It was either Where Eagles Dare or Outlaw Josey Wales.
Still like em both after all these years

I got my first DVD player on March 25th 1997 the day after the early seven city US launch date for the format. I just happened to be in Circuit City that day and saw on open box RCA entry level model discounted by $100 to $399.99. The salesman told me that the had opened one too many demo units. I didn't really want it, but I thought it was a good deal, and I was curios about the format, so I said that I would take it.

At the sales counter they had a small tabletop display containing just about every title available. He asked me if I would like to buy any of the movies that they had. I looked at the rack then said something like "no, there aren't any movies here that I like that I don't already have on Laser Disc". So I left the store with a DVD player, but no movies to watch on it.

While driving home it hit me. I just bought this thing and can't even use it, so I turned around, went back and bought a DVD. That DVD was Se7en. I did not even like that movie. I am not a fan of David Fincher. The DVD was one of those two sided ones that you had to flip in the middle of the movie. The picture was unbelievably grainy to boot.

That did not put me off of the format though. Today I have about 2,000 DVDs, and that's after a significant downsizing of my collection about ten or twelve years ago because of space concerns.


Long story short:

Se7en

I do not remember my first dvd.
However, I do remember bringing my first laserdisc back to my apartment; Terminator 2.
I was a starving college student, but my roommates and I had cobbled together enough money to purchase a very nice (at the time) 27” Panasonic TV, a Denon receiver, and a pioneer laserdisc player.
Of course, all of this went in an entertainment center built out of cinder blocks, 2x4s and an old shopping cart.

Good times, good times.