1. jfrost
2. Franchot
3. Mhepburn20
4. RyoHazuki
5. Cameron
6. dolfins1
7. darkhawk
8. obscurelabel

1. jfrost
2. exharrison
3. ryuryu2949
4. Joe Molotov
5. cleaver
6. dollfins1
7. slop101
8. William Fuld

------

Mhepburn20, I definitely appreciate your collection, but a few responses are in order.

- First, my comment about Criterion was in no way meant to snub what probably is the finest dvd producer on the market (although I think WB is catching up with some of their excellent recent special editions and box sets). My point was that I don't think a DVD should be valued simply because it is a Criterion Collection DVD. In any event, I truly believe that the best criterion collection dvd in either of our collections is one of mine: Rashomon.

- Second, I don't know how you chose "Ikuru" as one of your favorites. You have consistently misspelled this title (it is "Ikiru" by the way). In my mind, that is a major credibility problem for you. Sorry, but I have to call 'em like I see 'em.

- Third, I own "Ikiru" and Rashomon, and while Watanabe gives a terrific performance, I think that Mifune's perfomance in Rashomon is just a notch better.

- Fourth, while I can appreciate the visual stylings of Beauty and the Beast, the sheer innovation of Michel Gondry's work in Eternal Sunshine just blows me away. If anyone has watched the special features on the dvd, you know that the visual effects in this movie were almost entirely done during principal photography, not CGI.

- Fifth, I respect Monty Python, but how can you argue against Seinfeld Season 4??? I mean, this breakout year features The Bubble Boy, the Virgin, the Conest, the "Not that there's anything wrong with that" episode, the Junior Mint, and of course, the running NBC pilot plotline. In my humble opinion, in a single tv season, there has been no more memorable or quotable series ever.

- Sixth, I neglected to note this before, but my boxset (Back to the Future) contains movies not available in any other form in Region 1. If I am not mistaken, the Antoine Doinel boxset contains movies that were previously released (at least one or two).

- Seventh, while I realize that many of the titles on your list are foreign, and thus at a disadvantage when it comes to Academy Award recognition, I would be remiss if I did not point out that we are even when it comes to Best Picture awards (Unforgiven-1992, and The Deer Hunter-1978 vs. Amadeus, 1984, and LoA, 1962). However, two of my movies won what I think is the most significant award: Best Original Screenplay (Usual Suspects and Eternal Sunshine).

- Eighth, finally, and most importantly: The number of Mhepburn20's movies in the IMDB top 60: only 1 (Lawrence of Arabia, #28).
- The number of RYURYU2949's in IMDB top 60: 5!!! (Shawshank Redeption, #2; LOTR: TT, #14; The Usual Suspects, #19; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, #32; Rashomon, #54.). The IMDB vote does indeed have 8 foreign language movies among the top 60, but none of your selections made the cut.

- Again, Mhepburn20 has a very good collection. However, I feel very strongly that my collection is more well-rounded, and contains more "must have" DVDs than Mhepburn20's collection. If you were on a deserted island, which collection would you rather have?

- Therefore, I urge everyone who has not yet voted to give my collection very serious consideration. Thanks for your patience.

You're right about ikiru and I can't belive I've been misspelling it all this time. Fortunately I am not the only one (DVDTown even misspells it). I apologize. I will not, however, do any negative campaigning. I think you're collection is great and wish you the best.

I hope that you did not take my post to be an attack on your collection (well, except for my comments regarding "Ikuru" which I thought was an egregious mistake and needed to be pointed out). I too wish you the best in this competition. Good luck!

Drexl
Franchot
ryuryu2949
RyoHazuki
cleaver (this was the toughest one for me to choose from, in either round)
dollfins1
slop101
obscurelabel

jeez I got in late, and looks like no time to make up lost ground....cleaver has a good set up...(glad to hear alot of people were on the fringe) but for anyone still in for a vote...i tried to be diverse in my picks...get a little of everything with some mainstays, offbeat, foreign, and some music. No doubt Godfather is a powerhouse, but even if i lose I challenge anyone who is into classic cinema to take time to check out the edison set...It is amazing...i think if more people in the vote would have owned (or rented) this title, it would have made me a shoe in. I know silent film isn't everyones slice of pie, but this is film history at its best, delivered in a great package.

Super diverse collection, especially with regard to era. How is Pete & Pete? I know absolutely nothing about it, so I read the DVDTalk review, and they compared it to Twin Peaks. Intriguing, but how the heck do you film a children's Twin Peaks?

Right now I've got Mhepburn20 up 1 on ryuryu2949 and franchot up 1 on exharrison. Rock the vote.

I like Pete & pete. Twin Peaks...maybe...this was one of those shows Nick was pushing the fringe on a little bit. Family friendly, but a bit strange...the charachters are very over the top at points, but are very strong. The show started as one minute and two minutes shorts on nick (used as bumpers between shows) I think this helped the writing...get the essientals of the story, and create a way to show it off visually with something diffrent..worth a rent...I have a history with it, but i think the show is still pretty solid today.

1. jfrost
2. exharrison
3. ryuryu2949
4. Joe Molotov
5. cleaver
6. dollfins1
7. slop101
8. William Fuld

Pete and Pete is one of those shows I grew up on. After getting the first season, I can still see what I liked about it and think it has stood up pretty well over the years.

1. jfrost
2. Franchot
3. ryuryu2949
4. RyoHazuki
5. cleaver
6. raining_helper
7. darkhawk
8. william fuld

1. jfrost
2. Franchot
3. ryuryu2949
4. RyoHazuki
5. cleaver
6. dollfins1
7. slop101
8. William Fuld

ok, gotta get in the votes before work today. will try to list reasoning behind the choices (all of them difficult!) i told my girlfriend about the contest and she said that i am now a candidate for a rubber room among other things not fit to repeat (at least she was happy that i picked wizard of oz lol)

1. Drexl vs. jfrost

Drexl’s Collection:
1. Fantasia Anthology (Box set)
2. The Decalogue (TV)
3. Moulin Rouge (2001)
4. Aladdin Platinum
5. Amelie
6. Sunset Boulevard
7. Forrest Gump
8. Superman: The Movie
9. The Stunt Man LE
10. Wings of Desire

jfrost’s Collection:
1. Fellowship of the Rings Extended Edition
2. Se7en Platinum
3. Gladiator (EE)
4. Memento LE
5. Die Hard Ultimate Collection
6. Panic Room 3 disc SE
7. Taken (TV)
8. Brotherhood of the Wolf (3-disc CE)
9. Royal Tenenbaums CC
10. Spirited Away

two heavy hitters here, slugging it out. i love certain aspects of both collections with drexl representing for the mouse (fantasia aladdin) classics and musicals and jfrost with great action (gladiator, die hard) and thrillers (panic room, se7en) its like a great offense vs a great defense (or a box of chocolates (fg) .) slight edge...jfrost

2. Franchot vs. exharrison

Franchot's Collection:
1. Honeymooners: Classic 39 Episodes (TV)
2. Casablanca (2 disc SE)
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest SE
4. Raging Bull SE
5. Treasure of the Sierra Madre SE
6. Schindler’s List
7. North By Northwest
8. It Happened One Night
9. Woody Allen Collection #3, 1982-1987 (Box)
10. The Sound Of Music--Five Star Collection

exharrison’s Collection:
1. The Professional: Deluxe Edition
2. Pulp Fiction CE
3. Undeclared (TV)
4. Princess Bride SE
5. American Beauty: Awards Edition
6. Grave of the Fireflies: Special Edition
7. The Abyss 2 Disc Special Edition
8. Army of Darkness: Boomstick Edition
9. Bruce Lee: Master Collection (Box)
10. Yi Yi


another diverse matchup with classics aplenty on both sides. in all fairness though franchot will be tough to beat based on his 3 selections of casablanca raging bull and cuckoo's nest. even though he voted against my collection i have to give the edge to...franchot

3. Mhepburn20 vs. ryuryu2949

Mhepburn20’s Collection:
1. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel (Box set)
2. Fanny and Alexander (CC)
3. Beauty and the Beast (CC)
4. Monty Python Megaset Flying Circus (TV)
5. Notorius (CC)
6. Ikuru (CC)
7. Amadeus (2 disc)
8. Looney Tunes Golden Collection
9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Vista Series
10. Lawrence of Arabia (LE)

ryuryu2949’s Collection:
1. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition
2. Back to the Future Trilogy (Boxset)
3. Seinfeld Season 4 (TV)
4. Shawshank Redeption 3-disc Deluxe Edition
5. Unforgiven 2-disc SE
6. The Deer Hunter (Legacy Series)
7. The Usual Suspects SE
8. Rashomon (Criterion Collection)
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2-Disc CE)
10. Old School (Unrated, WS)

another battle of the titans! mhepburn20 pulled out the big criterion guns to blast away at ryuryu2949 who has plenty of firepower himself with shawshank, deerhunter, unforgiven and seinfeld. don't really understand the oldschool pick though when there were so many other great movies (comedies and others) not picked. it may come back to haunt you in the later rounds. advantage...mhepburn20

4. Joe Molotov vs. RyoHazuki

Joe Molotov’s Collection:
1. Lawrence of Arabia: Superbit
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
3. Seven Samurai CC
4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show: 25th Ann
5. The Matrix
6. Twin Peaks: Season 1 (TV)
7. Gandhi
8. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick/Remastered)
9. Apocalypse Now (Theatrical Edition)
10. A Chistmas Story: 2-Disc SE

RyoHazuki’s Collection:
1. Band of Brothers (TV)
2. Rules of the Game (Criterion)
3. Good Bad Ugly SE
4. Eraserhead
5. True Romance SE
6. Yakuza Papers Boxset
7. Toy Story 10th Aniv. SE
8. To Kill a Mockingbird SE
9. Schindler’s List Giftset
10. Do the Right Thing (Criterion)

whew! another tough call. like all of the films in each collection. i must subtract a point from ryohazuki for taking toy story and schindler when they were already on the table in in other incarnations. edge...joemolotov

5. cleaver vs. Cameron

cleaver’s Collection:
1. Godfather Trilogy (Box)
2. Terminator 2 Ulimate Edition
3. Monster’s Inc
4. Rushmore Criterion
5. Saving Private Ryan WW2 Edition
6. Die Hard 5-Star Edition
7. The Sting (Legacy Series)
8. 12 Monkeys Special Edition
9. Animal House DSPE WS
10. Star Trek The Next Generation Season 4 (TV)

Cameron’s Collection:
1. Snow White Platinum
2. Edison: The Invention of the Movies
3. Jaws 30th Anniversary Edition
4. 8 1/2 Criterion
5. Metropolis Kino
6. The Adventures of Pete & Pete Season 1 (TV)
7. Bringing up Baby 2 Disc SE
8. The Who: The Kids are Alright 2 disc SE
9. Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2
10. Director series: Spike Jonze

omg cameron i almost cried when you picked jaws. my favorite film of all time and i wanted it for my own collection. cleaver has a fantastic collection as well with godfather, spr and t2. although i find it almost unbearable i must follow my conscience and vote for cleaver. pete & pete and spike jones brought your rating down somewhat and you're gonna need a bigger boat...el gano es cleaver

6. raining_helper vs. dollfins1

raining_helper’s Collection:
1. Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol 1
2. Arrested Development Season One
3. Dark City
4. Magnolia
5. Night of the Living Dead (Millenium Edition)
6. Suspiria 3 disc SE
7. Ingmar Bergman Collection
8. Throne of Blood (CC)
9. The Day The Earth Stood Still
10. Naked Lunch (CC)

dollfins1’s Collection:
1. Alien Quadrilogy
2. Star Trek TOS Season 1 (TV)
3. E.T. CE Giftset
4. Jurassic Park CE (DTS)
5. West Side Story Special Edition DVD Collector's Set
6. Wizard of Oz
7. Rebel Without a Cause (WB 2 disc SE)
8. The Great Escape (2-Disc Collector's Set)
9. Mary Poppins: 40th Anniversary Edition
10. Planet Of The Apes: 35th Anniversary CE

wow, raining helper i think i have most of your list in my collection. notld me and day the earth stood still are amongst my favorites. i am a genuine horror buff i would have taken either if they were still available in the later rounds. but...being as this is my collection, there are others like it but this one is mine (fmj) all the movies that i selected have special meaning to me therefore i must vote for myself (has anyone voted against themselves yet?) edge...dollfins1

7. slop101 vs. darkhawk

slop101’s Collection:
1. Brazil (Criterion)
2. Citizen Kane
3. Led Zeppelin DVD
4. Goodfellas 2-disc SE
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai 2-disc LE
6. Life Aquatic (2-disc Criterion)
7. Deadwood Season 1 (TV)
8. Dr. Strangelove (2-disc, 40th anniversary SE)
9. Bambi (2-disc platinum ed.)
10. Short Cuts (Criterion)

darkhawk’s Collection:
1. Gone With the Wind SE
2. The Thorn Birds (TV)
3. Hard Day’s Night
4. Rebecca (Criterion) OOP
5. Spellbound (Criterion)
6. Big Trouble in Little China (2 disk SE)
7. The French Connection SE
8. Wuthering Heights (1939)
9. The Lion King Platinum
10. Frankenstein (Legacy Collection

two thumbs up on both of your draft selections. i have most of each in my private collection citizen kane, goodfellas and bambi vs gwtw, french connection and lion king. whoever wins will be tough to beat in the next round. slightest advantage...slop101 (now go get your shinebox (gf) lol)

obscurelabel vs. William Fuld

obscurelabel’s Collection:
1. Salo (Criterion)
2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Criterion)
3. This is Spinal Tap (Criterion)
4. Sid and Nancy (Criterion)
5. Silence of the Lambs (Criterion)
6. The Red Desert (Image)
7. Two Lane Blacktop (Anchor Bay) (Colletor's Tin version)
8. Othello (1952/Welles/Image)
9. Three Colors Trilogy (Box)
10. The Dick Van Dyke Show Season One (TV)

William Fuld’s Collection:
1. by Brakhage: An Anthology (Box)
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Singin’ in the Rain SE
4. Simpsons Season 4
5. Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense
6. My Darling Clementine
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
8. L'Âge d'Or
9. Mulholland Drive
10. Band of Outsiders

incredible selections both of you. widely diverse mix of genres and classics old and new with obscure label living up to his moniker and picking well, obscure labels i DO appreciate your vote for my collection william fuld but obscure label's selection of all those criterions is too much to overcome. perhaps if we run this again there should be a limit of 1 criterion, boxset and tv title. advantage...obscure label

for the ease of groucho my selections are as follows:

1. jfrost
2. Franchot
3. Mhepburn20
4. Joe Molotov
5. cleaver
6. dollfins1
7. slop101
8. obscurelabel

"For the Ease of Groucho"

That should be a book!

i felt like i was writing a book! took me 2 good hrs. to make my picks lol sorry for being so wordy

1. Drexl
2. Franchot
3. ryuryu2949
4. Joe Molotov
5. cleaver
6. dollfins1
7. darkhawk
8. William Fuld

I hope everyone feels as encouraged to buy/rent/watch as many of these movies as possible. I felt compelled to buy The Sting because I drafted it and to get it off my Tivo, double dipped on Jaws and Toy Story, jumped on Suspiria LE when it was $7.19 at DDD, and queued up Yi Yi and My Darling Clementine. And I need to hurry up and get Rules of the Game, Three Colours, and Short Cuts off my shelf and into my DVD player.

Ok, just a quick defense of Old School. I approached this competition as a sort of "Desert Island disc" list challenge. If I was stuck on a desert island for a long time, what dvd's would I want. After taking mostly serious selections for my first 9 picks, I wanted something lighthearted for my last pick.

I personally find Old School to be hilarious (albeit in the American Pie-type mold), and the real kicker for me was one particular extra on the dvd: the 21-minute spoof of the "Inside the Actor's Studio" program, with Farrell playing host, interviewing Phillips, Vaughn, Wilson and himself. I am huge SNL fan, and particularly a fan of Farell's work on that show. The skit, made especially for the dvd, is very, very funny. So to me, not only was I getting an ejoyable movie, but what I think is one of the best dvd extras ever put on a comedy. If you have only seen the movie, but not this sketch, please check it out.

i'm as big a fan of dick and fart jokes as the next guy but within the spirit of the game i tried to pick the "best" movie available regardless of genre. btw if i was stuck on a desert isle (without maryann or ginger) my collection would probably be mostly porn lol
j/k

Well now that I am down two votes I will respond but still refrain from negative campaiging

Antoine Doinel and Fanny & Alexander are both better collections in my opinion both in terms of scope and special features. Antoine contains all the movies in Francois Truffault's epic, most of which had never been available in region 1 before and contain some of the best essays and doumentaries on the films.

Again, I apologize. Ikiru, Ikiru, Ikiru.

That's just a difference of opinion but honestly the transformation Watanabe presents in Ikiru is simply breathtaking.

None of Beauty and the Beast was CGI either, especially since the film is from 1945.

I enjoy seinfeld as much as the next guy but I don't think we'll know the answers to whether or not it is viewed as much as a classic as Monty Python until about 10 years from now. Monty Python contains some extraordinarily memorable and quotable bits, "Dead parrot" "Spam" "Ministry of Silly walks"

Just one, the 400 blows. And as you are already aware I pointed out in the first thread that the edition presented in the collection is an improvement even including the next short in the "Adventures."

I agree this is the most important. I sort of view our clash as Mainstream versus high brow and nothing proves that more than IMDB's top 60 which includes several films from last year. Also, while some of the films may be listed in a foreign language it does not make them a foreign film: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly for instance is one of your eight.

Again, if you don't know a movie in my collection, even if you vote for ryu, I urge you one day to rent it and enjoy.

- I have seen Cocteau's (sp?) Beauty and the Beast, and it is indeed great visually. My comment abotu CGI was not meant all to imply that CGI was used in B & B, but rather to inform posters/voters who might have incorrectly assumed the amazing visuals in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was CGI. No negative implication regarding B & B was intended. But again, wow, to think that Gondry did all that in Eternal Sunshine with camera tricks is truly amazing, whether it came out in 1945, 2004, or 2063.

- I disagree regarding Seinfeld. The fact that it is on in syndication about 4 or 5 times per day and that the dvds still sold incredibly well is a testament to the fact that it is an instant classic of the highest magnitude.

- While most voters probably have seen every movie in my collection, I encourage everyone to take fresh looks at the Deer Hunter (newly restored) and Eternal Sunshine (gives me new things to appreciate, even after 50+ viewings). Also, for those that have not seen Rashomon, don't walk--RUN--to your nearest rental store. It is just that good (and indeed, the inspiration for countless movies, including the Usual Suspects from my own collection).

Well, time for me to actually vote:

1. Drexl
2. Franchot
3. Mhepburn20
4. Joe Molotov
5. Cleaver
6. Dollfins1
7. Slop101
8. Obscurelabel

1. jfrost
2. Franchot
3. ryuryu2949
4. RyoHazuki
5. Cameron
6. raining_helper
7. darkhawk
8. William Fuld

Results (anybody disagree?):

jfrost
Franchot
ryuryu2949
RyoHazuki
cleaver
dollfins1
slop101
William Fuld

Some tough competition out there...thanks to everybody for being such good sports...see you in round 3!