Starting a collection

[Bernardo]

I am about to purchase a DVD player and I would like to start a serious collection of (mainly BW) British films. Where do I look for the rarer titles and what 10 DVDs would you recommend to start the collection? I have a DVD burner on a PC but suspect that taping off of Ch 4 then producing a DVD is not easy. Would it be better to purchase a DVD that records and how are they?

Any tips would be really appreciated.

[Steve Crook]

Well I might be a little bit biased but my collection would start with any that had that magical attribute saying that it was Written, Produced and Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

[DB7]

I wish I could recommend some titles but apart from the re mastered Ealing comedies and The Archer's titles I'd hsve to say I've been saddened by the quality (and lack of extras) on many B&W DVD's.

[SteNottingham22]

Bernardo,



I bought a Panasonic DMR50 DVD Recorder at the weekend as I too have been wanting to

start my own serious collection of classic films. I was in two minds whether to buy it or not

as I'm obsessed with quality and I thought it might not be up to standards. After I'd set it up

and recorded something off the TV I was speechless at the result. A floorless Digital

Recording. Abasolute perfection.



I've recorded over a dozen films since Sat. evening and I'm buying some bulk DVD-R discs

cos I'm running out already. havent got ,much time to write a longer message tonight but

will post a detailed guide for u tomorrow in this message thread.



As DB7 has said, some of the clasasic films on DVD are terrible quality. This DVD recorder

is a techno marvel. The quality is amazing. The sound recording levelsa have to be heard to

be believed!. Most DVDs you buy in the shops have sound playing at 192kbps. This DVD

recorder records the sound at 252kbps.



I'll also provide a link of some screenshots so you can see the quality for yourself.



excuase the aspellings and brevity of this message as my keyboard is playing up :)

[smudge]

Looks like the bug's well and truly bitten Ste !



Now if only we could persuade CH4 to stop marring the pictures with those HORRIBLE Interactive buttons !

[Rob Compton]

Ste -



How's the recording going? Would be most interested in your experiences, and (if you have the time) that detailed guide you mentioned earlier....



Cheers

Rob

[smudge]

Ste/Rob -



I have the Pana E20 and the E50.



Initially I had an E30 but experienced some problems with that - in the short time it took to exchange it the E50 had come out and was given to me in exchange.



The great feature of the 50 is that you can do Flexible Record (ie one film length to fill a whole disc) from scratch. This is great for recording films from SKY as their timings in the on screen guide are usually fairly accurate - I always give a minute over...



E20 doesn't seem to 'toast' discs as much - E50 leaves them feeling very hot ! E20 has been a bit more temperamental about which media it accepts, but the object lesson is always go for the best media you can afford. Bulkpaq 2x Gen 4 has been great of late.



Some of the films sourced from CH4, Sky and BBC-2 have been better quality than some copies available on DVD.



Of course the format war has yet to settle, and the chainstores are pushing Philips in the UK, but RAM has the higher re-record rate to it's advantage.



It is to be hoped that future genereations of players that will play all formats might take the sting out of this a bit. All we need now to make it perfect is slightly higher capacity discs as 2hrs at Standard Play is still a bit limiting.



But if you have faith in the format and are ready to make the jump, I'd say go for it. Solves the storage problems a bit, too...

[theuofc]

Hi, Bernardo,



If I were choosing ten DVDs in b/w, I would include Dirk Bogarde's superb performance in "The Servant."



The cinematography, direction, script, and the fine acting by Bogarde and James Fox are all top drawer. You won't regret the choice.



All the best,



Barbara

[lambchopnixon]

10 British films to start? Do you mind if I give you the Powell/Pressburger musts first then do the 10?!!! OK..

A Canterbury Tale, Small Back Room, Peeping Tom, One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing and the more flamboyant Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death. Spy in Black is good too!

Ok, now my more across-the-board 10: Secrets And Lies, Get Carter!, The Man Who Could Work Miracles, The Four Feathers, A Night To Remember, The Wicker Man (complete version), Whisky Galore!, Brief Encounter, The 39 Steps and Juggernaut. I'd love for other people to list their's in answer to your question...

[birdman]

I've also had a look at buying a DVD recorders, but have held off as I was trying to find answers to a couple of questions. Firstly, is it worth recording old video recordings onto DVD to keep what quality there is for longer, especially for the more obscure stuff which is not likely to be shown again on tv and is not commercially available. Second, is there any pracical and affordable way of enhancing picture quality using a computer before transferring to DVD? Perhaps this is not the right place to asking this, but I would be interested if anyone has any ideas or answers. Thanks

[birdman]

As a reply to the original posting, is it possible to use a TV card in the computer to receive the film and either write to the hard drive, then burn the DVD, or perhaps burn directly to DVD? I don't know if this would work, so check it out first, but it might be worth looking into. It might be simpler to buy the DVD recorder though.

[deckard]

I too am very keen on buying a DVD recorder,but am totally confused at what,apart from the obvious I can do with it,i.e.can I transfer my existing VHS collection to DVD?...Can I copy a DVD from another DVD player?...does any DVD recorder have all region playback?...If I record onto a DVDrw disc and wish to keep the copy can I make it permanent?(i.e.like breaking the tab on a VHS tape)...and finally..what is format and how does it affect the DVD fuctions?Sorry to sound such a plank,but we have a perfect way of finding out from you good people who have already tried and tested the system and have the knowledge.Thanks in anticipation. :)

[Gibbie]

Decks,



The DVD uses mathematical language like CDs, but also for pictures.



It is poss to burn DVDs from a computer. A graphic artist recently showed me how he does it on his MAC computer.



Here is a UK list of DVD products

http://www.btopenworld.dealtime.co.uk/xPP-...and_DVD_Burners



This is possible! thumbs_u



Best,

Gibbie

[deckard]

Thanks Gibbie! I'll check it out. :)

[DB7]

birdman:

As a reply to the original posting, is it possible to use a TV card in the computer to receive the film and either write to the hard drive, then burn the DVD, or perhaps burn directly to DVD?

Yeah it's possible. I'm having a bit of an experiment myself and found this site very helpful: VideoHelp.com.

[The_Late_Peter_Cook]

Hmm, B&W only eh? This isn't a definitive list, mainly because a lot of titles are unavailable. Some really good ones are sampled best on the R1 releases, so I hope you have a mult-region player wink



01. The 39 Steps (R1 Criterion Editon)

02. The Third Man

03. Night Of The Demon (R1)

04. Kind Hearts & Coronets (currently available as part of the R2 'Ealing' boxset, very shortly you'le be able to pick it up seperately)

05. I Know Where I'm Going

06. Hell Is A City (R1)

07. Oh Mr Porter! (available as a double with 'Convict 99'

08. The Cruel Sea

09. Great Expectations

10. Carry On Cabby



A nice mix of genres there. :)

[JamesM]

I guess you probably know what films you like so I am just going to suggest some DVDs that have a wealth of extras :-



Give Us Our Daily Bread (1949)



Released on DVD and in the US as Christ In Concrete on the Allday Entertainment label. Although director, star and screenwriter were American and the film is set in the US, the rest of the cast and crew are 'British'. DVD has audio commentary by son of author, wife of screenwriter (Norma Barzman) with two historians as well as spoken word version recorded in 1965 by Eli Wallach plus doc plus home footage of author etc. The film's b/w cinematography shows C.M. Pennington-Richards at his best. A commentary from him would have been nice.



Quatermass / Quatermass II (both b/w, 1955, 1957)



released on Anchor Bay in region 1 and DD Video in the UK (region 2), both with audio commentaries by writer Nigel Kneale and director Val Guest



Quatermass and the Pit (1967)



audio commentary with Kneale and Roy Ward Baker, on Anchor Bay and maybe now DD Video (colour)



Hell is a City (1959)



Stanley Baker film, with Val Guest audio commentary (b/w)



The Abominable Snowman (1957)



b/w Peter Cashing Hammer film, audio commentary with Guest and Kneale



The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)



b/w Edwartd Judd sci-fi, Val Guest commentary

Films from Criterion :- (all region 1)



Billy Liar (1963, b/w)



director and cast commentary, trailer, feature etc



Lord of the Flies (1963, b/w)



Peter Brook and crew commentary, Brook theatre doc, Golding reading excerpts of novel, home movie footage, outtakes



Black Narcissus (1947, colour)



doc on making of, Powell and Scorcese 'commentary', trailer, rare stills



Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943, colour)



Criterion version with sSorcese and Michael Powell commentary + doc



The Red Shoes (1948, colour)



Criterion version with Ian Christie (historian) commentary with interviews, as well as doc and animated featurette



also of note



A Night To Remember (R1)

Time Without Pity (R1)

African Queen (US/UK casr / crew) (R2) on Carlton

Curse of the Demon/Night of the Demon (R1)

The Third Man (R2)

Get Carter (R2)

The Wicker Man (R2)

I Know Where I am Going (R1)

A Matter of Life and Death (R2, Carlton)

Tunes of Glory (R1)

Gone To Earth (R2)

Lawrence of Arabia (R2)

The Importance of Being Earnest (1951,Carlton-R2)

The 39 Steps (1935 - R1)

Brief Encounter (R21 or 2)

The Horse's Mouth (R1)

The Lady Vanishes (1938 - R1)

Peeping Tom (R1)

[Third Man]

Hi,



I would just like to concur with those who mentioned the Archers productions and Ealings,you need to start your collection with these.I also feel that Thorold Dickinson can easily be mentioned in the same breath as these two and his films for Gaslight 1940 (don't get this mixed up with the USA version of 1944) and Queen of Spades 1949 , should also be in in a starters collection.

Although he did not make allot of films his influence inside the British film institute is unmeasurable.

Truly a great director and teacher.

[maturin]

Although I'm cursed with the collector gene, it had never occurred to me that films could be collected. "Forget my etchings, come up and see my Powell and Pressburgers, My Dear...."

I have a fair number of films because I tend to impulse-buy and because there are evenings when nothing but a, say, Alastair Sim or P.O.W. escape film will make life bearable, and other evenings when I really have to watch something new. I suppose the essence of collecting is the idea of owning a set, or the biggest collection, or the rarest. Even the most rabid collector can't collect everything, but I suppose he consoles himself, as he fondles his favourite items, with the thought that he has the most or best Elvis cruet sets or matchbox cars or whatever.

I thought this an eccentric notion to apply to films, which don't caress or display well. I'm coming around to the idea that collecting a particular type of film could be fun. I'd be very interested to know what members collect and why.

R

[orpheum]

I think that one of the basic tenants of my collecting is the ability to see whenever i want.I am particularly interested in early talkies.These films are shown about once every 30 years at the NFT,if i am lucky.So by buying these films i can view them whenever i want.Also of course there are films that have never beenshown at the NFT and are unlikely to come up on tv