A quick hello from a Norwegian in Tokyo.
I was already a movie fan when I came over the first laserdisc I had ever seen during a stay in Santa Barbara in '89 -the same summer Last Crusade and Batman came out. I remember all three events vividly.
Not able to shake the image of that shiny disc I managed to purchase a 1750 player in '93 and the first movie I got was Army of Darkness. I know; it took me 4 years! But better late than never.
I guess I got one fifth of my current collection during the '90s. These magical 12"s used to set you back big time, and I was a student so purchases were truly rare treats. I tried to get a cross section of the movies I loved and the few discs I was able to buy were treasured friends. I sat in my drafty bedsit in London and watched The Searchers by John Ford on laserdisc, and the world was perfect.
Today, when I select a movie to watch and I'm lucky enough to have an LD of it, the world still seems perfect.
I hope to hear more about other members of the outstanding LDDB.
Please feel free to look at my discs here. Different types of movies are represented. I don't buy much online, but I love finding interesting titles in various stores in this great city.
Thanks for reading. And if anyone has any questions, please fire away.
http://www.lddb.com/collection.php
John T. Chance

Good day villagenumber6,

Good to have you aboard the site and I enjoyed reading about your Laserdisc ect experiences.

I first got into Laserdisc's in April of 1998.
From there on I was hooked.

I have a large order of Laserdisc's reserved with a seller in Japan, also an item of hardware of which I hope to complete at some stage.

When I receive a box of laserdisc's I still get very excited as the whole experience of unpacking and looking at the artwork has never lessened for me.

I used to travel many! many! miles just to purchase US imported Laserdisc's, and always took great care when unwrapping each title, replaced most inner sleeves with high quality LP anti static alternatives and then protected all of my LD titles in protective outer sleeves to protect the cover art.

People that purchased Laserdisc's came accross as a different class of customer, as I remember having good conversations with strangers in the shop especially ''THE DISC EMPORIUM'' Retailer in Knebworth Hertfordshire in the UK.

The Retailer always offered coffee and sometimes a meal I remember the whole social experience and many fond memories.

I shall get round to playing my Laserdisc's again as soon as I receive my equipment support stands hopefully by the end of February 2012.

Keep in touch and all the best to you.

Regards

Hi　villagenumber6
What is your collection and save it where you live now?
Where is Tokyo?
I live near Machida

Very well put. I enjoyed your short story. Your use of imagery perfectly conveyed your feelings. I was right there with you.

Thanks for reading, all. I've browsed your respective collections (hope you don't mind). You have some wonderful titles there. Just great!

remington; I go sentimental very quickly when it comes to laserdiscs, but here at LDDB I feel right at home. Thanks for saying "hi".

cold_sleeper; I'm in Kichijoji, but sadly I'm obliged to store the majority of my discs back home in Norway. Flats in Tokyo don't hold 2000 titles. I see you are into music disca as well as movies. Cool. I'm into movies, but I have the odd music video release of '80s pop just for fun. I see you like Barbarella. A Norwegian guy was in that movie! A small part, though.

benmbe; Had I only know about "The Disc Emporium" when I lived in London... I was a regular frequenter of "The Laser Disc Store", though, where they had to buzz you in. Then there was "Tower Records" P. Circus -yes, over priced, but where else could you buy NTSC discs on Sunday at midnight? There were a few others nice stores, too. I miss flipping through all new discs in regular stores. I wasn't able to see you collection. What kind of movies are you into on disc?

Great knowing you.

Unfortunately that is not my entire collection. I tried twice to re-enter titles over the past year and they never loaded. I really have some further interesting stuff. Thanks for the compliments. Yes, you either love laserdisc or you don't. Some folks never catch the bug.

Hi VN6. I was wondering when you were going to jump on board. Welcome to the forum

Really awesome to read your entry.
So glad your able to live in Tokyo.
Thank you for sharing your story and have fun shopping in Tokyo!
Are you picking up the language ?
Just curious.

Hi villagenumber6,

I love the avatar you chose! I am a big fan of classic comedy, and the Marx Brothers are among my all-time favorites. I think that it seriously sucks that A Night In Casablanca was never released on LaserDisc! I have no idea why it wasn't. It's the only one of their 13 feature films that was not. Although it's certainly not in a class with Animal Crackers, Duck Soup, and Monkey Business, it is a worthy effort as latter-day Marxes go, and very deserving of a nice LaserDisc treatment. Of course, I have all of the other Marx films on LaserDisc, as well as many other classic comedy titles by Chaplin, The Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy, etc., etc. Please feel free to check out my collection listing. I'm sure you will see plenty to like there. Welcome to the forum! Your film expertise will truly be highly valued here!

David

laserking; you've earned that name. You're the guy who sets the bar, you know. It is a pleasure to hear form you. I've looked at your bewilderingly awesome collection may times, and I'm very pleased to know that you care about the laughing '20s as well as the Golden Age. I agree with Leonard Maltin: old movies look better than ever.

firehorse_44; Tokyo has been kind to me and I quite like it here. I function passably with my rudimentary Japanese skills, at least OK enough to pick up a disc from time to time. I see you're into selling, and quite a few Japanese titles, too. Perhaps I've seen you in stores over here; flipping through discs.

bullruckle; thanks for saying "hi". Yes. It's a delight to "hear" some of the voices behind the passion for movies on laserdisc.

remington; -hope to hear more about your favorite discs in the future.

Yes, laserking. Comedy. Isn't it amazing how great comedy never dates?

Hi villagenumber6,

So glad to hear that you read one of my all-time heroes, Leonard Maltin! I have several editions of his TV Movies and Video Guide, all of them VERY well worn. I have searched through his book cover to cover, and read every review in which he rated the movie "BOMB". I LOVE his way with words, although I don't always agree with his opinion. He and I obviously have vastly different tastes in movies, although not when it comes to classic comedy. I have even gone so far as to seek out movies that Maltin "BOMB"ed, just to see how astoundingly bad they were. I affectionately refer to his book as "The Bible of Bad Movies". If Maltin hated it, I probably love it, and more than likely have it in my collection, if it was releaed on LaserDisc. Only a few days ago, I shared a review with a friend of mine that I happened to notice when leafing through Maltin's book. I'll share it with you as well. It was for the film "Def Con 4", which of course I have in my collection. Maltin stated in his review, "It sounds like an industrial strength roach killer, and it could use one!...Next to C.H.U.D., the grimiest movie of its' time. At least that one took place underground!" Now, you must admit, that is a BRUTAL review, and absolute vintage Maltin at his finest! In case you hadn't seen it in my collection listing, YES, I do have C.H.U.D. as well- BOTH releases of it!

Best Regards,
David

Laserking,
Maltin has always set the standard, in my opinion. Even back when I used to get both his guide and Scheuer's it was Maltin's insight in capsule form that suck with me. It's great that he keeps the laserdisc key.
"And then the C.H.U.D.s came after me." Even Homer Simpson has a special relationship with that picture. There is life after a BOMB!, then.

Hi villagenumber6,

Yes, it is wonderful that Mr. Maltin (or The Great Malto, as I like to call him) retains the LaserDisc symbol in his guide, and even added this site to his listing of dealers & website sources for videos. I contacted him a couple of years ago and gave him a list of titles for which he DID NOT show the LaserDisc symbol, and yet I knew for certain WERE released on the format. As a matter of fact, I had all but one of the titles on the list I gave him in my collection. I was very happy to see when I got a new edition of his guide that he had added the symbol to the entries for these titles, for those of us who still care about such a valuable detail.

I'm glad to hear you also mention the name of Mr. Scheuer. I have one copy of an old edition of his book, from about 1987, I believe. He was also known to be rather merciless on films he didn't like. One of my all-time favorites, which rivals even the work of Mr. Maltin, was his review for Mandingo. I'll give you just a bit of it as well: "...It's seldom that we see a film so puerile, racist, and sexist in intent, and artless in execution that it defies description and belief..." His rating for it was 1/2* (HALF A STAR, his equivalent of the Maltin BOMB). In case you were wondering, yes, I have Mandingo on LaserDisc in my collection too.

Best Wishes,
David

You're one of the readers Maltin thanks in the introduction for having pointed out errata. I tip my hat to you, Sir; an admirable contribution.

I believe you remember correctly about Scheuer's droll put downs on the 1/2 star earners. I don't have the copy of his Zombie Flesheaters review in front of me here, but I seem to recall a 1/2 star and a comment along the lines of: "the cast looks half dead, maybe they're real zombies."
Any picture that was able to prompt sarcasm and a total trashing by Maltin and Scheuer HAD to be seen to be disbelieves. Actually I quite like Lucio Fulci's pictures; and I even have a couple of versions of his Zombie Flesheaters on laserdisc -yet, I think see Mr. Scheuer's point.

Good day villagenumber6

benmbe; Had I only know about "The Disc Emporium" when I lived in London... I was a regular frequenter of "The Laser Disc Store", though, where they had to buzz you in. Then there was "Tower Records" P. Circus -yes, over priced, but where else could you buy NTSC discs on Sunday at midnight? There were a few others nice stores, too. I miss flipping through all new discs in regular stores. I wasn't able to see you collection. What kind of movies are you into on disc?

Thank you for the reply,
Yes ''THE DISC EMPORIUM'' in Knebworth was a great shop, was only a small retailer but gave a very personal service to it's customers.

One of the owners insisted on buying me breakfast when I used to turn up, a great guy.

Enjoyed reading your post's

Shall look forward to further correspondence.

Sincere Regards

I'm also a big fan of Leonard Maltin. His interview with Peter Bogdonavich at the first TCM film festival in 2010 was a real treat. Have you noticed how his reviews have changed over the years? Originally he reviewed "made for TV" movies as below average, average or above average. They are all gone now. He also has quietly changed the ratings on a number of movies over time. I generally agree with him but get the feeling he isn't much of a science fiction fan. He gives Bladerunner 1.5 stars which is one step above bomb. The other thing that gets me is he frequently states a movie "goes on much too long". I never find a good movie is too long. The only movies that seem long to me are ones that I don't like for some other reason.

benmbe; Great sport that shop owner. I'm sorry I didn't know about him or his emporium. Did ever stop by a laserdisc store in South Kensington? A very nice guy named Jim something-or-rather tried his best at that game through the latter part of the '90s. -Jim, if you're out there; thanks for the memories.

dwalterm;
I'm glad to see that the subtle Mr. Maltin's changes of old ratings weren't just figments of my own imagination. You've noticed that, too.
You attended the TCM film festival 2010! It must have been a treat, yes. There is nothing like a screening of a classic movie from a good print. -And with giants like Leonard Malin and Peter Bogdanovich present to give some background, that day will be hard to top, I imagine.
About the changes in Maltin's guide; a melancholy one for me is how older stars are cut from the actor index to make way for modern ones. A great development, however, has been the advent of Maltin's Classic Movies Guide.

Thanks for making your laserdisc collection list public, dwalterm. It was fun to look through. Most impressive.

Oh, yes. The TVM in Maltin's guide. I remember sniffing out Amber Waves with Kurt Russel because of the Above Avreage rating. The Guide can't contain every movie - I get that - but it's too bad that well acted, well crafted TV movies are "lost" because they aren't represented, released or even talked about.