How many movies did you see in 2008?

Without even trying hard, I saw more movies in 2008 than in 2007. I saw 263 movies in 2007.

194 from Netflix (36 of those were Watched Instantly)
56 in a theatre
14 from Classicflix
12 from various other sources: TV, a friend, or eBay
6 from Video Review, a bricks and mortar video store
4 from SilverScreenArchive
1 from the Greensboro Public Library

For a total of 287.


You can see all the titles, categorized by source, on my Listology list of Movies Seen in 2008

How many movies did you get from Netflix in 2007?

I saw only 263 movies in 2007. It was a slow year. The year before, I saw 473. This is how 2007 breaks down:

Netflix sent me 106 movies,

SilverScreenArchive sent me 65,

Classicflix sent me 2,

I saw 67 in a theatre, on the big screen,

and 23 from other sources, like eBay, Amazon, a dollar store, or Redbox, Video Review.

I managed to avoid Blockbuster and Hollywood Video entirely.

Thank you, Netflix!

SilverScreenArchive

So, today I get a nice email from David at SilverScreenArchive, telling me that they are not going to make me pay for the DVD that got stolen on Veterans' Day! Sweet.

And he reminded me that my old posts about ClassicFlix should be updated to show the name has changed to SilverScreenArchive, the other best place to rent classic films. For you young folks out there, when I say "classic", I mean a film that was made between 1906 and 1969. Netflix is great, but they can't rent what isn't on DVD. So what SilverScreenArchive offers, which no one else does, is the service of renting films that have never been released on DVD, making them especially rare and hard-to-find. Their films are usually transferred from some other format to DVD.

SilverScreenArchive is located in California, so it takes an extra day for mail to get here to North Carolina, but the service is excellent.

If you're trying to complete the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, SilverScreenArchive is a great resource.

Holiday presents opportunity for thief

I forgot that yesterday was a Federal holiday, and that the USPS wouldn't be picking up my mail. In the morning, I left an envelope in the box destined for Silverscreenarchive, my choice for movies which Netflix doesn't have. When I returned home in the afternoon, the flag was still up, but the DVD was gone. I suspect that the combination of idle children out of school, and my forgetfulness, created an opportunity for a thief. Too bad the film won't be of any interest to a typical child of today. It's a Frank Sinatra/Debbie Reynolds romantic comedy from 1955.

My Yearly stats

I saw 473 movies last year.
Of those, 65 movies were in the theatre, so the rest were on DVD or VHS (no TV).
163 were from Netflix.
42 were from Blockbuster Online.
73 were from SilverScreenArchive.
The rest were from other sources, like eBay, Amazon, Facets, Nicheflix, Public Library, or a friend.

I have seen 914 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Update re: SilverScreenArchive, formerly ClassicFlix

11/14/2007 UPDATE: I have replaced all references to Classicflix in this post to SilverScreenArchive, which is their new name since October 2006.

I am really enjoying using SilverScreenArchive, which I joined back in March to use as a supplement to my Netflix subscription. If you would like to see the greatest classics of foreign and American film, this is your source. They have thousands of titles which are missing from the Netflix collection, because Netflix carries only DVD releases. SilverScreenArchive does something very helpful for the customer. They take movies which are only on VHS and convert them to DVD for ease of mailing, which makes movies available for rent which you can't get any other way. Since I am trying to complete the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, this is a big help.

They ship series discs in order, I haven't received any unplayable or damaged discs, and they've never made a mistake.

I have two challenges with using SilverScreenArchive, but these don't bother me enough to give up the service, because they still have movies I must see. Turnaround is slow. It can take about 4-5 days for them to receive my returns. They are in California, and I am in North Carolina. The fastest was 3 days once, and the slowest was 8 days once. As a result, even though I'm limited to 8 per month, I've reached my limit only once. Still, I get my money's worth.

The other challenge is that they do not ship in queue order, so there is no predicting what you'll get next. Blockbuster Online does the same thing. However, I never put anything in my queue that I do not always want to see, so that's not a big deal. It's just that there was a title at the top of my queue for three months that just now shipped.

Considering that they are a little mom & pop organization, they do a great job.

Rent Classics from SilverScreenArchive

I've joined another online-DVD-rental-by-mail service. SilverScreenArchive is a member of the Zdag consortium of video stores around the country which use the Netflix business model to rent DVDs online. I joined them because they have an amazing collection of classic titles not available from Netflix. SilverScreenArchive carries titles from 1930 to 1970, over seven about three thousand of them, in three types: transfers from commercially released VHS to DVD transfers from non-commercially released VHS to DVD, and commercially released DVD's.

I've been using SilverScreenArchive for about a month now. Although there are no due dates, late fees, or added shipping costs, all of their plans have a monthly limit. I'm on the "Gary Cooper" "Orson Welles" plan, which is $19.95 $21.95 for 3-out, maximum of 8 per month unlimited. Turnaround is was slower than Netflix, but since they don't promise "unlimited" rentals that's not an issue.

11/14/2007 UPDATE: Per their request, I have changed all references to Classicflix in this post, to SilverScreenArchive. ClassicFlix, as described here, no longer exists. They changed their name to SilverScreenArchive in October, 2006. I've updated the info about the plans and titles, and removed the old logo.