I think a good example of how the rot status can be pretty unreliable is this.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) [PILF-2830]

I don't recall it being rated that high before. I have some doubts about the veracity of these reports.

While I haven't ever looked at the rot report on this title.
I wonder if they are actually warped from the fools who only have 5 or 10 discs in their collection and haven't stored them properly
to cause warp.

I think there are a lot of new collectors or resellers who are just finding and dumping and not knowing, making rot worse than it is as always.

Yeah I think a lot of newer collectors don't even know what rot is.

What do you mean with the storage comment though? I am curious about that.

That was kind of my guess as well. This is kind of a babby's first LD and they think "doesn't look like a blu-ray = rot".

Oh people will have a very small collection leaning on the wall of the shelf and causing warp.

Like / on a bookshelf or something causing that curve from the smaller stack to warp, rather than having them vertical with a bookend or something to hold them
vertical.

Newby rediscovering Laserdisc. My dad bought a Pioneer Laserdisc player in the 1980 and again in the early 1990s and gave away the entire collection and Laserdisc player to a relative in 2005. I didn't have an inkling of what Laserdisc rot was. I did have some inkling that maybe it was when the Discovision discs were getting significantly worse in the late 1980s. 1941 (my favorite movie) on Discovision was the worst, that by the time of the 1990s player came out, it was unplayable. Blues Brothers and The Jerk were bad, but not as much.

So, this year (after I got done streaming 1941, and wasn't satisfied with the actual stream), I bought 1941 (the second LD USA release), as my first movie. I was also checking online for other movies, then I found "The Remake of Beau Geste" with Marty Feldman on Discovision, still wrapped in its original plastic, mint condition (and had the price tag on it). Out of the 2 discs, side 3 was really choppy, but the rest played perfectly. The discs were not warped. Is this a sign of Laserdisc rot?

I didn't report Waterland, as it was a choppy as well (both sides), then I looked at the disc and it was warped. I will probably put that one in the trash, because there is no way to bring it back to life.

Warped discs can be fixed, it just takes a bit of time (just saved a Leon (Professional): Integral Version (1994) (Uncut) [JVLF-77007~8] that wouldn't play passed 6 minutes).

Put the disc(s) out still in the plastic sleeve to avoid scratch/damage and stack weight above on them a flat as possible.
Ideally a stack of LaserDiscs since the weight will be well spread. Let them "heal" for a few days, then flip the disc(s) on the other side and do it again.

I used the Japanese Twin Peaks box as weight and LEON required 10 days on each side, but it plays again normally now.

Julien

It jumped up after I rated it. My side 1 is completely unwatchable with loud garbled static audio, and "snowing" all over the screen. All other sides look perfect.

It would be interesting to collect mint marks when reporting rot to see if any trend can be established.

That is a great suggestion!

Ehh I tried to film it, but it didn't really show up on a phone camera. I'd need a capture card to really show it. The visual issues aren't all that noticeable through a phone camera, but are very distracting in person, and the audio is all garbled up.

Wow, that's pretty bad.

Did you get a refund?

Nope. I bought it through a proxy last spring. At least it came with a bunch of bonuses. (The obi strip was stuck inside the cover, found it yesterday )

A bad copy of a terrible movie securely packed in promotional trash for itself. Perfection!

I feel like there's a lesson to be learned here.

Still better than anything Gisnep has shat out with the license.

That can’t be true. I quit Star Wars completely after Episode II so I haven’t seen anything newer but…those two movies SUUUUUUCKKKED. Some of the worst acting ever put to film. It’s just inconceivable that at least one of the Disney movies isn’t better. For the ax grinding incels I know they’ll never be happy but as actual movies go…I simply don’t believe you. That part where young Vader is going on like “…you’re soft, not like sand…” some of the worst most stilted crap ever seen in a big budget Hollywood thing.

I used to share your opinion before I went to see the gisnep ones. (excluding the spin offs, didn't bother with them) Episode 3 is better than 1 or 2, but it's still pretty boring, and the videogamey cgi bluescreen look doesn't help at all.
EDIT: Well ep7 is a decent movie, but it doesn't do anything new. Just feels like a remake of 4 with nostalgia bait. I do like the practical effects though.

Sadly they „outperformed“ Ep I - III with the new trilogy. The acting is unbearable and the story… oh my.
Episode I compared to the new ones feels like Schindlers List.

You should give them a go! Get yourself at least a gallon of vodka to make it bearable.

I would rather watch The Phantom Menace three times in a row than any of the Disney trilogy once.

You'd have to make it between Holiday Special vs Sequel Trilogy for me before it'd actually be a tough choice.