Sadness.


I got some very bittersweet news the other day…my family decided to get the Hopper DVR device. Without sounding too much like a commercial, it basically will let us record more shows simultaneously so we won’t have to sacrifice watching things we really enjoy for other things we really enjoy. Now, at my house, I’m clearly the #1 DVR user. I have TCM and I’m human, okay? (I also understand its “intricacies” much more than my parents do.) So I was happy that we were finally getting the Hopper—I mean, it has two freaking terrabytes of storage. TCM all day, every day!

But then my mom told me the worst part…everything that’s currently on our DVR will be erased when the new device is installed. EVERYTHING. Years of accumulating this oddball film here and this fantastic movie there will all be gone come Tuesday. I’m kinda sorta devastated. Sure, some of the movies play on TCM all the time, no big deal. But what about The Happy Time? It’s a little-known movie starring Charles Boyer and Louis Jourdan as brothers and it’s all about their cute family and it’s just so adorable. But of course, it’s nowhere to be found. And what about Love Letters? I absolutely adore this unknown romantic drama—Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, amnesia, what’s not to like? Sadly, Love Letters isn’t on DVD, and the cheapest VHS I’ve found is $45. $45! Same goes for the Bette Davis-Robert Montgomery comedy June Bride. Why on earth would I pay $45 plus shipping for just a VHS?! I love my movies, but I’ve never paid that much money for one and I doubt I ever will.

And then there are the films that are on DVD, but inexplicably cost an arm and a leg. The Court Jester, for example. Totally love it, but $40 for it? No thanks. It’s not even a special edition-type thing, so why is it so expensive? If TCM showed it more, I don’t think I’d be complaining as much, but it’s not as popular as Ninotchka or The Merry Widow.
Needless to say, on Tuesday I’ll be bemoaning my lost little gems. I might buy my absolute (and cheapest) favorites off of Amazon, but there’s no way I can snatch up all of those on my list—I am a college student after all. So, adieu for now Love Letters, June Bride, and you other lovely films. I’ll continue to search for you.

With love,
Michaela

P.S. For any Nightmare Before Christmas fanatics out there, I really wanted to start this post with the quote from the Mayor when he believes Jack Skellington is dead (“Terrible news, everyone!”). I didn’t think many would get it, though…so I chickened out and wrote this pointless P.S. instead.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2014 at 11:29 PM

    I know how you feel as coming from Australia and not having pay tv, it's very difficult to find these gems let alone to own them on dvd forever. That's why I purchased a recorder that let's me record too dvd from the hard drive, otherwise it would just be terrible to have to let them go one day :(

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