DVDBeaver

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#601 Post by Zot! » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:08 pm

I’m not interested in participating in the discourse any longer, as I’m not sure if I understand how the world works anymore. However, what do we make of the fact that DVD Beaver has promoted the works of Filmmakers of all races for years? You’d have to be a hell of a masochist to compare the two versions of 1000 hours of Pioneers of African American Cinema, if you held a bigoted viewpoint and to top it off give it your “highest recommendation”. Take a look, its hardly an isolated example.

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FrauBlucher
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Re: DVDBeaver

#602 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:10 pm

Clearly this thread mirrors the polarization of society. For those that will give Gary the benefit of the doubt that he is not a nazi will continue to visit his site (which I fall under) and the others who think he is evil and complicit will want him flogged and have his cinema privileges taken away. Nothing will be settled, but the question that remains is if someone posts his review will a mod delete it from the boards?

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Grand Wazoo
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:23 pm

Re: DVDBeaver

#603 Post by Grand Wazoo » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:53 pm

I would think that DVD Beaver review link puns are form last remaining bi-partisan consensus in the US.

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furbicide
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:52 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#604 Post by furbicide » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:12 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:10 pm
Clearly this thread mirrors the polarization of society. For those that will give Gary the benefit of the doubt that he is not a nazi will continue to visit his site (which I fall under) and the others who think he is evil and complicit will want him flogged and have his cinema privileges taken away. Nothing will be settled, but the question that remains is if someone posts his review will a mod delete it from the boards?
To be fair, I don’t think there’s remotely been any suggestion of that. Otherwise, as the exchange between JTS and swo shows, there’s actually quite a lot at stake in how we respond to cases like this, and more measured and nuanced approaches like DarkImbecile’s do still have consequences in one direction or other (in this case, a de facto boycott). Personally, I’ve always been a strong believer in playing the ball, not the man; that is to say, we achieve much more political progress by confronting and attacking the harmful ideology, not exercising mob punishment on the individuals (possibly?) under its sway. A worldview based on disenfranchisement and misdirected anger doesn’t tend to collapse under the weight of further ostracisation, whereas critical, non-enabling friendship/association from those who feel they can offer it can be a substantial force for good. (And to those inclined to respond “but isn’t it our right to not visit Tooze’s website if we don’t feel like it anymore?”, the answer is yes, of course it is. But all actions have consequences.)

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#605 Post by swo17 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:30 pm

furbicide wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:12 pm
as the exchange between JTS and swo shows, there’s actually quite a lot at stake in how we respond to cases like this
I'm not sure I even understand what happened here. In my view, JTS was expressing unrealistic if not outright dangerous opinions, I attempted (perhaps poorly) to turn his own argument against him, and suddenly everyone was backing away. I don't find, say, fdm's subsequent eyeroll post to be very helpful because I legitimately don't know to which side it's directed. I should have thought it went without saying that my last comment was in no way defending white nationalism, but here I am clarifying just to make sure.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: DVDBeaver

#606 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:45 pm

swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:30 pm
I should have thought it went without saying that my last comment was in no way defending white nationalism, but here I am clarifying just to make sure.
I should have thought it was clear too. ;-)

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denti alligator
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"

Re: DVDBeaver

#607 Post by denti alligator » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:19 pm

Nothing's stopping Gary, a member here, from posting in this thread and setting the record straight. Surely he's aware of the turn the thread has taken. It says something that he's remained silent.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: DVDBeaver

#608 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:22 pm

Zot! wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:08 pm
However, what do we make of the fact that DVD Beaver has promoted the works of Filmmakers of all races for years? You’d have to be a hell of a masochist to compare the two versions of 1000 hours of Pioneers of African American Cinema, if you held a bigoted viewpoint and to top it off give it your “highest recommendation”. Take a look, its hardly an isolated example.
Wholeheartedly agree.
furbicide wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:12 pm
FrauBlucher wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:10 pm
but the question that remains is if someone posts his review will a mod delete it from the boards?
To be fair, I don’t think there’s remotely been any suggestion of that.
I don't know that. Nothing has been suggested either way. It sounds like there are non mods here that would remove the reviews in a blink.
swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:30 pm
In my view, JTS was expressing unrealistic if not outright dangerous opinions
This is what made me post as well. I got what you were saying. btw... I'm sorry you deleted your post about the awful puns.

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#609 Post by swo17 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:24 pm

denti alligator wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:19 pm
Nothing's stopping Gary, a member here, from posting in this thread and setting the record straight. Surely he's aware of the turn the thread has taken. It says something that he's remained silent.
Gary hasn't logged into our forum since 2010

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denti alligator
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Re: DVDBeaver

#610 Post by denti alligator » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:35 pm

Fine, but he could.

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Michael Kerpan
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Re: DVDBeaver

#611 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:39 pm

I haven't seen any deletion of links to DVD Beaver reviews....

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#612 Post by swo17 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 pm

denti alligator wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:35 pm
Fine, but he could.
I was just about to say that he would have to log in to know what we're saying about him here, but if he suddenly stopped following that account on Twitter...

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denti alligator
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Re: DVDBeaver

#613 Post by denti alligator » Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:53 pm

swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:41 pm
denti alligator wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:35 pm
Fine, but he could.
I was just about to say that he would have to log in to know what we're saying about him here, but if he suddenly stopped following that account on Twitter...
You don't have to log in to see this discussion, do you?

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swo17
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Re: DVDBeaver

#614 Post by swo17 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:05 pm

I guess not. I thought it would be a natural thing to log in when you visit the site if you have an account, but who knows?

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furbicide
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:52 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#615 Post by furbicide » Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:34 pm

swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:30 pm
furbicide wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:12 pm
as the exchange between JTS and swo shows, there’s actually quite a lot at stake in how we respond to cases like this
I'm not sure I even understand what happened here. In my view, JTS was expressing unrealistic if not outright dangerous opinions, I attempted (perhaps poorly) to turn his own argument against him, and suddenly everyone was backing away. I don't find, say, fdm's subsequent eyeroll post to be very helpful because I legitimately don't know to which side it's directed. I should have thought it went without saying that my last comment was in no way defending white nationalism, but here I am clarifying just to make sure.
I hope it didn't seem that I was implying anything like that – by 'as the exchange shows', I meant something like 'as the fundamentally distinct approaches suggested by each posters' positions show', i.e. whether to respond to white nationalism through aggression and ostracisation or through critical engagement and reaching out (for what it's worth, I support your responses to JTS 100%). Otherwise, I take it as a given that all posters commenting here are opposed to white supremacist politics and see it as something that needs to be resisted (certainly, there haven't been any posts in this thread suggesting otherwise).

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#616 Post by tenia » Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:58 am

swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:05 pm
I guess not. I thought it would be a natural thing to log in when you visit the site if you have an account, but who knows?
I'm often disconnected from my account here for whatever reason, and end up reading most of it unlogged unless / until I post something.

JabbaTheSlut
Joined: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:37 am
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Re: DVDBeaver

#617 Post by JabbaTheSlut » Mon Apr 08, 2019 3:30 am

swo17 wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:30 pm
furbicide wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:12 pm
as the exchange between JTS and swo shows, there’s actually quite a lot at stake in how we respond to cases like this
I'm not sure I even understand what happened here. In my view, JTS was expressing unrealistic if not outright dangerous opinions, I attempted (perhaps poorly) to turn his own argument against him, and suddenly everyone was backing away. I don't find, say, fdm's subsequent eyeroll post to be very helpful because I legitimately don't know to which side it's directed. I should have thought it went without saying that my last comment was in no way defending white nationalism, but here I am clarifying just to make sure.
I got it too. But I would’ve sunken in the world of endless analogies, cancer and body organs, house and fire la-di-da. But, as I’ve read this thread, it’s filled with reasonable people in a calm discussion about this matter, I get my coat and go punching my nazis elsewhere.

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DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: DVDBeaver

#618 Post by DeprongMori » Mon Apr 08, 2019 5:20 pm

Anyone trying to split this into a binary of either “Gary is a Nazi” or “there is no problem” is doing a disservice to the conversation. The “white nationalism” problem exists along a spectrum and is unfortunately getting worse domestically and globally.

What was once Randian “makers vs takers” rhetoric during the 2012 Romney campaign became “immigrants are parasites” and “You/Jews shall not replace us!” by the time of the 2016 Trump campaign. People (like Tooze) who bought into the whole Ayn Rand thing early on and who watch Fox News regularly (especially Lou Dobbs and Tucker Carlson) are getting fed white nationalism and white supremacy through mainstream channels. It’s insidious. I’m not surprised at all that Tooze ended up following a “ProWhitesUnite” Twitter account given the “mainstream” right-wing Twitter accounts he follows. He probably didn’t even give it much thought as to how he got there versus where he (presumably) began. I hope he sees this conversation and takes a hard look at that journey. I’m guessing he is still reachable, but I don’t know who has enough of his trust to reach him.

”Ex–white nationalist Derek Black said in a recent interview that his family "watches Tucker Carlson show once and then watches it on the replay because they feel that he is making the white nationalist talking points better than they have and they’re trying to get some tips on how to advance it." And as long as he commands such a large and devoted audience, it's unlikely that Fox News will drop Carlson anytime soon.”

Anyone who boarded the “conservative” train some years back and doesn’t have a lot of introspection is at risk of just being carried on down the road to Charlottesville.

dcsmith
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 11:57 pm

New Podcast with Gary of DVDBeaver

#619 Post by dcsmith » Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:26 pm

Hi,

I've just started a new podcast called Living in the Future. It's on iTunes and at www.livinginthefuture.rocks . In the first episode I've recorded an Interview with Gary from DVDBeaver. It's a super interesting conversation about film, the site, and his process.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: DVDBeaver

#620 Post by domino harvey » Thu Jun 06, 2019 12:27 am

Am I missing something or isn't the Blu-ray release of Hud reviewed and screencapped here just an up-rez of the SD? It doesn't look HD at all

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: DVDBeaver

#621 Post by Finch » Thu Jun 06, 2019 2:07 am

Tooze seems to have scaled back his own reviews. The vast majority of recent postings are by Colin Zavitz who seems to at least spell-check his stuff and can string a coherent sentence together.

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: DVDBeaver

#622 Post by tenia » Thu Jun 06, 2019 3:58 am

domino harvey wrote:
Thu Jun 06, 2019 12:27 am
Am I missing something or isn't the Blu-ray release of Hud reviewed and screencapped here just an up-rez of the SD? It doesn't look HD at all
Wow, it indeed doesn't look HD at all. :shock:

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How rude!
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 1:36 am

Re: DVDBeaver

#623 Post by How rude! » Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:15 am

Finch wrote:
Thu Jun 06, 2019 2:07 am
Tooze seems to have scaled back his own reviews. The vast majority of recent postings are by Colin Zavitz who seems to at least spell-check his stuff and can string a coherent sentence together.
That is harsh. If you still buy dvd and blu-ray, or have done so over the last couple of decades, Dvdbeaver has been the go to site for an idea of quality of the the releases. I have viewed this criterionforum.com since the beginning, and there was a moment when a former Eureka staff member had a public argument with the site over the approach to screen captures (which should have been a private correspondence). A vocal group of followers here started a long-running 'Tooze' witchhunt, which continues to this day. Some of the same people are now trawling his social media sites, looking for new ways to criticise the man. If you don't like his politics, don't follow him. It is very easy. don't visit Dvdbeaver. Buy physical media using the images from blu-ray.com, et al.

The pack mentality is dispiriting. This used to be a vibrant site. There is enough shit to wade through online. This site needs to rise above this. At it's best, criterionforum provides some of the very best film criticism online. Dvdbeaver provides an unparalleled database of physical fim media. In the end, our own eyes make a judgement.

Make criterionforum great again!

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tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
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Re: DVDBeaver

#624 Post by tenia » Thu Jun 06, 2019 7:46 am

It's not really a pack mentality. Beaver caps are not reliable, and the text reviews are most often quite superficial when they're not plainly wrong.

While Beaver offers LOTS of reviews and include Scan discs and extra features exact runtime, their technical sections have always been vastly lacking in exactness and thoroughness, which should be basic grounds for questioning its usefulness.

Which we do.

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: DVDBeaver

#625 Post by Finch » Thu Jun 06, 2019 12:53 pm

I don't care about Gary's politics, for what it's worth, and if you scroll through the last few pages, I never got involved in the Patreon etc debate. I've said before though that Gary should proof-read his reviews more: spelling mistakes I can live with, but several of his reviews include sentences that don't make sense. He's gone on record that he doesn't care about typos. Fine, it's his site and he can do whatever he wants with it, but when you read a sentence of his and are left thinking, what's he even meaning with that?, then that goes beyond spelling mistakes. One could also touch on the fact that he often just copies and pastes data across even if it leads to contradictions regarding a disc's region code, and that he often only picks screengrabs from a film's first 20 or so minutes. I mean, I get it, it's timeconsuming to grab all those images and then upload them etc, and he may feel that the screengrabs and his review in itself matters more than grammar and coherent sentences but then I think he's fair game for criticism regarding the latter.

And for all the gripes I have, I still much prefer Beaver over Blu-Ray.com and the likes of Svet Atanasov. Gary may be sloppy with the detail and writing but he's not arrogant and self-deluded about his actual expertise. I'm glad Beaver exists but I think it's fair to say that Gary could still exert a bit more attention to detail. I'll offer a mea culpa and say that I could have commented in a less snide manner and I'll try to do better going forward.

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