I recently did a quick average headcount of my Vinyl LP Record collection. It ran into thousands.
I did a calculation that it would take me at least 3 - 4 years to listen to them all again.
I would need to spend at least 3- 4 hours a day to do so.
I looked at my film collection which is considerably less but there is quite a lot to get through all over again.
However this will naturally demand even more hours of my life in order to do so.
I do have a life outside my hobbies and interests so I am thinking to myself ... " Do I really need all this stuff and
do I have enough life left in me to get through it all again ? "
Does anyone else have these concerns ?

Not me, they make life worth living for me. My concern is when I die, what happens to the films? My wife has no interest and can't be bothered I think to give it a new home. I do wish she and my family could get some money out of it. Eivind Mork has agreed to help out with this, so I am a bit calmer on the subject. Have any of you got a "testament" for your film collection? I know many of my Norwegian collector friends has.

I do consider getting rid of stuff I will most likely never watch again, but the collector in me screams "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

I am at 1300 or so titles on the various formats + some I haven't gotten around to enter in my database FILM COLLECTORZ.

Getting on to the line from Jaws "We're going to need a bigger room" Still some films I missed though. Must start to catalogue them again.

56 titles after my most recent purchase arrives...make that 57 if my sister ever sends me the one she found at a tag sale last year! All standard 8/super 8 ranging from 50' silents to 400' sound digests. Actually, one of my 50 footers is really 25' (it was missing half of the reel)!
Is my collection necessary? ABSOLUTELY!

Vidar's sentiments and concerns and realities very much echo many of my own here. No doubt one or two others who have allowed this crazy hobby of ours to completely embellish,enrich, and at times, become a full on integral part of our lives.

I like the fact Vidar has placed a sensible contingency plan with his friend Eivind for such times ahead maybe.

I would love to do similar in the next few years.
Like Vidar's wife, my wife could not care less about any of my most treasured cinematic collectables.
A shame really, but a harsh reality for many I suspect!

I now have to begin the arduous task of streamlining my collection. We cannot possibly keep all that we collect if we continue over many years, so some things just have to go, irrespective of what our heartstrings tell us.

I won't have regrets about passing on any of my collection, just so long as I know, in each case, they will be lovingly appreciated and cared for in the same manner I do myself.

What a can of worms we have opened up here, hope the wives and girlfriends don't log in, but yes, we do have loads of film, in my
case far too many, I should really let my "better half" know the score, I keep track with a desk diary of titles, Vidar will get my copy
of the "Thing", should I meet my maker, the rest can be sold on, Susan's eyes light up when I mention rare titles, I check doors and
stairways, and any other means to my demise. Seriously, I have far too many films, at my time of life, fit though I am, I would think
it logical, I should thin it down, even though in the past I've let go prime titles, common sense must prevail.

OK i do have the perfect solution for you here,
Leave your films to me in your wills, they will have the perfect home
Seriously though, we ourselves between us have 400 titles but these range from many trailers and promos to 200ft shorts and cartoons right through to full length films with every size in between,they are all now catalogued onto an excel spreadsheet,(as well as a written one), this sheet on the computer is kept up to date daily, it contains every title in A-Z order, (trailers and promo's are on a separate page), the box size, (y or n denoted original box),next column is date of last clean, (the cell colour is changed each year) then 6 columns each one with a date last viewed, (the current year box filled with a new colour so i can easily see at a glance the ones that haven't been viewed. The last column to the right is a comments box, things like light or minor marks or scratches and/or fade is registred here or any other negatives,many have "very good colour or b/w print". Its a very useful and simple tool and at a glance i can see what needs cleaning or viewing or both.
now then, on the thread topic, i looked at this list and like many of you thought, do i want this much? no one here likes the films, they all love the dvd/blu-ray projection i do which is very recent for me. i have been in the process for the last few years of selling off items i no longer want or have duplicated with my Brother, however, i think im a bit mental because as i sell i buy more. its in me blood i think. i will begin to downsize in order to make it more manageable but not for the immediate future, but i will look out for the titles i want. Andrew please note

You know, for all I am very anal in so many respects, I must be one of the very few nutcases out there that really does not have the first idea of how many films or how much in terms of volume of footage, I have.

All I know, is I have a list of "wants", and I just chip away day by day until complete. Problem is the "wants" list just continues to grow bigger and bigger, such is the nature of our wonderful hobby!

That's what makes Super 8mm, so far, 50 years of collectors heaven! ....and that's just so far!!

Andrew, you are going to find yourself in the lovely fix we all have here, what the hell do we do with all this stuff, our better halves might as well be presented with a clacker valve from the "Tardis", they have no idea. Speaking for myself, I indulge, I am selfish and
out of control at times, it is just a case of catching up on a lost title, but indulgence on my part, it has the downside where I have had
to sell some cherished titles to pay vets bills, but that is life, titles I've passed on, have gone to good homes, A Win Win situation. Such is
life.

A good friend of mine Hugh, who you know well, has done the very same thing Hugh in times of need. It has seemingly been his insurance policy at times, and hopefully ours also one day!

Far more pleasure obtained than any stocks and shares!!

So for now at least, keep your investment bonds in celluloid, you get both the pleasure, and just like Gold.....the returns also in times of need, so long as you look after them all!

As for Vinyl records and CDs David, don't even go there! Lol.
My poor mother's ceiling is bulging from all the vinyl I have locked away there! Ha ha ha.

Note to self:
I really must have a sort out very very soon!

DAMN IT !!! I forgot to add in my CDs , S.A.C.Ds ; Reel To Reel Tapes and Cassettes and 78s.
Also my DVDs , Laserdiscs and Blu - Ray Discs.
I really don't have enough life left in me to get through all this.

I think David could run his own TV & Radio station by the sound of it, but I know just what he means, these things are really part of US,
our makeup, our personalities, a statement of our lives in this ever encroaching and meaningless World, where thousands of tunes or
"pop" songs can be stored on something you can lose in your pocket. David, hang onto your stuff, it is yours, you spent time accruing it,
it is there for you to enjoy whenever, other folk enjoy fast cars, yachts, second & third homes, bits on the side, ( as if one woman giving you ear ache is not enough!) and many other expensive hobbies, a few million films etc never hurt anyone.

Regrets I've had a few, but then again too few to mention. But just this once I'll mention one. 1997 I sold my entire collection to buy a Video projector as I thought it was the new Garlic Bread, titles I sold were what I can remember:

DIE HARD
DIE HARD 2
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
THE FOG
HALLOWEEN
ALIENS
LETHAL WEAPON

Can't remember what else, I had masses, also a set of the motorised extender arms, sempt the right thing to do at the time

The Fog, Hallowern, Aliens and Lethal Weapon ... can you feel my envy. :-) Great titles

Vidar, I share the envy, someone else has got them now

I do have Lethal Weapon again though and it's a better print than my last one by a country mile.

Del those are all titles i am on the look out for + Silence of the lambs and predator.

Hi Tom, I forgot that one, that was another one I sold, Predator, now I am depressed

Silence of the lambs, how good was that print Del ?, I know Predator is fantastic, got a few off your list mate.

Hi Paul, it was ok, 19 years ago but what I remember it wasn't as sharp as Predator that was the best with stereo sound too (tear rolls down cheek)

Silence Of The Lambs was known to have a lab fault on many. It was even pointed out in the review copy given to FFTC.

I have the trailer along with Orion other releases printed by Derann at the time like Robocop etc, and I'd say its so so for print quality and colour rendition. The feature of Robocop however is very good all round on the one I have for print quality.

Just watch the stripe though on any of these later prints. It's unlikely you will ever match the sound quality of that from slightly earlier prints like Terminator and Predator etc.

Del... yours is an all to sad but common story among collectors. A lot sold off their FILM collections
in order to adopt the then Electronic Digital ( cheaper ? ) Projection medium only to regret it
later on. Some of us warned " You'll be sorry ! " but sadly they never listened.
They were seduced by the thought of acquiring a huge collection of movies on disc on the cheap.
Only to find out how boring and bland that side of movie collecting actually is. Okay so they are
cheaper , they can be and are of good consistent quality , they provide many extras that you might
never have seen , most of which in my opinion should have remained in the vaults or destroyed.
You also get pretty flashy packaging on some so-called Special- Edition box sets.
However once the novelty and glamour falls away you start to crave for that imperfect image and
feel of FILM.
Then you think to yourself " SHIT !!! What have I done ? " ... ... ...

You're not a million miles away David, I first saw a dvd player in 97 and thought OMG I need one, then came video projectors and again you think WOW and you think that's it for video and then look again at your super 8 films and think sell now before they hit the buffer. For the next few years I was in touch with Derek at Derann, god bless him, (via email) and he was always saying how super 8 was doing great, but didn't get the bug back until around 2005 when I saw a GS1200 on ebay and thought "do you know I've always wanted one of these" and so my next journey started. As Oasis once sung "Don't look back in anger" life's far too short, I have a great collection now which I love and would never part with