Becoming a Film Addict: Part 2

The previous 'Becoming a Film Addict' seemed to go down well and, looking back on it, the article seemed a little perfunctory.  I have thought about it some more and this is an expansion on Part 1.

This addiction to film and DVDs led me, following a region hack check, to DVD Reviewer (where I lurked for a couple of years before joining) and others who shared my passion, talking about films I hadn't seen (yet) and invariably leading to an increase in my DVD collection. This also created a need to talk about the films I'd seen, if not with 'real people', then with online acquaintances who were happy to chat.

One of the threads that drew me in was the 'Personal Viewing Log' where, every week, several of us would list the films we'd watched and say what we thought in a mini review. Eventually this was rebranded as 'What I Watched This Week' which I did religiously. As much as I enjoyed writing the piece, a lack of feedback and the possibility that no-one was actually reading the thread was disheartening. Obviously it had more readers than I thought and when a vacancy came up to join the official review team, I was encouraged to apply due to the mini reviews I'd been writing in the threads - I don't know why I hadn't considered applying sooner.

A couple of years ago I had the idea of studying film at university, as much for expanding my horizons as to come out at the end with a bit of paper to say that I know what I am talking about when I review a film! As a casual watcher and film reviewer, I had only considered the medium as entertainment but, for the two years of my degree (a part time MA in International Film), I read about and analysed film in a way that I had never previously imagined and, coming from a politics background (with a BSc in Social Sciences and an MA in International Studies), this proved to be a massive challenge as I was on a course with people whose academic background was in film. As well as being eye opening and introducing me to new concepts, filmmakers and ways of reading film, it was a lot of fun even if timetables didn't always fit my availability and therefore led to me taking a second year module in The Hollywood Musical!

Whilst all this was going on, I continued as a reviewer at DVD Reviewer and the newly created sister site MyReviewer, an avocation I started in June 2006 and where I have written over 650 reviews so far. This has become another compulsion in which I feel the need to write about things I watch and it's only because of time and logistical constraints that I don't do more. It is now the case that I watch more films for review purposes than those I own, rent or record from TV. My life now revolves around film and my waking hours are spent watching films, writing reviews, going to the cinema, buying films and talking about films on message boards or even with 'real' people! I spend my evenings watching films and reading and my mornings planning reviews, cinema visits and my evenings viewing list, so every waking moment is just about devoted to film. As an illustration, in the first three months of 2010, I have watched 176 films (plus over 20 with a commentary track)!

It's come to the state where I'll recognise a piece of music but, as I don't listen to music on the radio or watch TV, will spend hours racking my brains until I figure out on which film's soundtrack it features. To make matters worse (or better depending on your point of view) most of the books I read are film related, either textbooks, film guides (such as Profondo Argento, Nightmare Movies and Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear) or fiction that has been (or is likely to be) adapted into a film. I also subscribe to Sight & Sound and Fangoria, the gorehound's bible, which together cover both the highbrow and arthouse releases to the gory horror output that I enjoy so much.

One of the hazards of this addiction is the 'double dip', not the etiquette about a chip and dip that featured so brilliantly in Seinfeld, nor the sherbet confectionary but the multiple purchases of the same title either from one format to another (VHS to DVD or DVD to BD) or the compulsion to buy the same film again because it has been released with better AV quality or a never before seen extra feature. Was I satisfied with one copy of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre? Of course not and now I own four copies on DVD and another on Blu-ray. The same goes for many other films including Gladiator, Blade Runner and Dawn of the Dead. The Exorcist will follow when that receives its high definition debut later this year. For some titles I triple, quadruple and quintuple dip! Then there are the posters, T-shirts, figurines and so on.

I would love to be in a position to go to film festivals, such Frightfest, and spend a week watching myriad films but, sadly, my physical condition makes this an impossibility. I can't see a future where I don't check the cinema listings and want to go at least once, whether to see something massively hyped or going with the lowest expectations, or spending my evenings watching and reading about film.

I imagine in many of these aspects I am not alone!