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What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

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What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Old 02-19-15, 09:49 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Unless the director is into doing extras they really aren't worth the time anyway. I've wasted time on a lot of extras related to "big movies" and I wouldn't miss it if those directors never did them again.
Old 02-19-15, 10:08 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138
As this thread is indicating that even people who used to be the audience for extra features no longer have time for them, I think it's sufficient evidence that they're not going to be around most of the time going forward. Damn you all .
Hey, I'm all for good extras. It's just that most of what gets packed onto new releases is a waste of space. One of my least favorite tactics is when the studio does a bunch of interviews with the cast/crew and, assembles multiple 15-20 documentaries using the same clips over and over instead of doing a singular all encompassing documentary. I know it's to avoid royalties and such, but it drives me crazy.
Old 02-19-15, 10:47 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

The whole "I don't have time" is a bogus excuse. Yeah, like some of you are really too busy getting laid, right?

There's always time for special features.
Old 02-19-15, 10:53 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by Why So Blu?
The whole "I don't have time" is a bogus excuse. Yeah, like some of you are really too busy getting laid, right?

There's always time for special features.
Special features get in the way of my ass eating time. Sometime I wish I was "semi" retired.
Old 02-19-15, 10:55 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by inri222
Special features get in the way of my ass eating time. Sometime I wish I was "semi" retired.
Touché.
Old 02-19-15, 11:02 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Put me in the camp of people who just lost interest in special features. I remember when DVD first came out and I was amazed by the fact that movies had commentaries and making of's. But eventually I just lost interest in watching them and they became more of a chore to watch then anything else.

Especially if it's a catalog movie like Halloween. How many more things is there to say about Halloween which the people buying the disk already don't know?
Old 02-19-15, 11:17 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I think the key is that far too many now only include EPK's and kiss ass interview sessions rather than true "speacial" features. I remember the true SE DVD releases that had lengthy documentaries about the history of the movie production, director, or actors IN ADDITION to the EPK's and promotional interviews.

What I really miss are trailers for the actual movie. Especially when there was cool teasers and other trailers that contained unique content not in the final movie.
Old 02-19-15, 12:03 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I honestly have mixed feelings on the entire matter. My ass eating time is on hiatus, but there's other things that have now occupied my time rather than watching special features that could end up being worthless.

There are some releases that I specifically get for the bonus features, even if I didn't find the film to be worthy of a purchase. Any film that has some relation to Judd Apatow, Adam McKay, Seth Rogen, or that "comedy circle" is worth a purchase for the bonus material alone; specifically for the deleted scenes, gag reels, "line-o-ramas," and various other material that ends up on the disc as it sometimes ends up being funnier than the film itself. Most of these films don't have in-depth documentaries or making-of content, but the bonus material is usually substantial in awesomeness that it makes the purchase worth it. Never in a million years did I expect Heavyweights to get a full blown, balls-to-the-motherfucking-wall Blu-ray release with a deleted scenes section that runs longer in length than the film itself. For content like that, I am willing to spend the extra time to navigate my way through the bonus material rather than never touch it. Why else would I buy The Interview on Tuesday for $10 despite already owning a 1080p copy on Google Play?

There are some films that I am disappointed that don't get deluxe treatment on Blu-ray, specially Marvel films in particular. Paramount and Marvel included tons of bonus materials with Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger from full-length documentaries to specifically created short films. Since the Disney take-over, Marvel films are getting shafted in the bonus material department. I may have not watched a three-hour documentary to The Avengers, but I would've loved to at least hear an audio commentary from Joss Whedon. To Marvel's credit, they at least have the decency to include the 3D version of the film whereas Disney has stopped entirely. I still haven't picked up Frozen and won't pick up next week's Big Hero 6 as I would like to own proper copies of the 3D presentation rather than a lesser quality version via streaming. I know I'm in the minority with that one, but I didn't buy a 3D TV to have it go to waste.

With that being said, I'd rather have the highest quality presentation of a film with all known variations (2D, 3D, alternate versions) included. Bonus materials are that now of a bonus. If a filmmaker or a studio wants to go out of their way to provide (quality produced) bonus material, awesome. If they don't, it doesn't hurt me. With how limited and valuable my time has now become, I've been limiting my purchasing to films that I would watch on multiple occasions rather than in the past where it was a free for all. The film always comes first.

To be fair, there are some occasions where I am upset when a new release doesn't have bonus material due to the fact it might be public knowledge that a lot of material was left on the cutting room floor that doesn't end up on the Blu-ray or a film was edited to achieve a specific MPAA rating and the uncut version is nowhere to be found. That is worth making an argument over, not because some piece of shit film is lacking a four-hour documentary.

Now if a a catalog title makes its way to Blu-ray missing bonus materials that were made available on past DVD or even Blu-ray discs (Disney), then yes, that's bullshit. Otherwise, who cares? As long as the disc can be found on the cheap and has great A/V quality, what's worth being upset over?

It's great we still have companies like Arrow, Criterion, Shout Factory, and Synapse really making stellar catalog releases, however, some of those outlets tend to spend more time on creating bonus material rather than making a great audio and video presentation.
Old 02-19-15, 12:36 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel
I may have not watched a three-hour documentary to The Avengers, but I would've loved to at least hear an audio commentary from Joss Whedon.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but the Avengers does have a Joss Whedon commentary.
Old 02-19-15, 12:46 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by rocket1312
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but the Avengers does have a Joss Whedon commentary.
Yeah, you're right. See, this is how little I care about bonus features now.

Maybe I'll listen to it one day when I don't end up inadvertently watching the film on FX.
Old 02-19-15, 01:24 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I didn't used to be this way, but if it looks and sounds great in my home theater, I don't really care much either way whether there are a lot of extras or not. Extras tend to be so hit or miss anyway and I don't have as much time to dive into them as I used to.
Old 02-19-15, 01:27 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

My problem with commentaries now is that I find while I am listening to them, I just really wish I was watching the film. I don't rewatch movies as often now as I did when I was younger and I hardly ever feel like listening to an entire commentary right after watching the movie without it.

It's the rare commentary that captivates you from beginning to end.

Some have so many people just describing the events going on the screen, large spots of silence, or just plain uninteresting comments that to me it isn't worth the effort to even try them anymore.
Old 02-19-15, 01:34 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I've always found newly released films bonus features (aside from deleted scenes or gag reels) come off very lacking as opposed to catalog titles. Of course there are always exceptions.
Old 02-19-15, 02:17 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by hdnmickey
I think the key is that far too many now only include EPK's and kiss ass interview sessions rather than true "speacial" features. I remember the true SE DVD releases that had lengthy documentaries about the history of the movie production, director, or actors IN ADDITION to the EPK's and promotional interviews.

What I really miss are trailers for the actual movie. Especially when there was cool teasers and other trailers that contained unique content not in the final movie.
There is definitely some of that, most of the EPK material is intended for publicity and hoping the movie sells. Everyone in them loves everyone else and the actors have to search for meaningless compliments. Commentaries still turn out decently if you have engaging speakers.
Old 02-19-15, 02:37 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Shit i'm lucky if I get around to watching a movie in my huge 'to watch' stack. Much less hours of bonus material.
Old 02-19-15, 02:38 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I love what Shout/Scream Factory has put into their new releases. They make the effort to put out good extras. But, I realize that it's probably more meant for the hardcore fans of the movies they put out. Casual fans as said here probably only care about having an improved Hi-Def release with good sound and nothing else.

So the consensus that I'm getting is that most here have way too much backlog from their disc collection, TV, games etc. to devote hours of watching bonus material and listening to commentary tracks.
Old 02-19-15, 02:54 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
There is definitely some of that, most of the EPK material is intended for publicity and hoping the movie sells. Everyone in them loves everyone else and the actors have to search for meaningless compliments. Commentaries still turn out decently if you have engaging speakers.
For new releases, the bonus material is put together while the film is in post-production or shortly after release. With theatrical-to-video windows now being an average of twelve weeks, studios need to have everything ready to be pressed anywhere from six-to-eight weeks before the disc ends up in customers hands. Its hard to make engaging commentaries or comprehensive documentaries when public reception could be the exact opposite of what the filmmakers or studio was expecting.

With The Interview, all of the bonus materials were put together during post-production. That's why none of the bonus material even mention the debacle that happened in December and why Sony was able to have a Blu-ray release within seven weeks of it being released into theaters and VOD. I wouldn't be surprised if the Blu-ray was ready to go by October.

Originally Posted by DJariya
I love what Shout/Scream Factory has put into their new releases. They make the effort to put out good extras. But, I realize that it's probably more meant for the hardcore fans of the movies they put out. Casual fans as said here probably only care about having an improved Hi-Def release with good sound and nothing else.
Except Shout doesn't give a flying fuck about A/V quality.
Old 02-19-15, 03:02 PM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel
Since the Disney take-over, Marvel films are getting shafted in the bonus material department.
To be fair, the timing coincided with the decline in home media so it may not be a Disney conspiracy.

Originally Posted by hdnmickey
I think the key is that far too many now only include EPK's and kiss ass interview sessions rather than true "speacial" features. I remember the true SE DVD releases that had lengthy documentaries about the history of the movie production, director, or actors IN ADDITION to the EPK's and promotional interviews.
I remember the old days when cast filmographies were a "special feature"--literally just another part of the press kit thrown on the disc.

Originally Posted by hdnmickey
What I really miss are trailers for the actual movie. Especially when there was cool teasers and other trailers that contained unique content not in the final movie.
Since I tend to avoid watching trailers in advance because of spoilers, I like having them on the disc as well. I can usually find them online, though.

Also, for all that BD Live DIDN'T turn out to be, it was kind of nice to see a relevant trailer instead of stuff that was new at the same time as the disc I was watching.
Old 02-21-15, 01:52 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by davidh777
I remember the old days when cast filmographies were a "special feature"--literally just another part of the press kit thrown on the disc.
Even funnier: I have early DVDs that list "digitally mastered", "interactive menu" and "chapter stops" as special features!
Old 02-21-15, 01:58 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by stingermck
Shit i'm lucky if I get around to watching a movie in my huge 'to watch' stack. Much less hours of bonus material.
This. 15 Years ago when I had barely 100 DVDs, I devoured the special features. Now that I have nearly 1000 it's just gotten to be too much of a burden.
Old 02-21-15, 02:18 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by davidh777
To be fair, the timing coincided with the decline in home media so it may not be a Disney conspiracy.
It's definitely Disney. They have largely abandoned special features or cut them to the bone in recent years on home video.
Old 02-21-15, 04:35 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

The special effects featurettes and how they are done are probably the most boring.
Old 02-21-15, 04:59 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

While I like bonus material, when DVD was at its peak it seemed a lot of it was being done just for the sake of having SOMETHING extra on the disc, even if the movie didn't deserve it and they didn't really have anything worthwhile to put on anyways. In the laserdisc era, if a movie got a commentary track then you knew it was going to be something special. When nearly EVERYTHING gets a commentary track now, not all of those are going to be worthwhile. I listen to them all anyways just because I'm obsessive, but I always laugh when I hear stuff like "This guy was great to work with" or "Watch him in this scene- he's just great!" I remember some amateur film competition, think it was on one of those short-film DVD "magazines" that used to come out (I do miss those!) where they said they'd include your film on an upcoming disc but you HAD to record a commentary for it, whether you wanted to or not!

Too bad about "The Interview" disc being done even before the movie's scheduled release in theaters- the story of what happened with that was more interesting than the movie itself was. Maybe Criterion will put it out in a few decades.
Old 02-21-15, 06:58 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

Originally Posted by Coral
In the early days of DVD I liked having a lot of supplements - it made me feel like I was getting great bang for the buck. I would go through all the extras except for the commentary (which just takes too much time). I soon realized that I would never watch the extras again. Then I found myself skipping an extra here and there - and eventually I just stopped watching them altogether.

Today I just want the film with great picture and sound quality - that's it. I can find enough stuff online (ie. youtube, etc) about the film if I really wanted to.

Much like collecting movies in general, the novelty of supplements wore off for most people.
I was never a huge fan of many of the extras anyway. All too often its fluff pieces of all the actors jerking each other off so they can promote the movie. Everyone is like a family, everyone is the best I've ever worked with, etc. I can't recall but a very small handful I ever viewed more than once.

Where I really like to delve in was in historical based movies. I realize everything from American Sniper to Titanic to Gettysburg to Braveheart took dramatic license for a better story. In those cases I love listening to a commentary or seeing a documentary telling the real story and why they made the changes they did. I remember Braveheart and Untouchables didn't just massage history, they literally rewrote history. Braveheart had an affair with an adult who was in actuality 9 at the time and the two never met. In Untouchables they killed off a character who really lived and went to jail. I could go on. Even Band Of Brothers, which I always considered docu-drama on first viewing made changes. If you read the book and saw all the interviews you'd see they made quite a few changes in story.

So with all that being available online, I can research what I'd like and don't mess with the extras.

Someone mentioned Nightcrawler. I definitely would have liked to see more about their world but I'm sure its on youtube somewhere.

Last edited by JimRochester; 02-21-15 at 07:39 AM.
Old 02-21-15, 10:38 AM
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Re: What's up with huge movies and the sh*t releases??

I'm another person who stopped caring about extras and special features. I think the only feature I really cared about in recent memory was the commentary for Winter Soldier, since I heard how great it was.

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