There sure is a fine line between the two. There are a lot of people who impulsively just buy physical media for the sake of it, then there's the whole buying multiple copies of the same movie for the different packaging it becomes just hoarding at that point, buying things you aren't going to watch just for the sake of it. Thankfully I don't take it that far.

You are among the best of us. Self-aware, humble, honest about your situation and your anxiety, which resonates with others who are experiencing and feeling the same or similar. Thank you. I grew up in love with film. It has always been there. But I was very late to the boutique label party, which blew my mind to the sheer volume of cinema that had passed me by. Since then, and especially since the start of the pandemic, I have bought and bought and bought: Arrow, Eureka, Indicator, Vinegar Syndrome, BFI. I buy always with the intention to watch. to satisfy my curiosity, and as such, I'm drawn by the extras sometimes more than the film itself. I've bought fairly established bad films, because the blu ray is deep in extras. I have amassed more films (+extras) than I could hope to get through in the next five years, probably. And I'm not time rich. I feel like I'm a little more able recently to get more of a grip on spending, and moreso a grip on reality. But you don't need to know any of that 😀 Having watched your video, I am going to try a watch pile. Take all the unwatched Arrows out of the Arrow shelf; the unwatched Indicators out of the Indicator shelf, etc. and put them all together and work my way through it. I want to watch these films, to understand them, to appreciate them, good and bad. Really liked what you said about the results of that decision you made to make sure you watch what you buy - a greater appreciation of film. I see the titles of these videos you make, and my heart sinks, because I know it's going to be a reckoning with my own experience. But I really value them for enabling me to take stock and reflect on how I can do better. Look forward to seeing how you get on, the lows and highs.

I feel that the most important difference between hoarding and collecting is that collecting has order. Things are properly placed and there is a clear explanation to everything you have and why you appreciate it. Hoarding is just letting things pile up for the sake of piling up. One reoccurring thing you hear from anyone who hoards is only two lines of defense. It is either "you never know if you will ever need it" or "It has memories" No matter how hard you push, you never get the actual explanations of those specific memories. I have big collections but, there have been points where I have actually sold or just threw things out with no regrets. If you can do that, it is very hard for others to classify you as a hoarder. Also, when it comes to adding something to my collection I never add the item if I am questioning it to the point where I am even in a store and I have it in my hands. If I am unsure if I want it I just put it back on the shelf and I walk away.

I definitely feel like a hoarder who’s masquerading as a collector at times , could say lapsed cinephile

Bottom line: collecting films should be fun. Buy them to watch them and enjoy collecting them. Just do what makes you happy as a film fan.

My pile of shame is shocking... I have made myself a watch list on Letterboxd to help get myself through it. It contains every film of every box set, even if the second film is a special feature or not the reason I got the set etc. I like collecting, filling in the blanks and exploring new directors, genres and films, but recently I've cut down my 'collecting' to purchasing the films in labels I actually want to own or watch. I own all the Arrow Academy releases and I've watched around 90%, which is a feat in itself 😂. There are a lot of films in my collection which I need to be in the right mood to watch, and this makes the pile grow bigger and bigger with every sale or bargin. More recently I've been watching MoC releases and enjoying getting stuck into that collection!

Fantastic plan and can’t say how I look forward to this Graham. Proud of you to actively take a stance to be a viewer and to share your love of film with us

im bit of all, i play games collect games but my collection is like a display of my personality taste in games. just recently started picking up dvd's only nostalgia films.

I was thinking about this video (and another video on the subject) somewhat recently and wanted to add something more to the conversation to reiterate something: hoarding boils down to holding on to unnecessary items and objects (such as garbage, old items, etc.) while collecting is about something you value, cherish, and that has real worth - i.e. filmmaking is an art form, something important to you, so even when it's excessive (it is referred to as "extreme collecting" by the American psychological association), it is not classified as hoarding, because it's something of value (an art form - books, music, films). It's not just "garbage" or some junk in a drawer.

Stuart here. I have a classic horror collection on my carpet of 900 movies. I will get some shelving now I've seen what you do. I think you are well organised.

I hope you can figure out what works for you Graham. understand 100% that feeling of anxiety. You want your collection and collecting to be a thing that brings joy. not something that fills you with overwhelm and uncertainty. perhaps its time for a freshen up? maybe purge your current collection of some titles and even some from your watch pile, asking yourself do you really want to watch all these? these are just suggestions. obviously might not be the right approach for you. or perhaps you want to take it easy and just take one title out of your collect a week to start with. all the best and good luck

The difference is collectors usually amass something that has value, use, or is aesthetically pleasing - paintings, sculptures, movies, action figures, dolls, etc. On the other hand, hoarders amass pretty much anything useless. Typically items that other people would consider garbage - old boxes, plastic bags, worn out clothing, broken electronics, etc. Collectors put some rational thought in their acquirement, hoarders do not. For the latter its simply an irrational compulsion.

A monthly watch pile update sounds like a great idea and a lot of fun!

Gotta have a watch pile 👌🎥✨ I have 30 movies in my new watch pile with another 40 otw 💨💨💨 I have 70 seen movies in my collection 🤙⚡

Whoever needs to hear this: You. Don't. Need. to. Tackle. The backlog. It's an impossible ever growing monster. Just enjoy your life. Stop striving to be a professional consumer. You have plenty of stimuli in your daily life. You don't need to force feed your eyeballs out of a compulsive need to consume

Yes. I have become a hoarder by accident. SOOO... I stopped buying cold turkey. Aside from my subscriptions I've been purchase free for 5 months. I am organizing ang saving to upgrade all my electronics. I am just watching DVDs on my computer. I am slowly working on creating a media room for TV, movies and music. Still, it's just fun!

If you can access and know exactly what you own it is COLLECTING. Spreadsheets are your friend.

My friend at work is a blu-ray hoarder… and he hasn’t seen even 20% of his 4000+ movies. He’s broke… I am a film collector. I would love to have everything, but I resist the urge and instead of worrying what is released every Tuesday, I focus on what I have missed in the past! For example Space Truckers or I-Origins, Payback, My Cousin Rachel, Body Parts or The Signal!! How could I have missed these!!! Great points! Nice to see videos of reviews rather than “My Huge Shopping Haul” for the week!

The struggle is real, mate.

I’ve definitely been there myself. Volumes I pick up these days are a fraction compared to what I used to… so it’s no longer a problem. The more titles you decide to pass on, the easier it is to keep a clear head when it comes to movie collecting. I think I’ve said before, but I only collect my favourites now or titles I’m genuinely intrigued by… I try to ignore packaging as much as possible. Also streaming is fine for a lot of movies I’m unlikely to rewatch.

Doubts have started to creep into my mind this year which has forced me into slowing down a bit. Around 3 years ago I bought two new shelving units to replace my old ones and it created lots of extra space. So much, in fact, that I thought it would serve me for the rest of my media collecting days. Now, 3 years on, I can see the shelves filling up rapidly enough that I know space will soon again be an issue. This was alarming enough that I have now slowed with purchases and, like you, created a watch pile, where all new titles go before being watched and subsequently added to the shelf. I dont like mess in my media room so having a pile of uncategorised films doesn't sit well with me, but it certainly has opened my eye to the amount I buy and don't get around to watching. So far it's worked in making me watch more and buy less, but time will tell.

I thoroughly believe that a watchpile or backlog is a totally unnecessary part of enjoying this hobby. I bought the 4K of Blade on launch day and watched it 18 months later when I felt like it. What is the problem with that? These are not perishable products, they'll be there. As long as you're not breaking the bank there is no. rush and I'm stress free. Hobbies should not be stressful at all.

I feel like collecting arguably goes back to the idea of hunting and gathering. It's an instinctive thing for a lot of collectors on some level - people want to collect these films so they have these to watch and enjoy. However, the digital era - streaming - is causing a lot of collectors to second-guess themselves. Are we acquiring too many movies? It certainly is a reasonable question to ask. At the same time, if you buy them because you want to watch them and make time to watch releases then there's no harm in collecting them even though some of us have eyes that are bigger than our stomach (or what we can reasonably fit in to our schedules). I've seen some collectors get 10-20 copies of one film with little variances in packaging design (even just different stickers) and that is something that makes me wonder about the fine line. (Or when you hear about, say, the guy with 1,000 copies of Titanic on VHS). Yet for my own collection, I try and prioritize getting and keeping one great copy of a film - and I'll only keep older editions of something if there are exclusive cuts/extras that aren't on a new release of said film. Do we sometimes overindulge? Will we ever get through our entire watch list? (The truth is - some of us wish we had all the time in the world to see every film that has ever interested us - or listen to every album - etc) and sadly no one actually has time to experience every piece of art. Just try and enjoy your collection, collecting, and make time to watch and enjoy them. Don't overthink it too much. As long as you are happy with collecting, that's what matters. (Every movie collector is a film fan).

So I am a definite hoarder since my watch pile is in the hundreds. Graham I can understand the work issue's and hope yours are getting better. I find myself buying bulk during sales and pushing those titles off to the side.

Whenever I get a new DVD/BLU, I add it to two lists: my complete watchlist of available movies (everything on all my streaming services etc) and a separate Unwatched DVD and Blurays list. There's things on there I bought years ago, because they are movies I don't feel like rewatching yet. But I also have a fair amount of completely unseen ones. I tend to allocate my movie-watching in themed doubles/triples, and I found a good way to get through ANY of my watchlist (physical and streaming) was to have each day have some sort of theme. Monday was Classics, another day Asian Cinema, another day was any other Foreign Cinema, one day just for Martial Arts films, and even a day for randoms that were leaving streaming soon. So if my unwatched physical pile fits into that, it goes in. I think I need to make sure a certain amount of my physical discs are watched per week though. The trouble is, I can only really watch one, maybe two discs a day as I have to wait until my other household members are in bed to have access to my Bluray player. Which sucks. You mentioned Shawscope, I still haven't watched all of Vol.1! And I've pre-ordered Vol.2. 😄

I find it quite hard to sell on films. I’ve bought a few films sight unseen for a not inconsiderable amount of money, and know that I’ll never watch them again. But I can’t offload them and recoup. It’s the idea that I’ll warm to them over time or that I have to have them.

I have the same but with books.

Dragons hoard. They enjoy it.

I buy only films that I have seen already. From time to time something interesting pops up and although I'm intrigued I must find it and watch it before I decide to purchase. I don't always open new purchases right away because of this but if it's a new transfer it automatically gets a video check.

Oh I would love a video every 2-3 weeks about your watchpile. If you've watched more than bought, hightlights of favorite movies during the time, special features that were especially interesting or if you will purge some of the titles - that sort! :)

I think I get good value out of my film collection. Apart from my small watch pile, all my movies have been watched at least twice. Top favourites like Argento's and Fulci's have been watched multiple times. 👍

100% agree Graham. I also have a mandate that if I'm buying it I'm watching it. And like you the watch pile gives me anxiety at times. Sometimes I feel like it's watching me. 😳 But every time I pull back some new release I must see comes out. Well what's a man to do. What's a man to do indeed.

For the past months I have been trimming my collection with a heavy hand. However gorgeous a release might be, if I am never going to watch it again, it's going. I have sold about a hundred titles so far. This first started because the cost of living became more and more expensive. Now it is plain unaffordable, so my monthly movie budget has become practically zero. So I sell some stuff to buy new stuff. Honestly, aside from the reasons why it started, I am addicted to it now. It is such a good feeling to get some decent funds for stuff that's just sitting here doing nothing and then turning that into a movie budget. Your almost just exchanging titles for free. You have a fortune in titles gathering dust I'm sure, get brutal with it, I honestly think it's good for you. Watchpile wise. I have probably about ten titles left that I haven't seen. Back in the day, before covid and Putin going apeshit, they'd sit on my coffee table until I watched them. If there were ten titles or so there, I wouldn't buy anything new. Now, with some actual free shelve space, they await me peacefully between the others.

I need multi -media anonymous help. I’m at 2000 films and counting. I don’t even have time to watch them. Im also buying the same movie over again for an interview or poster . Wasting thousands and thousands of dollars. More like 10 thousand dollars. I spend a lot of time going over every boutique label so I don’t miss a limited edition. It’s draining me mentally. Im embarrassed to even tell my family. But I love owning all my films.

My approach is simple. Get what interests you and put it in the collection. When you have time to watch something, browse the collection and watch what you feel in the mood got (whether you've already seen it or not). It means some stuff may not get watched got a while but that doesn't really bother me. If you update something you have later on to a better version then offload it or keep it if there are significant and justifiable reasons such as massive difference in special features and it's something you'll actually watch because of some love or attachment to that particular film. Otherwise get rid of the duplicate. Definitely can't justify double dipping for different art though I do run into trouble if two numbers labels I collect release the same title....i.e. Paramount Presents has released a few titles that have also then ended up on Imprint and because of the numbers I'm doubling up. I really should keep the Imprint and offload the Paramount Presents titles but I have not yet ....those damn numbers! But hopefully I can work my way up to that and let go!

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Graham it the eternal struggle for the collectors like ourselves who eyes are bigger than our bellies. I think my official ’to watch pile’ is somewhere over 130. I’m sure if I did a fingertip search through my shelves (& storage boxes) it would be much higher. I have consciously removed basket items from both Indicator and Arrow sale because I’m just buying at a faster rate than I can manage. I’m actively trying to recondition myself not to jump at boutique notifications designed to target my FOMO. I know I’m like Pavlov’s Dogs just salivating at the mere ring of the notification bell. However, nor am I punishing myself or wanting to feel guilty if I indulge in the odd blowout. We say it often but collecting physical media is not meant to be stressful or shameful. I’ll never judge anyone’s collecting behaviour because we all have our reasons and methods. I truly intend to watch everything I buy but circumstances dictate when, what, and how often I watch movies. Some movies are thematically challenging or disturbing and are best watched when I’m in the proper frame of mind, I don’t want to force myself to watch something just to tick an arbitrary schedule that says I must watch ‘X’ amount of movies per week. I also don’t want to get Giallo, martial arts, exploitation, world cinema, etc fatigue by binge watching beyond my casual tolerance. Conversely, a few weeks back I was flicking through my shelves with my son looking for movies that have been sitting there for years. I came across the BFI release of ‘Man with a Movie Camera’, that film had been collecting dust for an age, I had been procrastinating on watching this film for decades. (As you’re probably aware) It’s a Russian experimental film from the 1920s, a silent era Arthouse documentary, it doesn’t actually sound like a barrel of laughs, no high octane action or tawdry nudity here. Reluctantly, I knew if I didn’t watch it then I maybe never would. 20 minutes later my jaw was open as I was mesmerised by this stunning little 90 year old film. I suppose there is no right or wrong answer to your dilemma. I think it best to just keep on collecting and watching as best you can……….?

Great video. I think you are on the right track. Collecting movies should be fun, not a financial burden and a destressing experience. Personally I don't buy a lot of movies on a monthly basis and I watch everyone I buy. I also only buy movies that I really like and that I will watch again and again. I don't buy movies that are the current or new popular movie to buy if I don't like the actual film. I also don't buy movies just because I find them on sale if I don't like the movie. I also never count how many DVD/Blu-ray/4k movies I own because I am not interested in telling anyone how many movies I in a collection. I buy movies because I love film and enjoy watching movies. Just my thoughts :)

Hello Graham, I'm pretty sure my watch pile would dwarf yours but to be honest I'm really fine with it. The way I look at it I have a fantastic library waiting to amaze me some time. People have walls full of books that they'll never get around to and probably never worry. It's months since I bought a new release though as hardly anything released these days seems to excite me although the new Martin Mcdonagh film is an exception.

Lucky my watch pile is about 5 . I just get new movies when I don't have anything to watch. I know this means I miss out on a lot of collector edition or movies. But I don't to collect for sake of it. Kinda makes me more strict in what I pick up. Just movies I really want . I've seen video of some channel like buying 10 to 15 titles in arrow shocktober with a wall behind them of sealed movies still not watched

I’m having a sort of early mid-life crisis (I’m 41) where after my Dad passed away this April I looked at my 20 year psychical film media collection and though if I only live for another 20 years I’ll have twice as much of this stuff accumulated (hopefully at least three times 😉) So I’ve started selling of my Blu Rays (I’m keeping my 200 4Ks for the time being) starting with the most lucrative when trading to CEX, I’m making sure to watch what I never got around to and have already got rid of over 300, I’ve also stopped pre-ordering titles and will only purchase something if that’s the only way I can watch it. No regrets, it’s actually quite liberating!

I find myself getting more and more movies i'm upgrading one way or another... either the 88/Eureka blurays that's been remastered over the "old" us/hk blurays i have or new 4k releases i have on bluray already and i don't seem to get around to actually watching them nearly as fast as ones i pick up that's more or less a first time view and for me i'm thinking that's because i also have my own videos in mind. The ones i've seen before i can already talk about if i want too, but i don't just wanna show off a cover of a movies i've never seen before and more on to the next one fast... and yes video lenght always end up being a problem too haha so... yeaaaaa.

I’ve been very good about this in the past year. However recently I’ve gotten back to the old habit of buying too much. I haven’t really been watching anything in the past 2 months. But I still keep buying new titles. Ughh. Frustrating. At the same time, I love the feeling of getting a new package in the mail and unboxing it 😂

Graham, do you have a mental image of a manageable watch pile? I've cut down buying movies as I have loads to watch.

I would love to see videos of what you watched and what you thought of it :) Edit: my watch pile is about a dozen movies right now. Maybe less.

I would just buy every new boutique release and did for years. I have so much unwatched. With all the Arrow QC errors, I just passed on some of their titles because I didn't want to have to keep going through disc replacements and have not bought all the recent Arrow titles. I have most of my movies in a downstairs room but a lot in an upstairs room and so I haven't had my full collection together to see exactly what the whole lot looks like There are recent Arrow boxsets that I would have bought but then I just look at the prices and think that if I got all those, how much I'd spend and that they will more than likely sit on the shelf unwatched. I've also been watching a lot less this year than any other year for a long time (I've not lost the passion but I've jsut found myself doing other things) and so my unwatch pile is growing massively (there's probably 250 more titles I would have watched this year). With the Arrow 4Ks, I've seen the film on Blu-ray and while it's nice to have the 4K, I probably won't rewatch them in 4K so that's money spent for something just to sit on my shelf I'm not going to start getting rid of things apart from a lot of duplicates I'm trying to sell. I also collect steelbooks but I didn't buy the new First Blood 4K steelbook from Zavvi as I would rather have the deluxe set, but that's £100 and again I just don't want to spend that. The same reason why I haven't bought the recent Film Vault editions which I may have gotten in the past or why I haven't bought the Radiance Film releases. It is so easy to feel compelled to get on every new boutique labels bandwagon I do still spend a bit but when I look back at what I did spend, it was crazy, and while I never spent more than what I could afford, it was probably more than I would really want to spend I think it's really good to set a fixed budget and stick to it and say you either buy two boxsets or use that money to buy seven or eight individual titles, never buy more than you really have room for and don't get obsessed by having a large collection because you see having thousands of titles as a badge of honour. Also buy only things you know you will watch and think that if you ever had to move house, how much effort would it take to pack everything up and unpack it and sort it again. Finally, I'd say to people, own your collection and don't let it own you

I recognise the phenomenon of FOMO all too well. What if a title gets out of print, or the price goes up? But maybe it won,t and i pay too much. Should i wait and buy it second hand or at a sale? What i don,t understand is people collecting just for the sake of having it in your possession. If you,re not going to watch a film again or read a book a second time, why not sell it and let somebody else enjoy it?

Over 100 movies? I can't imagine the pressure. I had about 15 to watch one time and felt so much pressure to watch them all. I try to watch the movies I receive the first weekend I have free. I usually do a pretty good job getting through them. I do however have a ton of pre-orders out there right now that I'm afraid will all come at the same time. That's going to be interesting. My plan to slow down has not really worked out that well. But, you only live once so what the hell....

I do both. I collect my favorite films and programs on both VHS and DVD. I also have hundreds that I don't love or really even like. They came in clutch a few years ago when I didn't have cable. I really need to weed out the duds

I have 50 movies to watch against 110 six month ago . I feel accumulating too much movie without watching can become stressful even a burden. So i am more picky when it comes to fill my collection . I went to the champs elysees this saturday and spoted 7 cheap movies that i decided not to pick . But my reaction at first was ’’ These are mine !!!’’. Control, control !!!

Id say about 75% of my humble collection of 180 something movies has been watched. I do have some ivr bought last year still in their wrapping that are yet to be seen and I get a guilty feeling whenever I look at them haha

Hi Graham. It’s such a crutch 😮 my go in position is trying to base it on the more expensive purchase it’s been, it has to be watched immediately 🤯 that said I’m as guilty as anyone having not watched Sam Fuller at Columbia, William Castle Vol 2 and all of multiple Hammer box sets. I’m potentially as broad as you with my tastes and cinematic interest so I really find myself tripping over what mood am I in. I had to get tough within myself and sit out the recent Indicator sale as I have 3 titles from last sale unwatched so that’s a gauge of consumption. I had to pull on the reins so to speak 😂

I don’t think I’m hoarding because if I feel like if I won’t rewatch a movie, then I sell or trade it. I only have a few that are duplicate, usually it’s due to a 4K upgrade. I have tons and tons I haven’t watched and don’t really feel any FOMO, I just get why I think I’ll like (isn’t always the case though). The only exception is from my favorite label, Severin. Right now I want to keep every title. I love what they do, even if it’s bad. Ballad in Blood I’m looking at you 😉

My 18 year old son spends a lot on 4k blue ray special editions , is he wasting his money from an investment point of view ?

Guilty your honour 😭

I always enjoy these videos where you take a moment to reflect on the hobby and access your level of enjoyment. I agree with the other commenter Chris who watched his Blade 4K months later calling watch piles no big deal, AND your reply about money you could have saved. I've been a lot more selective myself after the splurge year of 2020 (what else were we supposed to do?) and now see a collection of film titles similar to having a book collection, which will get read as I have time and match up with a very particular mood and interest. Don't be ashamed that you haven't watched it all. Sometimes a friend will come over and spot a movie and say they've never seen it, and I'll say, "Me either! Let's watch it!" I think I've felt the stress you've felt before. It is both real and silly! My personal solution has been this: When titles drop on Vinegar Syndrome, I go to the site, buy the few I know I really want and check back in a month later. I've learned to ignore dwindling stock numbers and move away from their very intelligent marketing strategy that capitalizes on FOMO. With a company like Kino I've learned to wait for the sales, unless an absolute favorite hits 4K or something. Another important change I've made this year is to spend as little time as possible selecting a movie before watching. The first thing I grab from the pile that I might be interested in usually does the trick! You appear to have an extremely broad scope of interest in genre and decade. Sorry for unsolicited advice! I know I don't know you but I enjoy your reviews and hope that they are as much of a pleasure to make as they are to watch! P.S. I saw I Start Counting in the watch pile. It's so great!