DVDs and Special Features

[The Movie Mark]

Well, once again I've written a brilliant exposition (www.themoviemark.com/wwwp/dvdmakers.asp),and I'm curious - who else loves special features on DVDs as much as I do?

I'm very selective in the DVDs I buy, meaning I only buy movies I really, really like. So if I like a movie enough to buy the DVD then that means I'm actually interested in the special features.

I understand if somebody rents something like Timeline but doesn't care to listen to commentary with Paul Walker or watch the 45 minute "Making of the Pajama Looking Costumes," but some people *COUGHmrshadeHACK* annoy me when I specifically tell them to watch a particular special feature on a DVD but they never do.

Then when I say, "Why haven't you watched it? It's really funny," they'll respond with something lame like, "I usually don't watch special features."

So? If I tell you a SPECIFIC feature to watch then you can probably make an exception! Sigh.

[ntm7885]

Thats something that always has botherd me. Recently I bought Sin City expecting a nice DVD because of all the hype But found pretty bad special features. Then I looked it upand found out a special feature is coming out in a couple of months.

"C’mon! It’s like saying, “Pressed on specially made silver discs!”"
Chris Gore

[Laslo Hollyfeld]

I love special fatures on DVDs, but they have to be of the right sort. For instance, I like audio commentaries as long as they aren't totally boring. By "totally boring," I mean that they usually should have at least two people talking to each other while watching the film. There is nothing worse than listening to the director, for instance, sitting all by his lonesome and pontificating about how great his movie is. Please. It is much more fun to have the director and a couple cast members going back and forth.

In that vein, one of the best audio commentaries I've heard is on Ocean's Eleven where Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia are all talking to each other.

However, NOTHING can compare in pure hilarity with the audio commentary on This is Spinal Tap. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer do the commentary as Spinal Tap, and it's like watching an entirely new movie. I HIGHLY reccommend it.

Beyond the director/cast, I don't really care what the visual effects guys or the costume designer think of the film from frame to frame. There's like six commentary tracks on the LOTR trilogy, and I've only listened to a couple of them.

Behind-the-scenes documentaries are usually great, as long as they don't take themselves too seriously. I mean, XXX was a good popcorn flick, but it wasn't Ghandi for crying out loud. Don't bother me with your thoughts about "cinematic purity" when you've got Vin Diesel talking about how cool all his fake tattoos are.

The worst "special" editions usually have some link to your computer. If I'm sitting down to watch these things, I'm probably not going to jump right up and stick the DVD in my computer so that it will take me automatically to some lame website.

[MsCali]

I hate the special features that are basically nerd documentaries - they get the coloring expert for the special effects to talk about the colors in the movie...and they let him go on and on and on for 30 minutes about something that only he and the three other professional colorists in the country care about. I would like a brief (5 min. tops) commentary from him on the process, with nothing too incredibly technical so I would get it, and that's it. Of course, that's always the middle section of an otherwise interesting feature, so I get stuck watching it anyway (or, Mr. Cali is there...he becomes Mr. "I have to watch ever feature on the DVD, even the sucky movies like The Notebook, which Ms. Cali hated and was really tired after and depressed, and it made her not want to get married because it was just too depressing, and she just wanted to go home, but no, I had to watch every single feature").

I don't mind if the commentary is just one person talking - I love the director commentary on Down With Love - as long as it is interesting and the person doing the commentary is an engaging speaker (ie: NOT Brad Bird). I don't like the commentary with more than one person if the people doing it are just sharing inside jokes and laughing amongst themselves. The Ocean's Eleven commentary is by far one of the best I've seen (heard?).

I don't watch every special feature on DVDs, but if it's a movie I love it had better have some good special features. I was very disappointed by the Ocean's Eleven DVD; despite the good commentary, it had little else to offer (unless they came out with a director's edition later, which I haven't seen). However, the DVDs of Moulin Rouge and Down With Love often find me watching the special features more than the movie itself!

[flipmoot]

To be honest I don't like most special features. Like commentary during a movie. I don't care who comments during the movie, I hate it and I never watch it. I don't like people talking during my movie, so I'm sure as hell not gonna have some director talking during the movie constantly with everything that happens. If it has to clearified then do it after the movie supported with film fragments orso.

Then the special features on making the movie. Don't like those either. They take the pleasure out of the film if you ask me. With LOTR for instance they had making the movie features (wich also where put on tv even before the movie came out) and they take the surprise out of every special effect. When I see the movie after that (for maybe the second time) I'm all like "Tss yeah, I know how they did that..."
Even worse, If they put it on tv before the movie comes in the theaters, you've allready seen a lot of stuff and you know exactly that that is not a city in the woods but a bunch of cartboard with paint. It's hard to look past that.

Interviews I usually like and documantaries on the live of actors, like the one on the Pink Panther DVD box are great.

But what bugs me even more then bad "special features" are that, when you spend you hard earned money on a dvd you have to watch at least 5 minutes of warnings and threats of what you can and what you can't do with YOUR dvd. If I wanna show MY movie on my birthday party that happens to have 30 people visiting I darn sure will. That be that, but the newest thing is neverending and boring anti piracy commercials you can't skip! I bought the movie allready, leave me be!! Irritetes the hell out of me...

I understand they wanna prevent misuse of the material, but do they really think the people it's meant for will stop what they're doing as soon as they see that commercial on the dvd they have already copied by then and throw it in the trash? Instead I buy the dvd and have to watch them too... Just ticks me off...
(Oh my bloodpressure... sorry for this rant, but if I get started... )

[The Movie Mark]

Oh come on, Ms. Cali, The Notebook is a good movie! Even I'm willing to admit that. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are excellent. I couldn't have cared less about James Garner or Gena Rowlands though. On subsequent viewings Stephanie and I just fast forward through all their parts.

I don't always listen to commentary. If somebody I like is doing commentary (Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, etc.) then I will, or if it's a movie where I'm really curious what happened in certain parts then I'll listen to tidbits.

I did that with Garden State, but Zach Braff and Natalie Portman were so entertaining that we ended up listening to all their commentary.

I also highly recommend the commentary on the Freaks and Geeks DVDs. But I'm not going to listen to 2-hours of a dry-as-dirt director have a conversation with himself.

Other than that, I can definitely relate to Mr. Cali's "Watch Every Single Special Feature" ways.

[MsCali]

I hated HATED The Notebook...I know you liked it...interestingly enough, Mr. Cali liked it as much as you did while I and the other girl who was watching it with us did not. For me, it was just too depressing to get into - all I could think about after it was over was how much I didn't want to get married so I would never have to go through that. I'm sure it was meant to be a heartwarming story about how two lovers found a connection through even the worst possible situation, but it was more depressing than heart warming. And the young peoples' storyline did nothing for me either - I don't really like the rich little society girl throws all away for the love of the guy from the wrong side of the tracks type stories...they've been done way too many times, that they just bug me now.

That said, it was actually a well made, well written movie. I don't particularly like Rachel McAdams, but she was okay in the role. I actually liked James Garner & Gena Rowlands best of all (their parts were just too depressing, but I liked them).