The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I sold off 3000 DVDs and about 200 Blu-rays over the past month or so. My obsession for films and my collecting over 15 years got out of hand. I had two gigantic wall cases full of films and more in other parts of the house. I've gone through my collection and upgraded a majority of the ones that I liked or have intentions of seeing except for a few of them. I'm in no rush really, because my focuses are on new releases and Criterions.

I've sold off about 200 of my DVDs over the past two months. The used store down the way is pretty cool, and I get more cash for them there than I normally would anywhere else.

Of course, the DVDs that I owned represented a mere fraction of the total DVDs that I've owned at some point or another during my life. Blind buys that I ended up selling a week later, good DVDs that I simply got tired of, and such. It's probably a safe bet that I've purchased close to 2,000 DVDs over the past 15 years, but kept my collection around 500-600 by periodic streamlining at the used stores.
I have no regrets about this, because I've had a blast watching so many movies (I watch everything that I buy.) and taking in so much cinema, good or bad, over the years. If you buy a meal and don't like it, then you cannot sell that meal to buy other meals. I was at least able to get a few dollars for the DVDs that I did not want to keep.

I've been deliberately selling off most of my DVDs that are available on Blu-ray now, because I want to get money for them while people are still buying DVDs for any semblance of a decent price.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I still haven't seen my blus of The Game or Night of the hunter yet (ive seen them on DVD years back) but I hear they're amazing. Have you tested the various soundtracks on the Game yet?

Not yet. I'll probably watch it this weekend.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've sold off about 200 of my DVDs over the past two months. The used store down the way is pretty cool, and I get more cash for them there than I normally would anywhere else.

Of course, the DVDs that I owned represented a mere fraction of the total DVDs that I've owned at some point or another during my life. Blind buys that I ended up selling a week later, good DVDs that I simply got tired of, and such. It's probably a safe bet that I've purchased close to 2,000 DVDs over the past 15 years, but kept my collection around 500-600 by periodic streamlining at the used stores.
I have no regrets about this, because I've had a blast watching so many movies (I watch everything that I buy.) and taking in so much cinema, good or bad, over the years.

I've been deliberately selling off most of my DVDs that are available on Blu-ray now, because I want to get money for them while people are still buying DVDs for any semblance of a decent price.

I just want to hit the lottery and buy everything on my wish list so then I can move on and not worry lol.

[*PREACHER*]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just want to hit the lottery and buy everything on my wish list so then I can move on and not worry lol.

You and me and probably everyone else on here as well!!!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Sorry

I still have a few in my basement lol I don't think there is anything special, though. Just some promos I got that I plan on trading in to Best Buy during U&Ss.

Keep those, I believe their next U&S is in April or May (as it was last year).

$1 DVDs at Bluckbuster is addictive. That's what has brought on my DVD buying splurge, Well that and not doing the streaming thing. Right now I'm 100% Physical + some TCM recordings.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've sold off about 200 of my DVDs over the past two months. The used store down the way is pretty cool, and I get more cash for them there than I normally would anywhere else.

Of course, the DVDs that I owned represented a mere fraction of the total DVDs that I've owned at some point or another during my life. Blind buys that I ended up selling a week later, good DVDs that I simply got tired of, and such. It's probably a safe bet that I've purchased close to 2,000 DVDs over the past 15 years, but kept my collection around 500-600 by periodic streamlining at the used stores.
I have no regrets about this, because I've had a blast watching so many movies (I watch everything that I buy.) and taking in so much cinema, good or bad, over the years. If you buy a meal and don't like it, then you cannot sell that meal to buy other meals. I was at least able to get a few dollars for the DVDs that I did not want to keep.

I've been deliberately selling off most of my DVDs that are available on Blu-ray now, because I want to get money for them while people are still buying DVDs for any semblance of a decent price.

With my Blu collection and MoviePass, I'm pretty busy working my way through em too. (firstworldpriblems)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just want to hit the lottery and buy everything on my wish list so then I can move on and not worry lol.

The more money we have, the more money we spend. More often than not, the more money that people have, the more money that people owe. It's just a fact of life. Money is fluid and the desire to spend more money is usually fluid in turn. If I won the lottery today, my wish list would simply expand to fill the void, as much as I hate to admit it. I would spend the lottery money on a bigger HDTV, a region free Blu-ray player, and than have a plethora of region free choices from all around the world.

(I do not know the percentage off the top of my head, but an extremely high number of lottery winners end up filing for bankruptcy within a short time after winning their lottery. The imagination gets bigger when the bank account gets bigger, the standard of living changes, and that money can disappear quickly.)

My wish list is much smaller now, thankfully, since I already own most of the Blu-rays that were on my priority list to own, but the wish list is not going away anytime soon.

I'd like to say that I'm almost at the point where I can shift into cruise control and simply wait for Blu-rays that are upcoming releases, but there are still a lot of existing Blu-rays out there that I still want. I am, however, at the point where I already have my essential favorites and am willing to wait for the rest of the ones on my wish list to go on sale for cheap prices (like I did with Notorious, Rebecca, and Spellbound).

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Keep those, I believe their next U&S is in April or May (as it was last year).

$1 DVDs at Bluckbuster is addictive. That's what has brought on my DVD buying splurge, Well that and not doing the streaming thing. Right now I'm 100% Physical + some TCM recordings.

Yeah I'm going to. I have a few DVDs I'm going to get rid of to F.Y.E. that I can still make some money on, as well as some CDs. According to the F.Y.E. manager, CDs are worth a lot more than DVDs because the market for them has went up.

I still have some video games to get rid of.

Oh, 15 days until next Criterion announcement

Hopefully we get a sale that week too

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The more money we have, the more money we spend. More often than not, the more money that people have, the more money that people owe. It's just a fact of life. Money is fluid and the desire to spend more money is usually fluid in turn. If I won the lottery today, my wish list would simply expand to fill the void, as much as I hate to admit it. I would spend the lottery money on a bigger HDTV, a region free Blu-ray player, and than have a plethora of region free choices from all around the world.

(I do not know the percentage off the top of my head, but an extremely high number of lottery winners end up filing for bankruptcy within a short time after winning their lottery. The imagination gets bigger when the bank account gets bigger, the standard of living changes, and that money can disappear quickly.)

My wish list is much smaller now, since I already own most of the Blu-rays that were on my priority list to own.

I'd like to say that I'm almost at the point where I can shift into cruise control and simply wait for Blu-rays that are upcoming releases, but there are still a lot of existing Blu-rays out there that I still want. I am, however, at the point where I already have my essential favorites and am willing to wait for the rest of the ones on my wish list to go on sale for cheap prices (like I did with Notorious, Rebecca, and Spellbound).

Trust me I've thought that too, but the day never comes. There's just too much out there.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah I'm going to. I have a few DVDs I'm going to get rid of to F.Y.E. that I can still make some money on, as well as some CDs. According to the F.Y.E. manager, CDs are worth a lot more than DVDs because the market for them has went up.

I still have some video games to get rid of.

Oh, 15 days until next Criterion announcement

Hopefully we get a sale that week too

Shoot me a message with the CDs you'd like to unload.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The more money we have, the more money we spend. More often than not, the more money that people have, the more money that people owe. It's just a fact of life. Money is fluid and people's habits with money are fluid in accordance. If I won the lottery today, my wish list would simply expand to fill the void, as much as I hate to admit it. I spend the money on a bigger HDTV, a region free Blu-ray player, and than have a plethora of region free choices from all around the world.

My wish list is much smaller now, since I already own most of the Blu-rays that were on my priority list to own.

I'd like to say that I'm almost at the point where I can shift into cruise control and simply wait for Blu-rays that are upcoming releases, but there are still a lot of existing Blu-rays out there that I still want. I am, however, at the point where I already have my essential favorites and am willing to wait for the rest of the ones on my wish list to go on sale for cheap prices (like I did with Notorious, Rebecca, and Spellbound).

Yeah, I have to stop spending so much.

I need to keep telling myself that the movies aren't going out of print, so there isn't a need for them right now. Especially because I don't really have much time now to watch movies with classes. The only ones that I'd truly like to pick up are Contempt (I love the cover and it sounds great), Empire Of The Sun (DigiBook), Full Metal Jacket (DigiBook), Laura, Maltese Falcon, Once Upon A Time In America, That Obscure Object Of Desire, Toy Story 3D, Toy Story 2 3D, Toy Story 3 3D, and We Need To Talk About Kevin. Too bad they're expensive, so I don't see myself buying them any time soon.

I have been limiting my spending though, especially on new releases. I was on a roll too until the U&S.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Shoot me a message with the CDs you'd like to unload.

I have to gather them first. I have a bunch in a bucket upstairs, but I have a lot that F.Y.E. wouldn't take back due to not having the original case (I put them in jackets). If you don't mind CDs with just the booklet and the CD, I can sell you mostly all of them for $1 each. I'll PM you about them though when I find them.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, I have to stop spending so much.

I need to keep telling myself that the movies aren't going out of print, so there isn't a need for them right now. Especially because I don't really have much time now to watch movies with classes. The only ones that I'd truly like to pick up are Contempt (I love the cover and it sounds great), Empire Of The Sun (DigiBook), Full Metal Jacket (DigiBook), Laura, Maltese Falcon, Once Upon A Time In America, That Obscure Object Of Desire, Toy Story 3D, Toy Story 2 3D, Toy Story 3 3D, and We Need To Talk About Kevin. Too bad they're expensive, so I don't see myself buying them any time soon.

I have been limiting my spending though, especially on new releases. I was on a roll too until the U&S.



I have to gather them first. I have a bunch in a bucket upstairs, but I have a lot that F.Y.E. wouldn't take back due to not having the original case (I put them in jackets). If you don't mind CDs with just the booklet and the CD, I can sell you mostly all of them for $1 each. I'll PM you about them though when I find them.

Cool. But I've got kind of obscurest wants on CD, so don't rush that list just yet.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Trust me I've thought that too, but the day never comes. There's just too much out there.

I think that, for those of us who are serious movie fans, we will always discover new movies to add to our wish list.

I bought an Akira Kurosawa Criterion on a friend's recommendation and loved it, so that led to buying other Akira Kurosawa movies.
I loved the other Akira Kurosawa movies and was impressed with the Criterion discs, so that led to my curiosity about other movies on the Criterion list.
My curiosity about other movies on the Criterion list led to my discovery of Jean-Pierre Melville's films, which I loved because I like spy movies/gangster movies.
My discovery of the Jean-Pierre Melville films led me to seek out the French New Wave films on the Criterion list.
My discovery of the French New Wave films led me to explore Italian cinema and American film noir as well.
My interest in Italian cinema led me to purchase some Polish films, my interest in the Polish films led me to purchase some Russian films, and so on...
...and so on....and so on...

I'd like to think that, one day, I will achieve total knowledge transcendence, just like Yoda, and not have a need to purchase any more movies. That will never happen, though.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, I have to stop spending so much.

I need to keep telling myself that the movies aren't going out of print, so there isn't a need for them right now. Especially because I don't really have much time now to watch movies with classes. The only ones that I'd truly like to pick up are Contempt (I love the cover and it sounds great), Empire Of The Sun (DigiBook), Full Metal Jacket (DigiBook), Laura, Maltese Falcon, Once Upon A Time In America, That Obscure Object Of Desire, Toy Story 3D, Toy Story 2 3D, Toy Story 3 3D, and We Need To Talk About Kevin. Too bad they're expensive, so I don't see myself buying them any time soon.

I have been limiting my spending though, especially on new releases. I was on a roll too until the U&S.

My Blu-ray spending will decrease noticeably in the spring, because I'm running a few ultramarathon races and will be spending money to travel to those races on weekends. The Blu-ray spending will increase again in the middle of the summer, then decrease again in the early fall when I have more races on my schedule.

One of these days, though, I may simply throw my hands up in exasperation, renounce everything (just like Léon Morin, Priest), move to rural areas to help others, and get to the point where I don't even own socks anymore.

It's that vicious circle. We buy the Into the Wild Blu-ray or the Fight Club Blu-ray to watch on a big HDTV, fantasize about how awesome it would be to live off the grid like the characters in those movies, but then realize that living off the grid would mean that we would have no HDTV or Blu-rays.

I've derailed the thread enough, methinks. I did at least mention Léon Morin, Priest, though.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I think that, for those of us who are serious movie fans, we will always discover new movies to add to our wish list.

I bought an Akira Kurosawa Criterion on a friend's recommendation and loved it, so that led to buying other Akira Kurosawa movies.
I loved the other Akira Kurosawa movies and was impressed with the Criterion discs, so that led to my curiosity about other movies on the Criterion list.
My curiosity about other movies on the Criterion list led to my discovery of Jean-Pierre Melville's films, which I loved because I like spy movies/gangster movies.
My discovery of the Jean-Pierre Melville films led me to seek out the French New Wave films on the Criterion list.
My discovery of the French New Wave films led me to explore Italian cinema and American film noir as well.
My interest in Italian cinema led me to purchase some Polish films, my interest in the Polish films led me to purchase some Russian films, and so on...
...and so on....and so on...

I'd like to think that, one day, I will achieve total knowledge transcendence, just like Yoda, and not have a need to purchase any more movies. That will never happen, though.

You're forgetting that you have to go back and rediscover the greats that started the journey to transcendence in the first place. Yesterday I was watching To Have and To Have Not for the first time and I recalled that ITs been ages (two years or so) since I've last seen other great Howard Hawks or Lauren Bacall or Humphrey Bogart films. The shoddier blind buys/ theatrical disappointments have clogged the system.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My Blu-ray spending will decrease noticeably in the spring, because I'm running a few ultramarathon races and will be spending money to travel to those races on weekends. The Blu-ray spending will increase again in the middle of the summer, then decrease again in the early fall when I have more races on my schedule.

One of these days, though, I may simply throw my hands up in exasperation, renounce everything (just like Léon Morin, Priest), move to rural areas to help others, and get to the point where I don't even own socks anymore.

Haha, life would sure be a lot easier without worrying about material possessions!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

You're forgetting that you have to go back and rediscover the greats that started the journey to transcendence in the first place. Yesterday I was watching To Have and To Have Not for the first time and I recalled that ITs been ages (two years or so) since I've last seen other great Howard Hawks or Lauren Bacall or Humphrey Bogart films. The shoddier blind buys/ theatrical disappointments have clogged the system.

My acquisition of my first Blu-ray player at the beginning of December has resulted in this joy of rediscovery for me.

I've quickly built up a collection of "essential favorites" that consists mostly of movies that I grew up watching. As I have been watching these all-time favorite movies on Blu-ray for the first time, the past two months have been a rather euphoric trip down my cinematic memory lane, because I'm watching the James Bond films, the Indiana Jones films, the 1933 version of King Kong, the Star Wars movies, Le Samouraï, Jaws, the Planet of the Apes movies, Casablanca, Seven Samurai, Walkabout, Dazed and Confused, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and so many others that I have loved over the years.

In a sense, I have spent the past two months returning to the concrete foundation upon which my lifelong cinematic tastes were established, and I'm loving every minute of it.

[fromrussiawithlove]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've quickly built up a collection of "essential favorites" that consists mostly of movies that I grew up watching. As I have been watching these all-time favorite movies on Blu-ray for the first time, the past two months have been a rather euphoric trip down my cinematic memory lane, because I'm watching the James Bond films, the Indiana Jones films, the 1933 version of King Kong, the Star Wars movies, Le Samouraï, Jaws, the Planet of the Apes movies, Casablanca, Seven Samurai, Walkabout, Dazed and Confused, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and so many others that I have loved over the years.

Le Samourai is a favorite of mine. Just the way it begins alone, is exquisite (not a single word spoken for almost 15 mins).
You should also enjoy Le Professeur (1972) also with Alain Delon.

[Scottie]

Tempted to watch my first subtitled Criterion tonight.

If I do, it'll be Belle De Jour. It's been on my watch list for a while.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by iScottie

The only ones that I'd truly like to pick up are Contempt (I love the cover and it sounds great),

CONTEMPT is my favorite Godard film, but you're better off looking for a used Criterion DVD rather than getting the Lionsgate Blu-ray, which was a bitter disappointment. Criterion's DVD is gorgeous (as DVDs go), but Lionsgate's Blu-ray not only has the colors all wrong (not supervised by the cinematographer as was Criterion's DVD transfer), but the picture quality itself looks like a patchwork of a pretty sharp but lackluster HD transfer for many portions of it, a so-so old DVD master for quite a bit of it, and brief sections that look worse than a bad VHS dupe. Truly mystifying after seeing what Criterion could do with it. At least Lionsgate did do an outstanding job with GRAND ILLUSION, which I had been worrying about when they took that title back from Criterion, after seeing the massively messed-up transfer of CONTEMPT. The only good thing that can be said about Lionsgate's Blu-ray of CONTEMPT is that it's not the English-dubbed pan-and-scan version that appeared on TCM a couple of years ago. I really, REALLY hope that Criterion can get back the rights and do a proper Blu-ray release.