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Unique ID Code: 0000105646
Added by: Mark Oates
Added on: 22/7/2008 00:57
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    My Collection Is Complete

    Do you think you'll ever reach a day when you can say "my collection is complete?"

    Without, of course, owning every movie ever made since 1898? And of course not counting new movies you can't buy yet.

    Can you see the day you've got every movie you wanted?

    This blog is naturally aimed at obsessive DVD collectors, so the rest of you who watch once and eBay should talk among yourselves.

    Believe it or not, I reached that epiphany point today. Well, almost. There's a honking great technical problem in the way but it was a near thing.

    You know how in the past I've banged on about "comfort movies". Those wonderful movies from the past that are like a security blanket or a comfortable pair of slippers. Movies you can happily wrap yourself up in and forget the cares of the world.

    This week, Warner Home Video announced the upcoming release of two movies I've been after for decades. Moon Zero Two and When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth. They're stupid B picture fare made by Hammer in 1969, but I have a soft spot for both of them and they're among the last missing pictures in my "comfort movie" collection. Unbelievably the two movies are being released in a double-feature set (what are the odds), but here's the teeth-clenching, off-p***ing bit - they're R1 exclusives to Best Buy in the States, and Best Buy doesn't ship outside the US.

    I voiced an annoyance over at the US-based Home Theater Forum but got little sympathy as they were more annoyed that there were some US movies only available in R2. Somebody suggested I cultivate a friendship with somebody in the US who could buy it for me, but there are a number of holes in that plan.

    How shallow do they think I am that I'm going to cultivate a friendship with somebody in the US purely to acquire a DVD - no matter how much I'm after it? There are discs I'd like from all sorts of countries, but I'm not about going pestering perfect strangers to go buy me them. They don't know me from Adam yet, and vice versa. It takes time to build up trust in somebody you've never met face to face. In any case, Best Buy are notoriously crap at stocking titles - especially exclusives - and the staff have no idea what lines they carry (sounds like a certain UK chain that rhymes with Nixons, and who oddly enough are prime targets for takeover by Best Buy when the company makes an aggressive move into the UK next year).

    Ah phooey - I'll just live in hope they eventually do a UK release.

    Your Opinions and Comments

    I'll never get to that stage as with every film I watch I think of another one or two that I'd like to own. Case in point: I watched The Man Who Fell To Earth and read the booklet in the DVD case and now want to get my hands on Bad Timing and Track 29. I'm still waiting for The Devils (to name but one film) to be released and, with my purchase of an HD Plasma and PS3 imminent, I've been holding off buying new releases so I've got some catching up to do in that respect.

    Occasionally a review disc will open my eyes to a director whom I'd never previously considered (or heard of) and I'll find myself chasing after their back catalogue. I have a sizeable wishlist that I'd like to own and I'd still like the complete Ingmar Bergman Collection but there were only 1000 boxes released, without it my collection will never be complete!
    posted by David Beckett on 23/7/2008 21:43
    Ooh David...'Bad Timing' is one of the most depressing films I've ever endured. One of those 1000 Ingmar Bergman boxes has got my name on it too....though that does not comprise his complete works. They'll seem positively cheery after you've watched 'Bad Timing'!

    I'd like to think I'm nearing the end of the run, though naturally there are always new releases to consider.
    posted by Stuart McLean on 24/7/2008 18:45
    10 / 10
    Okay, I'll come clean - I'm always thinking of back titles I'd like to have, but in my blog I was referring specifically to my "comfort" movies. To that respect I'm pretty well sorted. Moon Zero Two and When Dinosaurs are actually more in my "obsession" list - movies I only expected to see released the day Hell froze over, or were pretty much "lost" and by that I mean never out on video, never out on DVD and rarely if ever seen on broadcast television.
    posted by Mark Oates on 25/7/2008 02:04
    It being Olympic year, I've just been reminded of a film I have always wanted on DVD, Animalympics! Made in 1976 for the Montreal games, little animated clips were supposed to run between the events on TV, but in the end it got made into a feature film instead. It starred the voices of Harry Shearer, Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner. and I remember it from my childhood as a whole lot of fun, encapsulating the Olympic spirit that seems so distant nowadays. It's also notable as the movie that Lisberger studios made prior to Tron.

    Unfortunately, it's never been released on DVD, and is only available on VHS at extortionate prices. I saw it once in a bargain bin for 99p. I am so kicking myself. The studios still have a week before the grand opening of the Beijing games. If they get their butts in gear...

    Awk! I found it, it's only available in Germany, and it's retailing at about 20 Euros. My nostalgia is a little too tightfisted for that.
    posted by Jitendar Canth on 1/8/2008 19:15