ABOUT MEN

By Ken Rickard
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hi. My name is Ken and I am addicted to DVDs.

I've always been a movie buff. Like most guys, I like "Star Wars," "The Godfather," and the Indiana Jones flicks, but I never really had a problem with scoring movies on video. VHS always seemed kind of clunky, although I did have a handful of my favorites on tape.

A couple of my friends were into laser disc, and I have to admit I experimented with it. However, LDs were too expensive for me, let alone the price of an LD player.

My real troubles began in 1997, when the first Austin Powers movie came out on home video. Tower Records had a large display near the door, and the bright yellow, psychedelic packaging was hypnotic.

The video version was about 17 bucks, but there was this package sitting next to it for only a couple of dollars more. Listed on the back were these special features that I never knew I needed to complete my movie-viewing experience.

So I bought the cheapest DVD player I could find, which in '97 had a street value of $300 at Costco. I got that and a couple of discs (because you're not allowed to leave Costco without buying a DVD — its on the membership form) and I was hooked.

Six years later, I've hit rock bottom.

I have all the tells of an addict: the bigger-than-my-wall widescreen HD television, a five-disc DVD changer, and a closet full of those snap cases.

I live alone, but I have a DVD player and TV in both the living room and the bedroom. Movies have become the background music for all of my household activities. Sometimes I put a movie on in both rooms while I clean so I know I'll have something to watch while I vacuum.

I even bought one of those portable DVD players with the little flip-open screen so

I can watch DVDs anywhere I want. Sometimes I wish I had one of those in-dash players in my car so I can have a distraction while sitting in loading zones.

And I know I'm not the only addict out there jonesing for a hit.

You can find us videophiles gathered on Monday nights at Tower or Wal-Mart, waiting for the stroke of midnight, when new movies can officially be sold.

Last week was a big one for us, because the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie came out and we were waiting on line for satisfaction.

Terms like "special edition," "DTS soundtrack," and "deleted scenes" get our Pavlovian instincts going.

For the hard-core afflicted, it takes something a little stronger to get off. Things like "multiple commentaries," "anamorphic widescreen" and of course, "two-disc set" will send us on a bender.

Now, every Tuesday I make the rounds, trying to reach digital euphoria. I bought the two-disc "Lord of the Rings," but I know it won't satisfy me. A real junkie always believes there's a bigger high coming.

I've already got an itch for the four-disc extended cut coming out in November.

Reach Ken Rickard at krickard@honoluluadvertiser.com.