Do we want them? Do we care anymore?

Back when home video first started, there were of course no extras except for some commercial spots for future releases at the beginning of the tape.

It really started with laserdisc. I believe the first to be added was the trailer. EPKs were ready-made suppliments that appeared to add value. Soon commentaries arrived, then additional features. The first big box set I was aware of was for Alien, followed by several for James Cameron, then Universal's Signature Series, and several for Disney animated films.

Some of this stuff eventually saw life at the twilight of VHS, but it was obviously limited. There actually were a couple of VHS box sets which included the films with commentary. Scream comes to mind as one such example.

I believe all of that material has since been ported to DVD. It's been a great ride as one who tracked down every scrap of behind the scenes info I could find and paid out the rear to get I might add, to see the general population also come to appreciate it.

Unfortunately it's all gotten pretty bland. It's all kind of by the numbers now. Featurettes are clumsily thrown together dreck that we've all seen over and over. Occassionally someone takes the time to do it right. Van Ling and Laurent Bezzereaux are kind of the masters at this. Robert Meyer Burnett has done some good stuff too.

Too often it is soulless garbage cobbled together for the sake of a bullet-point on the back of the packaging. Hopefully producers will realize that human beings still want stories in their entertainment, ansd suppliments are supposed to be entertaining. "The Beginning" on The Phantom Menace is a good example. Magnolia has a good one, as does Three Kings and several others. We want the Story behind the Story, not a mish-mash of clutter and beaming smiles and back-pats.

We have also barely heard anything about the technicians on the set. I want to hear the Gaffer's Story. What the heck do the Best Boy and the Dolly Grip do? Rarely do we see Craft Services or the grips, and when we do see them, they're just smiling and waving like idiots. Why not follow one of them around for a day and see what that type of work is like?

I would personally LOVE to be a grip. How do I knowe this? I saw Full Tilt Boogie, one of the best behind the scenes docs ever. It is the second disc of the 2-disc From Dusk 'till Dawn set.

At this point, I rarely bother with special features because they are rarely special.

Out of the hundreds of DVD's I own, I watched the special features on 2 of them. I think if they were shot in HD, I would be more likely to watch them.

Out of the hundreds of DVD's I own, I watched the special features on 2 of them. I think if they were shot in HD, I would be more likely to watch them.

That is true and is an exciting prospect for HD discs. but I still think they need to be crafted much better than the vast majority are now.

Commentaries are great, but too often get bogged down in narratign what's going on onscreen and constantly praising anyone remotely connected to the production, and repeating that praise throughout the runtime of the film.

What I really want from the filmmakers is for them to tell me what their film means to them. I want them to tell me what they think it means, what themes they hope it addresses, what they were trying to reflect, maybe from their own lives, in the film they made. It's pretty rare you get that kind of intimacy.

The studio legal departments are partially to blame here, but I want some heartfelt honesty in my special features. Kevin Smith talking on the Clerks II HD DVD about Jason Mewes drug problems and how that affected all their productions is the kind of meat I want in my home entertainment stew.

I own many 2-disc versions, but when I think about I never took the time to check out any of the the "extra" discs.

I was really hoping this would change with the new formats incorporating the extras better with the feature and the extra space would make it easyer to access without having to swap disks and loosing one click access to the feature.

It's seems like Disney and others insist on wasting space and still include the extras on a separate disc that will collect dust. So much for that advantage.

I would personally LOVE to be a grip. How do I knowe this? I saw Full Tilt Boogie, one of the best behind the scenes docs ever. It is the second disc of the 2-disc From Dusk 'till Dawn set.

"Full Tilt Boogie" was so well-done that it became a theatrical release in its' own right. Rodriguez's special editions are always entertaining and educational. I would also like to give props to the suppliments on some of the Terry Gilliam titles. "The Battle of Brazil" which is found on the Criterion edition of "Brazil," and "The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of the 12 Monkeys" leap to mind.

"Full Tilt Boogie" was so well-done that it became a theatrical release in its' own right. Rodriguez's special editions are always entertaining and educational. I would also like to give props to the suppliments on some of the Terry Gilliam titles. "The Battle of Brazil" which is found on the Criterion edition of "Brazil," and "The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of the 12 Monkeys" leap to mind.

I haven't seen the Brazil one, but The Hamster Factory is indeed top-notch. I guess I can't let Lost in La Mancha go without mention even though the film was never finished.

I never watch the extra's except for the gag reel stuff. The only other extra I watched was the Crank stuff. Very cool in HD... but generally, I can care less about them.

I have seriously thought of dropping everything in my life so I could move to LA and either work as a grip or in Craft Services because of Full Tilt Boogie.

I want special features. Even if I never watch them, I at least would like the option. There's no excuse for a disc to have 50 GB of space and not be able to port over all the SD-DVD features.

Plus there's the added bonus of being able to sell the DVD copy and replace it with the HD-DVD/Blu-ray version.

Personally I consider the extras just that... extras. If the studio supplies them then great. If not that's fine too as I bought the disc for the movie primarily anyway. I've never double dipped a title because of extras... a new transfer on the other hand thats a different story.

EDIT: Just to be clear. I DO enjoy extras. Many times I skip them completely however if I really like a film I definately check out the extras. I love a good commentary as much as the next guy and I'm intrigued with what BD-J has to offer. The Decent PiP was cool as was the First Blood trivia track. I just don't get bent out of shape when a disc has unused space and minimal features or when a documentary is missing from the HD version that is available on the DVD.

I agree with Adam. Give us all you got the first time around. Save the double dipping for that funny episode of Seinfeld.

Do we want them? Do we care anymore?No and No.

I put my DVD's in the "Slim Style" jewel case to save space*. The extra disc and original case gets stored in the attic.

*I use a 2 Disc jewel case for those long movies that require 2 disc.

I know he will post about this, but I have a friend from here and we go back and forth on this one BIG TIME.

I love special features if they are, as Fett says, SPECIAL. Mostly they are drivel and not worth a piss in the wind.

That being said, I LOVE the new video commentaries, or IME if you will, that are on the HD DVD's and BD discs. Very cool and very fun, with the exception of the ones that run 1/3 the length of the film :rolleyes:

Still, I think the MAJORITY of the world could care less. That is not to negate those who do care, just to point out that they are the minority. In fact, if I can find it I will link to it, but there was just a HUGE article in one of the magazines I was reading online about how the studios are scaling back BIG time on extras, and may only include them going forward on what THEY consider to be HIT movies. Everything else would get the movie, a trailer (people reportedly love these) and that is all.

So my vote is keep the IME, scrap the crap. ;)

Do we want them? Do we care anymore?

I don't want them and I don't care for them. That said, a lot of folks do so it'd be nice if they were included on each title that's released rather than making extras fans double dip. So long as the PQ and AQ of the film itself isn't sacrificied to accomodate space for extras, of course. ;)

Didn't need 'em on laserdisc or DVD, don't need them on BD. I barely have time to watch the movies themselves.

I dont have time to watch all my movies enough let alone any stupid extras. As for the IME thing it is just a waste of time as I surely dont want to watch extras while the movie is playing. It ticks me off that BD is waiting to release movies because of that stupid feature that Ill never use.

In the early days of DVD I used to search out movies with plenty of extras as they were a novelty at the time.

As times gone by I've watched fewer and fewer extras.

If a movie has a genuinely interesting commentary or 30m+ documentary thats perfect, I can do without the rest.

Do we want them? Do we care anymore?

There's only one company whose bonus material gets my attention - Criterion.
For the rest - don't bother, because I honestly don't care.

Spend your time and money remastering/cleaning up prints instead, because what i DO care about is PQ and AQ.

I can understand if they studio doesn't have the features in HD.
However, I see no reason not to put the bonus material from the SD DVD on the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray versions.

One complaint about the inclusion of the non-HD material.
Please pillar box any 4x3 extras. I've seen a few movies where they used stretch-0-vision to take 4x3 material and fill the screen.

I want special features. Even if I never watch them, I at least would like the option. There's no excuse for a disc to have 50 GB of space and not be able to port over all the SD-DVD features.

Plus there's the added bonus of being able to sell the DVD copy and replace it with the HD-DVD/Blu-ray version.

What's more, there's no excuse for pricing the extra-less discs the way Fox/MGM seem to be doing. I don't care about extras, but I don't want to pay out the rear end for bare bones, either, especially when the "other" format can do movie + extras for 30% less. Now, things would be different if that were the standard across both mediums, but that ain't the case.

im the same as majority, i buy a 2 disc just in case i ever do want to watch specials but also like it was said, some of the features are so hard to watch for how bad they look, i've seen dvds that show the green screen itself and some deleted scenes have terrible audio and video but i love commentaries and outtakes

Personally, I can do without the extras. I have very rarely watched any of them. However, if there are going to be extras, I prefer them on a second disc and leave the movie all alone on one disc with super high A/V bitrates.

I do enjoy the extras on a personal level so I'd like to see them included, but from an advertising standpoint, J6P is going to be slower to adopt if all that is added is PQ/AQ. For example, DVDs really hit their stride once discs like Fight Club hit the market. Here's the quote "Well shucks, this'un is 10 bucks cheaper and has more **** on it!" We've gotta market past the technophile market, and those features, especially features that aren't available (as well) on DVD like IME, can go a long way.

Personally, I don't need special features myself outside the occasional commentary (and even that is usually only listened to on a truly amazing movie where I HAVE to hear as much as I can about the production)... but I think J6P wants a crapload of special features as it seems like more "bang for your buck"... usually they don't realize space taken up at times.

I do enjoy the extras on a personal level so I'd like to see them included, but from an advertising standpoint, J6P is going to be slower to adopt if all that is added is PQ/AQ. For example, DVDs really hit their stride once discs like Fight Club hit the market. Here's the quote "Well shucks, this'un is 10 bucks cheaper and has more **** on it!" We've gotta market past the technophile market, and those features, especially features that aren't available (as well) on DVD like IME, can go a long way.

I just don't believe that. Most of the average people I know are smart enough to grab the cheaper dvd if the movie is all they care about.

Out of the hundreds of DVD's I own I have only watched the extras on maybe one or two. Extras mean nothing to me. The movie is all that I care about.

I just don't believe that. Most of the average people I know are smart enough to grab the cheaper dvd if the movie is all they care about.

Thats what we need to change. When the average person looks at value added content, even crappy extras outranks PQ. Keep in mind that by way of posting in this forum, you probably aren't the average consumer. Also keep in mind that Fullscreen releases are still popular..

In a short time, say the high def version of a movie is on the shelf for the same price as the SD, and taking for granted the players involved, J6P takes a look at the back of the case. That's what we need to start aiming for.

Special features are of least importance to me. Much rather the space be used on high quality video transfers and uncompressed PCM tracks. The only special feature I really care about typically is director commentary. Trailers are absolutely worthless IMHO.

I vote for the extras. I was disappointed that the first gen of Blue-ray discs had less than the standard DVD's. This was probably the result of the uncompressed PCM soundtracks and the lack of dual layer discs during the BD launch.

Hey, I want great sound, great video and all the extras, too. I want it all. :)

I'd rather spend the time watching another movie.

Special features are 99% worthless.

I vote for the extras. I was disappointed that the first gen of Blue-ray discs had less than the standard DVD's. This was probably the result of the uncompressed PCM soundtracks and the lack of dual layer discs during the BD launch.

Hey, I want great sound, great video and all the extras, too. I want it all. :)
No, its so they can double dip and release the movies again.

I'm a bit of an extras whore myself. As someone who would like to work in the business I'm always looking for more insights into the filmmaking process. Even though a large portion of all extras are fluffy junk, I can still usually find something worth knowing strewn amongst the garbage.For that reason alone I'd rather have them than not.

I love extra's and case inserts that have extra movie info. I love deleted scenes and alternate endings especially. Commentaries I don't care that much for, though.

Even If I buy a movie, I'll probably only watch it no more than two times in it's entirety. Extras give me some extra mileage on a disc, and sometimes provide a bit of extra insight, especially on a movie that "sticks" with you. .

On 99% of releases I don't watch nor care about extras. I only watch them on stuff like Star Wars or LOTR.

As mentioned above, I barely have time for the movies.

Out of the movies I've bought in recent years,I can recall only watching the special features for the Lord of the rings,Star Wars original trilogy,and Batman Begins.Otherwise I don't bother with them.

It depends on the movie, really.

Something like the 40 Year Old Virgin or Spinal Tap that had a lot of improv are great with extras since you can see a lot that didn't make it into the movie. Heck, my favorite scene from Spinal Tap is one that didn't make it to the theatrical cut (Bruno Kirby singing Sinatra in his underwear stoned out of his mind).

And, the extras from the Criterion edition of Brazil are a must for anyone interested in the process of making a movie.

That said--I don't really need a retrospective on the fashion of When Harry Met Sally, though.