Personalize Your Guest Room DVD Collection
Thursday, July 25, 2013 at 2:25PM Hi kids. It's Nathaniel typing at you from a surprisingly cool Chicago, a welcome break from the stifling NYC heat. I'm visiting Nick for a few days and arrived to find the guest room (which doubles as the DVD Containment Room) super-personalized for my stay. Nick has arranged his movies in chronological order which instantaneously revealed to me why I've always been disappointment by my own DVD shelves which are alphabetical. The alphabet is about as exciting as the Dewey Decimal system. Chronology is king.
Nick already tweeted one photo of his shelves for giggles but I thought I'd share my two favorite library notes with you. Our favorite shared movie genre, as previously noted here on the blog, is Women Who Lie To Themselves™. That note was strategically placed right under a certain Oscar-nominated 1996 picture which is a very literal interpretation of the genre. Guess which movie!
This genre is immortal and always revisited by the best filmmakers and actresses so I especially love the apotheotic "Women Who Lie to Themselves SILENTLY at the OPERA™", don't you?
Two more shelves after the jump...
But this was my favorite note...
I love Black Narcissus (1947) so much. If you're ever in the mood for sexually addled nuns in the Himalayas only this film will do! Deborah Kerr is so great in it that I always pretended she was nominated for this instead of Separate Tables so that we don't miss the sacred tally (A Record 6 Best Actress Nods Without A Win). Nick has announced that You in Danger Girl™ should be our new second favorite movie genre, after WWLTT but I feel the need to point out that the two genres are prone to overlap.
The shelves go on and on (bless) and since Nick isn't really a TV guy there's only one tiny row for that but I knew Battlestar Galactica would be there and our beloved President Roslin so honored...
Let this post inspire you to rethink your DVD shelves! What's missing from yours and which genre is underrepresented?
Reader Comments (29)
That Black Narcissus post-it has me literally LOL'ing at my desk. I love that movie so very much. I imagine that walking into the space where Nick Davis keeps his DVD collection is wondrous, something akin to the scene in Willy Wonka where they enter the chocolate room.
Is the 1996 movie SECRETS AND LIES? Because I don't know what could be more apt.
Also, I love the farm wives of the 80s theme, what was up with that running theme back then?
Nat, why don't you trust Nick's tv taste and wach Breaking bad. He's got season 1&2. C'mon, you know you want to!
"Eat it people. SHAKESPEARE won." YES!
For ages, I kept my DVDs in a binder and left the cases at my parent's house, since I moved frequently post-college. Being more settled -- and having added more to my collection -- I called home to get them sent. Alas, Mother told me, "Oh, I just saw a bunch of empty cases so I threw them all away." And looking at these photos...I get a little teary-eyed. OH WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN!
"Women who lie to themselves SILENTLY at the OPERA" is my absolute favorite! I was hoping Birth and Closer were there, as they were the first to come to mind, and BAM there they are! 2004 was a busy year for this genre. So cute!
Hahahha. Hilarious.
Um... Best Post Ever? It's certainly in the running! (That Black Narcissus note is the stuff of LOLZ)
My DVD collection is currently in a state of disarray, as we had to literally build a lot of extra shelves to hold them all (I was so out of space that I had started piling them on my desk, my nightstand, and on top of my spinning CD rack. They are currently taking up the better part of an entire length of my room, and I don't feel like fixing them because I plan on moving in a couple of months (goodbye, palatial rooms in CT, hello closet in NY!).
All of which is to say that rearranging one's film collection is one of the great pleasures in life, and is by far what I am most looking forward to about moving. Currently they're alphabetical, with a separate section for box sets and one separate bookshelf dedicated to the Criterion Collection (organized by spine number, of course). I previously had them organized by Director, but that proved to be an exercise in futility, because I couldn't remember who directed at least half of them (because, really, off the top of your head without checking, who directed Notes on a Scandal?). I tried it by genre once, like they did at video stores (those were the days!) but that involved far too much decision-making. So alphabetical it has remained for quite some time. But by year sounds like fun!
Black Narcissus Post-It: Standing ovation
Does the 'Women Who Lies to the Themselves Silent AT THE OPERA' include Birth? Wait, was that an opera where that sublime Harris Savides takes on Kidman's face in close-up took place? Now I just wanna watch Birth again.
My current living situation has me not really jumping to get my DVDs in order. I am segregating the Criterions (because those movies are THAT important, especially House and Repo Man) the moment I literally get my house (or just a house/studio/loft) in order.
"Also, I love the farm wives of the 80s theme, what was up with that running theme back then?"
That year Sally Field won for Places in the Heart and there were two other Actress nominees of Lange and Spacek also in farm-themed movies. There was definitely something going on. Women couldn't have the Western so Hollywood gave the best actresses at the time the farm as their rustic period piece, I guess.
denny - Richard Eyre. :)
Haha love it. I think the thrill of entering Nick's guest room of films would only be second to entering the Criterion Collection stockroom. So cool of him to do that. He's a keeper!
Personally, I've only a few films I own, but they're the ones I NEVER tire of. I imagine though I 'll have a shelf or shelves that describe the stages of my cinephile development ie: childhood, gay-awakening, etc. :-)
I arrange my DVD shelf chronologically too!!!!! I've never ever heard of anyone else doing it and have received so many raised eyebrows and sarcastic comments from friends and family over the years. Finally I know I am not alone in the universe! Hahaha! :)
My favorite note for Black Narcissus (after yours, which made me laugh so hard), comes from a friend's obsession with (of all things) Bad Boys. It reads:
"Y'all motherf******s need Jesus."
Also are there other movies about sexually addled nuns in the Himalayas? This is a sub-genre I was previously unaware of. Please, PLEASE send me a list.
Brilliant! Mine is such a bore. It's in chronological too. I particularly love the Before/After Frances disposition. Very Anno Domini.
PS Please, tweet or post pictures of your heavenly reunion.
Can I borrow that note and paraphrase: "Eat it, The Towering Inferno was nominated!"
I used to sort my movies by how well I liked them (I keep personal rankings), but then I realized that I'm too fickle and the order never seemed quite right! Now the collection is alphabetical. It's much easier that way!
My favorite genre, and one that has a new entry into the pantheon every few years, may well be "Hilarious Girls Who Don't Quite Understand One Another" (see: Clueless, Miss Congeniality, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Mean Girls, Bridesmaids, and Pitch Perfect).
I'm an alphabetical sort, with Disney separated out for academic reasons, and the Criterion shelf by spine, and box sets that would otherwise ruin the flow and can't be separated out held in a special area. I keep thinking that chronological would be more fun (and more in line with how I'm usually browsing for something to watch), but I like the sleekness of having series all lined up in neat order right next to each other. Also, I am much too lazy.
Nick's Wall O' DVDs is a real special treat though, isn't it? Though he's never put notes on when I've slept on that futon, *sniff*.
To the question of "missing" and "underrepresented", I can only think of "a sense of financial responsibility". Hey, who else managed to burn through $200 during the current Barnes & Noble Criterion sale?
Amazing.
the title that pop-up from this photo was Birth!!
dee vee dee...? am i pronouncing that right?
is the vinyl sorted chronologically or by 33s and 45s?
LOVE IT! But in the coming days of 100% streaming and e-books, we might not get the pleasure of seeing these physical titles displayed so amusingly.
Thank heavens for hoarders and librarians!!!
(for the record, I still have lots of VHS around and keep the player tuned up!)
Andrew K -- it was indeed Secrets & Lies
par3182 -- yes. but bless hoarders as Pam says because it's the only way to keep something forever. Now they're starting to sell lifetime streaming rights to movies but since you never own something physically what happens when streaming is replaced? You lose your abilities to see all of those movies. It's a neverending battle with technology to keep movies alive!
"Hi! My name is Ann-Mari and I'm a librarian. It's been six days since my last hoarding of books and/or DVDs" ;)
Love the post and the shelves and the notes!
I have a complicated system for my DVDs, there are separate shelves for different countries, favourite directors, Oscar-winners and genres. The four main genres are drama, action, animation or comedy and guilty pleasures :)
now you have me thinking about changing my collection to chronological order now which will probably take me days so Thanks I guess!?!?!?!!?
when i quickly glanced at the first note, i thought it said "women who lie to homeless." i was like, which movies fall into that category???
@Pretentious: I am much like Willy Wonka in person! You've guessed correctly.
@Seisgrados: You can't be too hard on Nathaniel for this, or too easy on me, because I bought those seasons at a ridiculous discount in Office Depot (?) but haven't actually watched them.
@Roark: Strength in numbers - unite! Looks like we got Jeff, too...
@Peggy Sue: I tried to send you a photo of another Frances-relevant comment, since you obviously understand the world-historical importance of that movie, but my e-mail got bounced back.
@Evan: I would never stop re-ordering if I did that.
@par3182: I sense vague undercurrents of sarcasm about my beloved technology. All I can say is, my days just sail onward untroubled, even when Netflix suddenly yanks things, and I've never had to fight with a cable company.
@Heymarki: If you see a movie about women who lie to homeless people, run in the other direction!
I have three options with my OCD that really pushes me to constantly reorganize things: by color, by alphabet, or by genre in that order. Bonnie Burton's bookshelf turned out real nice when she reorganized by color but I don't know how much mileage I'll get out of predictably black, red, and blue horror DVDs.
The "Shakespeare in Love" caption is wonderful, Nick. You rock, man. <3
Thanks for the post. it is a very nice movie we can learned how we handle in terms ot we are in troubles. This will gives us a idea and lessons to be learned.