Films or soundtracks?

[filmmusic 1,826]

I was curious about the community here.

I don't buy soundtracks as I used to in my teens in the 90s, I buy very selective few, mostly the Williams ones. 

But, I buy many films on blu-ray and UHD now.

What about you?

[crocodile 8,006]

I buy quite a lot of films but music definitely still dominates. In fact my interest in film and filmmaking originated from my love for film music.

 

Karol

[Thor 7,495]

I don't really buy CDs or LPs at the present time, and haven't for many years (I already have about 1000 CDs, 100 LPs and 1500 digital albums). I do have a want list of some 40 titles, but these are all related to composers and artists to whom I have a completist connection. For all of these, I'm waiting to find that affordable deal. So any other new music acquisitions these days are digital files, mostly promos.

 

As for films, I was never really able to build a proper collection. I had a VHS collection of some 50 titles back in the early 2000s; all of these are gone now. I currently have a DVD collection (with a handful of Blu-rays) of some 75-100 titles, maybe. Nothing new there in at least 10 years. Part of it has to do with limited space, of course. I live in a tiny one-room apartment. I watch new films in the theatre or via streaming.

 

So to your question -- I suppose I buy soundtracks more often than films, but both are very rare.

 

But in my dream future, I have both the space and the money to build both collections further. I love physical media!

[TheUlyssesian 2,478]

Not many of either. I have kindaaaaa given up on physical media. I now purchase things that basically cannot be bought digitally or streamed anywhere. 

 

 

[Andy 4,123]

I got out of control with Blu Ray. Lots of blind buys, justified by saying it was cheaper than going to the movies.  Then 4K came and underwhelmed me.   So a few years ago, I would’ve said I buy more films. 
 

Now the films have tapered off, and I’m back to soundtracks.  I probably buy more soundtracks, but it’s close. 

[Datameister 2,042]

I think it would be accurate for me to say I don't buy films anymore. I make occasional trips to the movie theater and I pay for streaming services. My small collection of DVDs and Blu-ray sees the light of day less and less each year.

 

My music collection is a totally different story. I've got numerous shelves of CDs, as well as some albums I've bought digitally. I don't use any music streaming services. A lot of this has to do with my viewing/listening habits: I'm much more likely to watch movies at home, whereas a decent chunk of my listening happens in transit. And I like to keep my mobile data use low. My tastes in films are also a lot more mainstream than my tastes in music. Plus I revisit albums much more frequently than I revisit films.

 

So yeah, definitely soundtracks for me.

[mrbellamy 6,286]

I was never a big soundtrack collector, I've got maybe a few dozen, which must be a ton compared to anybody else I know but peanuts next to you guys. But that's a technicality because I started listening by borrowing CDs from the library, and soon discovered I could rip them into the computer lol. I confess it all, guards take me away. Eventually streaming got rid of that habit too. I don't think I've bought a soundtrack CD since Rise of Skywalker?

 

Movies were much slower to be convenient digitally so I've got a lot but it really has gotten to the point where I'm just out of room. I have to be more picky now and it is unfortunately just the reality that physical media is less necessary. I do miss it, though, and I still like buying my #1 favorites because I don't trust things to stay on a particular service, or to be my preferred version. Sometimes I am still a sucker for variety packs if it's a really fun 4-in-1. But even I couldn't justify buying Get Back on Bluray with no extra goodies on it. Last Blurays I bought were the two Don Hertzfeldt collections he has on his website, those are rad and it's cool to be able to give back to him directly. 

[Jay 37,352]

Oh man, I buy and own WAY more film scores than films!

 

When I was younger, I spent a lot of money buying films on physical media.  Then I had to upgrade all my letterbox VHS to DVD.  Then I had to upgrade all my DVD to Blu Ray.  Etc. 

 

I also realized at some point that I was buying every movie I saw once and liked, but that didn't necessarily mean I'd want to watch it again any time soon.  So why own a movie that would sit on my shelf only to come off once every 15-20 years to watch again, if ever?

 

I eventually sold every single one of my VHSes, and started selling tons of DVD as well.  Now I only keep a curated collection of movies on physical media.  These are typical in one of these categories: One of my absolute favorite movies ever, a really awesome release with really wonderful bonus features, something I like and is actually hard to find (like a movie that came out on DVD but doesn't have a Blu Ray yet perhaps, or a rare cut/edition, etc)... or a film I saw once and REALLY really liked, and picked for really short money on blu (like $5 range).  Oh, and I also keep any film JW scored on DVD and blu and would eventually like to own all those, but haven't really pursued making that happen to hard.

 

The other major thing I realized about my film watching is that there are so many films that exist that I still have not seen, and so many new ones coming out all the time that I want to see, that out of every 100 films I watch, probably 98-99 of them are a film I've never seen before.  It's very rare these days for me to re-watch a film I've already seen.  So almost all our watching is films available on a streaming service.  I would never buy a film I've never seen before on physical media, I only buy films I already know I like.

 

Film scores on the other hand, are different.  The first film score I ever got was the Star Wars anthology box set in 1994, when CDs were in their prime, so my entire collection is on one single medium, and medium still made and sold to this day.  Especially true because I love to buy specialty label titles, and those typically only come out on the CD format.  I have no interest in ever selling my collection, though at some point when we downsize in old age perhaps I'll make sure it finds its way to someone who will appreciate it.

I think I own over 2000 CDs.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

As someone who listens to a large variety of classical and sometimes vg music, not much film music has interested me enough to invest. However, if I ever want to return to one of the most sensational sounds to behold, this is it. Lando's Palace theme is what I call, the essential recommendation to those who maybe heard Williams and enjoyed him. This brilliant melody and vision of goodwill epitomizes Williams' whole career, it will easily fit any great movie scene.