"Colonial movies - owning?" Topic

So, a recent post mentioned a particular movie on TV. What I immediately thought was – why doesn't this gamer own this movie? Sure, it might be a money issue or an availability issue. But in the age of the world wide web I'd guess we can find just about every movie out there (he says while still looking to replace a few on VHS with DVDs). So, why don't we colonial gamers own all of the best colonial movies – at least those that are available – from Gunga Din and Wee Willie Winkie all the way through, say, at least the first of the Mummy series that starts with the FFL in battle?

And while this topic is opening, where are the best places for those without to go and get a colonial movie on DVD (as opposed to a download version – though some will want to know that no doubt)?

Gents and better sorts of the distaff side?

I don't have my DVD hooked up.

If you don't have a really good local DVD/Blu-Ray store that gets odd titles, and they are becoming increasingly rare, then:

Amazon have a pretty large selection of Classic movies if your DVD/Blu-Ray can handle North American disks – most of the world outside the US has DVD players that can play all regions without locking up. They also seem to have an unnaturally large selection of 'compilation' disks & sets too – a few good movies and a bunch of stinkers in one set.

Or there is also Amazon UK for those of us who can't play US region DVD's. Pity Book Repository doesn't do many DVD's.

If you are trying to use a PC or game console to play movies you are going to have troubles, they either won't play or will lock up after 4-5 region changes. You can try disabling auto play on your PC and then extract the video & audio files to your HD and play from there, console players are out of luck again.

I own very few movies and, with most movies, one viewing is enough for me. I own a few classic such as "Zulu" that I may watch once every five years or so.

I have a fairly big collection of DVDs, none of which have been opened in a couple of years. I find that most of what I want to see can be found through streaming services such as Netflix or Youtube. Some libraries have movies for streaming or download (in Canada, there's the NFB, for example). Several television providers (e.g., TCM) have a portion of their content available for streaming as well (may require a subscription).

Much like AOL CDs, DVDs will soon be a great resources for making bases for terrain!

But if you insist on sourcing movies on DVD, your local library can be a good place to start.

I own all the best colonial movies on my DVR or copied to a connected hard drive from DVR. Thanks to TCM most of these show up every so often. The rest from Netflix.

OK, so what is on your Colonial movie lists? with a rating.

Here's a quick list of the Colonial films I liked enough to buy because I enjoy watching them multiple times:
Khartoum
55 Days at Peking
The Four Feathers (1939 and 2002)
Zulu
Zulu Dawn
Gunga Din
The Wind and the Lion
Young Winston
Beau Geste (1939)
The Mummy (1999)
The Sand Pebbles
There are other good Colonial-era films out there, and I'll watch them if televised but for one reason or another haven't [yet] bought:

Kim
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
March or Die
Beau Geste (1966)
The Drum

March or Die is essential viewing for FFL.

I pick them up when I see them on sale. I also have just about every modern Vietnam era Movie that I can find on sale or full price.

Good heavens, Ragbones, The Man Who Would Be King is missing from your list!

Yikes! You're right! And I even have the DVD. Lord knows how forgot that one.

Och. I don't stream. Even if my wireless plan allowed for all that data usage, I wouldn't want to watch movies on my small computer screen. Or allow outside agents to determine what I could watch and when and how often. I have a large DVD collection and am glad to have ownership and control over my media. But it does get harder to find obscure films and by no means is everything available on DVD, let alone VHS. And it's a definite plus to have a region-free player in the US so you can buy titles from the UK or Australia or Germany that are otherwise not sold in a North American format.

For DVD's including Colonials, Belle and Blade is a good source. He attends the major wargaming conventions at least on the East Coast. His URL is;

warshows.com

I agree with piper909. Movies sometimes get edited for content, meaning censored, before they are put on the air or on streaming. At least if I buy the DVD they can't change it afterwards. I have picked up a number of DVDs at swap meets, often for only a dollar. So I can watch what I want when I want it.
Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog