When buying, what's more important: the movie inside, or the packaging?

[JG-havkroll]

That's the beauty. I don't have to choose. Both are equally important to me. If I really want a movie but the packaging's shit PASS.

[whatever_gong82]

The movie, first and foremost.

If I didn't like it in the theatre, or if I didn't get a chance to watch it at the movies, I might Blind Buy, but only if people I respect give it a good review. Otherwise, only if I like the movie or the Director/writer, etc.

For example, I will get the Blu-ray/DVD Interstellar later this month, because I missed a chance to watch it in the Theatre when it was out, but I adore Christopher Nolan's movies, so I'll Blind Buy it regardless.

[Yojimbo68]

I'd usually do a bit of research before I dip into a multi film set. Does it have the best transfer available? Does it have all the extras that you want? And so forth. If the answer is yes to both those questions, why not get the multi film set? Just be informed before you make your purchase.

[Midnight Rambler]

Movie "packaging", etc., except for very rare cases, is not a collectible. Sure, there will be plenty of people who will argue otherwise, but it will never fit the definition.

Try this litmus test - Take a slipcover in to a pawn shop, a consignment shop, or an auction house/shop. You know what their reaction will be ? "WTF is the movie ?". The value will be zero.

And in 20, 30, 40 or more years, once those slips, etc., have faded, fallen apart, etc., what will they be worth ? Nothing.

Yes, slips and other stuff can command a small audience, and some very stupid prices, on places like Fleabay, but the scope of their appeal is very limited, perhaps a few hundred to maybe a couple thousand people. And the period of that appeal is very fleeting.

Contrast that to a true collectible which will have universal appeal to hundreds of thousands, even millions. Things like antique/vintage furniture, pre-1960 coins/paper money, etc., are true collectibles. They have wide appeal and rarely, if ever, go down in value over time.

Here's an example of a true collectible :





A teak sideboard with tambour doors and nice grain matching by famed designer Ib Kofod Larsen. You can pretty much name your price with something like this, esp. by Larsen. Just type in the first 2-3 letters of his name on Google ... the first thing "auto fill-in" will come up with is Larsen, that's how big the appeal is. And if you "litmus" test one of these at a consignment shop/auction shop/etc., they will start at several thousand dollars.

I admit to falling in to the "collectible" trap too, with things I thought were collectible. But after time I learned, esp. when the value of said things plummeted or even went to zilch.

[PLG1962]

The Movie always The Movie

[spectre08]

why does the value of something as a collectable have to be inherently tied to its monetary resale value at some indeterminate time in the future?

I buy movies to enjoy. For me this is the entire process, which also includes the possession and maintenance of the film, as well as the viewing itself.

A disk's packaging should have aesthetic value, the same way anything else in my house should have aesthetic value. There may be row after row of generic blu ray packs on the shelves, but having special editions, steelbooks, digibooks, etc, especially when lovingly arranged and displayed, have a special aesthetic value that is important.

I go back to the point I made on page one and went un-addressed. Movies are not unlike books. When a new book from my favorite author, or one that is well reviewed, comes out I have a choice to buy it. I might have a choice between mass market paperback, trade paperback, and hardcover. Would you talk down to a person equally because they chose to buy the hardcover over the mass market paperback? Would you consider it foolish to buy a trade or a hardcover when a mass market is available? The words are the same, the content is the same, so what is to be gained by spending substantially more on a hardcover?

The analogy carries just as well into the digital age. Why buy a book at all when you can buy it on an ebook?

Digipack/Steelbook/Neocase = Hardcover
Slipcover = Trade paperback
Amaray = Mass market paperback
Eco-case = magazine clippings

[octagon]

For me it goes something like this...

The movie itself > teak sideboards with tambour doors and nice grain matching by famed designer Ib Kofod Larsen > digibooks > slips.

The middle two can swap positions depending on my mood and how many teak sideboards with tambour doors and nice grain matching by famed designer Ib Kofod Larsen I have at any given moment but the first and last are pretty much locked in place.

[dallywhitty]

The film is obviously most important.

I'm probably less uptight about packaging than I once was. For ages, I put off the temptation of importing because I didn't like the thin cases. Now I don't give a shit and my collection's all the better for it because I now own various Blu-rays that are either unlikely to be released in the UK or are only available here in censored form. I used to love slipcovers but now I'm pretty much indifferent towards them. And Steelbooks are nice but there are times when I've settled for the amaray release over its Steelbook cousin.

That's not to say that I don't still appreciate a great looking Blu-ray, and if I'm really bored I can look at my collection and admire the different styles of packaging, but there are folks here who won't even consider buying their favourite films because they're not released in Super Deluxe Limited Edition Holographic Slipcase Steelbook cases, and that I do not understand.

[slimdude]

I buy blu-rays and DVDs for the movies. I know some people get excited about steelbooks and so forth, the packaging is not important to me.

[BillieCassin]

To me, it's an absurd question - like asking "what's more important: that you have a house, or the color it's painted on the outside"? To others it's not so straight-forward, but for me it is.

I'm buying a copy of a film because I desire to see the film, primary, 100%, only reason.

Now, I may have an opinion on the packaging, just as I would the color my house was painted, or choose one packaging over another when multiples are available, but it's really irrelevant as to if I'm going to buy a house or not.

[Steven11788]

i wont pay lots more for a slip/steel lecular. but if one store is out of one with slips i go to other. Now if they were say 5 bucks more, id be like no. someone made the comment what if they rot, I got mint vhs horror movies. so i doubt they will rot anytime soon. plus by then 50K will be out lmao and no one will care for blus anyways.

[PLG1962]

side question

For the people who buy for the packaging are you seriously saying that if a movie you loved had a crap cover eg bad artwork etc etc you wouldn't buy it ?

[theater dreamer]

Ok (deep breath).

I need to say this. This post was written in what are, for me, the wee hours of the day. I couldn't sleep last night, so I watched some movies, as I do every night, and before trying again to go back to bed, I jumped on the forum, and wrote out this topic. Originally, it was going to have a poll. But when I got to the poll portion of the topic, I stopped, and didn't do it. Thinking that the poll would be needed before the thread would be published, I stopped, because in thinking about what I wrote, I didn't feel I'd effectively communicated what I was really trying to ask. Now logging back on tonight, I was surprised (and a little dismayed) to see this published with so many replies. Why? Because I think I'd created some false expectations about why I am here, and what my conundrum is. So, please allow me to clean up the slop I've created.

I am a movie lover. First and foremost. When I watch a film, even at home, I get my popcorn and soda, or some fruit, or whatever I'm snacking on, and I kick back for a few hours, and really immerse myself in the film. When I see something at the movie theater, if I am really liking the film, there will be that fleeting thought of "I can't wait to add this to my collection!" Then, I focus back on the film. Usually I will go with at least one friend, or a couple. And we share our notes on everything-the script, the performances, the special effects (too much cgi? Effectively used cgi?). We talk about everything, the direction, the cinematography, etc.

We get our money's worth.

So, for me, I need to clarify that the movie is always most important. I don't care how nice a movie is packaged. If the movie itself is not worth owning, if I don't like it, I won't buy it. Ever. You can take a pile of dog crap, stick it in a gold box, and it's still excrement. So, I am a movie collector.

But, the dilemma for me is the presentation. It's not a matter of the packaging or the movie being more important. Really, it's a question of "is it worth paying more to get the films packaged individually, as they were intended, or is it acceptable to buy a collection like the one I referenced, knowing that the presentation does not even remotely resemble what was envisioned by the film's creative team.

It isn't a question of the movie vs the packaging.

It is very much a question of the quality of packaging.

I have The Superman Motion Picture Anthology. The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended Edition). The Aliens Anthology, too. They are not individually packaged, no. But, the collection has the visual appeal collectors expect, and appreciate. They have the extra discs with the behind the scenes stuff that I so enjoy.

While this Best Picture collection I referenced has the films, which is by far and away the most important element there is, they don't have that visual appeal. It might be a nice Viva Elite 5 disc holder. But it's a generic cover with movie covers slapped together.

And that is what I was trying to find out: to a cinemaphile, how important is the packaging. How much do you weigh the wrapping when buying the movie. And fortunately, it seems that most of you figured out what I was trying to say.

I appreciate the input from everybody. I really do. I think after reading through your responses, I've decided to forego these kinds of "collections" if the individual discs are readily available, that is, unless a movie anthology comes out with a plethora of kick butt extras that makes it a no brainer. I love watching documentaries about the films I love. The other night, I watched Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars trilogy, which was included with the DVD set. The art, the very process of movie making, fascinates me, and a lot of the time, watching these documentaries helps me to better understand certain elements of the film.

So, with that being said, please continue sharing your opinions on this topic, gang. I hope that I have cleared things up sufficiently.

[spectre08]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

side question

For the people who buy for the packaging are you seriously saying that if a movie you loved had a crap cover eg bad artwork etc etc you wouldn't buy it ?

it depends. I'm flat out not paying full price ($20+) for a movie with a crappy presentation. I'll buy $5 amarays all day for films that I love if there's no other option though, and if a better option does become available I'll replace it without hesitation.

[Packerfan75]

Originally Posted by PLG1962

side question

For the people who buy for the packaging are you seriously saying that if a movie you loved had a crap cover eg bad artwork etc etc you wouldn't buy it ?

I don't think anyone is going to say that. I will say that when the cover of Edge of Tomorrow was first leaked, I thought it looked awful and I was disappointed considering I really liked the movie and knew I was going to buy it. I felt better when I saw the upcoming steelbook that had a much better cover with it. I didn't mind spending a few bucks more for the steel. That said, I would've still bought the standard release if no other options were available. I just wouldn't have been as happy about it.
There are also other options like importing and creating custom covers to solve this problem.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Midnight Rambler

Movie "packaging", etc., except for very rare cases, is not a collectible. Sure, there will be plenty of people who will argue otherwise, but it will never fit the definition.

Try this litmus test - Take a slipcover in to a pawn shop, a consignment shop, or an auction house/shop. You know what their reaction will be ? "WTF is the movie ?". The value will be zero.

And in 20, 30, 40 or more years, once those slips, etc., have faded, fallen apart, etc., what will they be worth ? Nothing.

Yes, slips and other stuff can command a small audience, and some very stupid prices, on places like Fleabay, but the scope of their appeal is very limited, perhaps a few hundred to maybe a couple thousand people. And the period of that appeal is very fleeting.

Contrast that to a true collectible which will have universal appeal to hundreds of thousands, even millions. Things like antique/vintage furniture, pre-1960 coins/paper money, etc., are true collectibles. They have wide appeal and rarely, if ever, go down in value over time.

Here's an example of a true collectible :





A teak sideboard with tambour doors and nice grain matching by famed designer Ib Kofod Larsen. You can pretty much name your price with something like this, esp. by Larsen. Just type in the first 2-3 letters of his name on Google ... the first thing "auto fill-in" will come up with is Larsen, that's how big the appeal is. And if you "litmus" test one of these at a consignment shop/auction shop/etc., they will start at several thousand dollars.

I admit to falling in to the "collectible" trap too, with things I thought were collectible. But after time I learned, esp. when the value of said things plummeted or even went to zilch.

I totally agree about how "collectibles" have been marketed as something of value to costumers when the likes of slips and steel book are mass produced tat which is not going to hold its value. There is a difference between collectors of genuine movie memorabilia and cheaply mass produced collectibles which briefly are of artificially jacked up value but which are basically worthless.

When I was younger I used to collect film posters, lobby cards, press books and even 35mm trailers for films. Because one used to have to know how to get hold of these items which were not for sale to the general public, these mementos genuinely became rare and valuable with age, especially when the film became a classic. It takes genuine dedication to be a collector of stuff that actually is worth something. Anybody can hit the BUY button on Amazon.

[PLG1962]

Originally Posted by Packerfan75

I don't think anyone is going to say that. I will say that when the cover of Edge of Tomorrow was first leaked, I thought it looked awful and I was disappointed considering I really liked the movie and knew I was going to buy it. I felt better when I saw the upcoming steelbook that had a much better cover with it. I didn't mind spending a few bucks more for the steel. That said, I would've still bought the standard release if no other options were available. I just wouldn't have been as happy about it.
There are also other options like importing and creating custom covers to solve this problem.

Let's just say on average a movie is 90 mins long would you spend that time or more looking at the cover
If movies just came in a cd case with no cover I would still buy movies I wanted
There is an old saying don't judge a book by its cover

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

You have to decide what are more important to you, the movies or the collection. Given waning media sales, expect more multi-disc collections like this one with nearly random movies thrown together.

Same thing happened with dvds. The films have been out for a while and aren't selling anymore, repackage them together and sell them again.

[Quake1028]

I don't really care much for packaging, at all. If I can get cool packaging (Steelbooks, etc.) without going out of my way or paying $$$$$$$$ for them, fine.

[Cole 46]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok (deep breath).

...But, the dilemma for me is the presentation. It's not a matter of the packaging or the movie being more important. Really, it's a question of "is it worth paying more to get the films packaged individually, as they were intended, or is it acceptable to buy a collection like the one I referenced, knowing that the presentation does not even remotely resemble what was envisioned by the film's creative team.

It isn't a question of the movie vs the packaging.

It is very much a question of the quality of packaging.

When I purchase a Movie,
I'll check what the options are for "packaging", and just get the one that seems the best deal for "ME".
I'm not "locked" into any one type, that I have to have.

My Blu-ray collection has Digibooks, Steel, Slips, Collector's Box Sets, etc...

For example... I wanted the Ten Commandments. Amazon sells just the Blu-ray for $15.49.
They had a deal for the Blu-ray "Ultimate Collector's Edition" a couple of weeks ago for $24.99.
I figured for the extra 9 bucks, it was worth it for Me, ..so I ordered it.
Would I have ordered it, if it was today's price of $39.99 ? ...probably not.

I would just say, Get what you like and don't be too focused on what it's worth or what is acceptable...