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DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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Hal Henry
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DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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First, let me state that I am regarded by all family members as "prehistoric," since I still rely on my dreadfully vast assortment of VHS tapes. But I started getting DVDs from the "local" (i.e., 60 miles away) library and became fascinated with the "special features" feature that provides commentary by various directors, writers, actors associated with the film. I've learned from others that these features are not available when the movies are acquired from, say, Netflix. (If I'm wrong, I apologize.) In any event, these "special features" comprise a fabulous learning opportunity. Right now I'm viewing a 2-film "noir" DVD consisting of DECOY and CRIME WAVE. Commentary on the latter is provided by James Ellroy; commentary on DECOY includes the author of the original story, Stanley Rubin, who passed away just last March at age 96. His conversations about the movie itself, and Hollywood in general, are remarkable. In any event, I recommend DVD "special features" in general and the DECOY/CRIMEWAVE one in particular.
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Re: DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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Okay, so I am also prehistoric (or a neo-luddite) too. :wink: I don't have Netflix, get my DVDs from my local library (Luckily for me, it is two minutes away). Hey, they are FREE. :) I also have a large collection of VHS tapes which I inherited from my late brother. Haven't viewed many of them, but one of these days. :? I also like the special features on the DVDs, mainly subtitles as I have a partial hearing loss.
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Re: DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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I have iTunes, so I get several TV episodes and movies on there. With the exception of one, none of the movies have special features on them.

But I also collect movies on DVD and Blu-Ray; like with my books, I like having a hard copy. The commentaries are often nice, and with some comedies it's nice to see the deleted scenes and bloopers.

Over the past year and a half I've been collecting movies from the Criterion Collection. I believe you can get the online version of this colection from Hulu Plus; I do however like my hard copies. Now these DVD's (and some on Blue-Ray) tend to be a little pricey--they run about 40 bucks a piece--but every so often the Barnes & Noble runs a 50% off sale on them, plus member discount, and some of the movies are less (I got CHASING AMY for $9.99). This collection introduced letterboxing, and their features are out of this world.

These are my thoughts at the moment; as a college age kid I'm supposed to prefure online stuff, but I still like my DVD copies.
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Hal Henry
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Movie Nerd: I just finished the Criterion DVD of MY MAN GODFREY; the commentary for this one is particularly good. Criterion has also done a great job with their assortment of Kurosawa films.
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Re: DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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Hal Henry wrote:Movie Nerd: I just finished the Criterion DVD of MY MAN GODFREY; the commentary for this one is particularly good. Criterion has also done a great job with their assortment of Kurosawa films.
I have a couple of their Kurosawa films; they were the one who introduced me to Japanese films in general. I started to see the old arthouse samauri films as a sort of Japanese equivalent to the American western film. In fact, Criterion put out Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, the basis for A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS.
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Re: DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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I am guilty of still owning VHS tapes. I don't watch any of the movies; they are sitting in a box, but there are a lot of tapes with footage of my kids and my family over the years and every now and again I'm inspired to hook my VCR up to my computer so I can convert the footage to dvd.

It wasn't until I watched Walked the Line (for the second time) that I paid any attention to the director's commentary and then I kept it on for the entire film. It was interesting to learn how much input the actor has in the scene. I remember a shot of Joaquin Phoenix walking down the dirt road on his way to enlist. Earlier in the film we saw him on this road with his brother, when they were young boys, racing each other and halting to a stop. The director was going to shoot with the actor simply walking up the road but Joaquin decided to run and halt the way he had when his brother was alive. It was effective.

I love all the tidbits you'd miss without the added features.
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That's the magic of DVD features, DaniMorg. That's the magic of DVD features.
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Re: DVDs vs Netflix (and others)

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I don't know if any of you have gotten DVDs of the JUSTIFIED series? the special features commentary on them is extensive and often hilarious; plus, you get a session with the directer, one with the writer, one with the producer or various actors...my wife wants to know how I can be watching the same episode of JUSTIFIED for the fourth time in a row.
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Hal Henry wrote:I don't know if any of you have gotten DVDs of the JUSTIFIED series? the special features commentary on them is extensive and often hilarious; plus, you get a session with the directer, one with the writer, one with the producer or various actors...my wife wants to know how I can be watching the same episode of JUSTIFIED for the fourth time in a row.
I have been wanting to watch but haven't yet. Is it any good?
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movie nerd. I don't have access to regular TV, but this is the best stuff I've been able see since the Deadwood series on HBo and many of the same actors are involved; it's episodic in timeframe, so of course its important to follow the adventures in order...much like reading the works of josef conrad
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