I've bought dvd blindly hoping that they'll be good.

So if they keep making Superman and Jaws sequels, you'll have to keep buying them? Maybe they'll do a Superman v. Jaws film so you can kill two birds with one stone.

Which is it?

I distinguished gifts from the topic at hand in the first post, but I still find it interesting that you'd go out of your way to cultivate your daughter's future interest in bad 80's Hollywood musical romances.


That's a good point. I should have included that in the paragraph of things I'm not referring to.

That's a good idea, let us learn together.

That's nothing. I once bought a car without test driving it. Now, let's both get back to the topic at hand, okay?

I don't

In that sentence, I think I was referring to things like certain of my Criterion titles, great editions of movies I wasn't familiar with but that seemed like they might hold some interest for me and that were deemed excellent films. I'm willing to bend a bit on such things on the chance that my tastes will grow a little and my film appreciation deepen. But, having said that, I can't think of a single Criterion I own that didn't give me at least some enjoyment. I tend to be picky in general, so I'm more apt to NetFlix a title if I'm unsure how much I'll like it. And in fact I've grow pickier, probably because I see a few DVD's here and there in my collection that, while I can't bring myself to get rid of them yet, I'd probably not buy if I had it to do over. The rationalist in me dislikes having titles that I probably won't watch and enjoy multiple times. So I guess while I can understand the collector's mentality that I and others have mentioned, I'm not as much under it's sway as many seem to be.

Summed up perfectly. :thumbsup:

As a horror film nut and a completeist, I can totally relate to this. I am guilty of buying numerous sequels to horror films that I know I won't enjoy, or watch anytime soon, just because I'm a fan of the series and I want to have all of the films. I've been getting better, though. I held off on the last 2 Hellraiser films and I didn't buy Pumpkinhead 3 and 4, but for every one of those I pass on there's always two more terrible horror movies form the 80's that I "need" to own.

I have thought about this frequently with some of the more recent releases.

How many times will I watch the Kenneth Anger films? Battleship Potemkin? They are just so damn important. I think that contributes to people buying Criterions (as long as they don't fall into the spine number group), and I think it reflects an honest desire to really *like* those films. I genuinely enjoy many of them (8 1/2 is terrifically entertainly, etc.), but I'm not at the point of thoroughly enjoying Potemkin on multiple repeat watchings. I'm not a film student or maker, so I'm not watching to learn the subtle tricks of montage. I can appreciate that, but the ultimate goal is to either have an entertaining or enriching experience, or both.

Maybe owning Potemkin is a little like looking ahead in a math textbook: "Oh, I don't know how to do that advanced problem yet, but maybe these foundational problems in the pages to come will get me there." That is, hopefully my film tastes will get me to a point where I genuinely enjoy Potemkin, and can't wait to watch it again. (I say "hopefully" because I would like to be able to really enjoy it -- which is another interesting question. How/why can you not like something but still want to like it?)

At the same time, it is a little like looking back in a textbook: "I can now do these new problems, and I owe it all to those earlier pages." [In straight terms: "Oh, I like all these contemporary films that directly stole from Potemkin, so I feel a little obligated to give it its due on my shelf." -- this is the completist again]

So for me, it's a combination of completism (owning important films that the films I really like stole from) and a desire to advance myself (whether or not that accurately reflects my changing tastes).

I have Wittgenstein on my shelf. Nobody said he would be fun, and I haven't made total sense of him yet, but there he sits regardless.

I don't buy movies I don't enjoy but I often blind buy movies I don't think I will enjoy and I end up being right. I only do it with cheap titles and it helps build my trust in my gut instinct.

:) I have yet to do so, that is why I said that I might do it. But I can see how it might appear that I meant I have done it before.

But it's not a 'gift', it is part of my collection. I agree with you on the movie, but she also loves High School Musical, what can you do?

That's very interesting to me. You've built a DVD collection of over 600 titles without ever buying a DVD for yourself that you knew you wouldn't enjoy, yet you're open to the idea of doing so in the future.

I suppose you're going to claim that all those Barbie DVDs in your collection are your daughter's too right? I disassociate myself from my wife's taste in DVDs, not that her taste is bad, by putting hers in a separate subfolder in my online collection and a different cabinet at home.

I've bought a few titles I normally wouldn't have bought just based on price. Volunteers, Gotti & Ricochet I got for about $1.70 that I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise. But if I thought there was no chance that I would ever watch them then I wouldn't have bought them. The only way I could ever see buying a movie I would have no intention of ever watching would to complete a series and even then the price would have to be right. But it has yet to happen to me.

I have marked them in my collection but my daughters have their own shelf for those DVDs, such as the Barbie DVDs, Polly Pocket, Trollz, etc etc. But any of the Disney, Pixar or any other movie that are of any value are in my collection. If not they would be scratched up or otherwise damaged. I don't care about the Barbie DVDs but I don't want to see the 'good' ones damaged.

I don't care for DVDAff, I much prefer DVDSpot, but I have created a filter for their collection. I entered them in so I can track what DVDs they should have and can mark them loaned if they loan them to a friend.

I see a lot of this type of behavior. I have come across collections at various people's houses that almost made me laugh because they invariably will have certain "look at me, I am cultured" titles. If the people actually were into the movies, then great, but often times they aren't. They have all these Criterion discs, Kurosawa movies, etc. etc. when I know they aren't really into them. It is nothing more than a facade to come across as some elite intellectual film fan. Very similar to people who have large book collections on display, filled with "name drop" titles that are there to give people the impression that they are so smart and cultured.

Ya got me.

Your aforementioned criteria about movies that you may find boring on a pure entertainment level, but relish for their aesthetic or intellectual merits, not withstanding, I can't say that I really fit this bill. The closest I come is with something like Jason Goes to Hell or Halloween 6 which half the enticement for buying was about completing the set. But I will actually watch those occassionally just for historical value or to watch on a "cheesy fun" sort of level. So that in and of itself probably disqualifies them as having no inherent entertainment value for me. I wouldn't buy a film that I truly hate through and through and know I'd never want to watch again.

I don't know, you told me it was cool.

Now I have to list 200 of those uncool dvd's and get banned on secondspin.com!

Not to threadcrap, but are you serious? Do you know many people that are like this? Also, what exactly is an elite intellectual film fan and how do you .. judge this ... more importantly, how do you know they aren't really into the films they purchased?

I own quite a few Criterion DVDs and my goal is to collect every Criterion release from Japan just for giggles (whether I like the film or not), but realistically, mostly because I've enjoyed just about every film released from Japan by Criterion or its Eclipse wing. And since I won't be able to collect all the Criterion releases (nor do I want to), I would like to get all the Japanese releases ... mostly because I'm willing just to give it a shot just to see where else they lead me. But coming from a more casual film lover, but one with specific tastes, does this leave me with proving some point to everyone else? I don't know, I'm just trying to understand your point.

The only time I ever do this when buying a box set of movies. For instance, I bought the Nightmare on Elm Street set even though I hate the 6th movie. But it was cool to have them all together in a nice box and would have been more expensive to buy all except the 6th one seperately.

I did the same with the Japanese Alien Head set even though I hate Alien Resurrection. I'm a real sucker for an awesome display.

I bought Vertigo, even though I don't like it, because I have all the other classic Hitchcock films (I bought them separately). And felt like a jerk when people asked to borrow it or watch it or whatnot and I'm like "Oh, I'm sorry, I have every other great movie in cinema history except Vertigo."

So Peer Pressure.

Ive bought a couple for cheap simply for completion purposes.

Because Episode I has a cool extended pod race scene.

I'll admit I didn't read any of the posts, but I was struck by this comment. Your generalization that J6P would be the one to go out and buy a movie that he or she won't enjoy doesn't make much sense to me. Why? Because I've been a frequent visitor at DVDTalk, that's why. I've read thread after thread about how some people must go out and re-buy a movie because they've added a 2 minute featurette. Or because they hate the snapper the original movie came in. One of my favorites is the collector who won't buy used DVDs because they can't stand the thought that someone touched their movie. My favorite perhaps is the collector who owns dozens, if not hundreds, of movies that remain sealed in plastic - and continues to buy more new movies.

So I have to disagree with your general assessment that it's J6P buying movies that they won't enjoy. I think it's hardcore collectors who feel the incessant need to own every movie they have any inkling of ever watching.

I have to agree with madcougar on that. J6P's buy stuff they like to watch and don't waste a dime on things they think will make them seem more sophisticated. And they certainly don't get picky about packaging, film collecting, or completionism. That's all us.

I often buy movies that are sequels or part of a series that I may prefer the originals to better but still like to have the lesser valued sequels to complete the series and occasionally watch them all in order. Also, in may cases like this, they offer them all as sets that are cheaper to buy all together at a good deal than to buy certain ones separately. For instance, The Friday the 13th 1-8 box set...I can't distinguish between several of these sequels just due to the similar plots and will really only watch 2 or 3 of these movies except for the rare occasion that I may watch them all in sequence just for the heck of it.

Sometimes I'll buy a movie I don't particularly like for really cheap if it has some really excellent special features on it like a very comprehensive documentary or nice audio commentary possibly with a special guest commentator or something like that. I'll buy any piece of crap movie that has a Joe Bob Briggs commentary on it, even if I end of selling the movie after watching the commentary. A good example of this would be Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. That movie sucks so bad without his commentary.

I've also bought numerous films I knew weren't any good but were "So bad they're good" or just plain funny for the wrong reasons. I can't say I like them for what they're supposed to be though. An example of this for me would be The Village. I hated that as a serious film. I, personally, found it ridiculous and pretentious, and I guessed the twist about 10 mins. into the movie. However, the even more ridiculous dialogue and plot kept me laughing all throughout. Another good more recent example of this would be last year's remake of The Wicker Man. I bought that new for about $5 at Sam's Club, knowing it was bad but having heard it was funny. I of course will usually only buy things like this for $5 or less used, so it's not much of a waste.

I very often will buy movies in the $5 or less range that I've never seen with at least a 50/50 chance that I'll end up selling them or trading them after watching them. In this case, I just consider it prolonged renting. As used prices on DVDs and new DVDs in sales keep getting lower, I find it hard to justify renting anymore, especially since I don't like the hassle of rentals by mail and making lists and such. I quite often end up turning a profit on these when I do sell or trade them too. I can routinely get good movies, especially foreign films for $2 or $3 at Big Lots and can also frequently get $5 movies at numerous places new and used, especially video stores.

Hope that helps.

Sometimes I'll buy movies just to complete a series, like others here. I feel stupid when I buy movies that I don't like but I think maybe friends will. I need to get it in my head that they have their own money and can rent their own movies.