Deep within the electronics department of Wal-Mart lies one of the great mysteries of the retail universe: the DVD bargain bin. Standing approximately five feet tall and all of it filled with movies, the bargain bin holds some of the worst films imaginable, yet within its wire frame contains an education in DVD shopping and sometimes even some hidden treasure.
Not many take the time to fully explore the depths of the bin, and this is precisely where the bounty lays. Once you tear away the initial layer of the bin, you find the films that you would never consider buying but are marvelously delighted to learn exist. This is known as the educational layer of the bin. For instance, I learned that there is in a fact a movie starring both Sylvester Stallone and Henry \The Fonz"" Winkler, made in the mid-1970s before either of them were a cultural phenomenon (""The Lords of Flatbush"" looks as if it is yet another motorcycle gang movie, quite a stretch for Winkler). Also, it was learned that Care Bears, thought to have disappeared from any format of home video, are being transferred to DVD and lie in wait for those willing to sift through a bin for them.
Deeper still is the level of delusion-the bargain bin's version of the mirage. In the midst of frantically pawing through DVD's like some sort of movie-crazed raccoon, there appears a beacon of hope. From out of the ranks of countless movies starring Emilio Estevez comes something like ""Seabiscuit,"" staring up at you with a certain desperation that silently says ""save me."" Could it be? Has combing the bin actually revealed a prize? But the initial reaction of bliss is premature, washed away when you spot the ""full frame"" sticker blaring on the front of the case. Discovery must not mar good judgment. A film as fine as ""Seabiscuit"" has no business being viewed in anything but its original widescreen ratio.
Then there are those rare selections tossed into a sea of obscurity due to poor sales or overflooding of the market. These discs stare upwards toward the sky, managing to catch a glimpse of fluorescent light through the cracks of copies of ""Police Academy: Mission to Moscow"" and ""Under Siege."" A copy of ""Say Anything"" has no business buried under countless sequels and bad comedies, literally suffocated by unoriginality. These films are the true pay dirt of the bin, the justification in literally bending over and partially submerging oneself whilst the entire electronic section of Wal-Mart looks over and sees a pair of legs sticking out of a crate of DVDs.
In the end, reaching the bottom of the bin rarely holds the treasure that one hopes for. Most quality DVDs are found in the middle layer, if at all. Most trips to the bin result in nothing but wasted time and disappointment.
