Where do you place yourself, as a UK lovers of film, on the enthusiast scale?

[stigdu]

I joined this forum as it's a great place to get news on upcoming releases, discuss existing ones, and read (sometimes expert) opinions.

Where do you consider yourself on the film enthusiast scale?

1 - You know what studios releases which titles and which blu-ray companies have the licences.

2 - You know release dates, correct aspect ratios, which region has a better release, etc.

3 - You just like watching films and don't really know /care much about who owns what or why, and just look forward to a film's release.

These are just examples off the top of my head. Please don't stick with these! Go with your own mix.

I'd love to know where you you all stand, how long you've been a film enthusiast for, if there is are any particular genre you have an affinity for, etc.

I put myself as a mix between 2 and 3.

I'm definitely a horror fan first and foremost. It's all about the film for me. Don't care for steelbooks or slipcases, but a nice limited edition will always get my attention.

I try to follow release dates where I can, but there are so many, I get lost.

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[Ste7en]

Somewhere between 1 and 2... and 3

Buying movies now is as complicated as buying a cinema ticket or a new car. The amount of groundwork you have to do is a bit tiresome.

Is it 'real' or 'fake' 3D? Is it 'real' or 'fake' 4K? Is it cut? If so, where is the uncut edition being released? Which audio formats are included? Which country has the best set of extras? O ring? Foil or lenticular? Are the spine numbers in a different font / lozenge? Steelbook? Digipak? Coloured Amaray?

By the time you decide it ends up in Poundland... yay!

[thecooldud]

3

[CouncilSpectre]

Well it's definitely #3 but there are bits of #1 and #2 in there as well.

First and foremost, I love film in general, and some movies in particular - for the former, I'm happy just to have them on blu. For the latter, I want the best release, in the best package. Whilst physical packaging certainly isn't the be-all-and-end-all, for certain movies I consider the overall package. That might be anything from the format of the packaging, the cover art, any included bling etc.

Although region-free, I try to buy domestic if and where I can. That being said, if a movie is 'on my list' then I'll happily import.

There are also certain movies where I'll happily double-dip, just for the extras - again, if the movie is on the right list then I'd buy different copies just for different extras etc.

[adamhopelies]

I'm more of a cinephile than a blu-ray collector. To be honest, the format is a convenience for me, though I do enjoy the collectability of labels like Criterion and MoC. I'm not so much an enthusiast for the format, it's just the most accessible way in which to see many films at their best.

I'd say that my passion for film was second to none tho. And my understanding too. I just don't really care about slipcovers or steel books.

I've been seriously into film since 15 years old, when we watched Polanski's Macbeth at school. I started studying film soon after, when I went to art school, and discovered things like Breathless and Antonioni. Those films set me on the path that is pretty much stick to, with classic European cinema my favourite area, with French cinema a particular passion of mine (and my area academically). I like bits of everything tho.

[Gerby]

2 & 3.
I don't really care about who owns what & who could theoretically release what, i leave that to others but frequenting this forum you pick up on those things anyway. My main reason for using this site is to find out about release dates UK & overseas, how the transfers are & which release looks the best to go for. It's also good for finding out if there are any current bargains going on with any retailers.

Watched films forever as everyone does but been into cinema seriously since around 16 (now 40), it was Blue Velvet that triggered my obsession.

I will watch anything, any genre, any era, any country. My favourites though are 70's & 80's US Regional Horror/Exploitation, Classic Film Noir, Westerns, 70's & 80's US TV Movies, Pre-Code Hollywood & British Cinema 40's - 80's.

[Superted]

3

Been watching/collecting movies since a kid (39 now)
Have fond memories of video shops as a kid where I would spend hours just looking at VHS cases. As a 10/11 year old I would be sent to the video shop to "see what's new" for rent and would often come home with 18's titles (non porn) but very violent films including several video nasty titles, and would be aloud watch these to a certin point. I was tought from an early age "it's only a movie" although the end scene of Snuff took some convincing.

Started collecting DVDs pretty much as soon as they came to the market and would buy pretty much anything as the idea of a smaller than VHS format was great and I binned a good few tapes.
Stopped collecting and even watching movies during the late 00' sold most of my DVDs as I was sure digital media was the future.

Only started collecting again about 3 years ago, mostly Criterions which opened my eyes to cinema outside Hollywood.
I mostly only collect Criterion, Arrow Video and MoC blu rays now as I mostly see these as difinitve editions of great movies and I don't ever want to collect anything past blu ray.
If I do buy a non label edition of a movie I like I try to buy a loaded edition with nice packaging, like steelbooks as I don't want to buy again in a few years.
That's the reason I joined up here, the wealth of information here is mint blowing.

[Morsoth]

2

This thread should have added the "Poll" feature...

[Sifox211]

A bit of 1, 2 and 3

Ultimately, it is the movie that is important and in many cases I will try to get the best version out, within reason. I will never buy a DVD if there is a BD available, even if it means importing at 5x the cost.

Packiagng is moderately important - if there's a nicer edition for a few pounds more I will go for it. I used to do steelbooks but oddly have lost all interest in them in the last year.

Upgrading I will do for favourite movies only.

The biggest change is that in the noughties I would buy a lot of new releases almost automatically, but since switching to BD I've scaled right back and am almost only buying from the boutique labels. I used to always pre-order stuff like Star Wars films but don't even have Rogue One yet.

In the DVD era most of my stuff was imported from the US, whereas now the only US stuff I tend to buy is Criterion. Even that has reduced now that we have them releasing in the UK.

I don't even look at what other US boutique labels are doing because, to put it bluntly, there is just too much stuff coming out! With Criterion and the UK labels I cannot keep up, so I have to limit my scope.

I did use rental to watch new movies, mostly mainstream that I don't want to buy. Now that Amazon is dropping its rental service I will need to figure out what to do - streaming or another rental service, don't know?

[drush9999]

I'm a bit of everything as well. I don't fit on a sliding scale. Square peg in round hole and all that

[NARMAK]

Between 1 & 2 so a 1.5

I like to keep up to date on what's coming out, casting choices etc. and discuss them and then go see the final product to see how it turned out compared to what we expected and assumed.

[Talal86]

Originally Posted by Ste7en

Somewhere between 1 and 2... and 3

Buying movies now is as complicated as buying a cinema ticket or a new car. The amount of groundwork you have to do is a bit tiresome.

Is it 'real' or 'fake' 3D? Is it 'real' or 'fake' 4K? Is it cut? If so, where is the uncut edition being released? Which audio formats are included? Which country has the best set of extras? O ring? Foil or lenticular? Are the spine numbers in a different font / lozenge? Steelbook? Digipak? Coloured Amaray?

By the time you decide it ends up in Poundland... yay!

sad but true