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 Dean
Beasley
1.
When did you first get interested in DVD and why?
It happened back in 1999. I bought my first DVD player on the 15th
August that year. I can still remember it clearly, it was a spur of the
moment decision and the player set me back a whopping $1600. At that stage
I didn't know a whole lot about DVD, apart from the fact that the visual
quality was greatly improved, the sound was awesome and I loved the idea
of extra features. It wasn't long after that I started searching the internet
for more information and found DVD Bits.
2. Did you ever expect DVD to become as popular as it has now?
In some ways yes, but I never thought it would gain such a high level
of consumer acceptance so quickly I guess it isn't overly surprising given
the fact that DVD players are now quite inexpensive and comparable (and
in some cases cheaper) in price to VCRs. Even my parents own a DVD player.
3. What are some of your favourite movies and some of your favourite
DVDs?
I've got so many favourites. This might be somewhat easier if I break
it down into genres. In the romantic comedy genre I like You've Got Mail,
Serendipity, Kate & Leopold and She's All That. In terms of action
films, I like Broken Arrow, The Rock, Gone in 60 Seconds and The Fast
& The Furious. Some dramas that spring to mind include The Shawshank
Redemption and October Sky. My favourite foreign film would be Run Lola
Run. Animated film, well probably Titan A.E., Final Fantasy and Shrek.
Science fiction is easy, my favourites are Star Wars, The Matrix The Fifth
Element, Terminator II and Blade. And finally, in terms of documentaries,
well Space and Blue Planet have been rather memorable. In terms of my
favourite DVDs, well The Matrix is still my most watched DVD.
4. Which 'not so good' DVDs would you never want ruining your collection?
That's a hard one. I know for a fact I'm already in possession of
a couple of bad apples. One DVD I wasn't overly happy with was the original
release of John Woo's film Face Off (starring Nicholas Cage and John Travolta).
This original release was on a flipper disc. Having to get up part way
through and turn it over is so frustrating. Thankfully that's my only
flipper disc.
5. Which DVD(s) not yet available are you looking forward to most being
released?
The Matrix sequels. I realise this is a rather clichéd responses
but I think big budget films are, 9 times out of 10, excellent on DVD.
I love the impressive surround soundtracks, the visuals and the (generally
extensive) bonus features. I think when you watch films like this, the
experience is on a par, if not better than what you get at the cinema.
That was, and still is, one of the driving factors behind my interest
in DVD. In the
longer term. I'd really like to see a film based on one of Matthew Reilly's
novels make it to DVD. I can't wait until one of his novels makes it onto
the big screen. Given the right budget, I'm sure a film based on Contest,
Ice Station, Temple or Area 7 would be much more impressive than some
of those mediocre action films that Hollywood seems to churn out.
6. Have you ever gone to extraordinary lengths to satisfy your DVD
addiction?
I've not done anything all that extraordinary to satiate my DVD hunger.
Although I once had an altercation with a truck in a shopping car park
on my way to buy some DVDs. A few DVDs ended up costing around $600 after
I factored in the cost of getting a new bumper bar.
Email Dean
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