DVDs

Our cable TV was disconnected in Somerville last Monday and our house in Louisville won't be connected until tomorrow morning.

Most of the family is suffering from this communication breakdown.

Friday, we did finally buy our first DVD player (other than the one in this computer, which really doesn't count).

So, I've been thinking about which movies I'd like to own permanently. Which are my all-time favorites and are worth repeat viewings? Of course, these are really separate questions because I have no intention of building a huge DVD library.

Consider this a short set of movie recommendations (though many are common favorites):

On VCR, I already own "Bull Durham," which I watch just about every year around the beginning of the baseball season. I consider it the best baseball film. My wife likes it too.

We also own "It's a Wonderful Life" on video and watch that every December.

"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" is a great movie and I could watch it annually, but usually don't.

Because of repeat viewing, I know just about every laugh line in "Ghostbusters" and most of them in "Stripes," so I guess those should be listed. While on vacation last summer, we actually bought "Ghostbusters" to play in my laptop's DVD player. We had a technical glitch, but I did watch the film again this weekend.

I'm a huge Humphrey Bogart fan. After all, he made some tremendous films: "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon" top the list. Oh, and "The Big Sleep" too.

Alfred Hitchcock was a really talented film maker. In 1988, my spouse and I rented just about all his movies after we bought our first VCR (our first "big" joint purchase). I particularly liked "Rear Window," with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, and "North by Northwest," with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint.

We also see just about every John Sayles movie: may I recommend "Eight Men Out" and "Matewan"?

"Raiders of the Lost Ark" is an obvious choice. I saw this one twice in theaters.

Caper and con artist flicks are fun too: "The Sting" everyone knows, but I enjoyed David Mamet's "House of Games" almost as much.

A lot of these movies are fairly old now. From the '90s, I watch "Groundhog Day" just about every time it comes on TV. Through my life, I stayed up late to view "Three Days of the Condor" even when I had to suffer through commercial breaks.

I must have had a thing for Faye Dunaway in the '70s. I've seen "Bonnie and Clyde," "Network" and "Chinatown" multiple times. Many, many times in all. And the caper flick: "The Thomas Crown Affair," was good too (I also liked the remake).

Kind of hard to believe Dunaway is 64...