On Collecting Works
You'd hope when a DVD had a title like Collected Shorts or 32 Short Films that Amazon (or the online retailer of your choice) would feel the need to list the contents, since the picture of the cover isn't always clear enough. Sometimes they have "Includes ..." and then a list, but there's no way to be certain if that is complete or partial. Other times you are dependent on reviews.
Given how many boxsets there are on the market these days, this is an issue. They start overlapping. And if the online sites don't give you complete information, it can get expensive. More expensive. Or you end up with two copies of Juno and the Paycock (The Early Hitchcock Collection and The Collection).
Buster Keaton Collector's Edition, a five disc set which I have. Fortunately I bought The General for £2, since it isn't one of the films in the set. According to Amazon it "Features selected Buster Keaton movies, including: 'Our Hospitality', 'Sherlock Jnr.', 'Steamboat Bill Jnr.', 'Convict 13', 'Daydreams', 'The Saphead', 'The High Sign', 'One Week', 'Seven Chances', 'The Balloonatic', 'Neighbours', 'Battling Butler', 'The Haunted House' and 'The Frozen North'." Meanwhile, The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films contains 32 films, including "the acclaimed 'Cops', and 'The High Sign'." One of these is in The Collectors Edition, but I have to go to HMV.co.uk to see that if I buy this I duplicate 'Convict 13', 'Daydreams', 'Neighbors', 'One Week', 'The Balloonatic', 'The Frozen North', 'The Haunted House' and 'The High Sign'. But there are various films I can only get with Collector's (presumably all features) or I can only get with Complete. Amazon wouldn't help me be any wiser, mind.
Then there's The Buster Keaton Chronicles, listed on both Amazon and HMV, a review on the former giving a listing, the latter listing the contents as usual. This duplicates Collector's, with the exception of 'The High Sign' but adds ‘College’, ‘Cops’, ‘Go West’, ‘My Wife's Relations’, ‘The Blacksmith’, ‘The Boat’, ‘The Electric House’, ‘The General’, ‘The Goat’, ‘The Love Nest’, ‘The Navigator’, ‘The Paleface’, ‘The Playhouse’, ‘The Scarecrow’ and ‘The Three Ages’. Collector's appear to be five DVDs from a series, but this is a separate compilation. Most of these are on the Complete, but I'd need to buy 'College', 'Go West', 'The General', 'The Navigator' and 'The Three Ages' separately.
Please, contain your excitement.
There is a DVD of 'College'/'The Three Ages'/'Steamboat Bill Jnr.' for £29.99, but 'Go West' and 'The Navigator' aren't available on Region 2 - so duplication might be unavoidable short of importing.
Meanwhile there's Harold Lloyd Definitive - according to Amazon it contains ‘A Sailor-Made Man’, ‘Dr Jack’, ‘Feet First’, ‘For Heaven’s Sake’, ‘Girl Shy’, ‘Grandma’s Boy’, ‘Hot Water’, ‘Movie Crazy’, ‘Safety Last’, ‘Speedy’, ‘The Cat’s Paw’, ‘The Freshman’, ‘The Kid Brother’, ‘The Milky Way’, ‘Welcome Danger’ and ‘Why Worry’, but that undersells the shorts, let alone featurettes. Do I also need the collection Short Films? Well, it looks like there's no overlap there, so yes.
A final caveat emptor: Amazon seem increasingly to link up reviews of one book with another - see my various Pratchett tomes. And when I tried to search by ISBN to find Angela Carter's version of Perrault, it gave me a translation from the 1950s. Ho hum.
Given how many boxsets there are on the market these days, this is an issue. They start overlapping. And if the online sites don't give you complete information, it can get expensive. More expensive. Or you end up with two copies of Juno and the Paycock (The Early Hitchcock Collection and The Collection).
Buster Keaton Collector's Edition, a five disc set which I have. Fortunately I bought The General for £2, since it isn't one of the films in the set. According to Amazon it "Features selected Buster Keaton movies, including: 'Our Hospitality', 'Sherlock Jnr.', 'Steamboat Bill Jnr.', 'Convict 13', 'Daydreams', 'The Saphead', 'The High Sign', 'One Week', 'Seven Chances', 'The Balloonatic', 'Neighbours', 'Battling Butler', 'The Haunted House' and 'The Frozen North'." Meanwhile, The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films contains 32 films, including "the acclaimed 'Cops', and 'The High Sign'." One of these is in The Collectors Edition, but I have to go to HMV.co.uk to see that if I buy this I duplicate 'Convict 13', 'Daydreams', 'Neighbors', 'One Week', 'The Balloonatic', 'The Frozen North', 'The Haunted House' and 'The High Sign'. But there are various films I can only get with Collector's (presumably all features) or I can only get with Complete. Amazon wouldn't help me be any wiser, mind.
Then there's The Buster Keaton Chronicles, listed on both Amazon and HMV, a review on the former giving a listing, the latter listing the contents as usual. This duplicates Collector's, with the exception of 'The High Sign' but adds ‘College’, ‘Cops’, ‘Go West’, ‘My Wife's Relations’, ‘The Blacksmith’, ‘The Boat’, ‘The Electric House’, ‘The General’, ‘The Goat’, ‘The Love Nest’, ‘The Navigator’, ‘The Paleface’, ‘The Playhouse’, ‘The Scarecrow’ and ‘The Three Ages’. Collector's appear to be five DVDs from a series, but this is a separate compilation. Most of these are on the Complete, but I'd need to buy 'College', 'Go West', 'The General', 'The Navigator' and 'The Three Ages' separately.
Please, contain your excitement.
There is a DVD of 'College'/'The Three Ages'/'Steamboat Bill Jnr.' for £29.99, but 'Go West' and 'The Navigator' aren't available on Region 2 - so duplication might be unavoidable short of importing.
Meanwhile there's Harold Lloyd Definitive - according to Amazon it contains ‘A Sailor-Made Man’, ‘Dr Jack’, ‘Feet First’, ‘For Heaven’s Sake’, ‘Girl Shy’, ‘Grandma’s Boy’, ‘Hot Water’, ‘Movie Crazy’, ‘Safety Last’, ‘Speedy’, ‘The Cat’s Paw’, ‘The Freshman’, ‘The Kid Brother’, ‘The Milky Way’, ‘Welcome Danger’ and ‘Why Worry’, but that undersells the shorts, let alone featurettes. Do I also need the collection Short Films? Well, it looks like there's no overlap there, so yes.
A final caveat emptor: Amazon seem increasingly to link up reviews of one book with another - see my various Pratchett tomes. And when I tried to search by ISBN to find Angela Carter's version of Perrault, it gave me a translation from the 1950s. Ho hum.