Topic: Favorite VHS Movies That Never Made it to DVD

[Clueless in Seattle]

Some of my favorite movies are only available on VHS and my old VHS tapes are slowly disintegrating.

So I'm trying to figure out the simplest and most economical way to copy them to DVD.

Here are some of the titles that I want to put onto DVD:

• The Long Day Closes (England)
  El Hijo Olvidado (Mexico)
  Will it Snow for Christmas (France)
  War of the Buttons (France)
  A Christmas Memory (1966 version, taped from TV)
  Hipolito El De Santa (Mexico)
  Dime With a Halo (taped from TV)
  

As far as I can tell, none of the above films ever made it to DVD.  If you should know of a DVD version of any of them, I'd sure like to hear about it.

Yes, I know, some of the films on that list are pretty cheesy.  But I guess I'm a sucker for cheese.

[Jimmy]

I've seen La guerre des boutons (War of the Buttons) when I was a young kids and this is one that I've really appreciated. Thanks for bringing back this title to my attention

It was released in France some years ago and you can buy a stand alone version or a 2 disc edition or in a boxset with a documentary on Yves Robert and "Bébert et l'omnibus".

Of course those release are certainly in french only with no subtitles, but if you speak french maybe it could interest you. You also need a dvd reader that can read dvd from region 2.

Anyway thanks, because of you I've it in my Amazon.fr wishlist

[Najemikon]

The Long Day Closes is available on Region 2 (UK). I found it at Amazon, plus more Terence Davies: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0018OS158/findhotelinth-21

Here's a website I use a lot for finding Region 2 prices, with more links for the same film: http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/dvd/The-Long-Day-Closes/1082905.htm

[Clueless in Seattle]

Thanks Jimmy and Jon for those links!

No, Jimmy, I'm ashamed to admit that I don't speak French. The only thing I learned to say when I hitchhiked around the South of France in the summer of 1972 was "Je suis Americain, je ne parle pas francais."  And the reply I always got was, "But of course you do, you just did!."

Oh yeah, one more phrase "Il faut toujours travailler!" which I got from a memoir by Rainer Rilke.  Supposedly Rodin said that to him one time when he expressed amazement at how much work Rodin got done while Rilke was struggling to get a single poem written.

But, I've always wanted to learn French, and now that I know that War of the Buttons is available without subtitles, that might give me the motivation to try learning it.

And the fact that two of my favorite movies are available only on Region 2  DVDs is motivation for me to start shopping for a "region free" DVD player.  Trouble is I'm barely scraping by on a very small Social Security disability pension, and there was no cost of living increase this year, even though all my expenses are going through the roof (big rent increase and big utility bill increase). 
 
 Up to now I've relied on hand-me-downs.  My DVD player, TV, VHS player, CD player, speakers and receiver were all given to me by friends, neighbors and even total strangers via Freecycle.org.
 
 But, life is short, and since I get so much enjoyment from movies, and have difficulty getting out much these days, I think I should make getting a region free DVD player one of my highest priorities.  My birthday is coming up in August, so I'll start dropping hints.
 
 Thanks, guys, for turning me on to these DVDs of two of my favorite movies!

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

[Najemikon]

And the fact that two of my favorite movies are available only on Region 2  DVDs is motivation for me to start shopping for a "region free" DVD player.

Make sure you consider a "Multi-Region" player rather than "Region Free". The former requires you to tell the player what region you want before you put the disc in. Region-Free simply doesn't ask, essentially setting itself to Region 0.

It's a silly difference, but can be a difference nonetheless. Some DVDs are "region locked" which means they will refuse to play unless the player can specifically pretend to be the correct region. Some players that use the term region-free can't do that. To be honest, it's an old problem and I think even the cheapest brands can be multi-region now.

But before you panic and worry about having to replace your stuff, do tell us what make and model of player you have. It might be hackable for free with a special code we'll be able to help you find.

[Clueless in Seattle]

Hi Jon!

My old hand-me-down DVD player is a JVC model XV-S402.

Thatwould be great if it were indeed "hackable" as you say.

One shortcoming of this old model is that it won't play DVD-RWs.  And I'm not very adept at making back-ups of my DVDs.  So more often than not I end up burning through 2, 3 or more DVD-Rs before I finally get it right.   

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

[lovemunkey187]

Not movies as such, but I've got a couple of stand up shows that I wouldn't mind having on dvd.

Tim Allen - Rewires America
Brett Butler - The Girl Ain't Right
Robin Williams - Live At The Met.

Although TBH, I haven't looked for them on DVD.

[Najemikon]

Hi Jon!

My old hand-me-down DVD player is a JVC model XV-S402.

Thatwould be great if it were indeed "hackable" as you say.

One shortcoming of this old model is that it won't play DVD-RWs.  And I'm not very adept at making back-ups of my DVDs.  So more often than not I end up burning through 2, 3 or more DVD-Rs before I finally get it right.   

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

Unfortunately, I can't find anything, but we'll see if anyone else comes up with it. Where I check is predominantly UK models, so there may be a US site somewhere that can help.

[Jimmy]

I've checked also at my usual place yesterday and like John I've found nothing. Sorry Will
But if you are able to find a Phillips model they are usually easy to transform as all region dvd reader.

[Antares]

The Man Without a Country