Last month, I reorganized my DVD collection in its bookcase, separating the classic from the modern and weeding a few titles out of the collection. But weeding did not mean a loss in numbers, as I also added quite a few things to the collection throughout the month. Let’s take a look at what joined the TMP library in November!

FILMS

  • Ira & Abby (2007)
    My mom found this at the friggin’ Dollar Tree! $1 for one of my favorite Chris Messina movies!
  • The Bishop’s Wife
    No special features here!
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
    Special features: Audio commentary with director, producer, and some of the cast
  • A Christmas Wish
    Special features: Audio commentary by Terry Moore; DVD includes B&W and colorized versions of the film.
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
    Special features: “Making of” documentary; “A Personal Remembrance” – Tribute to Frank Capra narrated by his son; Original theatrical trailer
  • The Little Princess
    I own about 20 Shirley Temple films on VHS but I think this might be the first I own on DVD! My uncle gave me a box of DVDs when I went to Tennessee to visit family for Thanksgiving. Front Row release with no special features.
  • Shirley Temple Classics
    A little short film collection including Biggest Little Star of the ’30s, War Babies, Kid in Africa, Dora’s Dunking Doughnuts, Merrily Yours, Glad Rags to Riches, Polly Tix in Washington, and Kiddin’ Hollywood. Another hand-me-down from Uncle Seb. I haven’t seen (or heard of, really) any of these little flicks so they should be fun to watch!
  • Also received several newer movies from my uncle: Flags of Our Fathers, My Life, Road to Perdition, Schindler’s List and We Were Soldiers, plus a TV season, King of Queens (S1). Might have to do a post on Schindler’s List for my Modern Classics or Period Films series… it’s a heartbreaking film and one of my favorites of the later part of the 20th century.

BOOKS/EPHEMERA

  • The Films of Frank Sinatra by Gene Ringgold and Clifford McCarty
    A filmography overview with synopses, reviews and photos for each film featuring Frank Sinatra
  • The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks by Tracey Goessel
    Sent to me for review by the Chicago Review Press (Thank you!!)
  • LIFE Goes to the Movies
    A beautiful photo book of movie-related images published in LIFE magazine. 1977 edition (Originally published 1975)
  • Pyramid Illustrated History of the Movies series
    I owned three of these books already; I found five more this month to add to my film-related book collection, at one of my favorite used book shops, The Curious Book Shop in East Lansing, MI. Picked up the following titles:

    • The Movie Musical by Lee Edward Stern
    • Henry Fonda by Michael Kerbel
    • James Stewart by Howard Thompson
    • Rosalind Russell by Nicholas Yanni
    • Spencer Tracy by Romano Tozzi

MISC.

  • These aren’t totally classic film related, but mid-century related. I got a little collection of LIFE mags for only $6 at my favorite antique shop! The following issues are included:
    • April 7, 1947 (Sunday-school pupils cover)
    • October 13, 1947 (“Allegro” Broadway opening cover)
    • December 8, 1947 (Duke of Windsor cover)
    • December 22, 1947 (Christmas carols cover)
    • June 7, 1963 (Pope John cover)
    • June 21, 1963 (Shirley MacLaine cover)
    • June 28, 1963 (Medgar Evers funeral cover)
    • July 12, 1963 (Steve McQueen cover)
  • I picked up two more LIFE mags on my trip to The Curious Book Shop, with old Hollywood covers:
    • June 2, 1947 (Jane Greer cover)
    • August 31, 1953 (Donna Reed cover)

I’ve made a deal with myself to only buy classic films on DVD for the foreseeable future. They’re the ones I end up re-watching most, with the exception of a few cheesy childhood favorites I’ve owned forever, so unless I really love a newer film (for example: The Book Thief) or it stars an old Hollywood icon (for example: Always, which is from the late ’80s but features Audrey Hepburn), I’ll resist buying it, no matter how good the deal! November was the first month of that resolution and I succeeded — all of the modern films added to my collection were gifts (which I’ll continue to happily receive when my movie-lovin’ family decides to pass more titles along to me haha). Similarly, I’m restricting my book buying to mostly old Hollywood-related books, because my general fiction and nonfiction shelves are so full they’re starting to lean. I still have a little wiggle room on my film-related shelves.

For those of you interested in expanding your own film collections or wish lists, Fritzi of Movies Silently has just put out a great post about her favorite silent Blu/DVD releases of the year. And if you picked up anything particularly neat last month for your collection, feel free to share in the comments!