We were watching “10 Things I Hate About You” over the weekend.  On TV, suitably and tastefully edited for the Sunday afternoon slot.  It was only while we were watching the outtakes during the end credits that I realised I had this movie on DVD as part of my Shakespear collection.  Looking through the drawer, there it was!  The box had clearly been opened and yet I don’t think the disk has ever been in the player.

This got me to thinking.  What proportion of DVDs in the collection are there purely because I’ve wanted to own the movie, thinking I’ll watch it at some time in the future?  Turns out it’s about 60%!

You buy a film with every intention of watching it that evening.  Then something crops up.  Maybe it’s a phonecall that goes on too long, maybe it’s a TV show you’d forgotten was on.  Before you know it, it’s far too late to stick on a movie and it goes back in the drawer or on the shelf never to be seen again.  Worse, they seem to prevent the movie from ever being watched again in any format.  “Nah, got that on DVD.  What else is on?” has been heard a few times in this house.

Notable titles I’ve never seen include “Round Ireland with a Fridge”, “Das Boot”, the aforementioned “10 Things I Hate About You”, several series of “The Detectives” and a load more.  The kids’ DVDs fare a lot better, I don’t think there’s one of them that’s not been put through the wringer.

We have made a resolution now – we’re going to take advantage of online rentals like Blinkbox and make the time to watch a movie from start to finish.  Hopefully!

I’ll leave you with a scene from a movie I don’t own.  Yet…

Probably George Clooney’s finest movie.  And in case you’re wondering, no I don’t know what the word of the day is.