Finally, My Collection is Done

[NorthStar]

HI edorr,
You seem to think that I only buy movies that pertain to my collection. That's not true at all. I buy anything that appeals to me and if it happens to fit into a specific collection, then fine. I try very hard to not be fenced into any buying strategy. Therefore, you saying that A Separation is "Not a bad place to start" implies that I have not started. Start what? Do you think this is true? I don't. I think my current 1000 DVD collection is more than a start. Thus, I don't understand your statement. Can you explain?

Sparky

---- Sparky, Ed simply mentioned a movie which he truly liked, that's all. ...For all of us.
And the way he said it was his own way of emphasizing his great contentment for that particular Foreign flick. :b

Bob

 

[karma]

Quite interesting sir.

There are many kinds of movie 'buffs' (cinephiles). ...And movie collectors.
World Cinema history, from the very first silent films, is full of gems. And from them you can reconstruct the main social aspects of all the world's philosophies, human's psychologies, laws and principles.
Because movie directors are visionaries and creators and observators and communicators, they are usually good at transmitting the messages they felt during their lifetime (the important directors anyway).

And it's good to explore French cinema (from France), Italian cinema, German cinema, Spanish cinema, Mexican cinema, Canadian cinema, American cinema, Russian cinema, Indian cinema, Japanese cinema, and all.

Academy Award films are American history, not World Cinema history.
A 'completist', a cineaste, a movie lover is someone with a vast vision, world vision.

World cinema is the eyes into the human behaviors since it was invented. ...And from each region, culture of the world.

Some movie collectors are concentrated on French cinema, and German cinema, or Italian cinema; others on American cinema, and Japanese cinema masters, and on and on.

You could go with all the best movie directors of the world, and you can go with the actors and actresses; all the best.
You can go with one continent, or another continent, or all the continents. ...All the various languages and cultures of our planet.

I know some people who have 20,000 and more films in their collections.
Some movie directors have some extensive collections too.

I dunno, each person has its own set of values regarding film's history. ...Just like music; Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, .,.,.
And they always upgrade to the latest technologies and best visual and sounding material.

There is much more money to be smartly invested in learning about humanity than money spent in the reproducers; if you know what I mean.

Move where your heart dictates you to go, and nowhere else. ...That's what I think.
{You won't be able to watch all the great cinema gems of the world, but your legacy might benefit your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, ..,.. and their friends, and the friends of their friends, and movie museums, and the world.}

Cheers,
Bob

HI Bob,
As I said above, I am not a film historian and don't intend to be. I just like great movies. Very simple. I also am not concerned with my legacy. It is very possible that today's DVD's will be as obsolete as home movies. VHS is getting there fast. I'm not at all concerned with complicating the issue. I just want great movies to watch, over and over. Very simple.

As for following my heart, well, that's a tough request but a good thought. With movies I'm pretty much a Slumdog. I'll watch anything I enjoy and that includes movies of every type. I tend to not like sub-titled movies simply because they are more work to understand and, thus, are distracting. Movies, for me, are not intellectual objects though they can be. Rather, movies must command my visceral attention. My definition of a good movie is one that does not let me off the hook from beginning to end. It must enter my mind directly and create a mind meld. And this type of movie is relatively rare. Examples: "Seven" or "Alien" or "Silence of the Lambs". WOW, great stuff!!

Often, the most respected film makers leave me cold. They are so driven to express their innermost creative instincts that they forget that their audiences are ordinary people that don't give a flip about the makers inner demons. I find them often to be self indulgent to the max rather than artistic. This does not appeal to me.

So, like everything, movies are highly individualistic. What appeals to one person may not appeal to another. But, I do have enough experience to know what I like and what makes a great movie. And, I always have Roger Ebert's books at my elbow to help guide me. He's the only movie reviewer for which I have any respect. I do love to argue with him though. "Come on Roger. Get your head out of your As*." He usually wins.

Sparky

 

[edorr]

HI edorr,
You seem to think that I only buy movies that pertain to my collection. That's not true at all. I buy anything that appeals to me and if it happens to fit into a specific collection, then fine. I try very hard to not be fenced into any buying strategy. Therefore, you saying that A Separation is "Not a bad place to start" implies that I have not started. Start what? Do you think this is true? I don't. I think my current 1000 DVD collection is more than a start. Thus, I don't understand your statement. Can you explain?

Sparky

Sparky, you are reading too much into my comment. I had not given you DVD collection any thought, and merely wanted to convey I thought "A Separation" was a damn good movie, and anyone interested in foreign language oscar winners should have it on the top of their list.

 

[NorthStar]

-- Sparky, I'm simply curious; are you a Blu-ray forum's member?
...Or HDD (High Def Digest) forum's member? ...Or from any other 'video' (movie) forums?

AND! Do you still watch VHS movie tapes? ...And how's your Blu-ray collection?

 

[karma]

-- Sparky, I'm simply curious; are you a Blu-ray forum's member?
...Or HDD (High Def Digest) forum's member? ...Or from any other 'video' (movie) forums?

AND! Do you still watch VHS movie tapes? ...And how's your Blu-ray collection?

HI Bob,
Remember, I'm very new to the 3D game. I have joined the Blu Ray forum but have little experience yet. I do still have a small collection of VHS tapes and a player. I have it set up in another system along with my old Hitachi 44 inch plasma HDTV in my music room. I have a good collection of Disney classics as well as a few other favored movies in VHS which is the main reason I don't want to give up on VHS. I may replace the Disney VHS tapes with Blue ray's when I get the chance. The problem is it will cost a lot of money on a retirement income.

As for Blu ray, I am destitute. You don't find Blu rays in the bargain bins around here! Since I bought my new Panasonic I have bought my first Blu rays as well as about five 3D movies. I love Blu rays but I don't love the price. Same with 3D's. I will be very careful adding Blu ray's due to the cost. As for 3D, it's hardly a problem since there are so few 3D current releases that I want. I have replaced a couple of Harry Potter DVD's, one with 3D, and one with Blu ray. How can I not love them? They look great. And 3D Titanic is awesome!

Sparky

 

[karma]

Sparky, you are reading too much into my comment. I had not given you DVD collection any thought, and merely wanted to convey I thought "A Separation" was a damn good movie, and anyone interested in foreign language oscar winners should have it on the top of their list.

HI Ed,
OK, I understand now. You did not explain that your movie suggestion was a foreign language film. You assumed that I knew it was a foreign film. Why would I? So, if I'm correct, you meant that I could start with foreign language films with this one. Makes sense to me. I'll check into it.

Thanks for your explanation. I appreciate it.

Sparky

 

[NorthStar]

HI Bob,
Remember, I'm very new to the 3D game. I have joined the Blu Ray forum but have little experience yet. I do still have a small collection of VHS tapes and a player. I have it set up in another system along with my old Hitachi 44 inch plasma HDTV in my music room. I have a good collection of Disney classics as well as a few other favored movies in VHS which is the main reason I don't want to give up on VHS. I may replace the Disney VHS tapes with Blue ray's when I get the chance. The problem is it will cost a lot of money on a retirement income.

As for Blu ray, I am destitute. You don't find Blu rays in the bargain bins around here! Since I bought my new Panasonic I have bought my first Blu rays as well as about five 3D movies. I love Blu rays but I don't love the price. Same with 3D's. I will be very careful adding Blu ray's due to the cost. As for 3D, it's hardly a problem since there are so few 3D current releases that I want. I have replaced a couple of Harry Potter DVD's, one with 3D, and one with Blu ray. How can I not love them? They look great. And 3D Titanic is awesome!

Sparky

I see, thank you for your reply.

Another question. ...What is your biggest life's passion? ...In these times. ...Take your time.

 

[edorr]

HI Ed,
OK, I understand now. You did not explain that your movie suggestion was a foreign language film. You assumed that I knew it was a foreign film. Why would I? So, if I'm correct, you meant that I could start with foreign language films with this one. Makes sense to me. I'll check into it.

Thanks for your explanation. I appreciate it.

Sparky

Another (heartbreaking!) masterpiece foreign language oscar movie winner is "Life is Beautiful", by Roberto Begnini. Probably one of the most commercially successful winners of the last two decades. His "acceptance performance" is also a bit of an Oscar awards ceremony classic....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTR6fk8frs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Is_Beautiful

 

[karma]

HI Bob,
Well, I have only been retired for about 6 months. I am going through a life adjustment. Life is definitely different when every day is a Holiday. I don't expect my normal life passions to change much but now I can devote more time to them. I'm a reader, always have been and this will continue. I love the outdoors. I own two Jeeps which I use for exploration of the great southwest. I planning trips right now to the Moab area, definitely God's country. I have been single since the early 1980's and I love the life style.

My other great passion is music of all types except hip hop. I have a very large music collection (mostly vinyl) and a hi fi system that qualifies for the What's Best forum. So, hi fi systems form the other half of my music hobby. Additionally, my HT system is quite good being a Dolby 5.1 set up. It is based upon B&W 800 series speakers and Krell electronics. It's one of the best I have heard. The addition of 3D completes the movie watching experience. My HT system is in a different room from the music system.

Movies have been a life long passion but I've always been put off by the lack of video quality for home playback. VHS tape, after all, only barely worked. This limited my investment. When DVD's came along I realized that I had found the end of the rainbow and collected with enthusiasm. This continues.

I realized that Blue ray's were a significant step in playback quality. The problem was I wanted many different films and Blue rays were not cost attractive or even available for many of the movies I am interested in. After all, DVD's are not half bad. And, in fact, the selection of Blue ray's is still not good but getting better. Will the day come when all new releases will be on Blu ray? Will all of the older movies eventually be released on Blu ray? Will DVD's go into the trash heap with VHS tape? I hope so because the price will come down. But that day is still far in the future. It better hurry. I'm not getting any younger!

OK, that's my current biography. What's yours?

Sparky

 

[NorthStar]

-- Hi Sparky,

Congrats on your retirement years; one of the most important part of life. :b

_______________

Me, I'm a nature and peace lover. I love music and cinema with a deep passion. And I love people, from all over the world.
Communication is a big part of maintening humanity's equilibrium, and I'm all for the newest communication technologies.

I have an extensive VHS movie collection (many of them in widescreen), but I don't watch them at all anymore.
My DVD collection is even more extensive (5 to 6,000), but I might watch just few per year now.
Right now I'm all in with Blu-rays, with over 3,000 titles, but I know that something better is coming in the near future (ultra higher definition); so I'll be ready.

My readings are extremely extended, but they are mainly concentrated on Music, Movies, Audio & Video electronics, Arts, and all that jazz.

All my life I climbed mountains (planting trees), but now my time is much more spent listening and viewing, among few other things to maintain my balanced lifestyle....

I also have a decent CD and LP music collection. In my actual phase of the present, CDs and SACDs and r.a.d.i.o. is more a prominent listening emphasis, than what it used to be with albums (records) in the past.

Right now I am listening to Classical Music on the r.a.d.i.o. (analog tuner).