Slate Wonders What Movie You Kept The Longest

Slate is asking readers to tell them what movie they've kept the longest, Land of No Return.

It happens to all Netflix subscribers eventually. Your buddy the film buff drags you to a revival of Antonioni's L'Avventura. To your surprise, you find yourself rapt. Upon returning home, you log in to your Netflix account and move La Notte, the second film in Antonioni's ennui trilogy, to the top of your queue. It arrives a few days later, just as L'Avventura's spell is starting to wear off. You watch Anchorman instead. You totally still want to see La Notte … but now you've mailed Anchorman back and here is Ghost Rider—starring Nic Cage! La Notte can wait. And it does. For weeks. You're never quite in the mood to watch it, but you can't quite bring yourself to return it, either.

Send your story to dvdextras@gmail.com by next Tuesday at 5pm ET.

I asked this question in 2005, and the responses were interesting (18 months, 249 days, etc.).

Comments

[Walter Underwood]

Newsweek did this story two years ago, calling it "Netflix Guilt". http://www.newsweek.com/id/46619

[Donuts]

If I've had something unwatched for more than 1 month I just send it back. I can always get it again.

[Lorne]

I always finding reading this story really disconcerting. It's like standing on line at the post office and realizing that most adults don't know to tape together a package. It just freaks me out.

People who keep the same movies for months or even more than a year - how do you survive in the world? Actually, wait - don't tell me.

I don't want to know!

[Scribe1964]

I usually don't have a DVD sit home for more than a week. On a couple of occasions, I've sent back something I didn't watch. What I try to do is rent movies I WANT to see rather than movies I OUGHT to see.

[dAVe]

In the past five years I think I've only had one DVD sit on my shelf over 31 days. I sent it back without viewing it. A year later I queue it up again but watched it the second time and was glad I did.

[Quiet Desperation]

If I fall out of the mood to watch something by the time I get it, I just copy the DVD and return the it so the copy is there when I get the mood back.

[Robert Martin]

It took multiple asttempts for me to get through Southland Tales, and I had to be in a certain mood to even try. Ultinately, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Sent it back after 5 weeks.

[Brandon]

I have only had my account since January, but it looks like the answer is Ratatouille at 44 days.

[Dave]

Quiet Desperation, how do you copy ur movies, i've tried with a bunch of free programs but it never works out for me. Please help :-)

David

[Quiet Desperation]

@David: I still use good old MacTheRipper 2.6.6 on the Mac. Can't say what works best on the PC or Linux sides. You might try, you know, Google?

[HearNoEvil]

@Dave: the best dvd copier i've come across for PC is by SlySoft... there is 2 programs that work together, AnyDVD and CloneDVD2.. both available for purchase at their website after trying them out for 30 days for free... google any of those 3 names and you should find their site...

[gsbf]

The longest I have kept a movie is 3 days before I returned it un-watched.

[janes'_kid]

Over at Greencine.com/board (Greencine could have been a competitor but somehow failed to even attempt it.) some dude posted that he had signed up and then immediately moved and never got a DVD and his credit card had been paying for five years before he noticed.

Which is worse, to keep a DVD for long periods without watching or paying for long periods without getting any DVDs?

[Dave]

Thanks, Quiet Desperation and HearNoEvil

[Kodai]

I havn't ever kept any movie longer than 3 days. If you don't send movies back, you can't get new ones. If you like a movie enough to keep it longer than a week, go out and buy it.

[5 qer]

Cries and Whispers at 2 weeks.

Among my 5 Qs, I have one dedicated to foreign films, another to TV shows -- the TV Q usually gets returned in a day -- the foreign usually in 4 or 5 days.

[Cheryl]

I have "The Orphanage" sitting at home right now. It's been there about a week. That's the longest I've kept a movie--I'm kind of afraid to watch it. If I don't watch it tonight, I'll send it back.

[X]

I've had Michael Clayton at home since March. Should I watch it or send it back?

[Joe Ruhaak]

Micheal Clayton is decent. It is worth a watch, but not worth all the hype it gets in my opinion.

I try not to let my movies sit for to long, but when the fall season starts back up, I can have movies sitting around for awhile. I think my max is about a month.

[janeslogin]

During these times when there are writers strikes and primaries and Olympics and conventions and elections and then holidays I usually up my plan and keep one laying around in the event of TV's even more complete failure to instruct or entertain.

The one I keep longest is the bottom of the pile. I usually do last in first out.

[Alex]

I set my personal records over the weekend. I had Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears for 15 days before sending it back. My problem wasn't that I put off watching that movie itself but instead I just wasn't in the mood to watch any movies for the last couple of days.

[Miggity]

I've had 10,000 BC for a month now. Tried to watch it this weekend. Turned it off after 15 minutes. Mailing it back today!

[jimofoz]

I just had a movie I'd kept for a little over a week. Visitors came for a week, and I didn't get much DVD viewing done. I usually get them back in two or three days - my wife, however, tends to keep DVDs a lot longer.

[That Guy]

I've had Smoking Aces since June of last year. Yup, about 15 months. Started to watch it twice, never finished it. I keep watching tv episodes instead and returning those discs.