Hi Pooch
Some good points there, mate.
Looking at my stash, It may appear that I seem to ‘collect’ certain titles and also distributors – this is partly true.
There are distributors I trust to put out good releases, and so in the many years I’ve been buying DVD’s I may tend to sway towards these. Tartan for instance is a good example that you brought up: I have a fair few Tartan releases, and have bought a considerable amount more over the last couple of months due them going into liquidation, and me not wanting titles I’ve been after for a while but putting off disappearing for good. There was and still is talk of many of their titles being re-released or handled by other distributors, but for the most part Tartan titles are usually not available on any other labels in the UK. This fact coupled with the quality of transfer that Tartan releases, as well as many titles possessing dts sound and pretty good extras, means that I have a fair few of their titles. I have nowhere near all of them, and would never want them either, only ones that I know to be good or pique my interest.
Talking of interest, I do blind buy a bit, either due to reviews, clips, or recommendations, or because they look good. DVD’s for the most part are dirt cheap nowadays (if you know where to look) and for me and my obscure tastes to see a film I must buy it, as I have no close friends nearby who like these movies, nor would I wish to rent them; because sometimes it is not much more to buy, and also most titles I purchase would be unavailable to rent. Also if I blind buy a title and hate it... there is always eBay... or trading it on here!
Now here is the part where I contradict myself and back-up most of what you are saying (
): I do collect movies as well as watch them. I have duplicates of certain titles over different distributors due to different extras, the cut of the movie or also for the packaging / edition. I have four versions of Romero’s NOTLD, 3 of Fulci’s Beyond, 2 of Suspiria, Tenebre, Torso, Deep Red... (you get the point!). Also I have most of the X-Rated gialli titles, most EC titles and am looking to get certain AWE releases. Reasons are partly because I am a collector of those, and more specific titles, and partly for the reasons listed above concerning the extras, transfer and cut of the films in question. The bottom line is though, yes I have a fairly large collection of titles, some of which are duplicates and have certain distributor trends, but there isn’t a title I own that I don’t like – and if there is I will get rid of it.
I know everybody has their own reasons to collect and buy certain movies, and here is probably one the best place I’ve seen on the net where people can openly discuss their collections and put a stamp on their cult/horror diversity. For instance I know loops is ‘loopy’ (
) about Vipco, whereas I have never owned a Vipco release – just because I didn't really hold them in high regard. Instead I have a lot of German, Italian and US releases. I like my Synapse’s, my X-Rated Kult’s, my Raro’s and my AWE’s. I personally prefer these over other releases which is why I bought them, however others will view these as bollocks and prefer something else. I would never put a distributor before a title though, and will always buy a DVD for the film itself (no matter how many times I may already have it!
)
Back to your original points: I consider myself to be very selective (with my 1200)
. The site where I host my collection is rife with people who seem to collect everything. Most regulars have around 2000 DVD's, and there are some on there with 10,000 plus. I am not into movie collecting for personal gain or to win any medals, but because I love movies, plus I like to give movie advice when I can to people who want or need it.
It'd be great to see your collection here though Pooch; get snapping!