Keep Multiple Versions of a Movie ? (1 Viewer)

[Wes K]

Kind of a weird question: Does anyone keep multiple copies of a movie if they're different versions? I've been upgrading a lot of my blurays to 4K bluray and I cant decide if I should keep the blu.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I’m sure there are some here who do keep different formats of the same movie as well as different versions/cuts of a movie. I personally only keep one format of anything, either Blu-ray or dvd, as I have long since gotten out of vhs and laserdisc and I haven’t made the jump to UHD.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

There are people here who keep old versions for the supplements. Personally, I always get rid of my old version when I upgrade. I don't have the shelf space to keep multiple copies of the same film.

 

[cinemiracle]

Kind of a weird question: Does anyone keep multiple copies of a movie if they're different versions? I've been upgrading a lot of my blurays to 4K bluray and I cant decide if I should keep the blu.

I still keep the dvd (uncut Roadshow version) of THE SAND PEBBLES ( a favourite movie of mine) as well as the bluray .The bluray is the much hated shortened version.Sometimes the extras on blurays are less that the previous dvd releases so I keep both releases. With 8k discs on the horizon,I can see no point in upgrading to 4 K..I did get rid of several hundred videos however, or transferred them to dvd until they become available of dvd or bluray.

 

[DaveF]

I keep alternate versions (theatrical vs directors) and older versions with unique content (DVD commentary not found with newer HD copy). I don't keep lower quality versions that are otherwise identical in content.

 

[TJPC]

Since you really can’t get anything for DVDs second hand, I put the disc in those window envelopes and store them with the Blu ray in the same case. I discard the DVD case. I have multiple machines connected to 5 TVs and a couple are still DVD only. There is always a chance I may want to watch a movie in the spare room without a Blu ray player. (although this hasn't happened yet!)

 

[MatthewA]

I only keep the old version if the new version is lacking in some way. Experience has taught me not to give up the old one until I'm absolutely sure it has nothing the new one doesn't also have.

 

[Vic Pardo]

Kind of a weird question: Does anyone keep multiple copies of a movie if they're different versions? I've been upgrading a lot of my blurays to 4K bluray and I cant decide if I should keep the blu.

I always keep every version unless the earliest is a bootleg VHS, but even then not always. I have one film, THE HEROIC ONES (Hong Kong, 1970) in two different cuts on bootleg VHS. I have the restored R3 import DVD, the American R1 release of it on both DVD and Blu-ray, and an import VCD (video compact disc). six copies, four formats. I have yet to get around to comparing the import DVD to the two different VHS cuts to see which one matches. (One cut had more fight scenes, the other had more drama.)

I'm glad I kept my VHS copy of RIO BRAVO (1959). Last year, I was watching my DVD copy as research for my Dean Martin Centennial blog post when the DVD froze up and wouldn't play. I went on-line to see if I could find a copy to watch for free. No dice. I then remembered my VHS copy and dug through my closet till I found it so I could finish watching it. I've since gotten a Blu-ray of it.

 

[John Dirk]

I keep whatever I purchase for historical [and nostalgic] purposes. I do buy updated versions but sparingly as, honestly, many aren't worth the trouble.

 

[holtge]

My wife and kids make fun of the fact that I have VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K copies of several movies. Maybe it's overkill, but I just want to make sure I'm never sorry I gave something up. With all of the different versions, special features, paper inserts, etc., of each of the various copies of the films I have, if I really want to see sonething, it's important to me to keep it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

It depends on the movie and the content. If there are substantial bonus features that I care about that don't get carried over, then yes, I'll keep multiple versions. If only a minor EPK featurette or a trailer is lost, then I'll probably give away the previous version. Generally I keep most of my Disney titles since they somehow manage to never retain everything.

If all the supplements are carried over, then I have no problem passing along an old version of a title.

 

[Arthur Powell]

Most definitely. As a silent film fan, I always like to keep my previous versions after updating for various reasons - most often for the differing scores. As good as the Carl Davis score is on The Thief of Bagdad blu-ray, my personal preference is for Gaylord Carter's Wurlitzer score on David Shepard's late 1990s DVD. Other reasons include different editorial decisions made in restoring/reconstructing the given film (as seen with the Buster Keaton shorts) and differences with foreign and domestic versions (as seen with the Harold Lloyd shorts from both the Kino Slapstick Symposion and Lloyd Trust DVDs).

 

[Vic Pardo]

Tangentially related to this topic is my story of taped-off-TV versions of Sam Peckinpah's PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973). I had taped it off a local broadcast channel sometime in the 1980s and it turned out to be the TV cut, which had scenes that were not in any other version. It was shown in a two-hour time slot, so I assumed some scenes had been cut to make room for commercial breaks. The next time it was on, it was a different station running it in a two-hour-and-15-minute time slot. So I assumed it would be a more complete version and I taped over my earlier copy. Guess what? It was the original theatrical release and not the TV cut, so I erased my only copy of the TV cut, which, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist in any form anywhere anymore. From that point on, I made sure that whenever I re-taped a film I would do it on another tape and then compare the two versions before re-using the older tape. Still, I really miss that TV cut of PAT GARRETT. We've since gotten Peckinpah's director's cut, the best version yet of the film, but I miss those scenes with Elsa Cardenas as Garrett's wife and a couple of other scenes I don't recall that aren't in any other version.