DVD Library

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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milk114
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:38 pm
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#1 Post by milk114 » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:53 am

I'm curious how everyone organizes their dvds. I had mine all together alphabetized by director then year, but started finding I was gettting more and more documentaries with directors who I couldn't remember.

So now I have TV, Animation, Music Video, Shorts, Documentary, then Features. Now the problem is theme-based box sets with different directors... so they hang out at the end of the shelf.

I used to live near DVD Planet's store and they had a similar breakdown (but alphabetized by title). I was quite upset when they reorganized by genre because it made quite a few titles harder to find (if it didn't neatly fit in Comedy or Action it became Drama).

How do others organize or do you just stack them or throw them on a shelf or what?

javelin
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#2 Post by javelin » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:33 am

I'm at 163 DVDs (give or take a few, cause I have 'em databased by film, not DVD.) I organize them alphabetically. Simple as that. Umm, if it's a foreign title like L'Eclisse, it goes under "E", not "L." You can surmise how that would translate to other films.

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The Invunche
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#3 Post by The Invunche » Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:05 am

200 something titles. Alphabetically.

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lord_clyde
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2004 4:22 am
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#4 Post by lord_clyde » Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:10 am

My 'regular' dvds are listed alphabetically, then i have boxed sets (also alpha), the Criterion co (by spine), anime, and James Bond films (in order of release). I usually classifly a 'boxed set' as anything with three discs or more, or just has a huge box, but I've been pretty lax on that lately (Suspiria 3 disc goes in with the normies). I guess its best to organize them so that their easy to find though, so if you have a lot of dvds breaking them down by director or genre is a good idea. My friends dad has over 3,000 dvds, on shelves throughout the entire house that is divided up by genre, just like if they were in a video store.

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milk114
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:38 pm
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#5 Post by milk114 » Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:24 am

I guess I originally organized by director just as you would organize books by author... which I guess is really just as arbitrary as any other systematic organization technique. I wonder too, when you say x# of dvds, does that count titles only or individual discs? How does something like Criterion's Killer or Lower Depths work into that (though double billings still seem pretty rare).

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godardslave
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#6 Post by godardslave » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:16 am

i have mine buried in a hole under some flowers at the back of the yard.

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Oedipax
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:48 am
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#7 Post by Oedipax » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:28 am

I do the alpha by director & then year thing also, but I have a separate section for films that are, at least at this point, more one-offs than part of any larger body of work (City of God would be one example). Then I also have a music DVD section, and a section of stuff I'll probably sell.

I used to do the Criterion spine thing, but it really wasn't that practical. It does look cool though.

As for the arbitrariness, I do think it's just a matter of personal preference... When I'm deciding what to watch I tend to think more in terms of directors, genres, or time periods than individual films, at least at the beginning, so the director system is better for that. But if I do have a specific movie in mind, it's obviously not a problem to find.

jcelwin
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#8 Post by jcelwin » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:37 am

godardslave wrote:i have mine buried in a hole under some flowers at the back of the yard.
What kind of flowers? And, how were you able to bury something in a hole? And a hole under flowers at that? I'm intrigued.

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Nihonophile
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#9 Post by Nihonophile » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:54 am

this criteria is very specific and cannot be deviated from: I have my horror movies together, films by Fukasaku are together and in order by theatrical release date, the criterions are in order by spine number and everything else goes where it would blend the best amongst the colors of the dvds near it.

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godardslave
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:44 pm
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#10 Post by godardslave » Fri Apr 15, 2005 4:58 am

jcelwin wrote:
godardslave wrote:i have mine buried in a hole under some flowers at the back of the yard.
What kind of flowers? And, how were you able to bury something in a hole? And a hole under flowers at that? I'm intrigued.
the flowers are roses.
red roses, ordered by year of seed.
the hole is exactly 1.275 metres cubed in volume.
dirt from the hole is ordered by color of dirt.
my dvds are thrown in the hole in a random mess.

Sai
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:26 pm

#11 Post by Sai » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:31 am

I have two bookcases that are open on both sides. On one side I've put all director's of whom I own a box in order of director (Bergman/Cassavetes/Chaplin/etc.) and television stuff. On the other side one bookcase is for directors of whom I have more than one movie, sorted on director, and the other case is for movies by directors of whom I only have one movie, sorted alphabetically.

Totally useless thread by the way. But fun.

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swingo
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#12 Post by swingo » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:56 am

Alphabetically, and the two box sets I own (Cassavetes and Herzog/Kinski).


Axel.

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Alonzo the Armless
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#13 Post by Alonzo the Armless » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:24 am

Box sets in a book shelf and the rest alphabetically in a DVD case.

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exte
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 4:27 pm
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#14 Post by exte » Fri Apr 15, 2005 12:53 pm

Do you put everything in slim-packs? I've heard of a couple other people doing this... what happens when there's a fat booklet included? What about the really nice cases or box sets, like CC's Brazil? You just toss that, or put away for safe keeping? I'm really curious...

I've thought about organizing by director, but somehow I think I'd become more of a completist. I have 350+ dvds, depending on how you count them... They're mostly sorted by the alphabet, but I do have the Kurosawa and Hitchcock films separate. I don't care about getting every Hitchcock film as much as I do Kurosawa's, but even then I don't buy everything. I do keep tv separate (though I've heavily refrained from buying season sets), and the boxsets separate. Now, though, my dvds have spilled into another room with some organization, but basically stacked on shelves somewhere. (I buy too many of these fucking things.)

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justeleblanc
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#15 Post by justeleblanc » Fri Apr 15, 2005 1:11 pm

I have about 280, by director with the exception of TV which go alphabetically. I used to have by "Creater" but then I couldn't figure out whether to organize Seinfeld by David or Seinfeld.

I find this system works pretty well, but the Warner Comedy box kinda was screwy. I kept the box but took the DVDs out of it.

Universal's box's throw me. The Marx Bros I organize by M, but it's the Cooper box that's going to throw me. I just may not get it, simply for neurotic principles.

I used to have everything organized by American release date, but it kept freaking me out. I actually prefer color coded. With the blacks and the whites and the grays on one shelf. And the blues, yellows, reds, greens, oranges, purples on the others. It was pretty trippy and I recommend it.

One night when I was sleepwalking I organized my DVDs by syllables and then by # of letters, but that was before my medication.

When I was on vacation, my roommate organized my DVDs by the number of actresses in the film he wants to have sex with and how badly he wants to have sex with them. That's when I learned he had a thing for Shelley Duvall.

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cdnchris
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#16 Post by cdnchris » Fri Apr 15, 2005 2:11 pm

I think I'm going to do what JustLeBlanc's roommate apparently did and sort by actresses I want to get it on with. But I'm not sure what to do with Deliverance. Ned Beatty just isn't that sexy, despite that ass. So I guess that would be last, after Secret Honor.

I'm unoriginal. I have way too many DVDs so I just do it alphabetical, except I've always sorted my Criterions by spine (and can't get past that as hard as I try) and put the box sets somewhere else. I think my wife has OCD, though, because one day when I was at work I came home to discover all the box sets were in alphabetical order where before they were just wherever they fit.

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Andre Jurieu
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#17 Post by Andre Jurieu » Fri Apr 15, 2005 2:44 pm

JusteLeblanc wrote: ... my roommate organized my DVDs by the number of actresses in the film he wants to have sex with and how badly he wants to have sex with them.
Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
JusteLeblanc wrote: That's when I learned he had a thing for Shelley Duvall.
Disturbing! Utterly disturbing!

sherlockjr
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2004 8:34 pm
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#18 Post by sherlockjr » Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:19 pm

I like to kept it as simple as possible so that my wife (who doesn't watch foreign films) and I can find movies as easily as possible. So, there are two categories:

English language films, alphabetically (w/ box sets at the end)
Foreign language films, alphabeticaly (w/ box sets at the end)

By the way, some very nice humor going on in this thread. Nice to see.

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backstreetsbackalright
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:49 pm
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#19 Post by backstreetsbackalright » Fri Apr 15, 2005 5:10 pm

When I outgrew my first shelf I found it jarring to have an alphabetical arrangment of, say, A-M on a vertical shelf and N-Z on a horizontal one, so I pulled out all the Criterions and organized them by spine number on the horizontal shelf. This is preposterously elitist, but its the best I can do without the creation of spreadsheets. MY old roomate had a pretty nice system where he organized everything chronologically, which really gave him valuable perspective. It immediately became clear that 20% of his collection dated after 1998, something he actively worked to change. 1958-1962 had a strong showing. He had very few movies from the 1980s. But he had tons from the 1970s, which caused him to go on the 1970s rental tear that turned him on to some of his new favorites. Even if you don't store/display the DVDs in this order, its useful to sort them that way just to see how it looks.

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essrog
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:24 pm
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#20 Post by essrog » Fri Apr 15, 2005 6:28 pm

I don't think anyone has touched on the incendiary topic of what to do with a significant other's DVD collection. I had no problem telling my fiance, whom I adore, that I would not have her The Cutting Edge sidling up next to my Citizen Kane. So basically, one shelf is dedicated to her modest collection, mixed with my DVDs that she can actually stand (sports movies, comedies like The Blues Brothers, etc.)

Other than that, I've got Criterions organized alphabetically by director, westerns together on one shelf, film noir together on another shelf (I'm just starting to get a modest number in these genres I really like), and everything else ordered chronologically, with directors grouped together.

This is a thread I'm embarrassed to be posting in, but have always secretly hoped someone would broach. God love you, milk114.

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cdnchris
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#21 Post by cdnchris » Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:38 pm

Gee, even I won't keep my wife's DVDs from mixing in with mine. I had no problem with throwing my wife's DVDs in with my collection. I just moved around some discs and stuck them in alphabetically as well.

A Walk to Remember rocks!!! And it definitely deserves to be in there with Citizen Kane and Rage of Honor!

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devlinnn
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:23 am
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#22 Post by devlinnn » Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:44 pm

I don't think anyone has touched on the incendiary topic of what to do with a significant other's DVD collection.
Luckily, I don't have that problem with DVDs. However, after all these years it still grates me to have to see her Tori Amos CDs lines up against my Apartments collection, and (ugh) Tim Buckley next to the Burnside and Kate Bush work. Thankfully she has never found where I hid the Violent Femmes best of.
Do you put everything in slim-packs? I've heard of a couple other people doing this... what happens when there's a fat booklet included? What about the really nice cases or box sets, like CC's Brazil? You just toss that, or put away for safe keeping? I'm really curious...
The DVDs are kept in paper sleeves or cd-single slimlines, housed in shoe boxes. The sleeves and booklets kept in folders. Major sets (Cassavettes, Herzog etc.) are kept together in the book shelves. Face it, DVDs are friggin' ugly and take up too much space. Once you get over the fact that their value is minimal asthetically, you have more room to place the joys of 7" singles, nudie postcards from the 30s, and deco glassware.

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godardslave
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#23 Post by godardslave » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:07 pm

devlinnn wrote:The sleeves and booklets kept in folders. Major sets (Cassavettes, Herzog etc.) are kept together in the book shelves. Face it, DVDs are friggin' ugly and take up too much space.
i dont think DVDs are ugly at all.
and what do you mean by "DVDs";

the plastic cases?
the actual discs?
the artwork?

But keeping all the sleeves and booklets in folders seems pretty ugly and messy to me.

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devlinnn
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#24 Post by devlinnn » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:18 pm

But keeping all the sleeves and booklets in folders seems pretty ugly and messy to me.
Not when kept out of site, out of mind.
i dont think DVDs are ugly at all.
Each to their own. But when space is limited, and one enjoys a more sparse, less cluttered view, piles of plastic cases lined up against each other just don't make the grade anymore.

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Poncho Punch
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#25 Post by Poncho Punch » Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:48 pm

As much as I like my little collection, devlinnn has a point. The plastic cases really aren't that aesthetically pleasing. I keep my DVDs in my dresser/wardrobe thing. Top drawer has the majority of my feature films on DVD, arranged alphabetically by title. In the gap on the side where I couldn't fit another row, I have the Anchor Bay Repo Man license plate tin, Koyaanisqatsi & Powaqqatsi (had two too many DVDs to fit the way I have them arranged, these seemed like a logical pair to set aside), and the Chronological Donald, Vol. 1 tin. The next drawer down is Criterion, Cowboy Bebop, and my small Takashi Miike collection, as well as some assorted VHS (including eight Disney Animated Classics, and Bedknobs & Broomsticks). My music DVDs, which, due to limited space in the drawers, include Style Wars and the Palm/Director's Label series, are located in a cardboard box on the shelf in my closet.

It's nice to have everything out of the way, but with how well packed it all is, it's a pain to loan out discs (but what can I say, I'm a nice guy. And I get an ego boost out of it). Not to mention having to reorganize every time I buy something new. So, I pretty much spend my money on booze and drugs now. All I have to worry about these days is whether I want to watch The Animation Show or The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter after going out for a "walk". Incidentally, those two (along with The Hire) are the only DVDs I have visible in my room, sitting right next to the TV at all times.

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