Update (04 May 04): Here’s a summary table of the value we’re getting for our money.
Month | DVDs | Mins. | $/DVD | $/hr | Best | Worst |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 03 | 11 | 1622 | 1.81 | .74 | Six Feet Under (S1, D1) | Talk to Her |
Oct 03 | 12 | 1739 | 1.73 | .71 | A Few Good Men | A Fistful of Dollars |
Nov 03 | 10 | 1340+ | 2.00 | .89 | Unforgiven | Rebecca bonus disc |
Dec 03 | 12 | 1654 | 1.77 | .75 | Whale Rider | Ladyhawke |
Jan 04 | 14 | 1578 | 1.43 | .76 | Breaking the Waves | Altered States |
Feb 04 | 13 | 1489 | 1.53 | .80 | Rabbit-Proof Fence | Europa, Europa |
Mar 04 | 13 | 1437 | 1.53 | .83 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | Songcatcher |
Apr 04 | 13 | 2064 | 1.53 | .58 | Capturing the Friedmans | Bottle Rocket |
May 04 | 9 | 1133 | 2.22 | 1.06 | The Fog of War | Ripley’s Game |
Jun 04 | 13 | 1437 | 2.00 | .84 | City of God | Alias (S2, D3) |
Jul 04 | 8 | 1055 | 2.75 | 1.25 | Alias (S2, D4) | Six Feet Under (S2, D1) |
Aug 04 | 10 | 1391 | 2.20 | .95 | 13 Going on 30 | Helena: First Pilgrim |
TOTAL | 136 | 18078+ | 1.81 | .81 | The Fog of War | Altered States |
I’ll udpate this table every month.
After two years of hedging, Kris and I finally broke down and joined Netflix. I was convinced that it was Not For Us. The service costs $20/month (to keep three DVDs at a time); we never rent movies, so how could we possibly make this pay?
Well.
After having only been signed up for four days, the utility of Netflix is quite clear. There are three reasons that we never rent movies:
- We’re lazy.
- We don’t want to support viral corporations like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.
- The video stores never seem to have the movies we want to rent. (“Akira Kurosawa? Who’s he?”)
Netflix offers a pleasing solution to all three of these problems.
Here’s another thing: I’ve been toying with the idea of subscribing to HBO so that I could catch all the shows that Mart has raved about: Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under. An HBO subscription would cost another $11/month, though, and I’ve been unable to justify that expense. Netflix offers a solution in this instance, too. Many of the HBO series are being released on DVD, thus we can stick them in our Netflix queue and watch them at our leisure. Cool, huh?
Still—there’s a danger that this could end up a money pit. We have some friends (conspicuously nameless) who joined Netflix and thought it was a great deal. Until they had kids. Then the same three movies sat on top of their entertainment center for months. How much did they end up paying to watch those three movies? I shudder to think. It makes me want to take a case of wine over to their house this very moment as a sign of consolation. (At the very least, we’ll invite them over to watch some of the films we’ve rented from Netflix.)
If we actually use the service, Netflix will be a great deal.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, here’s how Netflix works. A member pays a flat monthly fee ($20, in our case) in order to have a certain number of DVDs (three, in our case) mailed to his home. The member is free to keep these DVDs as long as he wants. When he’s finished with one, he mails it back to Netlfix in the supplied postage-paid envelope. Netflix then mails out the next film waiting in the member’s queue (pre-selected list of movies). There are several plans available, but locating anything other than the standard plan is non-obvious.
To our Netflix queue, I’ve already added plenty of stuff to make Kris wince: Clint Eastwood westerns, vintage Dr. Who episodes, and a documentary on Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki voyage.
For my own edification, this page is going to serve as an on-going record of our Netflix habits. This will allow me to be certain that we’re getting our money’s worth. (It’s also going to be a subtly revealing insight into our tastes in video.)
Here’s what we’ve rented (descriptions are from the Netflix DVD envelopes):
Marty (1955) — Marty has a problem. Middle-aged and trapped by a smothering mother, his future looks bleak. But when this butcher from the Bronx meets a lonely schoolteacher, suddenly everything is possible. Marty swept the Academy Awards in 1955, winning a Best Actor Oscar for Ernest Borgnine and a Best Screenplay award for Paddy Chayefsky (Network), as well as Best Picture and Best Director Awards. 90 minutes. [received: 09 Sep 03, watched: 10 Sep 03, returned: 11 Sep 03] B-, dated
Six Feet Under (Season One, Disc One) (2001) — This darkly comical HBO television series, about the members of a dynamic but dysfunctional Los Angeles-based family that operates a funeral home, has an ironically grim but intriguing premise: Each episode is based on the death and extenuating circumstances of the family’s current client. The series was created by Alan Ball, who wrote the screenplay for American Beauty. 168 minutes. [received: 09 Sep 03, watched: 10-11 Sep 03, returned: 13 Sep 03] B, with A+ moments — great music
Il Postino (1994) — The lyrical tale of a postman (Massimo Troisi) who delivers mail to and becomes friends with exiled poet Pablo Neruda (Pilippe Noiret). When the postman Mario falls in love with Beatrice (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), he consults Neruda for his best romantic and poetic advice. Il Postino was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Adapted), and won the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score in 1996. 108 min. [received: 09 Sep 03, watched: 12 Sep 03, returned: 13 Sep 03] B+, very nice film about poetry
Six Feet Under (Season One, Disc Two) (2001) — This darkly comical HBO television series, about the members of a dynamic but dysfunctional Los Angeles-based family that operates a funeral home, has an ironically grim but intriguing premise: Each episode is based on the death and extenuating circumstances of the family’s current client. The series was created by Alan Ball, who wrote the screenplay for American Beauty. 224 min. [received: 13 Sep 03, watched: 14 Sep 03, returned: 15 Sep 03] A+, more great stuff
Additional rentals will be listed in the comments below.
Care to recommend other stuff we should rent?
Is this month’s book the apples book or the bone book? I think I’m reading the wrong book!