By: Erin
Posted: October 28th, 2024
Introduction | 1- 20 | 21 – 40 | 41 – 60 | 61 – 70 | 71 – 90 | 91 – 110 | 111 – 130 | 131 – 150 | 151 – 163 | Extras | Conclusion
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Introduction
In 2023, Mandy and I both made lists of our (at the time) favorite movies of all time. We tried to average around 100 a piece but I went a little overboard. After comparing each list, I put them together and ended up with approximately 163 movies. You can see what my list looks like here and Mandy’s list is here. Our lists have changed around a little bit since we made them, with movies coming and going, but they’re still a great canon of meaningful films for us both.
After making our initial lists, I was struck with a bit of an idea. We had recently preordered Shout Factory’s 4K release of Nightbreed that included the theatrical cut and director’s cut, and Kino Lorber was having a sale on 4K UHD discs. I wanted to surprise Mandy with a present I knew they wouldn’t expect, so I picked up The Night of the Hunter. While I was doing that I needed some more purchases to get free shipping, and while contemplating I came up with the idea of dedicating a shelf in our house to our favorite movies ever. We already had several DVDs and Blu-Rays from our childhood that fit the bill, so I figured I’d throw in some personal favorites and start a new collection.
So, it all started with a UHD of The Night of the Hunter, DVDs of Frank and Super Mario Bros. (1993) (which I actually owned the disc of but not the box from when I got it for Christmas in high school), and a Blu-Ray of American Graffiti. Combined with the movies we already owned and it was a good beginning to making a meaningful physical collection.
Mandy loved the idea, and so we started scavenging thrift stores and our favorite second hand video stores for movies we loved. At first we picked up whatever we could, no matter the format, but as we got deeper in the project we realized how vast the world of physical media really was. You had formats to consider, things like packaging and extras, new releases, alternate cuts, and more. It was a lot more difficult to own some of these movies than you’d expect, and some aren’t available physically in the US at all! Nonetheless, we succeeded – more or less.
Our favorites collection as of 2024 – always under construction!
Readers of this site know how important archival is to me. Owning the things that bring you joy is an important part of the archival process. I was talking about this project with my friend Sciura who is an archivist by trade, and they encouraged me to write about my experiences and findings. I’ll be going through each of our Favorite Movies that we own, revealing the troubles we went through to get them, the surprises, and what it takes to get your hands on some of these titles in 2024.
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