Steven H. Scheuer - Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD: Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-And the Best DVDs for Kids

If youre reading this page, you either own a DVD player or are considering purchasing one. The DVD is the most popular and successful electronic invention ever to come our way. It appeals to our appetite for accessible, high-quality home entertainment.

Speaking of appetites, food and movies go together. You cant live without the first. You wouldnt really want to live without the second. A good movie is like a good meal; it stimulates the senses and brings pleasure. Unlike the glorious four-star meal or the comfort foods we ingest, movies are calorie-free. With the arrival of DVDs, they are easier to watch at home; the experience cannot be compared to watching a film on broadcast television or playing a video in your VCR. A properly produced disc viewed on your home television (you dont need a fancy new TV) is a completely fresh and exciting experience.

Why? First, if the transfer of the film has been done correctly, the colors, images, perspectives, and sound will be far better than you are used to having at home. Even the most lavishly produced video releases cant hold a candle to this new technology. Second, the disc is capable of holding so many images that the opportunity to view bonus or supplemental material associated with the movie is virtually limitless. We suggest another use for our book, which is a variation on the idea of a book club. Invite friends over to watch the extras and commentary tracks of a film you have recently seen. Its great run to see the behind the scenes views of the creation of the film with others. Weve enjoyed evenings where our friends have discussed and debated whether or not they think the directors intentions were fulfilled. Of course, watching some of the deleted scene sequences with a group of friends is particularly delicious. Inside this book you will find the key to those extras worth your time. Third, unlike the rewound, sprung, or angry videotape, discs have a much longer life span. (With care in handling, they probably can be handed down to your grandchildren.) Finally, because of this new technology, the distributors increasingly are restoring classic films and making feature documentaries that are available only on disc.

However, not all discs are created equal. Thats where we come into the picture; we are your eyes and ears. We have prescreened the selections in this book. Theres no point in owning a disc if the quality of the picture isnt any better than it would be on late-night television. If youre longing to see a film that is in lousy shape, rent it, dont buy it.

This book is about building a personal library of DVDs. Its about the art of collecting; collecting anything is an art. A serious collector of rare books might specialize in one particular subject or even one author. But it is likely the collector will want as many different examples and editions of that subject or that authors work as he or she can find or afford. It doesnt need to be an expensive or priceless collection to be an interesting one. One of our friends collects souvenir thermometerswere not kidding! His collection is amusing and innovative because it is so diverse, from the absolutely tacky to the quite elegant. The organizing principle of any collection should be variety.

We believe the process of collecting DVDs is like ordering dinner for a special occasion or choosing a good diet. You want delicious flavors and superb presentation of the food, especially if youre spending a lot of money for a good meal in a restaurant. If youre cooking a festive meal at home, you want the meal to be memorable and your guests to savor every bite. You also want the meal to have been worth your time and effort. If youre deciding on an appropriate diet plan for yourself, you dont want it to consist of only one food group. Even if you are on a very restricted diet, there are still vast choices and variations available, whether high-protein, low-fat, or vegetarian. Nobody wants to eat the same thing every day at every meal.

Likewise, youll want to have an array of choices in your home DVD library. If you watch only thrillers, you probably dont need our book. But most of us have taste buds that like to be stimulated in different ways. One day, its macaroni and cheese or nothing. The next day, you might prefer a light salad, and the next week, you might be planning a complicated five-course meal complemented by appropriate wines.

We think its the same for your movie diet. Thats why our primer on building your DVD library is so eclectic. We want you to sample from the many flavors available.

Even if you are mad for one particular countrys cuisine, you probably dont want to eat just that all the time. While our choices are overwhelmingly selected from American movies (we couldnt do justice to all the wonderful foreign films in the space we have), youll find a seasoning of international films as well.

The feast for your eyes should be just as satisfying as a feast for your stomach. Some nights, youre tired and not in the mood for a serious meal, in a restaurant, a take-out place, or at home. You want to satisfy your hunger pangs and relax. On other nights youre in a romantic mood, and careful attention to a meal is in order.

What you want to watch on DVD at any particular time is also subject to your mood or the time you have to devote to a movie. Thats why our suggestions range from dramatic or challenging films to sheer entertainment. You might be surprised at some of the movies you wont find in the pages of this book. We would like to tell you something about how we made our choices. Of course, all lists of the best of anything, whether the best movies, restaurants, wines, chocolates, cities, hotels, camping grounds, beaches, or shopping malls, are products of the people who put the list together. So to some extent, this list is about who we are and what we like. However, we worked very hard to make sure that our suggestions for building your DVD library include many of the films that appear on the lists of other experts and film institutions as well.

Some of the best films ever made are still not on DVD or are still in terrible shape on the transfer. Our guiding principle has been Its about the movie, stupid. First and foremost, the movie needs to be a better-than-average transfer, at the very least . If its not, you wont find it here. Second, the movie needs to make sense to us in some unique way that suggests its not only something worth watching but something youll want to watch more than once. Whats worth watching is highly subjective, but we think our reviews give you a very good idea of why we believe a particular selection is just that.