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Are DVD companies pulling a fast one?
Quick, unannounced re-releases with special features take advantage of buyers


BY RANDY A. SALAS
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
MI N N EA POLIS — Last year’s Will Smith summer hit, "I, Robot," arrived on DVD on Dec. 14, a modest single disc released just in time for Christmas. This week, barely five months later, it’s back as a two-disc special edition.
So is the weather-disaster blockbuster "The Day After Tomorrow," originally released Oct. 12. Oh, and there’s the Denzel Washington action hit "Man on Fire," first released Sept. 14.
DVD enthusiasts call this practice "double-dipping" by the companies that release the discs. Fans use the term in an especially derogatory way when the releases come just months apart with no warning, as Fox Home Entertainment did with its re-released DVDs this week ($26.98 each).
"That’s the way marketing works," explained Scott Hettrick, who tracks the DVD industry as the editor in chief of the trade weekly Video Business. "You put out a product, and then if it seems to be popular enough and if you think you added something to it to make it more popular or you put out a different version of it … you get ’em to buy it again.
"It’s not like the DVD industry has come up with this clever marketing scheme," he pointed out, noting that the practice is used with most consumer products, from clothing to books to cars.
"Having said that," he added, "does it make it any more palatable for the average person trying to buy something? No."
Special-edition re-releases of DVDs are nothing new. Every studio puts them out. The ideal revamped disc comes out for an older movie whose original DVD deserves a makeover – such as next week’s two-disc special edition of the 1968 Steve McQueen film "Bullitt," which replaces an anemic 1997 disc. At worst, the time span between releases is at least a few years.
But increasingly, for new movies, the period is just a few months – and with no advance word that a re-release is planned when the first version comes out. It’s not just this week’s three releases from Fox, whose representatives declined to comment when asked. For example, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment put out the "Underworld" DVD on Jan. 6, 2004, not announcing until after its release that a two-disc special edition was coming just a few months later on May 25. Warner Home Video did the same with the Halle Barry thriller "Gothika," out on March 23, 2004, and again on Oct. 12.
In just about all cases the special edition improves upon the first DVD. The new "I, Robot," for example, adds two commentary tracks to the previous director’s commentary, and the second disc covers the making of the movie so exhaustively that a detailed index is required to navigate among the dozens of features. (The audio and video presentations of the movie appear to be identical, though.)
But there are right ways for the DVD companies to do such quick-turnaround re-releases while keeping consumers in mind.
When New Line Home Entertainment announced the DVDs of "The Lord of the Rings" movies, it noted at the same time that special extended editions would be coming later in their respective release years. Before Sony released the first DVDs of "Hellboy" and "The Grudge," the makers of each film had already been widely quoted online and in articles that souped-up versions would be coming soon afterward.
The perfect scenario is when a no-frills disc and a special edition are released on the same day, so consumers can decide at once which version they want to buy. That’s what happened with recent releases of Fox’s "Kinsey" and "I
Huckabees," Warner’s "The Phantom of the Opera" and Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou."
Unfortunately, that’s not the norm.
"It would be wonderful if everything just came out one time and had everything on it and was the cheapest price possible," Hettrick said, "but that’s just not realistic."

Fincher Fan

2-disc sets were released in R2/R4 last year when the R1 single discs were released. Of course double dips were coming.

hermes10

Just put the movie out on DVD as fast as possible. Given a choice between bare bones and SE on intial release I'm going to buy bare bones 99% of the time. I don't care how many SE's come out subsequently. I don't have time for most "special features," and most of them are just promotion in one form or another anyway --the same crap they play for promotional purposes on TV and not in any meaningful way enlightening or instructive.

GOS

I agree hermes 10, I also rarely watch the features on "special editions"

wordtoyamotha

I also agree with hermes10. Back when I owned 12 dvd's I had time to go through all of the extras. Now that I have a) a larger collection and b) a more "Home Theater" style setup, PQ and AQ are the priority.

Mr. Cinema

Do the studios purposely try to screw over only Region 1 folk with double dips, or do the other regions also get a taste? Case in point being the 2-disc release of I, Robot coming out in Region 2 at the same time the 1-disc was out here.

marty888

Unfortunately, the author selected some very poor examples to lead off with, suggesting that he doesn't know that much about the DVD market if he really believes those three Fox titles suddenly appeared "without warning". Anyone who paid any attention to DVD sites knew that the 2-disc editions were appearing around the world as the R1 single disc editions appeared, and had no doubt whatsoever that these editions would eventually be released in R1.

bboisvert

I think the point is that this is "without warning" to 99% of consumers. The average person doesn't spend any time on DVD web sites.

However, I also think that if people do not educate themselves about purchases, the lose all right to complain later.

(And, honestly, is anyone really surprised when a studio double-dips anymore? It's pretty much guaranteed for any big-budget film. Especially one that was originally released with little/no special features.)

ArchibaldTuttle

obviously

FilmFanSea

The "author", Randy Salas, is a long-time member of this forum (rasalas), but his article is aimed at the "average consumer"--not the knowledgeable DVD Geeks of this and other forums. His point is valid: consumers would be better served by DVD companies that are more forthcoming about their release plans.

For example, when Image announced the season sets of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, they let consumers know that the initial barebones releases would be followed by deluxe editions with commentaries in the future. Another good example is the LOTR releases. But to announce a Tricked-Out, Uncut, Super-Deluxe Collector's Edition of a title just weeks after the modest original release hits the streets is just plain greedy and cynical.

The Bus

I agree -- most special editions aren't that good. I usually will try to save up and get the better versions of movies: Huckabees, Master & Commander, Black Hawk Down, for example.

I also don't mind if there's a double dip for a new theatrical release (Pitch Black) and it includes a ticket to see the sequel (Chronicles of Riddick). I ended up paying $15 for a DVD and a movie.

paulringodaman

Although I watch no special features or commentaries, I still want the exta-super-deluxe edition. I can say to myself: "I just want the movie...any other release is not necessary." But still, I feel deprived from the better case, the better features...Man, do I suck.

Bill Needle

"It would be wonderful if everything just came out one time and had everything on it and was the cheapest price possible," Hettrick said, "but that’s just not realistic."

Why not? Because an uneducated consumer base allows them to continue to get away with it?

cajun_junky

I initially thought you were right about the uneducated consumer, however after thinking about it for awhile I began wondering if the uneducated consumer base would be interested in extras. I have alot of friends and family members that fall into the category and they barely understand the benefit of widescreen vs. fullscreen. As far as extras, they could not care less about them.

naitram

But some of these initial bare-bones releases are also lacking in picture and sound quality. I don't catch too many new releases in the theater, so I'm finding myself not only waiting for a movie to come out on DVD, but waiting another year (or less) for the better DVD version.

Mike Lowrey

'Bout the same with me. I don't go to the theaters anymore either. The last movie I went to see was LOTR-TTT. However, I'll probably catch Ep. III here in the next couple of days or weeks. Anyway, since I don't go to the theaters, I generally wait for the DVDs. Besides, there aren't that many movies that I'm interested in anyways. The couple comic book movies that come out each year, and a few action/adventure/epic types and that's about it. I could care less about the dozens of comedies and psycho thrillers that come across the screen every year.

As for double-dipping, I don't usually unless for better transfers, extended cuts, or for just a super-duper deluxe edition like Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, and even Windtalkers. That said, I'm getting the Tears of the Sun-DC coming out in two weeks. But it's cheap. Just $13.xx. BTW, any word if it's a single or double-discer?

rasalas

As FilmFanSea kindly points out, I have been writing about DVDs longer than most people have belonged to this forum. The Star Tribune, along with USA Today and the L.A. Times, was among the first daily papers to have weekly DVD coverage.

This article was indeed aimed at general consumers. It is, after all, appearing in a daily newspaper. And it has had tremendous interest from mainstream sources in just the few days since I wrote it. The article was picked up by the New York Times News Service and Scripps Howard News Service for use by newspapers across North America (from one of which it looks like this version was reposted), and it provided fodder for a call-in show on a major Minneapolis radio station.

I, of course, know that the non-R1 editions of the three Fox movies were a strong indicator that such versions would be coming out stateside, but space limitations in the main article precluded me from going into that aspect of their release, which doesn't really mean anything to the average consumer who simply goes down to the local Best Buy each week. And regardless of that fact, the DVDs still came out just a few months after their original releases and Fox didn't divulge its plans then to U.S. consumers, which was the main point of the story.

But I did address the topic in the overall package I wrote, and this is a major liability of the wire-service version, which is what's posted here. Not only is it slightly edited, but the wires did not also include a sidebar I wrote that gives the average joe some tips. Here it is, including a plug for this fine forum and info about non-R1 editions:

Most people here already know all of the points I made in the article, but at least I made them in a widely read manner. The L.A. Times, AP and all the other news sources merely wrote that these new special editions were out and described what was on them. My aim was to do something more and to help the average consumer. Based on the tremendous feedback I've received from my readers, other newspapers and colleagues, I believe I did that.

Bill Needle

You're doing the Lord's work when it comes to educating DVD consumers Randy. Keep fighting the good fight, and when enough people know what is common knowledge on this site the studios will be forced to respond. That may never happen, but it might.

juanmgonzalez

Randy,

Can you next article be on how fullscreen is evil?

Good work on the article and for it being picked up.

Josh Z

I agree with your point, but the flaw in your rationale here is that the average consumer who simply goes down to the local Best Buy each week isn't paying attention to studio announcements and press releases any more than they're paying attention to the foreign DVD market. Whether Fox divulged their plans for a Special Edition re-release or not is irrelevant if that disc isn't on store shelves the same street date as the regular edition.

NatrlBornThrllr

Upon reading the article, these were my initial thoughts through and through.

-JP

a handle

I seldom by a double dip unless I really like the moivie and it has an extended version. I'm thinking Das Boot came out 60 minutes longer as did the LOTRs. They really got ya with the blockbuster favorites if they are extended editions. I'm also all for directors cuts. I mean it is a DD but if I like a movie I am always ready for a longer version which is usually better. Extras who cares!!

Jackskeleton

eh, a companies main purpose is to make as much as possible. If folks are willing to buy the re-released version for whatever reason and they continue to make a profit off it, it will continue. If they stop making money then they'll stop.

The main reason why R1 gets a lot of these double dips is because americans are willing to pay for it. R2 and so on just don't fall for the same BUY BUY BUY mentality and thus, studios need to make it top form from the get go.

Khan

Well i've tripled dipped with Leon: The Professional and i'm sure there are plenty of people here who have me beat.

rasalas

Actually, I did that two years ago in a six-part, summer-long series called Widescreen 101. It was in the first article in that series that director John Carpenter said that DVDs should always have a widescreen presentation "and then give the idiots their pan-and-scan version."

But readers have written and called me to say that, because of the article, now they are going to be more vigilant about those things. That was the aim of the sidebar.

Well, now you're starting to blend my comments here with what was written in the article. My write-up clearly says that there is a right way for a studio to go about special editions and one of them is day-and-date releases of two versions for consumers to be able to choose.

What's funny is that many special editions aren't making that much money for the companies (relatively). I commissioned some data for the article that I was unable to print because of space limitations. According to Home Media Research, only 4% of Lemony Snicket's sales (number of units) have come from the SE. For the SEs of Gothika and Pirates of the Caribbean, it was only 2%. Everyone is trying for a LOTR:ROTK return, 34%.