DVD

Last week, I was wandering through one of the DVD shops I frequent and stumbled across Clash of the Titans. I snatched it up immediately. It’s one of a few movies that I saw repeatedly in the early 80s on cable ( a couple of others being Dragonslayer and Zorro, the Gay Blade ).

Cable TV was still new and, at least for a preteen kid, exciting. I spent countless hours watching movies I never would have seen otherwise. I’m positive that it was this period of my life in which I developed my love for movies. So the next time my wife complains that I spend too much money on DVDs, I’ll tell her to blame my parents and grandparents for subscribing to cable in the early 80s!

One thing that really struck me about Clash of the Titans last week is that it has held up quite well. Having been spoiled by modern special effects, I expected to find it cheesy and boring. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stop-motion animation is part of the movie’s flavor and still works now even in the post-Lord of the Rings era. Even so, I’m looking forward to the remake slated for release next year.

A few days ago I was at my favorite DVD shop going through the discounted titles. They have shelves and shelves of $10 DVDs (with one section full of titles at 4 for $10). When I saw the five Batman movies at $10 each, I realized I hadn’t bought any of them yet. So I grabbed them all and started for the counter. As I walked down the aisle, I happened to glance down at a section where everything was $6 and Urban Cowboy caught my eye.

Like anyone else, I often find myself strolling down memory lane when I hear a certain song, or smell a certain scent, but rarely do any visual cues trigger my memories. As soon as I read the title of the DVD, I suddenly was remembering things I hadn’t thought of in years. The late 70s and early 80s were a magical time for me, as I was just becoming aware enough of the ‘adult’ world to want to be a part of it, but I was still way too young to do so. And it dawned on me as I stood looking at that Urban Cowboy DVD that I still had never seen the movie.

When Urban Cowboy was first released, I was too young too see it. I really wanted to, because I was a huge fan of Welcome Back Kotter and, of course, Vinnie Barbarino was my favorite Sweat Hog. When the movie later started playing on cable (remember when there was only HBO, Showtime and Cinemax?) a couple of friends saw it. All they could talk about was ‘the guy eating the worm’. I was able to sneak a peek one night when my parents weren’t paying attention. It just so happened that the scene I caught was the one where Scott Glenn turns up the tequila bottle and gulps down the worm. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

The first rated ‘R’ movie I ever saw was Conan the Barbarian. I must have been 11 or 12 at the time. My parents were members of a bowling league and there was a dollar theater next to the bowling alley. I saw a lot of movies there. One night, Conan was playing and I begged my father to let me see it. I was a huge Conan fan, having read all of the books and as many of the comics as I could get my hands on. So my father walked over to the theater with me, bought the ticket, and told them I had his permission to see the movie. I remember being afraid they would refuse to let me in anyway since rated ‘R’ meant that anyone under 17 was supposed to be accompanied by an adult. But they took my ticket and I went inside. I was in awe from beginning to end. Some annoying jackass in the row behind me had already seen the movie and couldn’t resist describing to his friends ‘what’s coming up next’ for each friggin scene in the movie. Even that couldn’t spoil it for me, though. What’s more, from that day on I was sometimes allowed to watch rated ‘R’ movies on cable with my parents. But there are still a lot of movies from before that time that I have never seen.

So I added Urban Cowboy to the Batman stack and headed home. My wife and I sat back and watched it today.  Overall, it was better than I expected. I remember having a crush on Debra Winger back then from seeing her in An Officer and A Gentleman and Cannery Row. Seeing this movie brought that back. It also made me want to see more of the movies I had missed.

There are a great many movies from the late 70s and early 80s that I remember hearing the hype about but wasn’t allowed to see at the time: Saturday Night Fever, North Dallas Forty, and Raging Bull to name a few. These are movies that just slipped from my mind at some point, else I would have seen them all by now. So I’m on a mission to find as many of these titles as I can. I know I can order most of them online, but I need to get the region 3 versions and with Korean subtitles (for my wife). That means hunting through as many local DVD shops as I can find. I’ll start with my favorite, which is a pretty big store. There’s a good chance some of these movies are there. And if not, they’ll turn up somewhere at some point.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I had intended to see Dreamer. Unfortunately, she wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t go. Last weekend, it was no longer playing anywhere in Seoul. I tried to convince her to go see Inside Man or 16 Blocks, but she wasn’t interested. So I thought I’d see both movies myself during the week. As it turns out, my classes were cancelled this week so I didn’t have to leave the house early in the morning. Instead, I focused on programming and other tasks. Being so busy, time just slipped away and I didn’t see either movie. Now, this weekend, neither one is playing. I’ll just have to wait for the DVDs.

We wound up seeing Mission Impossible 3 today. It was better than I expected. I’d say it’s the best MI yet. We didn’t see it at our regular Cinema since early showings were all sold out. We went to a different one a block away. On the way home I stopped by a DVD shop that I don’t normally visit. They have a tremendous selection, the largest of any DVD shop I’ve been to is Seoul. I was able to find 2 movies I’ve been looking all over for, Wyatt Earpp and Regarding Henry. The former I just think is a great movie, the latter I wanted because, while it’s a good movie, I’m trying to expand my Harrison Ford collection.

I also managed to get my hands on the second season of the Sopranos. Everywhere I’ve been I’ve found seasons one and three, but two has been elusive. They also had three and four, but I’ll get those later. The best part of today’s visit is that my wife reminded me to ask about a membership. It turns out that they do have one and its the same sort of system my regular shop has: 5% of every purchase is added to a running balance that you can ultimately use to by other items in the store. Considering that this place blows away my regular shop in terms of selection size, I think I’ll be spending more time there. Also, the nearby theater is never as busy as our regular one, so my wife and I decided we’ll keep going there instead (even though their snack bars have no hot dogs).

The wife and I saw the new Pride & Prejudice yesterday. I had hoped to see it while I was in the States, but it wasn’t playing anymore at any local theaters while I was there. It’s only been out a week or two here. I enjoy period movies, particularly dramas (my favorite for a long while was Dangerous Liaisons), and anything with Keira Knightley will pull me to the cinema. We both loved it. My wife had expected not to enjoy it, but she really did.

After the movie we stopped by our regular music & DVD shop. The balance on my membership card there was large enough to get something free (5% of every purchase is added to the balance). The wife immediately grabbed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, since we’d not seen it yet. I picked up the first three Potters as well, since they were on sale. I can’t say I’m a Potter fan. I’ve never read the books and I thought the movies were only mildly entertaining. Still, they are nice movies to have in the DVD collection for our future kid(s).

So Sunday was a good day. Much better than Saturday. We were going to see the movie then, but the showing we wanted was sold out. The next showing only had seats available on the front row (where my wife can’t sit because her neck hurts when she does). The next showing was just later than we wanted to be out. So we went to the music & DVD shop only to find a long line outside and several employees blocking the entrance. A Korean celebrity was coming for an autograph signing session. I didn’t bother to ask who – I was too annoyed that I couldn’t go in and pick up a free DVD. Outside, it was pouring rain and, thanks to my wife’s romantic notions, we only had one umbrella (I brought one, she didn’t). It’s romantic when you’re dating to walk arm-in-arm under an umbrella and the guy doesn’t mind that one side of his body is soaking wet. We’ve been married for seven years. That guy doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t like getting wet at all. Ultimately we wound up at Outback and had a great dinner. Steak and cheesecake will always save the day.