My favourite movie of all time is White Christmas and I collect movie memorabilia. I am discriminating as I don’t want to collect just anything associated with the movie. My most prized possessions are autographs by two of the film’s stars, Rosemary Clooney and Anne Whitfield.
More than anything else I like to collect the film on various media types. Brand new and unopened if possible. As technology evolves these media types become obsolete and are impossible to play without the right equipment. As long as I have a working VCR, DVD or blu-ray player then I will never have to worry. I am always on the lookout to improve my collection and maybe one day I will be able to afford an actual 16-mm copy of the film. I did see one offered on eBay but it was so expensive in its minimum opening bid. And film is heavy; imagine the shipping charges.
Last week my search for a sealed videodisc paid off with an early search on eBay. White Christmas fans know that you have to be an early bird to get the good stuff at a reasonable price before all the Christmas shoppers come on board. Over the years this is in fact the third such videodisc I have bought. The first one was in excellent condition, yet opened. The second one was still sealed, yet the seams were slowly coming apart at each long side. This is the videodisc that you can see on the top shelf on the left side in the second hyperlink. I realize that preserving anything in a pristine sealed state is a lost cause as the plastic will deteriorate over time. All the cellophane wrapping those collectible sealed Beatles albums from the early sixties will disintegrate, as collectors are discovering already, regardless of how careful you are. That second White Christmas videodisc I bought is still sealed yet the long sides are now completely split. The plastic is tight at the narrow ends.
My searches on eBay for this movie in other formats–other than DVD, blu-ray, VHS and laserdisc–usually yield Beta tapes but I have also seen the 16 mm film, plus versions on video 8 and CD-i. I was surprised to find a sealed videodisc last week with a buy it now price of only $3.95! Of course I bought it immediately. It was delivered on Wednesday:
