General Discussion : Library DVD Collection Advice?

[Hopscotch]

The small town library I work for is under new direction, and we've just begun re-building all of our core collections. So far we've just been deleting things, but our first target for purchasing is our DVD selection; as it is the only place with room to spare right now. Anyways, I've sort of been put in charge of this and was wondering if anyone here has some suggestions or advice? How would you go about it?

We have room for about 200 new films; sub-tracting what we've already set aside for family films and literary adaptations. It sounded like a high number at first, but once I started to put a list together I ran out of room almost immediately. And so I'm starting over from scratch with the sole goal of covering as much ground as I can to give the patrons the most room for discovery. If you're wondering what exactly I'm asking, it's basically this: which sub-genres, film movements, and prolific directors should I highlight? Because I have no idea where to start.

[CMonster]

If it were me I would break it down by decade and start picking influential and important films from each decade. I would also try to vary my genre choices within each decade so you don't end up with to many of any on thing for each. I think this could also give you a little wiggle room in terms of personal taste. Since you probably won't come up with a definitive "the most important 200 films list" adding a little personalization wouldn't be unreasonable (i.e. if you really like films from the 70's or PT Anderson adding about couple more of them and subtracting one from a decade you don't particularly like as much).

[Stewball]

I'd go for classic films, either those which already are, or those which are most likely to become classics. And if you're looking for widest appeal, more recent films will appeal to more people. I assume ratings are not an obstacle since you have a family category. Of course the hardest part is defining what's the most classic of the classics, or picking modern films which are most likely to be classics. Surprisingly though, it should be easy. Just pick the first 200 you're sure would qualify as you come to them, knowing you'll be able to fill in as you go later.

[Hopscotch]

Well I did both of those things originally (utilizing the IMDB top 250), but the lists I came up with just didn't cover enough ground for me. There are certain staples we'll almost certainly order like Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and The Seven Samurai. But the goal goes beyond mass appeal. Our new releases section (which typically cycles out quickly due to deep scratching, cracks and theft) and the inter-library systems cover that well enough. No, what I'm hoping for is to create a mini overview to the world and history of cinema. A library full of cult, camp, classics and curiosities to open the door for our more appreciative and adventurous patrons. So with that as the goal I figured this forum would be a great resource with all the various experts and well-watched people about. Because I want it all: art, trash, independent, documentary, and anything else that might catch someones eye. I want to make available the films people didn't know they wanted to see, and those films they've all heard about, but never had the convenience to view before. Things like La Dolce Vita, Hoop Dreams, Network, Eraserhead, and Heavenly Creatures (as of right now none of these are on the list); seriously our town population is like 1200. To be honest the only things we have an abundance of are superheros, straight to DVD horror films, and John Wayne movies. So how do I go about narrowing down the massive list of sure classics to just 200? I don't know, but one thing I do know is that putting aside personal taste is going to be very important in this assignment; though I might throw in a few faves if I really can't help myself.

I tried looking to directors rather than just films, but even there the numbers of note-worthy candidates was astounding. Not to mention I have to consider potential nostalgia hooks or even just browsing winners like the brat pack movies, classic slapstick, Doris Day, even Krull; which I'm sure would see circulation. Do I really want Rocky Horror Picture Show on the shelves? Maybe not, but someone would appreciate it I'm sure. I could just fill the shelves with cheap action films and rom-coms to please the majority well enough, but that seems irresponsible. 200 out of countless perfectly acceptable films is hard when looked at this way. That is why I want as many starter films as possible.

So these, along with many others I haven't even though of yet, are the questions I want to sort out with some help. And when the answers have been decided, I will at last be able to create my list:
What's the most accessible and enjoyable (not sure that term is appropriate) film noir? Is Amelie the perfect French film for beginners; I've never seen it? Keaton or Chaplin? What decade produced the best romances? Which Vietnam movies are the best; there are so many? Concert films might be cool right? What the heck is Dogme 95? Treasure From the American Film Archives? Pre-Star Wars Science Fiction? Post-Star Wars Science Fiction? What would you even consider Smokey and the Bandit, and are there really any great films in its vein?

As desperate as I might sound I'm actually having a lot of fun with this. If no one really has any ideas I'm sure I could come up with a pretty solid list on my own, and have a fine time doing it. I just figured with all the combined knowledge on these forums we could potentially come up with something near definitive, and that would be awesome.

[td888]

I suggest you create a public collection with the movies you think should be in it. Other people can 'nominate' other movies. This will get the discussion going I guess.

Anyway, these are my nominations after a quick glance through my rankings:
City of God (2003) or A Prophet (2009)
The Lives of Others (2006) or Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
The Red Shoes (1948)

[Svengali]

Metropolis
Sunrise
City Lights
Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Seven Samurai
12 Angry Men
The 400 Blows
The Seventh Seal
Taxi Driver
The Elephant Man
The Shawshank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
City of God
Memento
Oldboy
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
2001: A Space Odyssey
Spirited Away
Toy Story
Amélie
Annie Hall
Double Indemnity
Dogville
8½
Fight Club
M
Breathless
3-Iron
American Beauty
Gladiator
Sin City

Haha, I feel like I could and want to go on and on and on - but those are a couple that I feel could be in such a collection - your archetypical arthouse film in The Seventh Seal, foreign classics such as The 400 Blows and more popular titles like Shawshank etc.

[Gregzilla]

Plan Nine From Outer Space
Glen or Glenda?
Ed Wood


Maybe 3 out of 200 is too many, But this can cover a certain area of cinema and it's history.

[CMonster]

If you are looking for a few things out of the ordinary throw in Evil Dead 2. Great way to get into B horror.

[Hopscotch]

I suggest you create a public collection with the movies you think should be in it. Other people can 'nominate' other movies. This will get the discussion going I guess.

Anyway, these are my nominations after a quick glance through my rankings:
City of God (2003) or A Prophet (2009)
The Lives of Others (2006) or Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
The Red Shoes (1948)

To get things rolling we ordered a few films last month. One of them was The Red Shoes. However of the other four you mentioned I've only heard of City of God and The Lives of Others. Looking through their film pages though they all seem like good options; City of God especially.

a giant list of films

We have Toy Story (in the family section, Casablanca, 12 Angry Men, The Seventh Seal, 2001: A Space Odyssey and M. The rest are all up for consideration I'd think. Citizen Kane is probably the only must have due to its reputation. As far as covering film history Breathless and Metropolis are good choices. I honestly don't know how the rest fit as I haven't seen or read about most of those. Anyone have some input?

Plan Nine From Outer Space
Glen or Glenda?
Ed Wood

Maybe 3 out of 200 is too many, But this can cover a certain area of cinema and it's history.

Ed Wood seems like a great idea! Never would have thought of that. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are popular enough to intrigue the patrons. Probably wouldn't order Ed Wood's actual films though, but the biopic could definitely serve to raise interest in them enough where people would order them from the larger libraries. Well Plan 9 anyway. Glen or Glenda isn't in the system.

If you are looking for a few things out of the ordinary throw in Evil Dead 2. Great way to get into B horror.

I know nothing of this genre, but why not The Evil Dead instead?

Also I created a list like td888 suggested; thanks. It is here: http://www.criticker.com/?fl&filter=e21024

[KGB]

which sub-genres, film movements, and prolific directors should I highlight?

If it was up to me I'd look at things more from this approach rather then directly naming films. As a general guideline (even though I did name a lot of films in the end) and purely out of my head right now what I think must be covered in a respected retrospective film library should be:

film movements/genres:

-Early experiments (there are many DVDs with recopilations of films by the Lumiéres, Mélies etc.)

-Early manifestations of the Institutional Representation Mode (some Griffith would do the trick, not 'The Birth of a Nation' though, forget the controversy it's just too damn boring)

-Early Soviet cinema (Vértov/Einsenstein are the most representative)

-German expressionism (too broad a genre, but Dr. Caligri and/or Metropolis are the most well known and they represent the overall concept very well)

-Silent era Hollywood

-Film noir

-Italian neorrealism

-Spaghetti westerns

-Nouvelle vague

-Early american indie / B-movies (also very, very broad, I don't know enough to help you here though)

-70's Hollywood (most notably the influence for the first time of auteurism in mainstream cinema, like Polanski, Scorsese, Coppola etc.)

-Blockbusters/visual culture (again, very broad, but easier to choose from, you should go at the more technologically advanced/expensive for their times such as Star Wars, Independence Day, Armageddon, Terminator 2, Toy Story etc. A DVD compilation of music videos is also an interesting choice but a riskier one.)

-Purely experimental, non-narrative cinema is also something you should consider, though picking one film/DVD shouldn't be an easy task. Nam June Paik, Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Norman McLaren are all names I hear often if you want to begin looking, but I haven't been looking into their work that I can remember. Personally I wouldn't go there but I also didn't want to completely ignore it.

-There are many documentary filmmakers that work on perfecting the documentary aesthetic itself to the point where their film are just as much about their study subject as about the documentary form and the way a discourse is constructed. I'm not very familiar with documentaries but you should check out into Errol Morris, Frederick Wiseman and Herzog's documentaries to name a few.

-Japanese cinema has also been very influential to the rest of the world, I haven't seen too many asian films though at all.

As for filmmakers, I can think of a few that definitely cannot be left out: Kubrick, Hitchcock, Lynch, Herzog, Scorsese, Tarantino, Truffaut, Godard, Kurosawa, Fellini, Jarmusch, Welles, Polanski, Crononberg, Bergman, Tarkovsky. I must be forgetting some but it would be a sin in my eyes to leave any of these guys out. Sorry if this was just too much, I hope this helps you somehow.