor the unwatched pile over what I've seen before but it's not etched in stone. Even then, 90% of the current unwatched pile is movies I've seen before and purchased on disc to watch again (basically not worrying about some streaming service having it available when I decide to watch it - the primary reason for the huge collection).

All but a handful of my BR purchases are upgrades from DVDs so, even though new, I consider them rewatches. Without exception *every* movie I've purchased has been something I wanted to see or see again and cost less to purchase than the price of a rental. Even if I never watch those again it was worth the cost for that single viewing.

It's much the same for the TV series I own (roughly 500 complete series with about half "unwatched" - most seen before, just not via my disc collection and about 10% being "new to me" material).

This is pretty much my practice, too.

What I watch often goes in waves or trends. For the last year or so my spouse and I have been watching every Disney theatrically released animated movie, in release order, once per week on Friday (we just finished watching Bolt).

Many nights we watch two movies (I pick one, she picks one), or work through a few episodes of our streaming television shows (most of which never come out on physical media). We prioritize our television shows--and have no issues streaming those--because we like to avoid spoilers. This week has a lot of TV show our movie watching is down. This week, in addition to Moon Knight, we have Ozark, The Flight Attendant, Undone, Gaslit, We Own This City, and Barry all starting, plus two more episodes of Tokyo Vice (final episode next week).

A few weeks back we went through a mini-phase of indie/low budget sci-fi. Unfortunately I haven't been able to track down a blu-ray copy of Time Trap, so we had to stream that. Time Trap actually just left Netflix and isn't available to stream now (though I think you can still "buy" a digital copy). That just underscores the risk with streaming.

 

[jcroy]

So my question to you with massive collections: how often do you really rewatch a disc?

Thinking about this, I only really watch a disc when I first buy it.

First I check a newly purchased disc on the computer, to see whether there are any bad sectors due to manufacturing defects. If there are no obvious bad sectors found on the computer, I will then watch the same disc on a standalone bluray player from start to finish as a second check for any further manufacturing defects.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Top favourites I'll watch a couple of times a year (eg NNW, TCAT, Pillow Talk, Sunday in New York, Where Eagles Dare, Ice Station Zebra, The Professionals, couple of dozen titles). I have Christmas favourites and watch them during the holidays. A few others I watch on anniversary dates (eg Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on 26 October). I store my discs randomly and every couple of weeks I look through them and pull out a dozen or so and when I have played them I do it again.I don't like any type of filing system. I collected DVDs as there were so many films which were previously unavailable but now with blu ray and 4k, I only buy/keep repeaters.

 

[Indy Guy]

Sorry to go back to the Theo Kalomirakis collection, but I had the pleasure of working with Theo 15 years ago. Not on a personal project, but at a corporate level. Theo is a self made man who's love of movies and their presentation inspired him to fill a niche that he was passionate about. Theo pioneered and went on to dominate the field of spectacular home theater design and installation. His theaters can be so elaborate they often resemble giant movie palaces until you realize there are only maybe a dozen seats in the miniature spaces!
I hoped we could work together to install an elaborate miniature Victorian theater in a very public space. Theo would get the publicity and we would get a spectacular little theater for people to marvel, but corporate politics prevailed.
His craft is astonishing and is a tribute to true passion for the film experience.
We should all be so lucky as to fashion our dreams into a prosperous career doing what we love!

TK Theaters

www.tktheaters.com