I Am Legend

A DVD Steal

I am somewhat old-fashioned in that I continue to buy movies on DVD (and, recently, on Blu-Ray) rather than rent, rip or download them from the internet. I like nothing better than to sit in our den and look at the wall of movies and TV shows I've accumulated, trying to decide what I want to watch.

Warner box
Since I recently upgraded my player to a Blu-Ray Disc player, I've been keeping my eyes open for "special" movies that would look extra great in high definition. I'm not about the replace all of my DVD movies and TV shows with the Blu-Ray versions but I do have a short list of movies (like Star Trek, Harry Potter, Star Wars) that I would like to find on high-def discs (as long as the price is right). So far, I have only three Blu-Rays: HP 1, 5 and 6, each of which I found for $10.

So when I saw a Blu-Ray copy of Will Smith's recent I Am Legend, a movie I have wanted to see since it first came out, for just $12.99, I was sorely tempted. Then I saw, in a nearby bin, a Warner Brothers "Action" movie tin containing four movies on DVD for the same price and reconsidered. The tin offered not only I Am Legend but also V is for Vendetta, The Departed, and 300, all for that same $12.99 price.

So I walked away. Too hard a decision to make at that time. I convinced myself that I couldn't possibly spend thirteen bucks for one movie on Blu-Ray when I could get that same movie, plus three others, on DVD for the same price. I then convinced myself that I couldn't buy the four DVDs in the collectors tin because I was worried that the four discs inside wouldn't have their own covers and cases, so they'd be impossible to file in my well-organized DVD collection.

For the past week, however, I kept thinking about that tin. I should have bought it, I thought. My brother has told me that V is a great movie and I have heard nothing but good things about Scorcese's The Departed. The only stinker in the tin was 300 and even that movie couldn't be so terrible. And I could get empty DVD cases, print the covers from the internet and solve the filing problem that way.

But wait, I argued with myself, if you have to do all that, you're just going to drive the price up so high that the Blu Ray wouldn't be such a bad buy.

I was back at the same store today. Both the Blu Ray and the collectors tin were still there and still $12.99. So I took the plunge. I bought the tin. And when I got home, I am delighted to report I found all four discs inside in their own super-thin plastic cases with complete full-colour covers. No filing problem at all. And the tin itself is actually kinda cool, so I can put it to other uses as well.

I'm really pleased. I can't wait to watch at least three of them. I'm just wondering if I should go back and check out the other Warner Brothers collector tins ("Drama" and maybe "Comedy") that I didn't look at during my first two shopping trips.