Are YOU a COMPLETIST?
 

Looking thru the threads(or sepcifically the thread with pictures!), i begin to wonder if the majority are just DVD collectors or film collectors(of course im sure many are both). However, I see a very wide disparity of tastes in a single collection and that made me wonder. Now onto the fun poll!

1. Are you one to buy whatever's out(not that there's anything wrong with it)?
--"completist", "archive", "library", "different versions", "more the merrier", "spine numbers" ....

2. One who buys whatever catches your fancy?
--"open", "whatever I like", more "mainstream", no specific preferences, on a whim ....

3. One who is a specific buyer?
--"director-oriented", "genre-specific", "good reviews", more "academic", "discerning buyer", "A Big collection not necessarily = Good", "consolidation"....

4. Hardcore collector?
--"I HAVE TO HAVE THAT", "thronging eBay", "MINT condition", "white ring", will pay more than $100 for ONE dvd ....

Feel free to add more descriptions on these 4 categories....


Choose a Side!
:)

I used to be a COMPLETIST. Then I realized I had a bunch of stuff I did not like. I still try to get complete series however, like the whole Bevely Hills Cop, Matrix, BTF, etc. Hell, I even got Speed 2.

I don't get hung up on what others like anymore. I think 95% of Criterions are rentals at best and thus stopped collecting them. I will keep watching and enjoying my mainstream, horror and action movies.

Oh, I voted whatever I fancy

I buy what I want and only keep what I like. If I could choose more than 1, i'd go for choices 2-4. I voted for 3, though.

Completist

I'm usually a completist, but I tend to collect only the DVDs that have repeatability for me. There are plenty of good and classic films out there, but if I don't feel I'll watch them more than once or twice I don't add them to my collection. I have a little over 300 DVDs and have only had to sell a handful on eBay.

Even I am not a competist. It is impossible and there is much material available that even I am not interested in
Austin

YES, I am A completist. AND what do YOU think of THAT?

Back when CDs first came out and I was buying a lot of those I was a completist... one day I realized I had a TON of JUNK that I really didn't want/like/need. So now (for both CDs and DVDs) I just buy whatever is interesting or if it happens to be in a set (such as Alien4) and I really don't have any choice.

Well shoot...I voted before I read your descriptions.

I voted COMPLETIST because I tend to want to complete series of movies. ie. Mummy, Mummy Returns, Scorpion King; Bad Boys, Bad Boys II; El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico

But as for buying just anything and everything that's out there...hell no. First, ain't got that kind of money, secondly, only a select few genres interest me. For instance, what speedyray said about Criterions...99% of Criterion titles I haven't even heard of. So I don't have any Criterions in my collection.

I tend to buy (and like) titles that fall into the Sci-Fi, Historical Action Epics, General mainstream action, Westerns, War/Military, and CG animation genres. I'd say about 40% of my collection, by title count is TV shows. And even them are mostly completed collections. I don't understand those who will only buy a select few seasons of a show. What's the difference between Friends S4 and Friends S7? A lot of the times I'll see someone's collection and they'll only have the first season or so of say, Star Trek: TNG. What's up with that? S3-S7 weren't good enough, or part of the story?

I buy only what I like. But, doing that sometimes makes me a completist and a hardcore collector.

I am a discerning buyer. When it comes to series flicks like X-Files, Star Trek, Star Gate, Babylon 5, Farscape, and Doctor Who, I try to get everything there is on them.

Whatever I fancy. In fact I'm purposely missing films in a series (I have Lethal Weapon 1 &2, Matrix 1, Die Hard 1, BH Cop 1, etc.)

Whatever I fancy is the closest to me...however, I have two problems...

#1: Many things I fancy do not yet exist on DVD and perhaps never will.

#2: Many things that do exist on DVD are wanted in my collection but I can't find the funds needed to purchase them yet (if ever).

sigh.

I am a completist when it comes to certain series. I love my Alien Quad set, and will pick up AVP to sit alongside my Predator and predator 2 movies. I hate Alien 4, Predator 2 is mediocre and so is AVP. But hey, I'm a completist so I have them.

Same as how I have the Star Trek SE 1-7. of course, I'm not diehard, so I don't collect criterion or brands, and I won't be buying Star Trek 9 or 10.

I used to be a completionist and buy EVERYTHING but I realized that I have stuff that I'll NEVER watch cuz I just don't have the time to watch everything. Plus DVDs for the most part depreciate in value pretty quickly so rather than buying everything right when it comes out, I can usually wait for a price drop or to get it from Columbia House.

I plan on renting more down the line too.

What ever I fancy. Would like to buy more but with so many releases now, its a lot of $$

I buy everything. I am a consumer whore!

I simply want to make sure that my collection consists COMPLETELY of movies/misc that I enjoy a lot.

If_that means there are about 80 Criterions that will always be missing because I don't particularly like those movies, or that I jump from <i>Nightmare On Elm Street 3</i> to <i>A New Nightmare</i> or that one or two very early (and totally boring) Hitchcocks have escaped my clutches, that's fine with me.

If it's a series I like I am a completist, otherwise I buy what catches my fancy or am genre specific. It's too expensive a habit to be hardcore per your description.....hell, it's downright decadent.

Depends. I am a completist when it comes to TV series like MST3K, South Park, Simpsons, etc. I will get anything that comes out for shows that I like.

For films I focus on what I like, but I do want a complete Hitchcock DVD set if ever possible and have all the James Bond DVDs.

Overall I seem to fit the whatever I fancy category.

Whatever I fancy although if I had more $ I'm sure I would be a completist.

I'm a completist where I feel I must have all the seasons of a TV series. I can't just start in the middle of a series without starting with season 1. If I don't have season 1, I'll find a way to buy it somehow.

As for movies, I let it slide a little because the re-releases are non stop and sometimes unforeseen. How many different versions of Army of Darkness do I really need when the movie is the same every time? Just a little tired knowing that these companies are doing it to make my hard earned money.

Whatever I want, as my tastes lean towards the mainstream. However, I have no desire to gather as much as possible.

I just buy what I fancy (At the moment im concentrating on TV Shows like Stargate, but will pick up the odd new dvd like Shrek 2 or Ed Wood).

Pathetic, just PATHETIC :p


As for me, only what I fancy.

Hmmmm.... Interesting. Could it it all boils down to $? (Without sounding too much like a certain Bradshaw) If $ is the main hold-back, does having $$$$ make as ALL the completists that we really want to be? ...Does that also mean that the completists have more $$$$ than the rest of us to burn? Either that or, have a habit to kick and debts to clear. (Without sounding like a certain Durden) Do the DVDs you own end up owning you?!!! :D :D :D

So far the "Whatever I fancy" bar is way up there. This could explain the varying tastes in a single collection.

Only 6 of us (im not one of them) claimed to be hardcore collectors! And didn't even come out of the dark yet!

Let's watch.....

Can you be all 4 categories?

I think I am...

i voted 'whatever I fancy' as i pretty much watch/ collect whatever i want :)

I used to be "hardcore" collector.. if i had airplane 1, i needed #2... if i had rocky 1, i needed all of them... then i relized, all the money i'm spending is a waste since i'll never really watch these movies again.. and if i DO get the urge to i'll just go out and rent it/buy it later...

I went from having like 300 dvds to in the process of selling 2/3's of them, keeping only what i know i'll watch again

I just buy what I like, although if I see a cheap price on a movie that is recommended I will buy it and keep it just for the hell of it. For a while I thought I would start upping my criterion collection dvd's. Then I rented Brazil before I bought it, didn't think it lived up to the hype, and decided I would be better off just buying what I enjoy. I also only have the first matrix and won't complete the trilogy, becuase I only liked the first. I did buy the Simpsons Season 1 when Amazon had it for $15 even though I don't care for the first season all that much, figured it was a good enough price to go for it.

I buy what I like, also try to stick to genres I enjoy as well. Once and a while I'll blind buy something I've heard good things about or stuff people recommend me.

Discerning buyer.

I voted Completist (re: obsessive compulsive DVD collector)

If I buy like season 1 of a show on DVD and I watch it and like it. I will eventually buy the remainder seasons. No matter if the show got worse or better. Also, if I bought like Scary Movie. I would also have to get the other 2 even though I haven't seen Scary movie 3 and so on... you get my point.

Whatever I like generally. However, I am open to taking risks or doing blind buys. Usually this comes from companies who have a pretty good standard/reputation. For example, Criterion and Blue Underground. I have bought a lot of Criterions and I really haven't been too disappointed yet. Only one, Jubilee, did I have a somewhat negative response to and I want to give it another try. They just seem to release very good or at the very least interesting films and I have discovered so many great ones. On the other side of the card is Blue Underground, who consistently put out interesting genre works. They aren't all gold though and certainly other small labels do work that is just as good with this type of release. Blue just seems to put out more i'm interested in. As far as series, I am brutal if I don't like it. For instance, I have the Alien Quadrilogy, but if it didn't come with it, I wouldn't own Alien:Resurection. Similarly, I want Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 (I like 2 though it is really just a glossy retread), but would never own 3 which is utterly abysmal. So I think for myself and many others this isn't a purely cut and dry question.

I used to be a completeist, but then I realized that I had a whole bunch of crap in my collection and when the Blockbuster trade in deal came along I got rid of a bunch of it.

I am a completitst.

I have Jaws and bought Jaws 2 even though I didn't like it...in fact I haven't watched Jaws 2 right the way through since I bought it. I'll also pick up Jaws 3 and Jaws:The Revenge just to complete the series, knowing that I'll most likely never watch them or save them for a day when I have absolutely nothing to do.

I have seem to have this desire of buying a every film thats part of a particular franchise. Even if the subsequent sequels are crap I must have them nonetheless.