DVD collection

DVDs

The way I count my DVDs works like this: If it fits inside a single case, it's a single DVD. If the film is spread out over two discs, but both discs fit inside the same case, it's a single DVD. If a boxed set comes with a bonus disc that has lots of extras but no actual film, I count that disc as a single DVD only if it comes in its own case.

I use the [+ disc] designation only when a DVD comes with a bonus disc that has nothing but extras. E.g., The Bridge on the River Kwai is a two-disc set, but since the entire film fits on one disc, the extra disc earns the set a [+ disc] designation. However, the Lawrence of Arabia DVD is packaged almost identically to the Kwai DVD, but there, the movie itself is so long that it takes up space on both discs, so it does not get the [+ disc] designation, even though the second disc includes some extras as well as part of the film. The Cleopatra DVD is actually three discs -- two for the movie, and one for the extras, but they all fit inside a single case, so it's a single DVD [+ disc] to me. And the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings are actually four discs each, two of which have nothing but extras -- but since they all fit inside a single case (albeit a rather large case), for simplicity's sake, I'm counting each set as a single DVD [+ disc], too.

I am also using the [+ disc] designation for sets that include just one DVD and one CD, though at the moment, the only disc that fits that description is The Lost Dogs ...Via Chicago... -- the Almost Famous and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial sets have music discs as well, but since each set also has two video discs, they already have the [+ disc] designation and this isn't an issue for them.

Some films belong in more than one category, but they get listed in whichever applicable category comes first. E.g., Spartacus goes with the other Kubrick films, but it could easily have fit in the "ancient epic" category; similarly, The Miracle Maker, The Prince of Egypt and similar animated films are listed with the "epics" because they're based on the Bible, but they could just as easily have gone with the other "non-Disney animated" films.

The first number following the title gives the date of the film's release (or the disc's release, in the case of all-extras discs which come in their own cases, like Fantasia Legacy and The Godfather Bonus Materials); the second number gives the length of the film, which normally does not include the extras.

And before we get to the list proper, I will note that eight of my official Top Eleven films of all time are currently on DVD -- namely Lawrence of Arabia (#1), The Purple Rose of Cairo (#2), Koyaanisqatsi (#4), The Empire Strikes Back (#5), When Harry Met Sally... (#6), The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Court Jester (tied for #7) and Monty Python's Life of Brian (#8) -- and I can only hope the other three will come out soon.

the woody allen collection (20 dvds -- 19 in 3 boxed sets)

Bananas 1971 82
Play It Again, Sam 1972 85
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex *but were afraid to ask 1972 88
Sleeper 1973 87
Love and Death 1975 85
Annie Hall 1977 93
Interiors 1978 92
Manhattan 1979 96
Stardust Memories 1980 88
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy 1982 88
Zelig 1983 79
Broadway Danny Rose 1984 84
The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 82
Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 107
Radio Days 1987 88
September 1987 83
Another Woman 1988 81
Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 104
Alice 1990 106
Shadows and Fog 1992 85