Page 1 of Thoughts on Special Editions and pointless extra features

Call me Mr Picky but every new format gives distributors yet another chance to make big bucks from old (and new) films. Am I alone in feeling that the gullibility of consumers is expoited? Speaking as a film fan rather than a DVD collector (so I`ll take any accusations of being in the wrong forum for granted), all I want from any format is a good-quality print of the film I want to see. If I buy a film without a booklet insert or special fall-apart packaging I certainly don`t feel short changed. In fact for every overpriced double-disc special edition with action figures I see, I`d love to see a 1-disc version containing the film ONLY at a correspondingly reduced price.

And as for extras, I can happily do without trailers of the film I`m about to watch and `making of` specials that consist of nothing more than the cast reciting `oh yah i read the script and luurved it and just knew I had to make this movie` crud. As for deleted scenes, occasionally it is interesting to see what the director/studio/marketing executives deemed fit to excise from the final cut, but often, well...they`re usually deleted for a reason.

Regarding director commentaries...I simply haven`t felt the urge to listen to one yet, so read this as a `no comment` on this subject but I`m sure I`m not alone on that point. I`ve nothing against extras if they actually have any value beyond an excuse to fill up disk space or to add an extra disc to bump up the price.

In my experience the only extras I`ve come across that I`m actually glad I own are from older films that pre-date DVD (eg different versions of The Wicker Man, Witchfinder General) or, in the case of The Dish, that contain relevant material produced in the era in which the film is actually set. Or Spinal Tap, where the deleted scenes are so numerous that if you view them all in sequence you get a whole new film as good as the main feature. Compare that do AI which is, for me so far, the worst case of added-extra-overkill. I like the film itself but the extras are of the `run-of-the-mill promo making of` bog standard tedium, ad infinitum.

Sorry to go on a bit, just getting things off my chest, but I`d be interested to read other people`s views on these points.

Without the extra features, DVD would never have taken off as big as it has done. It would have stayed in the domain of film fans similar to Laserdisc IMO. With R1 stores like DVD Soon, I get 2 disc SE DVDs chocked full of top notch extra features for between £10-£12. Okay, sometimes these have padding extras but I`d rather have these available to me than not at all.

to me, the extra features are sometimes invaluable...being a media production student, im interested to see what goes on behind the scenes and hear the thoughts and comments by directors and others.

The trouble with special editions is (for me) that the quality of extras vary completely. Sometimes "making ofs" will be completely promotional and uninteresting, other times they can be extremely insightful & interesting.

Equally this applies to commentaries as well. For example the comentaries on Kevin Smith films have always been a selling point for me, because I have found these to be extremely informative & amusing, whereas on other discs they have been dissapointing. I also find having the trailes on the disc extremely useful. If I`m watching a film for the first time or with a lot of other people, I find it`s always nice to watch the trailer first.

Overall I find extras a great bonus of DVD, although I can see that it is a problem for people just wanting a good quality version of a film without the expense of buying a higher priced "Special Edition". Hopefully distributors will learn that they simply can`t just put promotional making of documentaries onto a DVD and call it a special edition and expect people to buy it.

Well, DVD supplements can only ever possibly strive to be interesting to the person who`s actually interested in what they do. So, someone with a professed dislike for audio commentaries (one of the more common DVD extras) isn`t likely to be converted by a Special Edition DVD boasting lets say half a dozen excellent commentary tracks.

That said, although a lot of s*** ends up on special edition DVDs, I don`t mind if it`s balanced correctly with worthwhile material, as part of the fun of these kinds of DVDs is their `sifting through the garbage can` quality; and finding some fatuous drivel amongst nuggets of pure movie gold only add to that feeling. My biggest complaint with Special Edition discs is their frequently tedious level of repetition, which frankly reduces acclaimed discs like `Terminator 2` and `Men in Black` to a rambling exercise in deja vu. My feeling is, if you can`t find anything else to say about you movie, stop talking.

--Mike

This item was edited on Tuesday, 3rd September 2002, 00:48

I think special editions are well worth it for the classic films, such as Tron, Exorcist, Superman, The French Connection, The Godfather etc.
As I find them really interesting as CGI didn`t exist in them days so they had to be creative, and directors commentaries offer insights on how they got round problems, where they got their inspirations from.

The old 60/s 70s/80s trailers are so cool, because it shows you how the people marketed their films in them days, most of them showing all the best bits from the film.

The Tron special edition is an absolute must for people who love special effects movies because its amazing how they created a movie without the CGI you see today, and what CGI there was, it was very basic, and very complex. I`m amazed it didn`t run over budget or even shelved.

So for me these special features lets me look at films in a different light and makes me really appreciate the time and effort these people put in to making their films.

Floyd

I do think we are being riped of too when it comes to buying DVD`s, the shops try to make out we are getting the films cheap by quoting the recommended retail price which is usually quoted between 20 - 25 quid and then selling the disc`s for 17+ pound when the videos are costing £12/13.

I do like getting the extra material but at the end of day most of the extras that go on have been filmed originally to promote the film, so don`t cost the companies any extra to put on DVD.

I believe single DVD should cost no more that £1 more than VHS and double disc no more than £2-3.

It was announced that the movie companies are making more from DVD sales than cinema tickets now.

To an extent I agree with the sentiments of the original post. Extra features are often just dredged up and stuck on the disc with no thought involved, merely there as a "value-added" feature. Trailers of the film you`re about to watch are mostly pointless, unless they have some specific, interesting point to note (mostly they don`t!). Deleted scenes are usually quite interesting though, often putting a different complexion on films, unlike the wholly pointless "outtakes" that seem to consist of nothing more than line fluffing and copious amounts of laughter. Making of docu`s are interesting, but only if they are a proper documentary - they are mostly just the pre-release publicity material rehashed. For my money, the most worthwhile extra feature has to be a commentary track. Some, like the View Askew ones, are very amusing, others (American Beauty) provide great insight in to the filmmakers art. Others are just crap.

On the whole though, I`d rather have extra`s than not, unless losing extras meant significantly better audio-visual quality.

I find that all these so called special editions and 2 disc sets are so hyped up and advertised that when i eventually get them i`m totally dissapointed.

Some of the better discs with extras have been the lesser publicised titles,the best discs out there has to be terminator 2 ultimate edition having owned it on laserdisc i knew what to expect as well as the abyss

As for audio commentaries they are pretty imformative although i have yet to listen to a complete one,but i`ve listened to around 30 minutes of air force one and parts of goldeneye.

I prefer the extra dts track,superbit is good but having bought the titles before and having to fork out again for a added dts soundtrack i`m against unless the title will benefit like airforce one,the patriot was stunning on the 1st release the superbit is almost identical.

Adding the soundtrack in 5.1 would be welcome although the music companies would have something to say about loss of revenue,but at the end of the day if there are extras on the disc i`ll watch them as it`s nice to get some extra content but as long as the discs are widescreen and multichannel i`ll be happy..