Things I've noticed: The trouble with Extended Editions

So here I am, a huge fan of the recent Hobbit films - I mean no, not quite as big a fan of them as I was of The Lord of the Rings, but definitely a big enough fan I would like to have them for my own collection (singing dwarves and all).

The problem comes down to the whole extended edition/complete collection box set issue.

When we first saw The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, back in 2001 I knew I wanted to own it on DVD; luckily enough, my wife had heard there would be an extended edition coming out so we might want to wait until it became available, in case it was better than the theatrical release (not necessarily better, but for long-time Tolkien fans like my family, a beloved edition).

Fast forward a few years and after The Return of the King: Extended Edition, came out, there was an inevitable boxed set including all three films - so we sold off our copies of the first two films, and bought the boxed set (which sits very nicely on our shelves to this day).

Now that the first Hobbit film has released its extended edition, the question gets a little more complicated - do we wait until all three extended Hobbit films come out on DVD to purchase them as a boxed set?  Will there be an even bigger Hobbit/Lord of the Rings boxed set if we wait?  Should we be getting it on Blu-Ray rather than DVD?

It's pretty tricky, so for now we're waiting to see, and who knows, by the time the last film comes out all extended-like, maybe there'll be a new medium to purchase it on - micro-Blu-Rays or some kind of crystal?

Things I've noticed: Blu-Ray Discs are a slippery slope

Like many of my friends, I got into purchasing movies in the ‘90s. VHS tapes were pretty cool, they let me watch and re-watch my favourite films and as the price came down I got to get a pretty sizable collection. The problem came in the late ‘00s as my family switched from VHS tapes to DVDs.

Basically we have spent the last five years re-purchasing the films we had on VHS and adding a few more to our collection. As I purchased a PS3 last year, I have suddenly gotten access to Blu-Ray discs and have already begun purchasing movies in the new format. I currently have six – Black Dynamite, Big Trouble in Little China, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Gremlins, The Goonies and The Back to the Future Trilogy (yes I know that last one is actually three movies, but bear with me). Currently all of these films can be described in one way – awesome. I suppose the best way to describe them is that they are the movies I would always happily watch with friends and list as some of my favourite films. The problem is, where do I stop?

I got Big Trouble in Little China as it was one of the few films I purchased in VHS and never got in DVD format – mostly to see what the big deal was with a Blu-Ray disc (the difference is very noticeable), Then I got Black Dynamite out of a remainder bin at my local grocery store for $6 (the movie is awesome, and I would have eventually bought it on DVD, but the price was so nice), and the other four films were Christmas presents.

My question is now, where do I draw the line? Do I simply switch from DVD to Blu-Ray purchases now? Do I attempt to keep my Blu-Ray collection as one that can only be described as awesome? If I do that, shouldn’t I look at weeding less-than-awesome titles out of my DVD collection? I’m just not sure – I do like that the cases for Blu-Ray discs are smaller, but for a lot of films the fancy high-def quality doesn’t make a lot of difference. So I’m now kind of stuck at a crossroads – which movies will get the Blu-Ray treatment and which will be exiled into DVD-land? My PS3 does still play DVDs, so there’s no current problem with backwards compatibility, but I’m still not sure what to do?

How about the rest of you? Any Blu-Ray solutions out there that might help me?