How to Avoid Buying Poor Quality DVD Movies

By John Howard Reid

To date, there are only four ways to check on DVD quality prior to purchase:

1. Consult an internet source such as "imdb" or "inthebalcony.com".

2. Rely on the testimony of friends and acquaintances.

3. Ask the dealer.

4. Use a reference book.

Unfortunately, all of these methods have drawbacks. Internet sites sometimes provide a guide to DVD quality, particularly if the release is a major offering from a major company. On the other hand, releases from specialist firms that cater for the devoted classic movie fan are almost always ignored, even when these particular DVDs are widely advertised and sold.

Friends and acquaintances who share an interest in classic and vintage Hollywood are usually more helpful, but there is obviously a tendency among members of such formal or informal groups to wait until someone else has purchased a particular item. This may take some time. In some cases, the desired DVD may even go out of print!

Despite the fact that they are selling DVDs day in and day out, dealers have little, if any knowledge of technical quality. Asking a dealer about the technical quality of a particular DVD is generally a waste of time.

There are, however, guides in monthly magazines like "Classic Images" and there are also a number of reference books on this subject. Unfortunately, their scope is limited and they tend to cover well-known titles on which information is readily available elsewhere.

A formidable niche market flourishes for classic DVDs that most reference sources have to date ignored. For instance, even keen movie fans would probably agree that the number of silent movies (or feature films made before 1930) released on DVD would number no more than 50. In actual fact, the number of such DVDs is around 600! True, there are duplicates, with popular titles such as "The Mark of Zorro" available in three or four different versions. But the number of individual titles would still rank in the 400-500 mark.

So far as silent films are concerned, there is obviously a need for a reference book that rates and reviews DVD releases of popular movies such as "The Lost World" (1925), "Metropolis" (1927), "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925), "Safety Last" (1923), "Sunrise" (1927) and "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924) as well as the more obscure features that are at present available such as "The Bat Whispers", "Beggars of Life", "Evangeline", "Lady Windermere's Fan", "The Man from Beyond", "Notorious Lady", "Sherlock Holmes", "Sparrows", and "Tarzan, the Tiger".

The author of this article, John Howard Reid, has written film reviews and movie articles for newspapers and magazines for over fifty years. He has compiled over eighty full-length books on movie subjects, including his latest release, "Silent Films and Early Talkies on DVD: A Classic Movie Fan's Guide." Contact email: johnreid@mail.qango.com Website: http://filmindex.0catch.com

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