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The subject of extras on DVD`s has been and will continue to be hot debate, are they worth the extra money? are they any good? is it worth sending for a region 1 DVD from America because of `more` extras?
To me there`s some yes`s and some no`s
I find on some DVD a excellent extra such as a "how we made the film" or "how we did the stunts" which is great but then again how many times do you watch them? once maybe twice would be my guess.
Deleted scenes are another great, and most of the time you think....well why wasn`t that in the final cut.
Directors commentary is another extra that is popular on DVD`s, but i can`t see the point myself, but thats just my view, i want to watch the film, not have someone talk through it.
What would i like to see? more music video`s from the soundtrack, M:I:2 is a good example with the Metallica video on, that was good to see, a extra thats can be played again and again if you like the music that is:)
and if you don`t have access to music channels to see music video`s, then this good for people who have never seen it.
So what extra`s would you like to be seen on DVD`s?
To me there`s some yes`s and some no`s
I find on some DVD a excellent extra such as a "how we made the film" or "how we did the stunts" which is great but then again how many times do you watch them? once maybe twice would be my guess.
Deleted scenes are another great, and most of the time you think....well why wasn`t that in the final cut.
Directors commentary is another extra that is popular on DVD`s, but i can`t see the point myself, but thats just my view, i want to watch the film, not have someone talk through it.
What would i like to see? more music video`s from the soundtrack, M:I:2 is a good example with the Metallica video on, that was good to see, a extra thats can be played again and again if you like the music that is:)
and if you don`t have access to music channels to see music video`s, then this good for people who have never seen it.
So what extra`s would you like to be seen on DVD`s?
The subject of extras on DVD`s has been and will continue to be hot debate, are they worth the extra money? are they any good? is it worth sending for a region 1 DVD from America because of `more` extras?
To me there`s some yes`s and some no`s
I find on some DVD a excellent extra such as a "how we made the film" or "how we did the stunts" which is great but then again how many times do you watch them? once maybe twice would be my guess.
Deleted scenes are another great, and most of the time you think....well why wasn`t that in the final cut.
Directors commentary is another extra that is popular on DVD`s, but i can`t see the point myself, but thats just my view, i want to watch the film, not have someone talk through it.
What would i like to see? more music video`s from the soundtrack, M:I:2 is a good example with the Metallica video on, that was good to see, a extra thats can be played again and again if you like the music that is:)
and if you don`t have access to music channels to see music video`s, then this good for people who have never seen it.
So what extra`s would you like to be seen on DVD`s?
To me there`s some yes`s and some no`s
I find on some DVD a excellent extra such as a "how we made the film" or "how we did the stunts" which is great but then again how many times do you watch them? once maybe twice would be my guess.
Deleted scenes are another great, and most of the time you think....well why wasn`t that in the final cut.
Directors commentary is another extra that is popular on DVD`s, but i can`t see the point myself, but thats just my view, i want to watch the film, not have someone talk through it.
What would i like to see? more music video`s from the soundtrack, M:I:2 is a good example with the Metallica video on, that was good to see, a extra thats can be played again and again if you like the music that is:)
and if you don`t have access to music channels to see music video`s, then this good for people who have never seen it.
So what extra`s would you like to be seen on DVD`s?
Disney are one company that seem to put trailers for their next films on DVDs. Tarzan has a trailers for Dinosaur, The Little Mermaid 2 and another one (I can't remember which) on it and my R1 Toy Story 2 disc has trailers for Dinosaur (again), Monsters Inc, and The Emperors New Groove (which looks great by the way).
When I used to rent videos (remember them?) I, like many people, used to fast forward the trailers on them. At least with DVD you can either skip past them or (ideally) include them in a 'previews' menu so it's not as if they get in the way.
I agree to some extent with SickMan on the directors commentary. It's the sort of thing you don't want to watch but feel you should in case you miss out on anything. Most of them seem drab and boring insights into the inspiration for a particualr scene or character but there are a couple of great moments. I haven't watched any all the way through but I had a flick through the commentary on The Mummy and at the 'water turning to blood' bit they point out that you can see someone's hand with a watch on just creep into shot for a second (a sound engineer or something). If commentaries were like this all the way through then there would be more reason to watch them. Even Mike Myers commenting on Austin Powers 2 (I won't give it's full title) is boring.
The best extra I could contribute to this topic would be if the screenplay for each film was included. This would probably only be realistic as a DVD-ROM extra but there is already a market for script books out there so surely this would be of interest to people.
To be honest I'd gladly forfeit most of what gets put on some discs in favour of cheaper prices. Apart from trailers, preview trailers and deleted scenes how much actually gets watched more than once (and is it usually enjoyed at all)? Documentaries and stunt programmes are all right but they are often broadcast on TV to promote the cinema release. You want cast interviews? Watch Film 2001 and the like, they're all on there.
The other point raised was is it worth importing Region 1? Are you a single region player owner, by any chance?
Anyway, unless there is a significant inprovement over the Region 2 version then probably not. This is becoming less and less of an issue on newer releases as they are very often the same. The only real advantage is that you can usually get films months before they are released here (sometimes even before our cinema release) which is a much bigger incentive than a couple of watch-once extras. OK so we get Snatch a lot earlier, and Chicken Run was here only a week or so after America but the vast majority of films get released elsewhere first by some marjin.
Take X-Men. Out here sometime in March. It was on Region 1 back in November. Scary Movie? I've got that. How long would I have to wait for a UK release? Dinosaur? Coming through my letter box at the end of this month. Pokemon 2000? Out before it's UK cinema release (admittedly nobody really cares about this one). The list goes on and on like this.
Something must be done. Actually I don't care, I can play any disc from anywhere. HA HA HA! (evil cackle, lightening in the background, camera slowly panning out revealing my evil fortress etc).
When I used to rent videos (remember them?) I, like many people, used to fast forward the trailers on them. At least with DVD you can either skip past them or (ideally) include them in a 'previews' menu so it's not as if they get in the way.
I agree to some extent with SickMan on the directors commentary. It's the sort of thing you don't want to watch but feel you should in case you miss out on anything. Most of them seem drab and boring insights into the inspiration for a particualr scene or character but there are a couple of great moments. I haven't watched any all the way through but I had a flick through the commentary on The Mummy and at the 'water turning to blood' bit they point out that you can see someone's hand with a watch on just creep into shot for a second (a sound engineer or something). If commentaries were like this all the way through then there would be more reason to watch them. Even Mike Myers commenting on Austin Powers 2 (I won't give it's full title) is boring.
The best extra I could contribute to this topic would be if the screenplay for each film was included. This would probably only be realistic as a DVD-ROM extra but there is already a market for script books out there so surely this would be of interest to people.
To be honest I'd gladly forfeit most of what gets put on some discs in favour of cheaper prices. Apart from trailers, preview trailers and deleted scenes how much actually gets watched more than once (and is it usually enjoyed at all)? Documentaries and stunt programmes are all right but they are often broadcast on TV to promote the cinema release. You want cast interviews? Watch Film 2001 and the like, they're all on there.
The other point raised was is it worth importing Region 1? Are you a single region player owner, by any chance?
Anyway, unless there is a significant inprovement over the Region 2 version then probably not. This is becoming less and less of an issue on newer releases as they are very often the same. The only real advantage is that you can usually get films months before they are released here (sometimes even before our cinema release) which is a much bigger incentive than a couple of watch-once extras. OK so we get Snatch a lot earlier, and Chicken Run was here only a week or so after America but the vast majority of films get released elsewhere first by some marjin.
Take X-Men. Out here sometime in March. It was on Region 1 back in November. Scary Movie? I've got that. How long would I have to wait for a UK release? Dinosaur? Coming through my letter box at the end of this month. Pokemon 2000? Out before it's UK cinema release (admittedly nobody really cares about this one). The list goes on and on like this.
Something must be done. Actually I don't care, I can play any disc from anywhere. HA HA HA! (evil cackle, lightening in the background, camera slowly panning out revealing my evil fortress etc).
Sorry, Ive done it again.
I must stop posting these long messages.
They don't look that long when they're written - I blame the small font.
I must stop posting these long messages.
They don't look that long when they're written - I blame the small font.
With X-Men you can watch an 'Extended Branching Version' where the deleted scenes are inserted where they were intended to go. There is a couple of seconds pause before and after while the player locates the additional scene. You get a brief warning that a deleted scene is going to be shown by a small 'X-Men' logo flashing in the corner of the screen.
Unfortunately in this case, one of the deleted scenes is an alternative to one which is already there. There is a scene where Storm is teaching a class. In the normal version you also get some of this video but there is a voice over of Xavier is telling Logan about his school. The branching version shows both scenes as some bits are in one and not the other and vice versa so some parts of the film appear twice.
The rest of it is fine though, with extra footage either adding to the film or replacing one scene with an extended version. For example the scene with Logan and Jean Gray talking in his room is replaced completely by a longer one.
Unfortunately in this case, one of the deleted scenes is an alternative to one which is already there. There is a scene where Storm is teaching a class. In the normal version you also get some of this video but there is a voice over of Xavier is telling Logan about his school. The branching version shows both scenes as some bits are in one and not the other and vice versa so some parts of the film appear twice.
The rest of it is fine though, with extra footage either adding to the film or replacing one scene with an extended version. For example the scene with Logan and Jean Gray talking in his room is replaced completely by a longer one.
There aren't too many other extras that haven't been included on a disc yet, I'm sure the disc makers will come up with something else that will have everyone sitting up and taking notice, but really they should be to enhance the film rather than act as gimmicks.
I enjoy making of documentaries, the Matrix one showed that you can have a new and interesting style of this by interlacing it between the film itself, so that the effects are seen just after they actually happen in the film. Perhaps the angle button could be used in the future to split the screen and show effects shots with the film, while the director's commentary is playing, giving an extra visual effect to the commentary.
Also, I do enjoy music tracks on a film, and perhaps a few could be put on the DVD as MP3 tracks, or as music tracks to listen to (obviously as well as the music video version that everyone seems to like). Even better would be including the soundtrack album in the DVD case (without charging extra for the disc of course) but I think this might eat into the company's profits too much to be viable.
I enjoy making of documentaries, the Matrix one showed that you can have a new and interesting style of this by interlacing it between the film itself, so that the effects are seen just after they actually happen in the film. Perhaps the angle button could be used in the future to split the screen and show effects shots with the film, while the director's commentary is playing, giving an extra visual effect to the commentary.
Also, I do enjoy music tracks on a film, and perhaps a few could be put on the DVD as MP3 tracks, or as music tracks to listen to (obviously as well as the music video version that everyone seems to like). Even better would be including the soundtrack album in the DVD case (without charging extra for the disc of course) but I think this might eat into the company's profits too much to be viable.