Do you still buy DVDs/Blu-rays?
I have a huge physical media collection, but I've stopped buying them in the last couples of years because of streaming. I just don't find buying them convenient anymore.
shareNo.
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MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Do you still buy DVDs/Blu-rays?
No
shareNever did, ditched all phisical media first chance I had
shareI buy them all the time from resale shops and off of eBay. I’m expecting 5 to come in the mail from EBay within the week.
shareSame here. Too much of what I want to see isn't available to stream, and too many films are being altered or censored that there's no telling what will still be available in the future.
share“Too much of what I want to see isn't available to stream”
I know the feeling. I’ve been trying to see all of Umberto Lenzi’s filmography and I’m down to all the obscure stuff. Luckily most is out there on one form of physical media or another.
Umberto Lenzi is a great example of where streaming breaks down. Any sort of genre, exploitation, grindhouse fare, etc. has a hard time finding its way to streaming services due to lack of a large audience, and probably licensing issues. And when you do find one of those films streaming, more often than not it's been heavily edited, and/or a low-quality print.
I'm a fan of spaghetti westerns and peplum, and to a lesser extent giallo, so Umberto Lenzi is definitely on my list of directors whose films I'm seeking. I've built up a pretty solid collection of spaghetti westerns on DVD and Blu-ray, but the only Lenzi I've found so far is A Pistol for 100 Graves.
You can probably recommend some other stuff from Lenzi that's worth tracking down. I have a list of films to watch, and this is what I've got from Lenzi. You can see it's lacking most of his recent stuff. Anything you consider a must-see that I've not listed?
1962 The Triumph of Robin Hood
1963 The Invincible Masked Rider
1963 Zorro vs. Maciste (Peplum)
1964 Sandok, the Jungle Maciste (Peplum)
1964 Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules (Peplum)
1964 The Pirates of Malaysia (Peplum)
1964 Adventures of the Bengal Lancers
1965 Temple of a Thousand Lights
1968 All Out (Spaghetti Western)
1968 A Pistol for 100 Graves (Spaghetti Western)
1980 Nightmare City
The area of his work you are looking for, the 60s, is actually my current blind spot for Lenzi. I have seen 38 out of 65 of his films with the bulk of them being released in the 70s-80s.
The ones he took the most pride in were his war films which I’ve seen several of, but I have to say I feel like the genre he most excelled in was euro crime. I think he did nine of them and he frequently used the same actors like Maurizio Merli, Henry Silva, Tomas Milian and a slew of familiar genre regulars. With lots of crazy car chases and hyper violent, I really love his Poliziotteschi films and I never get tired of rewatches. I’m guessing his most famous of the bunch is Almost Human (1974), but I have a soft spot for Violent Naples (1976). Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of his in that genre, though.
Nightmare City (1980) Lenzi got forced by the producers to use Hugo Stiglitz and he really disliked the actor. His first choice was Franco Nero, but my god, there is something so comical about Stiglitz battling fast moving and weapon using “infected people” with an expressionless stone face that really makes this movie fun to me. Great soundtrack, I have it on vinyl, and too many WTF moments to list.
What Lenzi is really remembered for, although he disliked this, are his cannibal films. Cannibal Ferox (1981) is plain mean spirited, But Eaten Alive (1980) is interesting with a Jim Jones spin and a cool cast. The one I really like is Man From Deep River (1972). It only has one cannibalism scene and is more of a Jungle adventure / love story. Fantastic score, great story, fabulous main actors and definitely one of my favorite Lenzi films. I know I’m in a minority but I love this one probably more than I should.
He did several Gialli starring Carol Baker that are definitely worth checking out, but my favorite in this genre would be Eyeball (1975). The story revolves around murders happening to a group of Americans on a tour bus trip through Spain. You have to exercise suspension of disbelief because you’ll be wondering why they don’t just quit the tour, but it’s a fun one with a unique “final girl” within the giallo realm.
I am a big Italian Western fan but I haven’t got around to any of Lenzi’s yet. Corbucci is my guy here.
But yeah, if you get around to watching any of his films I hope you post under the film’s page here. I love talking about his movies and I really don’t think he gets the respect he deserves. :)
I don't post here as often because it's rare that anyone wants to discuss a film. Everyone seems to want to fight about politics. I'll sometimes share my thoughts on Letterboxd. That said, I'll definitely post here when I watch something from Lenzi, or other Italian genre filmmakers.
I'm going to add the films you mentioned to my list, and see if I can't track them down. Like you, I rely on the internet as there really aren't physical stores selling or renting this stuff anymore. We do have one video rental shop here (Austin, TX), but they don't have much in the way of these sorts of films available.
I like Austin. I get over that way for concerts that don’t make it here in the New Orleans area.
I’m Mrmojo4700 on letterbox, so follow me and I’ll do the same.
Your right. Its a shame that Movie Chat has become more about arguments these days.
No.
I don't re-watch films all that frequently, so there came a point when buying discs didn't feel like good value for money to me. I'd mostly watch them once or twice and stick 'em on a shelf gathering dust for years. No matter how big the collection, I'd find myself wanting to watch something I didn't have rather than something I did.
So I'm a rental / subscription streaming guy now.
Yep. When internet goes down, physical media is there.
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