Is collecting movies a worthless art? (hoarders need not apply)

Started by Stefen, November 12, 2010, 05:41:55 PM

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Stefen

My collection used to be epic. Mac and Silias esque. But when I moved away and got strapped for cash I had to sell most of them. Now it's down to the basics. Most essentials, but slowly it's getting bigger.

Do you guys think video collecting is a worthless art? I mean, remember when you were a kid and started collecting VHS? Those are worthless. Then DVD and those are becoming worthless and now Blu-Ray which when everything goes digital, will probably be worthless.

Is it even worth collecting anymore?
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Pubrick

that's worth its own thread.

(split stefen's post from I Just Bought)
under the paving stones.

Stefen

Good topic.

There is just something fun about collecting films. Admit it, when you go to a friends house the first thing you check is their movies.

There was a time when it wasn't even really an expensive hobby. You could get the weeks new release for super-duper cheap at a chain and then remember the days of deepdiscountdvd.com? The first time I bought online was from them. Radioheads Meeting People Is Easy. They sent me a Dave Mathews Band live concert. Remember how long it used to take for them to send stuff? WEEKS, but shipping was free.

It's a cool hobby.

It will be a sad day when you can't buy books or movies and have an actual physical copy. It already happened with music, but that's different since it's not visual.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Gold Trumpet

It's a delicate thing for me. There are movies I like a lot and think about a lot, but I know if I buy them, I will never watch them. Yet I know if they are on TV, I will make it a point to watch it. There is a satisfaction in waiting for me. Other movies really don't deserve my purchase but I do it anyways. Those are the movies I believe I will want as background enjoyment if I am working on something and watch to occasionally look at. These movies I know by heart. Lately, it's been The Hunt For Red October and (surprisingly) The Time Traveler's Wife.

The films that stir my imagination are the high standard dramas you watch once a year, but I need to have them because even though I watch them the most infrequently, I find myself going back to quote them if an idea pops into my head and I have to watch the movie. I think about these movies like I think about the ones I can wait for on TV, but these movies appease my critical imagination. The other movies appease my general movie memory. For instance, the last two weeks I have been thinking about Tarkovsky's Solaris. Nothing serious. The film is just streamlining my memory and I am hoping my series of thoughts will yield a new critical idea I think may be fun to explore further by writing about. Something may happen, something may not. Who knows?

Then I do own an excess number of movies I don't even care about. Whenever I can, I find people who can love them, I will hand them over. If a movie doesn't fill my two previous brackets, I try not to buy them. I have become a better economical buyer with rules.

Ravi

Quote from: Stefen on November 12, 2010, 05:41:55 PM
Do you guys think video collecting is a worthless art? I mean, remember when you were a kid and started collecting VHS? Those are worthless. Then DVD and those are becoming worthless and now Blu-Ray which when everything goes digital, will probably be worthless.

Is it even worth collecting anymore?

What do you mean by worth, monetary value?  Anyone who buys movies in the hopes that they'll be worth a lot of money is a fool.  Buy movies to enjoy them.

I find that the more DVDs I have, the fewer times I watch each one.  When I had three or four DVDs, I watched the shit out of them.  Now that I have probably a couple hundred DVDs, I watch each one once, move on to a new one I haven't seen, and maybe revisit some every now and then.  I remember when I used to watch all the extras and even listen to commentaries multiple times.

I've curbed my DVD buying over the past few months, but for a while I did buy a ton of dirt cheap DVDs at places like Big Lots (they're usually $3 there) or Blockbuster's 4 for 20 used DVD sales.  I sell the ones I don't want to keep to used DVD stores for store credit.  I don't lose much money on them since they were cheap to begin with, and sometimes I break even.  I tend to buy the more expensive titles (TV show seasons, Blu-Rays, etc.) only when they go on sale for a particularly good price.  I like to think my collection is down to essentials and favorites, though I don't know anyone who would consider "Vice Versa" an essential...

Reel


cronopio 2

i've noticed that i buy movies out of politeness. i bought where the wild things are because i know that, in a way, if i buy it, spike jonze will find a way to fund his next movie. or the futurama dvds. or the lovely indie film 'once'.  even the rubber johnny dvd, which i could've seen on the internet.. am i an idiot?

Pubrick

Quote from: cronopio 2 on November 14, 2010, 10:34:21 PM
even the rubber johnny dvd, which i could've seen on the internet.. am i an idiot?

even i regret that one.

and i suck at the tit of cunningham.

i've since decided that until he makes a damn film, he's not worth a damn cent!
under the paving stones.

Stefen

I went to three different countries looking for a copy of Rubber Johnny. I thought it would be a collectors item.  :doh:
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

socketlevel

It's not worth to collect for future monetary gain. DVDs, like most things factory made, only become rare if there was a recall or end up going out of print (low original prints add to this factor); though if it's out of print that doesn't mean it won't one day be in print again, it's digital afterall.

It's also not worth collecting if quality of product is a factor for you. Again, it's digital and you can get a "copy" of the actual film at the same standard. Furthermore, there will always be a new improved technology that will make the standard obsolete. If you were buying 35mm prints that would be a different issue because it's analog; there is wear and tear on other prints and you can bank on future prints not being produced.

It is worth collecting if you see your collection as an expression of your tastes. Especially if you like to put your taste on display; some form of stamp on your personality. In that case, you getting down to the essentials is, in my opinion, a much more concise expression of what you dig. Even though it gets borderline pretentious to collect with the intent to show your stuff off, it still is expression.

Most importantly, it's worth collecting to support the artists you like. In an age of piracy, it's important to support the people you want to see the value of continuing to do what they do. Even though it's probably inappropriate for me to say, the little guys need your help. I'm at a point where I'd much rather DL something that's mediocre hollywood fare to directly effect the industry; by not supporting it with my wallet. I know it's wrong because i'm still watching it, i guess i just don't care.
the one last hit that spent you...

Pas

Quote from: socketlevel on November 15, 2010, 03:18:48 PM
It's not worth to collect for future monetary gain.

HAHA can you imagine someone doing that! That reminds me of Liz's ex boyfriend in 30 Rock, who says pagers will come back in style because technology is cyclic haha

Stefen

Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Reel


Stefen

Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

tpfkabi

Quote from: Ravi on November 13, 2010, 11:07:53 AM

I've curbed my DVD buying over the past few months, but for a while I did buy a ton of dirt cheap DVDs at places like Big Lots (they're usually $3 there) or Blockbuster's 4 for 20 used DVD sales.  I sell the ones I don't want to keep to used DVD stores for store credit.  I don't lose much money on them since they were cheap to begin with, and sometimes I break even.  I tend to buy the more expensive titles (TV show seasons, Blu-Rays, etc.) only when they go on sale for a particularly good price. 

This is a lot like me. I have about 4 sacks of $1 DVD's I bought when Movie Gallery went out of sale. A couple sacks of Big Lots DVD's I bought when I first 'discovered' they had cheap dvd's. I bought the first season of Who's the Boss just because it seemed like such a good deal - haven't opened that in 2 years! I did the Blockbuster thing, too. I would wait till there were a handful of movies I wanted to see got down to their lowest price tier and then buy.

I think part of it is this thinking - if I spend the money I want to be able to have something tangible, as opposed to just renting something and that money being gone forever - even if I only watch the DVD once.

I have stacks of DVD's and CD's and don't really know how to store them. Any good ideas? I've filled various shelving units, etc.
I am Torgo. I take care of the place while the Master is away.