I posted recently about the Deep Discount sale, as I always do — I don’t mind giving that company free “advertising” (c’mon, maybe five people regularly read this weblog anyway), and that got me thinking about my stupid DVD collection. I linked to it in the previous post, so click on that if you want to see what I’ve got. I’m facing waves of disgust over my consumption practices and second-order blahs over the fact that I’ve bought so many movies that I have not seen. Why did I ever do this? I had a real salary for a few years and living in rural Ohio is pretty lonely, folks.

At any rate, this post is about a realization I’ve made re: my DVD collection. Many of you know about The Criterion Collection, a DVD company based out of New York who, bar none, produce the most lavish DVDs imaginable. There’s the 3-disc Battle of Algiers — one disc for the movie and extras relating to the film, one disc of extras relating to Pontecorvo, and one disc of extras relating to the political implications of the film. Or, say, the Criterion edition of Dazed & Confused, with gatefold sleeve, a fantastic little book of retrospectives, extras ranging from a great commentary track to the first screen tests of a bunch of the young actors discovered for that movie. Criterion has, for years now, made the very best DVDs.

I counted up my personal collection of Criterion movies today and it’s 115. Then, I went onto the Criterion site and looked up how many Criterion films (owned by me or not) that I had seen — it was only 76. I haven’t gone through my personal collection yet to see how many of these amazing, awesome films I haven’t had the time to watch yet, but it’s at the very least 40 DVDs. Forty expensive, lavishly produced DVDs. This isn’t exactly buyer’s remorse, but it’s something close.

So, here’s another new set of goals of mine — Goal #1: I’m going to watch every single one of the Criterion films I own by the end of this summer. That includes the Criterion edition of Armageddon — yes, I own this, though I’m not sure why — through the Criterion edition of Roeg and Bowie’s The Man Who Fell To Earth. I started off tonight by finally watching Withnail & I. A really fascinating flick, and one that wasn’t exactly what I expected… I suppose I was looking for something a little more lowbrow and a little less stage-y. Grant, McGann, and Griffiths were all absolutely wonderful, but there were times that the verbosity of the characters didn’t seem to ring true, and that the dialogue became so self-conscious that it drew me out of the film. I understand its place as a cult film and in furthering the myth that is Richard E. Grant, but it was really Richard Griffiths who stood out for me. That man is amazing.

On to Goal #2: I will aim to watch every single Criterion Collection film I have not seen. If I watched two a week, it would take me over four or five years to see them all (including the films released during those four or five years I was watching older ones!), so I’ll probably have to start watching soon, and frequently. Tomorrow night: Either Knife On the Water or (gasp) Armageddon.

On top of all of that, there are some great films on the way. A few weeks ago, they hinted that a Criterion version of Godard’s Breathless was in the works, and today they hinted that a Criterion version of Malick’s Days of Heaven is coming, too — the locusts and the “magic hour” image above was in their most recent newsletter (the typical way they hint at new releases). A swarm of locusts feature quite prominently in Malick’s lustrous and glowing film (which was often shot by cinematographer Néstor Almendros during the “magic hour,” or the 30 minutes or so just after the sun has set and the sky is still lit).

A few more upcoming Criterion discs I’m dying to get my grubby, wasteful hands on:

I’m excited. Tomorrow, I write a book chapter all day, then watch another Criterion film! And I might finally finish Wind Waker!