How many times have you bought the same movie....

[dbuck]

Today I brought to work a small bag of dvd's to give away. Naturally it is because I have since purchased (or been gifted) blu-ray versions.

As they sat before me before going off to their new homes I realized that certain movies have been purchased anew by me many times over the years.

Going through all the formats I realized there have been a few movies I have purchased more than a few times, beyond the VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray formats, what with the various widescreen, remastered, directors cut, special edition kind of marketing tricks I fall prey to.

Not counting anything I have bought four times or less (otherwise this list gets kind of long, sadly enough) here are some numbers. (I am sure I missed a few) I hate to think of the $ that I have gone through.

Alien/Aliens--5 times

Blade Runner--5 times

Star Wars eps 4/5/6--6 times (and believe it or not I did not purchase the THX laserdiscs or the SE laserdics)

A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More/The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly--6 times

Gads.

Okay, can some of you make me feel better by chiming in with yours?

 

[micdavis]

16mm
VHS
SVHS
Laserdisc
Criterion Collection Laserdisc
DVD
GOLD EDITION DVD
Blu-Ray

.....God knows what's next.

I prefer not to list how many movies I have that have gone through this transition. It would make me cry.

 

[Larry Young]

"How many different times can you buy 'The White Album?'"

 

[joker-scar]

Terminatro 2 takes the top slot in my collection. I actually wonder how many different versions have been released
SW and Raiders and Aliens come a close 2nd....

 

[dualedge]

As for many, Star Wars is the biggest repeating title in my past.

When I was a kid, the very first version of it we had was on an RCA VideoDisc for any of you that remember that short-lived format and about the only format MicDavis didn't list (though we never had a 16mm version.)

After that it was multiple times on VHS, multiple times on laserdisc, and multiple times on DVD. I won't be buying the new blu-ray set.

 

[epilepticsquirl]

I've lost track on how many times I had to go out and buy Finding Nemo. I know i've bought Starship Troopers at least three times.

 

[Qui-Gonzalez]

Man, movies, books, albums...you name it. Star Wars (All three OT) easily tops the list, followed closely by Master of Puppets.

 

[canuckmuse]

Mana. Lascaux cave paintings. Hunting magic. Ownership of all things resonant and true.

You dare speak of that which our significant others adore in us.

Ridley's masterpiece, check. George's opera, for sure.

Seven Samurai? Last images 'fore, well, your St. Crispin's Day moment.

...although I'm not ashamed to admit my coveting and otherwise adoring a 1978 era Kenner Give-A-Show Projector medium: "The Star Wars Story-112 color Slides-16 Strips."

 

[SSgt Burton]

Star Trek II- single vhs release, vhs boxset release, 2 disc special edition dvd, Bluray, Bluray in 6 movie boxset (oops... should have waited before buying the single Bluray :rolleyes)--- so that's five...

Aliens- vhs release, "bootleg" vhs special edition (recorded from the laserdisc), "official" vhs special edition (in the Alien Legacy vhs boxset), dvd special edition release (1999... which bought twice as I lent the first one to my step daughter's boyfriend and never got it back), Alien Quadrilogy dvd boxset (2003). So that's six... soon to be seven when I buy the Bluray Anthology.

Now... how about Star Trek TOS?

Back when they first came out on vhs they were the "syndicated" versions edited down to allow more commercial time. These came in a black backgorund box.

Later they released the full unedited shows on vhs- their boxes had a light blue backgorund.

I didn't own all the syndicated episodes as the unedited ones started to be released while I was collecting them all. But of those episodes I do have it would be...

vhs "syndicated", vhs "unedited", dvd boxsets (2004), remastered dvd boxsets (2008)... and when I get the money I'll be buying them again on Bluray. :rolleyes

MAKE IT STOP! :cry


Kevin

 

[Scareb]

When I was a kid and VHS was at the top of it's game, my parents probably bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman probably 4 times each because I watched them so much that I wore the tapes out.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

surprisingly, i prefer watching movies that are on tv then on dvd.......not a big fan of dvds, but I try to purchase the bluray and dvd combo pack until i got a bluray.....it really paid off in the end so i didnt have to repurchase the same film.....

however, i bought Black Hawk Down twice.......I bought the regular dvd, then they came out with a collector's edition, so I purchased that one.....I love that film.....one of the best war films

 

[Scareb]

I think the only time i've ever enjoyed watching a movie on TV was when they aired the big lebowski and the die hard flicks because of the hilarious lines in big lebowski and the TERRIBLE dubbing for john mclane.

 

[micdavis]

A an RCA VideoDisc for any of you that remember that short-lived format and about the only format MicDavis didn't list

I just forgot. Still have my Logan's Run VideoDisc.

The pretend laserdiscs. It was really an metal record. For lack of a better description.

 

[HAL9000]

Be careful about giving away stuff. In my experience, there are
differences (even subtle ones) between versions that are released.
Diferrent masters and cuts occur all the time.

Manhunter is a good case in point. Even the TV cut has some stuff
in it you can't get on release.

Guess it depends if you are a completist or not.

 

[Interceptor6]

I "cleaned house" on my DVD's a few months ago, with Mad Max leading the pile with 5 copies, and 3 sets of SW. Many with just 2 copies, but even worse was the list that have to be replaced as the "fairy's" seem to have spirited them away!
In a similar tale, I've bought repeat books to read because the covers were changed! New color, new pic, similar description but the "same" tale! Tell the advertising guys their ploy worked!

 

[Solo4114]

I think the original trilogy for Star Wars is it for me.

- Had a VHS copy of ANH growing up as a kid that was recorded off PRISM (an old movie channel like HBO)
- THX original OT on VHS
- Widescreen SE OT on VHS
- Ebay bootleg DVDs
- 2006 SE+Original OT on DVDs

I think I'm about done with that one until the "Archival Blu-Ray Original OT" edition comes out.

Which basically means I'm done with that one.

Outside of that...I think Blade Runner.

- Director's Cut VHS
- Director's Cut DVD
- 5-disc limited ed. box set

 

[SSgt Burton]

Oh yeah... Star Wars!

How could I forget how many times I bought the OT? :rolleyes

(I'm pretty sure I owned ESB individually on vhs in the early 80s- and either gave it away or it's still at my Parents' house.)

Vhs THX wide screen set,
vhs SE full screen,
vhs SE wide screen (I just had to have both... because one was in a pretty gold box and the other a pretty silver one :rolleyes),
OT dvd boxset.

I don't think I'll be investing in the Blurays.


Kevin

 

[Jeyl]

I'm proud to declare I've bought the White Album only once.

Terminator 2 on the other hand? Pretty much every DVD/BluRay release in existence.

 

[Solo4114]

Yeah, although it's been released in about 28 variations of box/content, I've only ever bought T2 once. Same with T1 (and I'll admit to owning T3, but I got it cheap before I'd ever seen the film).

Most other films I've basically owned twice -- once on VHS, once on DVD. Rarely if ever have I bought multiple copies on DVD unless it was something like the theatrical version of LOTR upgraded to the extended edition (after which I gave away my theatrical versions because...eh...to me the extended edition is the complete version).

 

[micdavis]

I'd also add that in a High School video production class that I basically ran for the lazy teacher. I amassed the entire first season of Space: 1999 and the movie Silent Running on 2" black and white reel to reel video tape and 3/4" Color reel to reel video. Although I didn't pay for them it was quite the trick taping into the school cable system to ::coughs:: acquire them. Cable TV was pretty new then.