Back in my grammar school days, I spent a year and a half trying to track down a copy of Eraserhead. Early into eighth grade, I finally found a bootleg made from the Japanese laserdisc being sold through a Canadian distributor. I promptly ordered it, and it arrived less than promptly a month or so later. My dog and I were ecstatic. We made popcorn, turned off all the lights, popped it in, and after about twenty minutes, fell asleep. The next morning I gave it another go and fell in love.
Nearly a decade later, David Lynch began offering a remastered DVD edition directly through his website1. With shipping it was close to $60, but what the hell, right? The packaging was overly elaborate: an 8"x8" box with folding arms, tucked inside a slip cover. The disc itself isn't secured in anyway; it's just plopped haphazardly inside one of the folding arms. As a result, the disc soon became irreparably scratched, despite the great care I took in handling it.
This is the worst thing that could have happened. I would have rather lost a kidney.
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