For me, the Matrix trilogy is the worst offender, although I like it so much that I’ve bought:
(1) The first one on VHS
(2) All three (separately, when they were released, not the $10 “trilogy pack”) on DVD
(3) The trilogy on HD-DVD plus the Animatrix (in standard definition) on DVD in a 4-pack
(4) The trilogy plus the Animatrix (in high-definition) in a 4 Blu-ray pack
I also bought the 20-Bond movies (at the time) in the 2003 “Special Edition” DVD boxes, rebought the 21-movies in the 2007 “Ultimate Edition” DVD boxes, and bought the 7 movies that they have released so far on Blu-ray.
Other movies I’ve owned on VHS, DVD, and HD-DVD or Blu-ray
2001: A Space Odyssey
Apollo 13
Blazing Saddles
Caddyshack
Dazed and Confused
Die Hard
Fletch
Halloween
Liar Liar
The Rock
Stargate
Total Recall
Tremors
There are, of course, oodles of movies too numerous to list here that I’ve owned on both VHS and DVD. Also, there have been a few I’ve owned 2 DVD editions of (for example, they only release it in full screen then release it in original aspect ratio later).
What about you? Which movies in your collection do you just have to buy every time it’s re-issued?
Shamefully, I’ve bought every version out there of the LOTR movies that PJ & gang did. Comes in handy when I loan one out though. (I still have only one copy of the book - the paperbacks I first read in the early 70s, my precious.)
I bought The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as the second DVD I ever got. It was a crappy edition, and I recently bought the nice one they just came out with.
I bought The Secrect of Roan Inish on VHS and DVD. And we have the original Star Wars trilogy on VHS as first made and with some digital effects added, but didn’t Lucas do that twice? We don’t have the second messed-with version. And no DVDs.
We waited for the director’s cuts of LOTR, and then my husband had a hissy fit when some other edition came out.
You guys at least bought quality movies. I have to admit I bought Dodgeball, Stripes and Underworld when they came out with the deluxe editions after having already bought the original cheap editions.
I have lots of hese – movies I recorded, then bought on VHS, then got on DVD (I don’t have HD or blu-ray). The worst offenders are ones that people give me. I’ve lost count of the number of copies of Phantom of the Opera I have (the 1925 silent film), but the best is the two-disc collector’s edition, with restored Technicolor and Handschiegl color scenes.
I first taped, then bought Forbidden Planet. Then taped the letterbox version, then bought the DVD, then received as a present the 50th anniversary DVD, with the deleted scenes.
I have Tron on VHS (twice: white clamshell and paperboard sleeve), Betamax, CED, laserdisc (thrice-- original full-frame, deluxe CAV boxset, Japanese widescreen with triangular obi), DVD (twice-- original release, 2-disc 20th anniversary edition), UMD. I also have a 35mm print of the film trailer. Yes, I will buy this movie on Blu Ray when it’s released. (I wonder if V2000, VHD, or Video8 versions ever came out?)
Other things I’ve owned 3 or more versions of:
Amazon Women on the Moon (VHS, original DVD, collector’s edition DVD)
Clerks (laserdisc, original DVD, Clerks X)
Chasing Amy (laserdisc, DIVX, DVD)
Mallrats (laserdisc, original DVD, remastered DVD)
The Last Boy Scout (VHS, laserdisc, DVD)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Universal-8 8mm film digest, VHS, laserdisc)
Die Hard (VHS, original widescreen laserdisc, remastered widescreen laserdisc)
Nosferatu (VHS, laserdisc, cheap DVD, high-end DVD (Kino, I think))
Akira (VHS, CLV laserdisc, tin-box DVD)
Robotech tv series (VHS, laserdisc, Legacy DVD boxsets, and I plan on buying the newer releases)
Star Wars original trilogy - I have the “faces” version on VHS, a set of DVDs I bought off eBay that were ports from the laser discs (I wouldn’t buy Lucas’s DVD set unless it included the original theatrical copies, none of the remastered stuff for me!), and received the DVD set (with theatrical releases!) as a gift last year.
The Princess Bride - I have the VHS and DVD.
MST3K: The Movie - I have the VHS and DVD. My husband said that he found the DVD on Amazon cheap; they must have remastered a new version. Last I knew it was hella expensive because they didn’t make many.
That’s about it, tho’ my VHS is dying and I’ll either need to replace those movies or buy a new VHS to play my old favorites. I think the MST3K movies I have will probably be first in line.
Y’know, not until I opened this thread did I realize that I’ve never bought any movie multiple times in different formats. It’s very rare that I buy a movie at all; there’s usually no reason to give it shelf space when I can just get it from the library or from Netflix. I have far, far too many movies I’ve never seen at all but really want to, rather than go back and watch the same movie again (with a few exceptions, and then usually only when they’re in any of the local arts, revival or college theaters).