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Do you double-dip on DVDs?
I’ve read some DVD news recently that made me jump for joy and gnash my teeth at the same time.
The good news is that new editions of some Universal Hitchcock films, and the Godfather trilogy are coming our way.
The bad news is …. I already had the old editions, which had some nice extras on them.
According to The Digital Bits, in October, Universal will release new 2-disc edition sets of Psycho, Vertigo and Rear Window, the three most illustrious titles in their library. All of the sets will contain content not on the original discs, including excerpts from the legendary Hitchcock/Truffaut interviews, which I would LOVE to hear. Details are here. (No word on Blu-Ray versions, for you hi-def converts.)
As if that weren’t enough, in September, Paramount will release a new version of the Godfather films, which not only have extras new to the set, but feature transfers of the first two films restored by Robert Harris, the go-to guy on making old movies look new. He worked similar magic on Rear Window, Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia and other films. Details on that set are here. The Godfather sets will be on Blu-Ray.
Such double-dipping has been the bane of many a DVD collector. The Hitchcock titles are especially aggravating, because technically, those are triple-dips, and I had the first two versions. What I usually do is ask myself, “Are the new materials worth the price?” I don’t know about you, but I am sorely tempted.
While we’re on the subject of DVDs, there will be a cool new version of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, released at the same time as the Hitch sets, which will contain all the versions of that film. I’m all over that. And in other Hitch news, in October MGM will release a box set of their Hitch titles, including Rebecca, Spellbound, Notorious, The Paradine Case, Sabotage, Young and Innocent, Lifeboat and The Lodger - all with nice extras. Somebody must know October is my birthday month.
Finally, here are today’s new titles: The Ruins, Stop Loss, and, if you must, Superhero Movie, none of which I got to see, for better or worse.
What do you do when a new DVD edition of a movie you already own comes out? What titles do you own more than one copy of?
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By SRCputt
July 9, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this
In Bruges is in my Netflix queue. As for double dipping, I have only done it once. I had a copy of The Matrix on DVD and then a couple of years later bought the megaset (10 discs) of The Matrix trilogy.By Allie D.
July 8, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
Well doesn’t that just bite?? Ordinarily, I would consider it and then either sell or (or give away, depending on how much I paid for my version) my old version for the new one. But since I already have the Universal Hitch boxed set, I can’t see doing that, so I’m gonna have to probably sit out the Universal Hitch retreads. If they were Criterions, though, I’d have to rethink it. I am, however, going to be ALL OVER the MGM set. Wow! Finally I’ll have my own copy of Rebecca! And the other movies are great. Oh, I also already have the Godfather collection. Jeez. Of the new titles, I’ve seen The Ruins. It was actually sort of decent. As for a relatively new title, I highly, highly recommend In Bruges.