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Home , Alfred Hitchcock, Dead Again, George Cukor

DINK EN DOEN CINGA WENZE

Building your own DVD Collection

ALEXANDER VAN DER POLL than you think. Compile a list of as many of ‘secret-keeping’, and ‘child protagonists’, et Correspondent your all-time favourite fi lms (whether you cetera. By doing this you will be surprised own them yet or not). To keep matters by the quantity of titles presented for your uilding or expanding your DVD col- simple try to keep your list to about twenty consideration. This is a particularly good lection can be a very rewarding and titles or so. But if you can’t limit yourself way to research titles that you may not be exciting process. It could potentially to such a modest amount, then don’t hold familiar with, but may enjoy equally as much B back, allow your list to be however long it as your initial search titles (in this case E.T. - also be a confusing hobby, with quite a few the Extra-Terrestrial). pitfalls along the way. Luckily there are many needs to. Next, arrange the fi lms you have identifi ed If you are unable to access this publica- resources available to you, and with this ar- into the different genres (drama, western, tion or a similar one, then the well-known ticle we shall undertake to ensure that you horror, bio-pic, documentary, romance, Internet site www..com (Internet Movie have a home theatre library before you can comedy, et cetera). Also take note of the Database) may assist you to do the same. say ‘lights, camera . . . action!’ decades in which these fi lms were produced. Once you have accessed the site, simply A few aspects need to be considered Study your list and see if you can identify select ‘Titles’ and type in the name of the before you start purchasing titles for your prevalent genres or decades. If most of the fi lm you like. When you scroll down to the collection. fi lms you have selected are romantic com- bottom of the page there should be a selec- edies from the , then this is a genre tion of, on average, fi ve further titles recom- Motivation and era that you can explore further. mended by the site builders that you may also enjoy. First of all, you need to consider your moti- Movie guides This brings us to vation. Will you be collecting for your own another important point. personal enjoyment? Are you intending to Now that the groundwork has been com- If you are serious about share your fi lms with friends at movie nights, pleted it is time to make use of the many collecting DVDs the or to lend them out to interested parties? resources available to you. one essential item you Perhaps you are a serious cinephile, who In trying to establish which fi lms you should invest in, before takes pride in building an ‘archive’ of classic would like to add to your collection, the you even buy your fi rst cinema. Maybe a little of each of these mo- very useful Ultimate movie thesaurus by fi lm, is a decent and reputable fi lm guide. tivations apply? Christopher Case is invaluable. Though published in 1996, the guide is still available There are Identify the genre for sale at various Internet retail sites, many of these such as www.amazon.com et cetera. As on the market the name suggests this reference book and in the Secondly, one needs to identify the type works much like a regular thesaurus. If, Library Service. (genre) of fi lms one intends collecting. Will for example, one of your favourite fi lms is The perfect your collection be genre specifi c, or do you E.T. - the Extra-Terrestrial, the guide will all-round guide intend to buy titles from various genres? If suggest similar titles you might want to is the perennial you have an impulsive nature, you may end consider (in this instance Old Yeller and publication up buying titles that happen to take your Free Willy). Furthermore, the guide will Leonard fancy at a particular point in time. suggest you cross reference titles under the Maltin’s Identifying your favourite genre is easier genre headings of ‘sci-fi ’, ‘boyhood’, ‘aliens’, movie guide,

Kaapse Bibliotekaris, Julie/Augustus 2010 4747 THINK AND DO CINGA WENZE

published by Signet Books. This guide usually to this is to become Internet savvy and buy best. A display case or wall unit are your retails for well under R100.00, is readily online. The regular DVD retailers in our best options. But please ensure that your available at book shops as well as in the local shopping malls generally charge much DVDs are protected from libraries, and lists approximately 17 000 titles, more for those select items you are looking dust and grime. with a simple star rating, cast information, to add to your collection. This is especially Prolonged a brief synopsis and review. Information true of older titles ( to early 1990s). exposure to regarding availability on DVD and Blu-ray is In addition, Internet retailers often have a open storage also provided. wider selection of particular titles in the can turn your Another super guide is The twelfth Virgin form of special editions, director’s cuts, et prized col- fi lm guide (currently available in its 12th cetera. lection into a edition). This guide lists only a selection of One reputable and trustworthy Internet mucky mess. signifi cant fi lms of the last eighty years (quite resource is the local company www.take2. On the other a feat!) totalling approximately 3 500 titles. co.za. Purchasing may only be done online, hand, if you Though listing fewer fi lms than Maltin’s guide, as the company does not have a physical intend to use the information given on each title is ex- retail store, but all the information you may your personal tremely detailed (full cast and crew, charac- need about the DVD title you are interested home theatre ter names, running time, awards information, in can easily be found on their web site. library for personal use only, a heavy duty detailed synopses, and fairly lengthy reviews). Delivery to your doorstep will cost you less drawer or closet may be useful. Whichever If the fi lms you are interested in are the kind than R30.00, regardless of how many titles option you choose, the most important that the publishers of this tome would con- you have ordered. Or, if you prefer, you may thing is the longevity of your collection. sider signifi cant, then this is the ultimate fi lm collect your order free of charge at their On that note, if you intend to lend out guide for you. (For this correspondent the head offi ce in Milnerton, Cape Town. your DVDs, then consider investing in a cou- Virgin Film Guide has become his second Other well-known Internet DVD retail- ple of empty DVD storage cases. It is not bible!) ers are, of course, www.amazon.com, www. recommended that you lend out your DVDs If your interests lean more toward the in- amazon.co.za, www.amazon.uk and our very in their original packaging, as many people ternational market, the so-called foreign and own www.kalahari.co.za. Yet another local do not treasure your belongings as much as ‘art house’ fi lms, then Time Out fi lm guide company which offers a very similar service you do. My personal rule is that if anyone is the way to go. Though it lists most of the to take2.co.za is www.loot.za (based in the returns a DVD to me in a less than pristine ‘regular’ fi lms on Fish Hoek area of Cape Town). the market (as with The rule of thumb here is to check, condition, then they shall never again borrow Leonard Maltin’s), it double-check, and then check again when it fi lms from me again. Something to consider. features unequalled comes to the price you eventually pay for listings of foreign your cinematic treasures. Creating an inventory and art house fi lms Once you have started building your col- often left out of lection you may want to invest in, or borrow Creating an inventory of your collection is the two previously from your local library, the excellent all- also very important. If your collection grows mentioned guides. things-fi lm guide Halliwell’s fi lm guide, and to a considerably large size, this becomes Again, as with Halliwell’s who’s who in the movies (both very important. One tends to forget what Maltin, the informa- updated and published regularly). In the lat- one has already purchased, and what not. tion is minimal, but ter guide, readers will fi nd detailed listings of In addition, a mark-off list of the fi lms you enough to make an modern day and classic actors, directors and have lent out to friends and family is a useful informed decision. Total listings in the most producers oeuvre. Even genres and themes recent edition of Time Out fi lm guide come are listed in detailed appendices, as well as tool to keep track of where your DVDs are. to about 15 000 fi lms. complete listings of all the major fi lm awards One would be surprised how easy it is to Armed with these three reference guides, handed out over the last 80-odd years, forget which movie you lent to whom and as well as the Internet Movie Database including The Oscars, The Golden Globes, when. Do not let this happen to you! Your (www.imdb.com) you are well on your way Cannes Film Festival, The BAFTA’s (British home library is a valuable addition to your to building the best home theatre library to Academy of Film and Television Arts) and household. Look after it! suit your own needs. many more. This book will prove endlessly helpful once you become more and more Pitfalls Budget familiar with the fi lms, actors and directors whose fi lms you especially enjoy. As mentioned earlier there are a few pitfalls The next very important factor in collect- one has to avoid when building your DVD ing fi lms is one that concerns most of us, Storage collection. The price you pay for your DVDs especially in these diffi cult economic times. Budget! Another important consideration is how (as mentioned before) is only one of them. Although the prices of DVDs have come and where to store your collection. If you Purchasing the wrong item is another. down considerably in the last few years, intend to watch the fi lms on a regular basis, If you are a lover of cinema, you will be many retailers are still going to try and rob or to lend them to friends and family, an quite aware that many fi lms have been re- you of your well-earned Rands. The solution easy-to-access storage option would be the made over the years (or decades for that

4848 Cape Librarian, July/August 2010 DINK EN DOEN CINGA WENZE

matter). When purchasing online (or even complete lists, or see the appendices in in-store) be very careful when purchasing Halliwell’s who’s who in the movies. titles that have been re-made. Merchants These two lists from the American Film can be very unscrupulous! Be forewarned! Institute remind one of the saying that ‘the A case in point would be the of more things change, the more things stay George A Romero’s 1968 cult classic The the same’. That certainly seems true for night of the living dead. Although the cover Mr and his once scandalous of the re-make prominently displays George . A Romero’s name, it is an inferior re-make in is a list of top three fi lms in vari- which his involvement is limited to the role ous categories that I consider noteworthy. I of producer only (as opposed to the direc- shall try and stay away from the ones listed tor on the original 1968 classic). Many fi lms above in order to avoid repetition. are issued with this kind of deliberate mis- leading packaging. So be on the lookout for Action/Adventure this, so that you may always be assured of buying exactly the right title you are search- *Journey to the centre of the earth (1959) ing for. Always check for the date of the *Jason and the argonauts (1963) original release at the bottom of the back *Captain Blood (1935) cover of the DVD, no matter how convinc- Lord of the rings trilogy (2001 to 2003) ing the front cover may look. Indiana Jones trilogy (1981; 1984; 1989 et Ultimately the most important part of cetera.) creating your home theatre collection is to have fun. Explore the resources available to Spy/Political intrigue you and do not forget that the Cape Provin- (1959) Alfred cial Library Service has an almost unlimited Hitchcock amount of books to help you in your quest. presents Have fun, be vigilant and you will soon (1936) be the proud owner of a stellar private fi lm *The conversation (1974) Francis Ford library. Coppola Films are always a matter of personal *All the president’s men (1976) Alan J Pakula taste. One person’s gem is another’s rot- The insider (1999) ten tomato. Here is a list of what of the American Film Institute (AFI) deem the top Romantic comedy ten fi lms of all time. This may help you in establishing a basis to work from, from which Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) you can use a movie thesaurus, or www.imdb. Four weddings and a funeral (1994) Mike com to fi nd similar fi lms that may be closer Newell to your preference. When Harry met Sally (1989) Refer to www.afi .com for updates and

AFI’s Top Ten American fi lms 1997 AFI’s Top Ten American fi lms 2007 10. Singin’ in the rain (1952) 10. The wizard of Oz (1939) 09. Schindler’s list (1993) 09. (1958) 08. On the waterfront (1954) 08. Schindler’s list (1993) 07. The graduate (1967) 07. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 06. The wizard of Oz (1939) 06. *Gone with the wind (1939) 05. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 05. Singin’ in the rain (1952) 04. *Gone with the wind (1939) 04. Raging Bull (1980) 03. The godfather (1972) 03. Casablanca (1942) 02. Casablanca (1942) 02. The godfather (1972) 01. *Citizen Kane (1941) 01. *Citizen Kane (1941)

Kaapse Bibliotekaris, Julie/Augustus 2010 4949 THINK AND DO CINGA WENZE

* (1950) Children of heaven (1997 Iran) Majid Majidi *Twin Peaks: fi re walk with me Amelie (2001) Jean-Pierre Jeunet Epic and/or Biblical Biographical *Helen of Troy (1956) The Queen Bringing up baby (1938) Howard Hawks *Sodom and Gomorrah (1963) Robert *Marie Antoinette The aviator Aldrich Some like it hot (1959) *Somebody up there likes me *Monty Python’s life of Brian *Gone with the wind (1939) *The young Victoria *Nothing sacred (1937) William Wellman Giant (1956) *To be or not to be (1942) Ernst Lubitch The Ten Commandments (1956) Cecil B Musical DeMille *Cabaret Ben-Hur (1959) Horror *The pyjama game Cleopatra (1963) Josep L Mankiewicz *The music man (1960) Alfred Hitchcock West Side story *The haunting (1963) Robert Wise Science Fiction/Fantasy Beauty and the beast (1974) *Meet me in St. Louis Rosemary’s baby (1968) *Logan’s run *Ringu trilogy (1998 etc) Hideo Nakata Blade runner Note: *depicts titles not in CPLS stock (Japanese original series of the American The Twenty eight days later Ring series of fi lms) *The day the earth stood still The Wicker man (1973) Robin Hardy Minority report * (1963) Alfred Hitchcock I, robot Night of the living dead (1968) George A Romero Western/American Frontier

Independent fi lms *She wore a yellow ribbon *The searchers Sex, lies and videotape (1989) Steven *Dances with wolves Soderbergh *My darling Clementine *The Blair Witch project (1999) Daniel The Ox-bow incident Myrick *The missing *The horse whisperer (1998) Robert Cold Mountain Redford American beauty (1999) Classic drama Midnight cowboy (1969) Mystery/Thriller/Psychological *Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? *King’s row Vertigo (1958) Alfred Hitchcock *Jezebel (1991) *Mildred Pierce The tenant (1976) Roman Polanski *Repulsion (1965) Roman Polanski Modern drama

Les Diaboliques The hours Midnight cowboy *Marnie (1964) Alfred Hitchcock The deer hunter Match point Foreign *Doubt The 400 blows (1959 France) Francois *The reader Truffaut La dolce vita (1960 Italy) Cult/Obscure 8 1/2 (1963 Italy) Federico Fellini The Rocky Horror picture show *La Strada (1954 Italy) Federico Fellini *Mulholland Drive *Like water for chocholate (1992 Mexico) Donnie Darko Alfonso Arau *The party *Indochine (1992 France) Regis Wargnier *The kite runner (2008 USA)

5050 Cape Librarian, July/August 2010