DVD Obsession: How to afford and justify it

[denti alligator]

... justify it to a significant other, whether or not you share a bank account.

But really, with the way most of us talk on this forum it seems we spend insane amounts of DVDs. How do you manage to do that and eat?

I'm a "starving" grad student, but my collection is embarrassingly large. I feel guilty sometimes, even.

[Tribe]

If my wife really knew the amount of money I spend on this, I'd be in for a huge sit-down. To be honest, I get home before she does and I get the mail first. Since she pays no attention to the vast majority of the stuff I watch, she's not the wiser as to the amounts. I mean, she isn't a moron....she knows that I buy a lot, but it's sort of out of sight out of mind. I guess, there are always priorities when it comes to money....I'm fortunate I can afford it and still pay the mortgage.

Tribe

[denti alligator]

If my wife really knew the amount of money I spend on this, I'd be in for a huge sit-down.

A "curtain lecture" is what I usually get. True, I have so many DVDs that wife doesn't even notice when I get more, because she can no longer keep track of what we've got.

[ben d banana]

the gf makes as much as i do yet i have twice as much savings as she has debt, plus i have all of these glorious dvds so i get to do all of the lecturing. yes!

[Tribe]

Ben D. brings up a very good point...being relatively debt-free by paying for just about anything other than houses and cars in cash, not to mention having student loans, alimony, and child support paid off, makes a huge difference. Then there are those pesky IRS liens...

Tribe

[ben d banana]

damn right, skip those real world money problems and live in dvd fantasyland.

[Tribe]

damn right, skip those real world money problems and live in dvd fantasyland.

Well, it's either that or dope, and I'm too old to go to the 'hood looking to score. That, and the homes think I'm a cop.

Tribe

[neuro]

I basically live by the motto: "Debt collection calls are temporary, eight-disc Cassavetes is forever."

[Polybius]

The relatively large number of Playboy and Penthouse discs should answer one of these queries. As far as budget balancing, I usually manage by planning things. I don't really buy retail, because there's no really good selection within easy reach, so I'm never tempted to buy stuff that I'll regret or at least question later. Usually.

[mbalson]

I can only afford my DVD collection because I am opportunistic. It comes from a combination of my store, online sales and trade situations such as this forum. Also, anything that I can get super cheap from my store and resell to make money for Criterions etc. goes a long way.

[Simon]

Well two years ago I had around 60 DVDs but I was smoking a pack of smokes a day and also a LOT of weed. I gave up both of those and now have 400+ DVDs, so I guess I replaced my addictions to with a slightly healthier one. Money that was vanishing into smoke is now spent on plastic frisbees, I'm so smart.

I get shit from my GF sometimes, but when she goes and get a 100$ haircut or we go to expensive restaurants, I tell her: 'I could get 4 DVDs for that price', so we're pretty much equal in spending money unwisely.

[cdnchris]

I tell her: 'I could get 4 DVDs for that price', so we're pretty much equal in spending money unwisely.

lol I do the same thing! "That sweater is like three DVDs or one really cool one!!!" Or the one that usually changes her mind because than she realizes how expensive it is: "Those shoes are like four Criterion DVDs!! Are you nuts!!??"

[oldsheperd]

I make a list and then I budget it. Then I run over budget. My family asks why I never have money and then I end up borrowing ten bucks from the mailroom guy for gas and cigarettes a few days before the next paycheck. Nice cycle. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

[nick]

I do the same thing! "That sweater is like three DVDs or one really cool one!!!" Or the one that usually changes her mind because than she realizes how expensive it is: "Those shoes are like four Criterion DVDs!! Are you nuts!!??"

I'm so glad I'm not the only one. My wife thinks I'm nuts (and she would be correct) because I no longer think of things in monetary value. So my car payment is no longer $160.00, it is 6-7 DVD's. It's a sickness.

[Steven H]

I've managed to brainwash everyone I know into thinking spending hundreds of dollars a month on DVDs is "normal". They'd be crazy to critisize anyway what with all the movie lending I do.

[analoguezombie]

time to shave the handlebar moustache.

blasphemy! I have a decent job, but I only buy one release a week. I do however, obtain 3-4 per week. Shifty friends in charge of receivings can be valued for a dvd-addict.

[criterionsnob]

I've reached the point where there are some months that I spend more on DVD's than on groceries or rent. Yes, I have a problem.

[oldsheperd]

I've got a list written up for 400 bucks in dvds to buy in one shot on January 7th. Half of the films I've never seen. I like doing this. Since I haven't gotten laid in some time, buying all sorts of dvds is a fairly decent replacement. I'd like to get a girlfriend though so she can buy me dvds too. Now that's pretty twisted.

[htdm]

If my wife really knew the amount of money I spend on this, I'd be in for a huge sit-down.

I had to laugh out loud when I read this! You have a lot of company, John.

All this talk about dvd collecting as addiction reminds me of Frank Capra's infamous quote:

"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone; it bosses the enzymes; directs the pineal gland; plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film."

I also liked neuro's take on it:

I basically live by the motto: "Debt collection calls are temporary, eight-disc Cassavetes is forever."

I don't recall where I read it but I remember seeing an article that mentioned that the largest dvd software consumer demographic were males. I wonder how much of this is a "guy" thing?

[Jun-Dai]

To be completely honest, I haven't bought a DVD for myself in at least a year. Though I think I'm going to order the R2 editions of Maboroshi no hikari and Kuroi ame (which I can justify because I can use them to improve my Japanese).

[clutch44]

With over 1400 dvds and a complete Criterion collection, I'd say that obsession is a concern. Recently I've slowed way down, I still get the monthly CC titles and a few others mostly noir and classics. That said, you should be able to see why I'm a HUGE fan of Thinpak marketing. My master bedroom walk in closet is half dvds, if I ever get married again it had better be to a film lover or I'll be in a world of hurt.

[Christian]

My DVD consumption was also pathetic, at one time. However, reality recently took its toll on me. In fact, I've started to break every collectors' rule in the book. It shames me to say it, but I've even started selling my own DVDs. There's no going back now.

[Ted Todorov]

I basically live by the motto: "Debt collection calls are temporary, eight-disc Cassavetes is forever."

I don't recall where I read it but I remember seeing an article that mentioned that the largest dvd software consumer demographic were males. I wonder how much of this is a "guy" thing?

The above motto should be framed on every DVD geek's wall -- priceless.

Guy thing: Males are the prime demographic in my local art movie theater as well -- though probably the crowd there is more mixed then that of DVD buyers.

Affording DVDs -- I have a good job. If I didn't I'd be in very deep shit. As it is, I need to make an occasional calculation of how many years of avarage viewing it would take me to see all that I have. I definitely buy at a rate far greater than I watch (living in NYC I see way more films on screen then I do on DVD.)

It is without any doubt a sickness -- but beats the hell out of being and audiophile, and blowing the rent money on ever fancier cables.

[bcsparker]

I admit, if it wasn't for me still living with my parents, I wouldn't be able to afford what I've got now (600 or so). I got into DVDs about a year into the format. It was somewhat aggravating because I had built up a decent VHS collection - 400 with as many widescreens as I could find. Of course, I welcomed the DVD because almost everything is widescreen. So I bought things regularly, always retail and in retrospect - highly priced.

My collection was funded by an active duty Army paycheck for a year when I was deployed post-9/11. And I gotta say, the selection at Army PXs are strange. They had all the regular Hollywood junk (I admit, I bought a copy of the Rollerball remake). But they also had a big selection of Diamond Ent. DVDs - a cheap brand with an ectlectic selection of bare bones discs. So consequently I got into Italian horror. And it goes on and on...

Collecting Criterions is a thorn in many of our sides. I remember at one point I swore to the gods that I would own every disc in the collection. Finally, I was able to come to terms with the fact that I don't need every one. In fact, after watching some of the ones I had bought blind, I admitted that I didn't even like some of them. I was even able to sell a few after awhile. I know - BLASPHEMY!!!

I've managed to skim away some of my mistakes by being an Amazon seller. It is nice when you buy something you don't like, you list it, and the next day it's in the mail. Sometimes earning you more than you paid for it.

I've managed to slow down my consumption by just buying things from one or two directors at a time. Right now, I'm trying to fill out Jess Franco's and Takashi Miike's filmographies.

And the other key to expanding your collection at a cheaper price - try not to buy retail. Some titles you can't help. But I've come to love used record stores, Amazon, and Ebay. Also, I've found out lately that the Used DVD section at Media Play is a great place to find niche titles.

[Fellini-Hexed]

I'm often a little sheepish reading the posts on this forum; I think of myself as a fairly intelligent intermediate-cinephile with too strong an affection for poetry and books to ever devote the time to cinema he knows other people do. And the collections! I can't believe that some of you actually own EVERY CRITERION DVD EVERY FUCKING RELEASED. No offense, but that's crazy talk, people. Having said that, I spend waaaay too much time wishing I could own numerous dvd's from Criterion and other companies, and have actually been known to dream up potential special edition releases of favourite films, replete with appropriate extras. So I too, am sick in my own way. But in terms of a collection, and I don't mind saying this, even as a guy: I've got a little one!

I usually only buy dvd's of films I've already seen once (I consider the theatre film budget, the video rental budget, and the dvd buying budget as separate animals), and try to pick up previously viewed dvd's from my local rental store (a very cool independent called Deer Park Video here in Toronto) of recent, big studio releases. But I just can't fathom spending more than 3 or 4 hundred bucks a year on DVD's. That's just me. But if I had a paycheck that could handle voracious dvd purchases? Yeah, baby!