ericad
06-22-2007, 06:33 AM
Hey all; being new to this board, I figured I'd get to know you guys by asking the eternal geek question: If you were stuck on a deserted island for 10 years, what DVD's would you bring? ( Imagine it's the island from Lost, which apparently has plenty of power outlets ) Yeah, I know it's usually only 10 on these lists, but we're nerds here....we know 10 is simply not enough! Like they say in High Fidelity, it's not what you're like, it's what you like, so I figure the best way to get to know my fellow TRShow geeks is by seeing their DVD picks. I kinda cheated, as I counted box sets and tv season sets as one, but it's my thread so I make the rules. :) And no, I'm not expecting anyone to be as verbose as I am as to why you chose them...a simple list will suffice. I just really like to hear myself type. Ok, here's my long ass list:
#20: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Infinifilm Edition
-One of the first horror films to obsess me ( the image of Freddy emerging from out of the bed gave my ten year old self nightmares in a big way ) this movie proved that you didn't need a lot of money ( or great acting much of the time ) to tell a great story. The notion that Wes Craven had such a hard time getting studios to buy this concept shows just how shortsighted they can be. The notion of a killer who can only kill you in your dreams is a genius one, and what's more shocking is how long it took for someone to come up with it. This DVD has a really great transfer for such an old low budget movie, and a nice amount of special features.
#19: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-The OTHER important Sci Fi film of 1977; easily one of my favorite Spielberg movies, I tend to watch it at least once a year. The transfer is decent, and the special features are ok, but if there was ever a Spielberg movie that needed commentary, it's this one. And the finale will always, always give me the chills.
#18: Clerks: Tenth Anniversary Edition
-The first movie I felt was made just for me ( it turns out it was made for about a million other under achieving geeks as well ) 13 years on, Clerks remains as quotable and funny as ever. And no one puts tlc into his DVD releases like Kevin Smith. The great thing about his flicks is that the special features tend to be as funny (sometimes funnier ) than the movies themselves.
#17: The Lord of the Rings: The Extended Editions
-What can I say about these that hasn't been said?? These are the DVD equivelant of masturbation. 3 years later, I'm still pretty damn sure I haven't seen all the extras on these, there are so damn many.
#16: Carrie - 25th Anniversary Edition
-"They're all gonna laugh at you!" C'mon...we're all nerds and geeks here. Who didn't fantasize about "pulling a Carrie at the Prom" to all the assholes in High School and Jr. High?? Plus, Piper Laurie gives one of my favorite performances ever as Carrie's crazy ass religious mother. Also gets special points for introducing me to the phrase "Dirty Pillows" as a euphemism for boobies.
#15: Justice League Unlimited: Season One
- I totally love the version of the DC Universe that animator Bruce Timm created back in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series. To date, that is my favorite version of Batman. He then did Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond and Justice League, but it was in JLU where it all came together. Taking various plot threads that seem barely connected at first and making them come together in an awesome climax, as well as weaving in various story strands from the previous tv series, JLU is Bruce Timm and Company's shining moment. The action was awesome, the characterization was spot on...to me, this is a prime example of Comics Animation done right.
#14: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 3
-After the pretty awful first season, and the uneven second season, TNG really came together in year 3. In my book, this is the one year where the is not a clunker to be found, all ending with Picard becoming Locutus of Borg...possibly still the best cliffhanger ending ever.
#13: The Alien Quadrilogy
-Ok, so only the first two movies are any good. Use the others as coasters. Great transfers and extras for the movies, this set gives new meaning to the term "comprehensive". Like LOTR, I'm still not sure If I've seen everything on these sets.
#12: Interview with the Vampire: Special Edition
- Yeah, this is the one that's gonna get me a lot of shit on these boards. Whatever. The first three volumes of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are my favorite books of all time; back in high school ( eons ago ) I always had a well worn copy of one of these books, held together by a rubber band, in my backpack at all times. As a young gay teenager, the notion of staying hot and young forever, having ridiculous amounts on money, and having lots of oral sex ( we all know what the blood sucking is a metaphor for right? ) was super appealing. I fell in love with the perverted family of Lestat, Louis and Claudia instantly. So when they announced the movie version, with Tom Cruise no less, I was livid. But the movie turned out to be super faithful to the book, and It's one of the best Tom Cruise performances ever ( right along with Magnolia, Collateral, and his marriage to Katie Holmes ) And the role of child vampire Claudia? Still Kirsten Dunst's best performance to date. Too bad she couldn't have stayed that age forever like her character.
#11: Boogie Nights
-I was born in 1974, so my memories of the 70's are foggy at best. Somehow the era of my birth must have imprinted on me though, as I have a special affection for the extreme cheese of that decade...the hideous fashion, the cheesy ( but super fun ) disco and funk music, all of it. Boogie Nights captures it all without coming off as just a parody. It's one of the best ensemble casts ever, and I knew right then and there that if Mark Whalberg played his cards right and didn't go down the path of Dirk Diggler for real, he would one day end up with an Oscar nomination. during the first half of this movie, you make fun of these characters for there simplistic, indulgent ways, and by the second half, you feel horribly sorry for them. Not to mention, easily one of the best soundtracks of all time. This DVD is light on the extras ( with the exception of a great commentery track from PT Anderson where he says the word "****" like 300 times ) but my deserted island experience would simply suck even more without Dirk Diggler, Amber Waves, and Rollergirl.
#10. Blue Velvet
- At age 15, after having discovered and becoming obsessed with David Lynch's Twin Peaks, I went and devoured anything Lynch I could find. Blue Velvet was like Twin Peaks, but without censors and restrictions. It's mix of innocent love and extreme perversion like only David Lynch could do. Dennis Hopper as Frank is one of the most quotable performances ever. Briliant from begining to end. And the transfer on the most recent Special Edition is very, very nice.
#20: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Infinifilm Edition
-One of the first horror films to obsess me ( the image of Freddy emerging from out of the bed gave my ten year old self nightmares in a big way ) this movie proved that you didn't need a lot of money ( or great acting much of the time ) to tell a great story. The notion that Wes Craven had such a hard time getting studios to buy this concept shows just how shortsighted they can be. The notion of a killer who can only kill you in your dreams is a genius one, and what's more shocking is how long it took for someone to come up with it. This DVD has a really great transfer for such an old low budget movie, and a nice amount of special features.
#19: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
-The OTHER important Sci Fi film of 1977; easily one of my favorite Spielberg movies, I tend to watch it at least once a year. The transfer is decent, and the special features are ok, but if there was ever a Spielberg movie that needed commentary, it's this one. And the finale will always, always give me the chills.
#18: Clerks: Tenth Anniversary Edition
-The first movie I felt was made just for me ( it turns out it was made for about a million other under achieving geeks as well ) 13 years on, Clerks remains as quotable and funny as ever. And no one puts tlc into his DVD releases like Kevin Smith. The great thing about his flicks is that the special features tend to be as funny (sometimes funnier ) than the movies themselves.
#17: The Lord of the Rings: The Extended Editions
-What can I say about these that hasn't been said?? These are the DVD equivelant of masturbation. 3 years later, I'm still pretty damn sure I haven't seen all the extras on these, there are so damn many.
#16: Carrie - 25th Anniversary Edition
-"They're all gonna laugh at you!" C'mon...we're all nerds and geeks here. Who didn't fantasize about "pulling a Carrie at the Prom" to all the assholes in High School and Jr. High?? Plus, Piper Laurie gives one of my favorite performances ever as Carrie's crazy ass religious mother. Also gets special points for introducing me to the phrase "Dirty Pillows" as a euphemism for boobies.
#15: Justice League Unlimited: Season One
- I totally love the version of the DC Universe that animator Bruce Timm created back in 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series. To date, that is my favorite version of Batman. He then did Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond and Justice League, but it was in JLU where it all came together. Taking various plot threads that seem barely connected at first and making them come together in an awesome climax, as well as weaving in various story strands from the previous tv series, JLU is Bruce Timm and Company's shining moment. The action was awesome, the characterization was spot on...to me, this is a prime example of Comics Animation done right.
#14: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 3
-After the pretty awful first season, and the uneven second season, TNG really came together in year 3. In my book, this is the one year where the is not a clunker to be found, all ending with Picard becoming Locutus of Borg...possibly still the best cliffhanger ending ever.
#13: The Alien Quadrilogy
-Ok, so only the first two movies are any good. Use the others as coasters. Great transfers and extras for the movies, this set gives new meaning to the term "comprehensive". Like LOTR, I'm still not sure If I've seen everything on these sets.
#12: Interview with the Vampire: Special Edition
- Yeah, this is the one that's gonna get me a lot of shit on these boards. Whatever. The first three volumes of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are my favorite books of all time; back in high school ( eons ago ) I always had a well worn copy of one of these books, held together by a rubber band, in my backpack at all times. As a young gay teenager, the notion of staying hot and young forever, having ridiculous amounts on money, and having lots of oral sex ( we all know what the blood sucking is a metaphor for right? ) was super appealing. I fell in love with the perverted family of Lestat, Louis and Claudia instantly. So when they announced the movie version, with Tom Cruise no less, I was livid. But the movie turned out to be super faithful to the book, and It's one of the best Tom Cruise performances ever ( right along with Magnolia, Collateral, and his marriage to Katie Holmes ) And the role of child vampire Claudia? Still Kirsten Dunst's best performance to date. Too bad she couldn't have stayed that age forever like her character.
#11: Boogie Nights
-I was born in 1974, so my memories of the 70's are foggy at best. Somehow the era of my birth must have imprinted on me though, as I have a special affection for the extreme cheese of that decade...the hideous fashion, the cheesy ( but super fun ) disco and funk music, all of it. Boogie Nights captures it all without coming off as just a parody. It's one of the best ensemble casts ever, and I knew right then and there that if Mark Whalberg played his cards right and didn't go down the path of Dirk Diggler for real, he would one day end up with an Oscar nomination. during the first half of this movie, you make fun of these characters for there simplistic, indulgent ways, and by the second half, you feel horribly sorry for them. Not to mention, easily one of the best soundtracks of all time. This DVD is light on the extras ( with the exception of a great commentery track from PT Anderson where he says the word "****" like 300 times ) but my deserted island experience would simply suck even more without Dirk Diggler, Amber Waves, and Rollergirl.
#10. Blue Velvet
- At age 15, after having discovered and becoming obsessed with David Lynch's Twin Peaks, I went and devoured anything Lynch I could find. Blue Velvet was like Twin Peaks, but without censors and restrictions. It's mix of innocent love and extreme perversion like only David Lynch could do. Dennis Hopper as Frank is one of the most quotable performances ever. Briliant from begining to end. And the transfer on the most recent Special Edition is very, very nice.