A Trip Through Random DVDs I Bought From 1998-2005 (Patreon)

Quick Note: I’ve been sick and quarantine-ing the last 13 days, but my writing brain is finally starting to work again! Hurray! I’ve mostly finished a big essay on Onward, but I’m holding off until it comes out on Disney Plus in a week and a half (I want as many people to be able to see it as possible). But as I have been at home and finally going stir crazy, I’ve ended up doing something I haven’t really done in a long time. 

I started going through my old DVDs…

* * *

I am not a collector.

I feel like that honor belongs more to the kinds of devoted film fans who have a completionist mindset, or are looking for the optimal ways to view beautiful classics, or those looking onto the forgotten histories of formats like VHS, laserdisc, etc. But I never got to the point where I started buying Blu-Rays. It’s not just that I wanted to spend the money on other things (food, mostly), it’s that I just couldn’t start over. Because when DVD first came on the market, I actually tried my hand at collecting. 

To be fair, it was also an exciting time to be a movie fan. I genuinely understand why VHS is beloved, but finally having films in their proper aspect ratio felt like a damn coup. I even remember my girlfriend at the time, who was obsessed with the Indiana Jones movies, finally seeing it in its full glory and exclaiming, “Holy shit, these movies are beautiful.” Moreover, the emergence of behind the scenes documentaries and featurettes pulled back the curtain in such a remarkable way (none of this stuff was on the internet yet). And I can’t tell you how many people went deep on the Lord of the Rings special features and learned so much about the process of making movies. It was all part of a radical shift. 

But looking back, what’s funny about my attempt at collecting is that it only really covers the years 1999-2005, which means it reflects a taste of college-aged me and my first years working out in LA. Sure, my DVD collection has a healthy dab of Criterions and bonafide classics, but for the most part it reflects the taste of A YOUNG MAN in awe of YOUNG MALE FILMMAKERS and all the crud that goes along with it. Particularly an intellectual brand of violent masculinity that I hope I’ve let go of in a lot of regards. 

But since it has me reflecting on all this, I just felt like sharing a bit of the time capsule…

The Shawshank Redemption

What was your first DVD? 

I feel that for a lot of people it was The Matrix (which I bought too). But my first disc ever was actually The Shawshank Redemption, for I had gotten the DVD player as a Christmas present with this film alongside it. I feel like few remember that this film didn’t make a splash in its initial theatrical release (even though it was nominated for Best Picture), but then came into the cultural lexicon with video release and viewings on TNT, which gave it this stunning life. Still to this day, it is the number one film on the IMDB ranking. The real question is why?

The simple reason is because it’s mostly argumentative young men who vote on that site, and this film happens to speak directly to the grandiose desires and needs of repressed men in a very specific way. It’s so good at capturing the feeling of being trapped in yourself, the feeling like everyone in the system is against you, yet it portrays the small flickers of light and yearning for beauty in your soul en route to revenge and nirvana. But most of all, it portrays the kinds of deep, internalized friendships that really mean something, along with unspoken vulnerabilities just beneath the surface. 

To this day, The Shawshank Redemption feels like an impossible cheat. A film that seamlessly toes this line between fairy tale and hardened drama. A film that feels in control and effortless and yet is so good at turning the malevolent screws (props go to performances all around). And it feels so nice because it’s offering magical solutions that still feel hard won, all while offering very little that digs into problematic psychologies beneath the surface. It’s everything the masculine side of men wants to be, but isn’t, wrapped with a perfect nostalgic bow. So of course men love it. But for whatever its worth, Roger Deakins shot the damn hell out of it.

Special Features: cool new things like “interactive menus” and “scene access” !!!

Boogie Nights: 2 Disc Edition

I feel like this DVD was one of the standard bearers of the emerging format. I first saw Boogie Nights in the theaters (with my mom!) and, like many people my age, immediately became obsessed with Paul Thomas Anderson. In all honesty, part of me wishes I could go back and talk myself down in certain respects. There was such allure to the wunderkind nature of his success. “He’s only 26!” we thought. And when you’re 18 that seems so far away. But it’s a terrible example to set for yourself and the truth is he was just a fucking baby… But an incredible baby. The delights of this movie are evident, but the special features reflect the more rough and tumble era of Hollywood, when these bonus elements reflected the unguarded, PR-less nature that was part of the boom of 90’s independent cinema. To this day, Anderson’s wandering drunk commentary remains a classic.

Best Special Feature: The incredible joke of the “Pushing Thirteen” mini-doc.

Badlands

This was common practice in that era, but buying this DVD was how I actually first saw this movie. I had seen The Thin Red Line and adored it, so I was hungry to go back to Malick’s old work and see this film and Days of Heaven. I had absolutely no context going in. But from the moment Carl Orff’s Gassenhauer comes into the ear, the movie becomes itself. It completely illustrates how powerfully a single piece of music can transform a movie, not just in a singular moment, but as a constant refrain. Because it’s what transforms our two leads from the thoughtless kids on the run into the kids playing Swiss Family Robinson, expressing the utter naivety of kids on an adventure. But it’s that well-meaning naivety which holds the whole movie together (this is also the moment where I say True Romance radically misunderstands Badlands, because it so desperately wants to be the “you’re so cool” day dream instead of pointing out that the daydream is vapid). But Badlands? It holds the line of morality so spectacularly because you’re always on the outside of their character wants, looking in. It remains one of my favorite films to this day.

Best Special Feature: Turn the DVD over to watch it in standard mode! Just as Malick intended!

Cobra

Being a teenager in the 90’s gave you a weird perspective on the 80’s. Mostly because it was something you experienced and thus had weird nostalgia for, but also allowed you the necessary distance to realize how absurd it all was. And no movie star embodies that absurdity quite like Sylvester Stallone. To be clear, I still love Stallone passionately. And I’d argue it’s impossible to look at Rocky and First Blood as anything other than great humane works. But while Stallone’s career has always had these functional blips that highlight his mush-mouthed charisma, his hyper movie stardom also allowed for so many odd ducks. 

From the endless sequel-izing of his two core properties, to the misguided glam of Staying Alive and Rhinestone, to the family-friendly arm wrastlin’ of Over the Top. But I feel like his nonsensical action persona hit its zenith Cobra. If you’ve never seen it, it’s dripping with the hyper-masculine vigilantism that defined 80’s sleaze. Watch Cobra as he blows up shopping carts with a shotgun! Watch as he takes down a murderous axe cult! Watch as he does all this while sporting the license plate “AWSOM 5O” on his 1950 Mercury Monterey Coupe! There isn’t a hint of awareness in any of it. But if you want to understand everything about the 90’s looking at the 80’s, we would just put this on during parties.

Best Special Feature: I just realized I remember nothing from the commentary. Looks like I got something on my to do list!

Reservoir Dogs: 10 Years - Mr. Pink Edition

I’ve been noodling around on a big Tarantino column for awhile now, but what is undeniable was his impact on the filmmaking landscape of the 90’s, particularly with, you guessed it, young men. But younger than you might be thinking. I remember I was teaching at this camp years later and there were all these middle school kids who were STILL filming themselves dressed in suits walking down the street in slow motion. No, this wasn’t intentional parody. It was aspirational. But what was alluring about Tarantino to middle school boys was what was always alluring about him to adults. It goes beyond the vague notion of “cool” and into this kind of attainable approach. He made crime films that weren’t defined by action, but by discussion and pop-culture (which actually made him of a pair with Kevin Smith). But what’s actually evident from all the imitation is that crafting compelling scenes with this sort of dialogue is actually really fucking hard. Tarantino has (mostly) been able to juggle characterization, while holding tension within argumentation and doing all the other technicall stuff that just makes for great storytelling (the bar scene in Basterds remains the pièce de résistance) . 

But going back to 2002, it reflected a time when he was synonymous with only gangster films - before all the genre theatrics and everyone was still waiting for Kill Bill. The 10th anniversary edition was a big deal. I remember running and buying this from a guy who sold DVDs at a little booth near our dining hall. I remember vaguely fighting over the Mr. Pink edition. I remember succeeding.

Best Special Feature: “K-BILLY Interactive Radio, push the buttons to listen to some Super Sounds! Featuring surprise guests!”

The Simpsons: Season Six (with the weird head box)

There was an era in my life where The Simpsons was religion. I first saw season 1, episode 7 live on the air and that was it, it was settled. This was life now. And so every Sunday - and for a brief stint on Thursdays (I still remember the “Bill, Bart, and Bird” ads) - I would check in with this Springfield family and absorb the funniest 22 minutes possible. It was everything to me. But the truth is it becomes harder and harder to explain the power of the show’s golden age the further and further away from it. And so, my relationship to it has changed in turn. Even when the DVDs first came out, there’s no question that I would complete the entire series. Likewise, there was no question in our minds that the show was close to the end of it’s run… 

But it’s still going… and I stopped buying them after season nine. 

Anyway, the reason this DVD is kind of amusing to me now is because they put it in a giant Homer head that made the collectors SO ANGRY that their DVD’s didn’t line up on the shelf. it was so bad that they announced they would actually send you another one in regular casing (in subsequent years, they would double dip and offer both). I was too lazy to pursue that free casing, of course, so there the incongruity still sits on the shelf. 

Best Special Feature: a sincere one this time, because the commentary in all these early episodes are exceptional. If you are a fan, I cannot recommend them more highly.

SIX FEET UNDER: Season 1 (with the case that was taller than the others)

I don’t think I’ve ever written about Six Feet Under, but I still plan to revisit some day. It was a very important show to me around this time. There are moments and episodes I think about constantly, but I have no idea what my reaction would be all these years later. Which makes me afraid. Who was I then? What did I think adulthood would really be like? What would I relate to now? What would I cringe at? I honestly also think about how this show likely made me so much more comfortable with my sexuality… even as I write this, I think about going back and watching it all more and more. And god… that theme song. 

Best Special Feature: “2 music tracks including the never-before-release “kid Loco” title remix."

For Your Consideration: A Serious Man

A rare post 2005 entry, but that’s pretty much because the only discs I “collect” these days come during screener season. Most of them are in boxes somewhere. But this is pretty much the one I still break out with startling regularity. The truth is I really don’t like doing other things when movies are on, and there’s very few films that are so familiar to me that I can actually do it with. For some reason, A Serious Man is one of them. It’s weirdly comforting to me (Sy Abelman!?!?). Maybe I just want to be at peace with the howling cyclone coming right for me.

Best Special Feature: If I throw it in the trash I can be fined! Help I’m going to die under a pile of these things!

For Your Consideration: United 93

This is the weirdest thing to have on your self. It’s, like, I just have United 93 sitting here. I can’t throw it out. But I also can never watch it again. Every time I even think of it, I flashback to those ending scenes and it’s just… well, it’s a lot. Perhaps it reflects the film itself, for it feels like a strange movie even to exist and yet its existence is necessary and evident. And so this movie continues to rest here, like some powerful relic I cannot release or revisit… just remember.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

So… this is the one DVD that is genuinely important to me. 

There’s no origin story attached. It’s just that every Christmas I pull it out and watch it. And I’ll never switch the format, no matter where it may be streaming. Because there’s something to taking it out of the package that’s part of the ceremony for me, part of touching the same thing I touch every year. It’s the kind of aching sentimentality that I understand other people have for their discs. It’s the reason I understand the urge to collect completely. I guess I just didn’t want to be consumed by it. So yes, I hit a point where I stopped. But at the same time, I know I’ve hit a point I could probably put all these DVDs in a box and put them in the closet…

But no. I have them all on a little shelf to the left of my TV. They are part of something still on display because they are still a part of my life. And for better or worse, they are part of how I became the person I am today. Because it’s a potent reminder that once upon a time, I cared deeply for these objects that embody my passion for cinema.

I also sure made people watch Fight Club a lot…

Humility is important.

<3 HULK