My Approach to DVDs
I’m watching “Braveheart” on TBS, commercials, edits, broadcast quality and all. Six inches away from my tv is the same movie on DVD, on a shelf filled with DVDs. Almost none of which I’d ever actually watched (saw the movie in the theater or something, just didn’t watch the disc).
I wonder if this is true for most other people. We buy DVDs, then don’t really watch them but maybe once or twice. I decided to trim down the collection, and I ended up giving away dozens of discs. So, now I’ve got a few rules I’m mindful of when buying DVDs. It’s all about buying the ones that are going to get replay time.
1. Music DVDs. Especially live shows. Pop ‘em in, watch a few minutes here and there, and they’re great background music when I’m up and doing things around the house. A lot like listening to a CD or iTunes and great to watch for a few minute’s break. I get the most replay out of these. Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Pink Floyd’s “Live at Pompeii,” and Phish’s “IT.” Stuff like that.
2. Documentaries that I especially enjoyed. “A Map for Saturday,” Bill Moyer’s Joseph Campbell interview, “The Power of Myth.” They’re great to lend out to friends, and I do watch them once or twice a year. I want to pick up the BBC’s “Planet Earth” series after watching a few episodes at my sister’s house. Great documentaries have great replay value, and since I’m very selective about them, I don’t own a ton that clutter up my space.
3. High-replay-valued movies. This is a very limited category. I see a lot of good movies that I’m fine with seeing just once, so I never intend to buy them. Films that I’d buy usually have great quotable lines. ”Pulp Fiction,” “The Princess Bride,” and “High Fidelity” are in this group. I probably own less than ten actual films.
I’m not big on tv on DVD. It’s one of those “you watch it once” things for me. It’s better to see series on DVD than on tv, but I don’t like the commitment of space to owning a massive set of DVDs for one show. I have the complete Monty Python’s “Flying Circus,” but I’ve only watched maybe 4 discs. Now that Monty Python has everything Python ever online, I’ve got less need to own this set.
Ultimately, a digital soft copy of a movie is far better to me. Play it on multiple devices, and it doesn’t ask for physical space in my environment. There’s a serious move towards this idea, so I think I’m going to rip all of my discs sometime soon and just keep my collection completely on a hard drive instead of a shelf. No dusting required.
I gave away “Braveheart” without having ever watched that disc. That was maybe three years ago, and I’ve never missed it.