The DVD for
House of Wax (originally released in 2003) contains 1933's
Mystery of the Wax Museum on the opposite side of the disc. When it was re-released in 2009 as part of "TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection - Horror," it didn't include
Mystery of the Wax Museum, as the opposite side of the disc was now for another film. However, the upcoming Blu-Ray (out this coming Tuesday) will contain both the 3D and the 2D versions of
House of Wax, and
Mystery of the Wax Museum once again.
Sky wrote:I ask you about this every year but I don't understand why putting rules on what other people want to log is in any way fun, in fact I think it ruins it which is a big part of why I doubt I'll be logging a damn thing this year. For many people shorts and TV things are a big part of the holiday and all holidays in general and it just doesn't seem right to not let them put the thing on a list because it doesn't follow your ideas of what should be done. I'll enjoy my Great Pumpkin and you can enjoy your strict rules.
For some reason, that "rule" was attributed it to
how The Digital Bits ran their marathons long ago, which makes no sense for several reasons:
1. They do not, and never had, an online forum in which readers would keep track of their own viewing logs.
2. The web site has always been about home media news and reviews, primarily through Bill Hunt's daily columns, along with the contributions of additional writers such as the Dr. Adam Jahnke, Todd Doogan, and the late Barrie Maxwell.
3. As a regular reader of that site since 2001 (it began in 1997), I've never seen either the "The 100 Horror Films in 31 Days of October" or "31 days of
Halloween," two phrases that has been attributed to The Bits, but fail to turn up on even the most intense searching of their web site, their archives (from the old format), or Google. To date, the only use of "31 Days of
Halloween" that I've found has been from cable network Syfy and on this forum, the latter as part of the non-existent rule that has been associated with The Digital Bits. ABC Family has the "13 Days of
Halloween" which has been running since 1998, but has always included television and short films among the regular feature film offerings.
As for UD's own history of screening logs, with the exception of the all-purpose "What Film Did You Just Watch?" and all its sequels, the more specific screening logs can be traced as far back as 2004, when Prince Eric would keep a running log of the Oscar films he'd watch (
click here), followed by
2005,
2006, and
2007 Screening Logs, where others were invited to do the same (2007's was started by castleinthesky as Prince Eric left the forums).
Seasonal holiday viewing logs did not begin here until
2009, when Aaron Wallace invited everyone to simply "Post here every time you watch something
Halloween-related between now and 10/31!" In the years that followed, other seasonal viewing logs would do the same thing, with the same, basic instruction:
Christmas Viewing Log 2009
Halloween Viewing Log 2010
Christmas Viewing Log 2010
Halloween Viewing Log 2011 (in which the rule in question was first introduced)
Holiday Viewing Log 2011 (Politically Correct Edition?)
Halloween Viewing Log 2012
Holiday Viewing Log 2012
None of these holiday viewing logs included a rule in the opening post which stated only theatrical films could be discussed. It's only been forcibly added in since 2011 by other members.
Apparently, this "rule" extends beyond UD, as I once kept a Christmas viewing log (2011) on my Facebook profile as well. When I was "challenged" to only do theatrical films, I said this in reply, and it's still applicable here:
I enjoy my television shows and cartoons. I don't do this for the "challenge," I do it for fun. The list is just potential items I may decide to watch, or may go out of my way to watch. It's not a definitive list of what I will/should watch during the holiday season. To impose so many limitations (no TV, no shorts, only theatrical films, done between such-and-such dates) will add too much stress to what should be a fun and lighthearted project.
To misquote Ebenezer Scrooge: "You may keep Christmas Viewing Marathons in your own way, and let me keep it in mine."
Anyway, Sky, if you're still with me after all this, please don't feel discouraged from posting your viewing log. The forums are (and SHOULD BE) inviting for anyone who wishes to participate, and certain attitudes and expectations from others should not sway you away from sharing your experiences during this
Halloween season. For anyone who feels they are not rising to the "challenge" in question, do not feel like your viewing marathon is any lesser because of it. Keep in mind, that this is
your time to spend how you wish. There is no need to try and appease one particular septuagenarian's "rules" for how to spend your time. You're watching these films, television shows, and cartoons because you want to, not to meet anyone's approval.
Life is short, I'd rather be spending my
Halloween season having fun with friends than trying to cram in 100 movies just for some arbitrary challenge.
In a 2008 column, Roger Ebert even mentioned that on average, a film critic sees between four and ten movies a week, which would round out to 16 to 40 within a month. And looking at Luke's own review history at UD, the entirety of September (up until today) has seen him post 21 reviews for feature films alone (this doesn't include the 20-Film Warner Thrillers collection or any TV fare). I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather admire people who can watch 20 to 40 movies within a month and have well-written discourse about them, than someone who watches 100 movies in a month with little else to show for it. It just seems both absurd and a huge waste of time. But who am I to judge how others spend their time?
Now then, everyone, have fun.
I'm actually attending a Movie Marathon on Monday night with a few friends (including UD's own Aaron Wallace), where we'll be watching
Hocus Pocus (1993),
Casper (1995),
Frankenstein (1931), and
The Birds (1963). And this is just Part One of our marathon, as we'll be having another in late-October that includes
Ghostbusters (1984),
Halloween (1978),
Little Shop of Horrors (1986), and
Psycho (1960). Between movies during both marathons, we'll have supplemental programming ranging from classic Disney cartoons ("Lonesome Ghosts," "Trick or Treat," etc.), music videos ("Thriller"), and "Murder, She Wrote" ("Incident on Lot 7" aka The Psycho Episode).
Happy
Halloween!
Albert
