Method for Deciding what DVD to watch?
 

I have a large collection of Dvds and always have trouble deciding what to watch. I was wondering if anybody has any methods for decding what to watch, so you don't spend more time figuring out what to watch than actually watching a movie. I was going by actors in one movie to another. Example: Watch the Matrix with Keanu Reeves, then watch Point Break with him as well. But can only use an actor once in my sting. Made it about 30 or movies, but then couldn't get to some of the new ones I had got and didn't want to break my string. Anyway anybody have any other methods and better ways?

Sorry if this has been brought up before, did a search and couldn't find anything.

I've got so many unwatched DVDs that I honestly just choose one from whatever genre I'm feeling at the moment and throw it in. If I ever get on a string it's usually for directors. Right now I'm on a Kubrick binge.

ditto that. although right now i'm watching lots of peckinpah.

I maintain an elaborate database that contains information on all the movies I own and when I watched them and how I rated the movie on that particular viewing. I then constructed an algorithm that would tell me what to watch based upon the genre, my mood, the time of year, and the length of time since I last watched the movie, among many other factors. It works very well, except for the fact that I'll be watching Jurassic Park 3 for the 5th consecutive night tonight.

I usually stare at my DVDs until one of them literally jumps out at me...

Well, ok... not literally, but I do sometimes sit and stare at all of my titles until I find one that that i want to watch. Most times, too many titles come to mind and I end up spending way too much time trying to decide.

Several things factor into the final decision:Of course, the best is when I actually have a movie in mind before I even sit down to watch it. I just throw it in and enjoy.

We typically use the EM3* method. Sometimes break it into domestic vs foreign. (DEM3 vs FEM3).

Usually apply EM3* based on film length, since we don't like to stay up too late (which unfortunately means our 3hr movies tend to stay in our unwatched pile for a VERY long time).


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EM3 = Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe.

Start at what genre I'm in the mood for - and narrow it down from there.

Yeah, well I suppose it all depends on the mood doesn't it?!

I know I've spent way too long at times gazing at my movies on the shelves, and my wife can't get over the fact that I'm still standing there 10 minutes later! but as I tell her, it's not that simple!

Sometimes your in the mood for action, others for slow moving drama, sci-Fi, western, historical etc

It just takes time...but I get there in the end! :clap:

Same here. :thumbsup:

It's usually after she makes a goofy comment that I realize how silly I probably do, indeed look.

Sometimes you have to go with The Rock, The Paper or (Running With) Scissors. :rimshot:

When me and my wife moved in and combined our collections, we decided that we would watch the movies we haven't already watched together in alphabetical order. So, anytime we wanted to watch a movie, rather than "What do you want to watch?" "I dunno, what do you want to watch?" we would watch the next movie alphabetically that we hadn't seen together.

Like many others I found myself staring at the DVD shelves so long trying to figure out what to watch that by the time I selected a movie I wouldn't have enough time to watch it. What I started doing was once a week, making a list of 25 movies that I would let myself pick from for that week. I would include new releases, old classics, new to the collection, personal favorites, and all different genres so I would have a nice variety to choose from. Then I would only allow myself to choose from that list during the week. Usually I would get through 5-10 in a week before I would make the list for the next week. I found this to work really well as I wasn't spending all my free time trying to figure out what to watch.

When I get to a point where I don't know what movie to watch, I read a book or do something else. When it gets to that point where I would stare at my DVD collection in which I do know what titles I have (it ain't a DVD store in which you are looking for some new dvd or a movie you've never watched), I would start getting those thoughts "what a pointless waste of money. Spending all that money on DVDs that I don't even want to watch, even including my favorite movies." This is the time to realize you don't have to own all the DVDs you like or love.

I found that when "hunting for a DVD" I would always skip past certain titles (ones that have literally been sitting there unwatched for up to a couple years) so my 'solution' to this was to list all of my movies in a spreadsheet with different columns for length, genre, etc.. and then just sort it by whatever I'm looking for (for instance, a comedy movie and then pick one of the length that I know (or think ;) ) I can stay up for. This, of course, leaves me with a number of unwatched 3 hour movies like someone else said, but encourages me to watch some that have been collecting dust.

I rarely find the time to watch many of my DVDs, but I usually just scan the titles looking for something that jumps out at me. I also have a lot of my DVDs in binders, so I try to flip through them as well. It can be really tough finding something to watch if my girlfriend will be watching with me, since I have very few actual <i>movies</i>, and she could care less about the documentaries and British comedy that I have.

I have Delicious Library, but have very few titles entered right now. I don't think it has any kind of random-select function, but that would be cool. I've wanted to build a database where I could just click a button and bring up a random title, but haven't found the time to do that, either. If the random selection wasn't something I felt like watching, I could just keep clicking the button, and if I'm just watching a DVD to kill time, flipping through half my collection finding something that appeals to me would kill a good bit of time in itself. ;)

Good point. This is actually the main reason why I stopped buying dvds regularly. Besides, I was spending way too much on things that aren't really that important to me. I have about 200 dvds and I feel that's quite a lot. Now I use Netflix regularly or just go to the local video store to rent.

I get after my girlfriend for watching so much TV, but she always points to my 500-plus DVDs. I counter by pointing out how rarely I watch any of them, but I don't think that means I shouldn't have them. Sure, if you have a bunch of DVDs that will be on rental shelves forever and you bought them just because they were new releases, I can see how that's wasteful. I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking of a DVD collection as a library... not every book is checked out all the time, and some are rarely checked out at all, but even though some pruning needs to be done once in a while, most of them are there for a purpose.

For me, it's the instant gratification of knowing I can walk over to my DVD racks and be watching something in two minutes, even if it's 3am and the rental stores are all closed. Netflix helps somewhat if you have a PC and don't mind sitting in front of it for two hours, if what you want to see is even available instantly and you have enough "instant minutes" or whatever. I don't have that option, and wouldn't want to do that anyway. I still have to prioritize because I'm not made of money, but I wouldn't discount the value of having a bunch of DVDs close at hand, even if they're rarely-watched.

We all know that titles sometimes disappear from rental shelves with no warning, and by the time they do it's often too late to try and buy them. When picking which DVDs to buy, you have to be okay with never being able to see the movie again if it's discontinued, or at the very least forking over a king's ransom on eBay or Amazon.

With that said, it would certainly benefit a lot of us to actually read a book or something instead, if only to set an example for our kids. Heck, it might even be a good idea to go outside or something. :)

I keep track of everything I watch and after 90 days I can watch the same movie (s)again or watch something else.New movies are watched on Saturday nights(Friday nights also if there is a backlog of movie boxsets).New tv series are watched on Tuesday and Sunday nights.MGM,WB and Universal TV shows are watched on Saturday night while Fox,Paramount and Sony(Columbia)TV shows are watched on Wednesday nights.Music dvds or laserdiscs are watched on Wednesday nights.Animation and Anime are watched in the mornings and on Monday nights.Old movies are watched on Sunday,Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

I usually base it on 3 categories 1. Classic Film 2. Foreign Film 3. Modern Film

Do I want something mindless? I'll pick from category 3. Do I want something with witty banter? I'll pick from category 1. Or do I want to see a little part of the world?

I sit down in front of my shelves till something I havnt watched in a while pops out.

If Im with my boyfriend he gives me choices, about 5, and Ill usually choose from those, that works best.

Database and try and re-watch those which have not been watched in 2+ years. This year I am watching newly purchased items and stuff which has not been watched since sometime in 2004.

Yep. It also factors in if the wife and kids will be watching though.

i mean, don't misunderstand. i've against nothing people with huge dvd collections. it's just that personally, i realized at some point that i was spending too much money on it (my collection consists mainly of Criterion titles and companies specializing in foreign or rare stuff). i spend a lot on books as well, and although i consider film and literature equals in terms of artistic value, i've personally always preferred buying books. i still buy dvds, but now it's like 1 title per month at the most. i also saw how a friend of mine just became obssessive collecting dvds to the point where almost all his income was being spent on that. it can really become an addiction for some.

but i nevertheless think it's weird when you have so many unwatched stuff and you've got to spend so much time deciding on what to watch.

I usually have something in mind before settling in. A lot of times inspiration will strike me at work or in the car and I'll plan out the evening's movies.

Oh absolutely. It's definitely going too far when you buy something just to have it, especially when you know you'll rarely watch it and it's readily available for rent. As with anything else, you need to have priorities. There are of course people who have the funds and space to buy everything and not even put a dent in their budget, so if that's what they want to do, great. I'm not sure I'd want to do that even if I could, though.