Thanks to everyone who voted to advise me of what film I should watch. The results were as follows:
I already own copies of Apocalypse Now and Chinatown so I will ensure they both get viewed very soon. There is a seperate issue about whether I should watch the Redux version of the former (has come highly recommended but I’m still sore about the fact that it was released a month after I bought the original version on DVD).
Joe Otten suggested that I take out a LoveFilm subscription instead of buying DVDs. My problem with that is that I often go weeks without watching a film on DVD at all and I’m not convinced these subscription services suit me. But it did remind me of an idea I had a couple of months ago that I keep meaning to explore further: that of organising a DVD swap shop.
The rules would be simple.
1. Go to pub with shopping bag full of DVDs that I have no intention of ever watching again.
2. Meet other people with shopping bags full of DVDs that they have no intention of ever watching again.
3. Swap DVDs – no money may exchange hands (as it is no fun and possibly taxable, etc.) although bartering with drinks and pub snacks may be acceptable.
4. Get pissed with fellow swappers. Much merriment to be had by all.
Is this a goer? Would anyone reading this be up for a London event like this? Or would people just end up trying to swap all their rubbish films for good stuff and the whole thing would fall down pretty quickly. Would it be simpler all round just to skip to 4 and be done with it?
I don’t know. Any thoughts?
No thoughts on your idea, I’m afraid, but I do want to chime in to recommend “Redux”. It is on the long side, with at least one sequence that could easily have stayed cut, but the ending is a very substantial improvement on the shorter version.
Lovefilm have a “pay as you go” tariff too, where you pay a set amount for a set amount of discs regardless of how long it takes you to get through them.
I like the idea – you could do a sort of ‘Liberal Drinks with DVDs’ or I suppose book too.
Sounds like BookCrossing meets, which I can attest to being good fun if you can find like-minded people. If I were closer to London, I’d be tempted!
I’m in London and would be up for that in principle, but my availability is generally pretty dreadful; weeknights are permanently booked with yoga, keep fit, music group and family commitments, and weekends fill up months in advance.
I think you should watch both the original of “Apocalypse Now” and the redux version – the inserted scenes (or cuts, depending on your point of view!) make the redux version a quite different film.