DVD extra features

[I, Brian]

It's funny - I makie the point to buy the DVD releases that have loads of features - ie, special edition any "normal" release - and yet I have yet to sit down and watch anything really other than the trailers and maybe a couple of deleted scenes. I have yet to sit through a director's commentary.

Does anyone here actually make a specific point to watch everything - ie, all features? Or is it just because I have kids so I barely have time enough to watch any films as it is?

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Same here. Those bells and whistles seem so appealing,but I rarely explore them.

I think time is the reason. Even without kids.

[Gnome]

I guess you feel like your getting more bang for your buck, but I hardly ever watch them. The one commentary I sat through was sooooo boring.
The directors should stick too filmmaking...when they talk about it they just trivialize what they do.

[dwndrgn]

I've watched a couple of the commentaries (mostly for movies that have a big history like Star Wars and such) and I almost always watch the deleted scenes. I stayed up late watching the Pirates of the Caribbean the other night but I didn't watch any of the extras because it was too late. This one includes bloopers which I love watching so I'm sure I'll see all the extra bits at some point.

[Foxbat]

Personally, I think DVDs have entered the same mindset that plagued CDs when first used with PCs and Consoles....How will we fill all of this extra space??

It's typical of (relatively) new technology to go through this type of upheaval. My advice is: If it's cheaper without the features then go for that version (most features are boring anyway).

When it comes to LOTR extended versions (which could be argued to be a 'special feature'), it's pretty disgusting. Somebody is being short changed. Is it the cinema viewer who gets a shorter version for their money? Or the initial DVD buyer who then finds out a few weeks later that there is an extended version? Think about it before you spend your cash.

[mac1]

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I do!

Well I used to anyway!

I dont really have the time to watch all the special features nowadays, but the first hundred or so DVD's I bought have been completely watched (bar the commentaries). Some of them have awesome special features, the boxsets for the Alien and Superman films have superb extras, as do the DVD releases of Star Wars Episode 1 and 2. As a media student (and someone who has had a lifelong interest in film production too) I find the documentaries facinating.

As for people being short-changed with the Lord of the Rings films, this simply isn't the case. Most DVD collectors knew long before the 2 disc versions of the films came out that the 4 disc varieties were on their way, it even mentions it on the back of the boxes of the 2 disc versions infact! I have both versions of both films so far released and I am not a bit disapointed. The documentaries on the different versions of each film are completely different, and they seldom even reuse the same footage on both. When the 4 disc version of Fellowship came out my cousin and I sat and watched all four discs back to back with a Pizza Hut takeaway!!!

Other films with facinating extras tend to be the ones based on real life stories. Donnie Brasco explains about how real the film is, and how the mafia are still after him now. Blow has interviews with the real George Jung, filmed in the prison he is stationed at, in which he talks about his life and the film about it. Sure there are a lot of films with crap special features, but there are some real beauties to look out for too. If anyone has Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within on DVD, then check out the "Thriller" outake, classic!

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A Random Piece of DVD extra feature trivia - The documentary on the DVD to "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is both longer than the film, and had a bigger budget!!!!!

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[Foxbat]

As for people being short-changed with the Lord of the Rings films, this simply isn't the case

Would you be happy buying a car only to discover it didn't have any seats?

Why should cinema goers be penalised by only being given a partial product?

Before the advent of 'features', directors used the 'director's cut' to put right the wrongs inflicted on their works by the producers and distributors.
Jackson demanded total control from start to finish - which nullifies the usual reasons for such a move.
The fact that the existence of extra footage was well known before the event only enforces the view that cynicism is the latest 'feature' to seep into the industry.

If you are happy with your purchase, fair enough.
I will not be purchasing the disks for the above reasons.
It seems that we will have to agree to disagree on this subject.

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by Bigmacscanlan

As for people being short-changed with the Lord of the Rings films, this simply isn't the case. Most DVD collectors knew long before the 2 disc versions of the films came out that the 4 disc varieties were on their way, it even mentions it on the back of the boxes of the 2 disc versions infact!

I'm not a DVD collector - just wanted the DVD of an enjoyable film. So I bought the two-disc and was gutted to find it plugging the extended edition. It is not normal practice to bring out a DVD, then a few months later to bring out a newer bigger version, so a lot of people like myself felt quite conned.

I've certainly not bought the Two Towers, and I'll not buy the Return of the King. I'm going to wait until well after all the films are released, before I make any form of purchasing decision. Most specifically, I'm going to make sure that there isn't an "extended extended edition" with even more features than the extended edition.

I'm not even sure that I even like the series yet. Parts of 1 were great, but there was a lot missing - character interractions for a start. And I was so bored watching 2 at the cinema. I'm told that the extended versions are much superior - explain things a lot more - which is another reason not to care for ROTK at the cinema. Of course, it would be easier to want to go if getting to the cinema wasn't such a complication thse days with having children.

Bah, humbug!