Laserdisc central

Okay, just what I needed. Another format, another platform to play movies on. It's already tough enough finding time to watch all the movies I currently have in house, but, you see, I keep seeing these large, glistening discs all over town and I had this intense desire to see how they looked, how they played on my big analog set. I knew that I was still a few years away from Bluray, from a high def set to play those discs on. I knew that I really didn't have a right to drag yet another piece of gear into my life but the desire alone gave me another reason to get out of the house, gave me one more thing to look for when I went out and about on my second hand shopping excursions. It's a good thing, really, to be able to broaden the focus. Well, maybe. Goodness, what does it matter, all this philosophical bantering? I am now in for a penny, in for about a hundred bucks.

BUT! You see, it wasn't a bad deal as deals go. I wasn't looking for it, but I have had it on my mind for a quite a while now. I saw a nice videodisc deck last December when I was in Seattle, at that new Goodwill there in Ballard. Big as a vinyl record turntable, heavy, clean. I kept seeing titles around town that I wanted to buy, but, what was the point? I didn't have anything to play them on. So I let things go, as well we should. And then the Hollywood store closings changed the game for a while, kept my focus on finding Criterion prints there on the cheap. And that, dear readers, is really what started this whole affair. The high cost of Criterion prints out in the world, the big box bookstores, even online. I wanted to somehow beat that, and well, ask long enough and the gods hear your supplications.

I walked into Goodwill yesterday with a ten spot in my pocket, thought to myself, cool, I'll go in and find a handful of movies, blow a couple, three bucks, take off to do other things with my day. And indeed I did find a couple movies right off the bat to take home. A remastered copy of Snow White. A Hong Kong print of Iron Monkey II. I was thrilled. Then, baby, the thrill was gone. I saw out of the corner of my eye a HUGE collection of laserdiscs in the book aisle. Well, all big, new to the store, fancy looking collections must be checked out. What a freaking mistake that was. BUT, and here's the big but, what caught my eye right away was the Criterion name on top of the packaging. I knew right then and there I was doomed.

What a nice small haul it was, considering the label. Brazil. Shine. Chasing Amy. Seven. Robocop. Silverado. Four bucks each. Clean, no scratches, great box sets, lots of features, lots of pluses. Okay, but what good were they going to do me without a player to play them on? Well, lo and behold, off to the right, on the electronics shelf, now conveniently placed a couple feet from the movies was a Pioneer deck, clean, with a manual, fifteen bucks. Damn and double damn!

So, I walked out of the store with a player, those above mentioned Criterion prints, a nice Clint Eastwood box set containing a documentary and all the Dirty Harry films and a handful of other titles including unopened copies of Young Frankestein and The Return of the Pink Panther. I left behind a number of great movies titles that I may go back and look for later on, well, maybe, after I pay the lights and gas. No good having that new player around if there's no juice in the sockets to play it with!

Action!