I only own 1 video----“The Sound of Music”—which was a gift.
And I have actually watched the video a couple of times all the way through. Enjoyed it tremendously. One of my favorite movies of all time. Saw it the first time in a theatre back in the mid 60’s.
But, if it wasn’t a gift, I would never have bought it myself. I would never have considered buying any movie, even a great movie, anytime----------how many times can one watch any damned movie without it going stale on you?
But-----other people feel differently it seems------sales of videos are way up. My own son-in-law owns close to 300 videos. Has them stored in a type of DVD cassoural --can punch a button and choose any one of those 300 videos to watch at any time.------------Which is a very neat thing to be able to do.
But -------I would never begin to think of buying any DVD. Too pricey for one thing. And how many times could I possibly view any great movie without getting bored?
Those of you all who actually purchase DVD’s--------please explain why you do?
Price isn’t generally an object, unless you’re coming home with five discs each and every week. A new DVD costs less than a movie for two with popcorn. A used disk generally goes for about the same price as a movie ticket.
Also, it’s nice to watch television shows without bugs in the corners, commercial free and on demand.
Movies do get stale, and discs can collect dust for months. That’s much is true. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty good bet that I’m going to want to watch Blade Runner or Auto Focus or the PowerPuff Girls Movie again some time in the future. Until then, they can sit on the shelf. And of course, there’s the possibility that the local rental outfit doesn’t have what I want to see. If I want to see all the movies in WB’s film noir boxsets they recently released, I’ll have to get my hands on them myself.
Don’t ask me to ask the obvious choice====my son-in-law------Why he owns close to 300 video is beyond me. I don’t really wan’t to ask him because it might possibly embarass him (or me).
And, as long as he is happy and keeps my daughter happy-----I could give a shit what makes anyone happy.
When I lived where then nearest rental store was perhaps a half an hour away, the returning part was a dealbreaker. If there was something I wanted to see that badly I would buy it, watch it then just store in on my shelf so it can collect dust with the other 2.
If a movie is good, it takes me somewhere mentally, emotionally, or intellectually. I own my DVDs for the same reason I own my CDs. Just because I heard a song before doesn’t mean I never care to hear it again. With movies, same same.
I think it’s just convenience, for me. It’s like music: I could wait around for them to play my song on the radio again… but if it fades from popularity, or was never popular at all, I may never hear it again.
I could wait around for them to show a movie I really enjoyed on the television again… complete with editing, adverts, and “melon baller”… or, I could just buy the movie, and wait until the whim catches me when I’m not doing anything else that day: hmm. My chores are done, it’s pouring outside, I’ve read all my books/don’t feel like reading right now… maybe I’ll watch that movie I really enjoy! And there it is! Right at my fingertips.
Sometimes, it’s something to do when friends or family come over. “Hey, you want to come over tonight? I’ve got that movie you haven’t seen yet, are you interested in watching it?”
Just another thing to do, at least in this household. We watch movies for the same reason we read, listen to music, knit, etc. Well, okay, knitting serves another purpose, but still, in this day and age, I don’t have to knit, I could just go buy a sweater from a store. It’s just fun. And since I live far, far away from my own family, and my in-laws are mostly men, it’s easier to invite them over with a movie than it is to ask if they would like to come over and knit a scarf.
Well, the 300+ videotapes I own were made off the TV in a time before the DVD was invented. And I have them because they were shows and movies and musical programs that were not shown often, some may never have been aired again. I have pristine copies of a lot of rare TV footage! I only have a small DVD collection, though. There are only nine movies in it; others are concerts and documentaries, the rest are box sets of complete seasons of TV shows. You can’t just turn on the TV and see “Red Dwarf” or “The Young Ones” or “SCTV”. That’s why I have them. That’s why I have 13,000 records. Entertainment of any kind I could possibly want, on demand.
How can you describe a collecting mentality for somebody who does not know it?
Very well. Like with music and litterature, I like to own art that inspires me or that I feel resemble my personality very well. It can give me instant entertaining at the touch of a button. Of course, once you start buying, you tend to kick-start a buyer’s addiction.
I don’t really know what else I would want to buy anyway. I don’t drink, smoke or eat meat, so I can afford pop culture and still treat myself to more costful purchases every once in a while.
And these days, if you like a movie enough to watch it more than once, you can buy it for the price you’d pay to rent it two or three times from Blockbuster.
As mentioned, buying can be more economical than renting, particularly considering that once you own it, you can let friends and family borrow/watch it, or even sell it if you get completely tired of it.
Movies are generally meant to be watched all at once, but with other sorts of things, such as television series or maybe the special features that come with a movie DVD, you may want to spread your viewing out over several days, weeks, or even months, which is much easier to do if it’s something you own.
Plus, I second what others have said about owning and collecting.
If you rent a favorite film more than twice, you’re wasting dough. I can also re-sell my DVDs online, for about what I paid for them. Zero cost, or thereabouts, essentially.
Also, I like foreign films, ones that Block-Bust-@ss is unlikely to stock.
I enjoy watching movies, and some shows, more than once. Sometimes I’ll go on a kick where I watch the same movie every night for a couple of weeks at a time. I enjoy being able to watch my favorite movies whenever I feel like it, without waiting for them to air or having to go down and rent them.
When I was growing up, one of my dreams was to have copies of my favorite movies and a film projector. Yes, I’m that old…we didn’t even have VCRs back then, much less DVDs and their burners. Anyway, when I look at my video/DVD collection and think about this, I feel rich and fulfilled in a way.
People with small children buy videos or DVDs. Kids can watch the same thing over and over and over and over again.
I have a couple of yoga DVDs so I can follow along at home. Also some dog agility and freesytyle ones, ditto.
I share the OP’s bafflement. Some films are worth watching once, a few are worthing watching twice, but only a tiny minority merit more viewings than that. And anyway, there’s so much new stuff to see, who has time to watch films they’ve already seen several times?
I think it’s purely down to the collector’s urge, the need to have tangible evidence of your esteem for something that you admire. The economic arguments don’t really stack up.
One of my favorite ways to spend time as a kid was watching classic movies on TV with my grandparents. The movies that I chose to own are ones that I hope to share with my own children and grandchildren. It didn’t occur to me that the format would become obsolete before I had any offspring. So far I’ve only purchased a couple of dozen movies. Even if rerenting is a waste of money, the shelf space it saves is worth it to me.
There are some movies that are worth watching more than once.
My choices would include Casablanca and Terminator!
I also like to have a complete set of TV series. If I miss an episode of CSI when it first airs, I have the reassurance that I’ll see it on the DVD collection. Plus there are commentaries.
I saw the first 22 episodes of Murder One, missed 23 then was terrified to watch 24 (the last one). But all was satisfactorily revealed on video later!
