Ray - Limited Edition... Not Worth It
 

So I just picked up the 2-disc Ray LE set, because it was two discs and looked nicer than the single disc set.

But the extra $12 was not worth it. The packaging is sorta like a hardcover book, with a disc inside each cover, with a booklet attached in-between. The booklet is sorta lame - just a bunch of pictures from the film with some random facts and quotes thrown in - nothing special, and no info as far as what is on what disc, not even chapters. The first disc is, I assume, just like the one-disc set: two sided - the movie with director's commentary on one side, and some extras on the other. The second disc is one sided with some more extras like extended songs and little fluffy documentaries - typical big-studio extras that you may watch once, but never again. That's it - that's all you get.

The single disc will be easily found for well under $20, but good luck finding the LE for less than $30.

I'm also kinda pissed because the hub on the movie disc had such a tight hold on it, that there's a crack now growing from inside the center of the disc... grrr.

where did you pick it up?

Thanks, but I will still buy it. I do want the the uncut musical performances.

get that cracked disc exchanged!

Exactly.

Is it a double sided, dual-layered version??? A single layer wouldn't be good enough for this.

I'm pretty sure the movie side is double layered (the video's very nice, as is the 5.1 - no dts, though) and the movie's almost 3 hours, so I'm sure they need it double layered. The extras side, however, might be single layered (there's not enough stuff to warrent 2 layers) - it's hard to tell now a days, because double layer discs are no longer gold like they used to be, now they're all silver.

Pics?

based on your description.... the nice packaging alone is worth it.

I don't have a digital camera.

And the packaging would be nice if...
a. it didn't create permanent stains out of fingerprints
b. it stayed closed - it's sorta like Schindlier's list - it needs a slip-case
c. it didn't have a strangle hold on the discs causing them to crack

I'm buying it.

What he said.

From a local distributor... sorry.

Also, I'm not saying that this is a bad package, it's just not worth the extra cash, especially when the main disc could be had for half the money. And when you compare it to similarly priced items from, say, Criterion, like Rules of the Game or Short Cuts (which have to be licensed, but actually cost less) it just becomes apparent that not as much thought or care went into this package.

extened music is a heavy replay value feature for me...

buying it

I'm also picking this up, but I do appreciate the early review on the packaging.... :up:

but, how's the actual movie?

Well, I did see it in the theaters, and thought it was great, though it ended too abruptly.

Apparantly there's an extended version of the movie on this dvd, but I haven't checked it out yet. The menues say that it branches on it's own, but an icon still appears on the screen when it's about to go into an extended scene (which sounds kinda lame - if it does it on it's own, why would there have to be an icon), though being impatient, I didn't have time to sit through the movie and wait for an extended scene to see how the dvd incorporated it in - maybe over the weekend.

It's playing at the theater down the street this week only (just found out), so I'll be seeing it tonight and still definitely buying it Monday night, probably.

Well, thanks for the info. I was kinda on the fence about this one. I hate how Universal makes you choose between the regular and the SE. I'll usually go for the fancier versions (even in iffy flicks like Anchorman, The Terminal and Red Dragon). Since this one is going to be so much more expensive than the regular edition, I was leaning away from getting it. Unless the featurettes are really good, I guess I won't.

So I watched some of the, so-called, "extended version" - and it's a total waste of time. It's not seam-less branching - the movie just stops and goes into a repeat of the same scene, only with a bit of dialogue added to the end of it.

Stick with the theatrical version, especially since these scenes can be watched on their own on the extras side.

Wow, that sounds sort of busch league. From what you're saying, I gather that when viewing the extended version, you get everything the theatrical version had, plus more content, including longer versions of scenes that are already present in the theatrical cut. Is this right? That would be weird to be watching the film, see a scene and then have it replayed immediately after, this time with added dialogue.

Yo, slop,
Can you post the running times of the featurettes on disc 2?

llooks like the 2 disc one will be what bbv has for rent. so you should be able to pick it up previously watched a month or so down the line.

:hscratch: Really? That doesn't make sense. Not only is it more expensive, it's in a collectable container that they would throw away. Besides, their website lists only the regular version for rent. You can buy the 2-disc one, but it isn't available for online rental. Blockbuster Online

Sticking with the single disc for me.

Sure -

Taylor Hackford intro to disc: 1 and a half minutes

Extended Songs: 7 songs at around 2 minutes each - none of them are complete songs, each with a 30 second intro from Jamie Foxx: less than 20 minutes total

Film Maker's Journey: standard EPK - 9 minutes

Women of Ray: ...lame - 10 minutes

Ray - An American Story more EPK stuff, but not as bad. Lots of clips from the movie but there's a really cool segment of Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx jamming together, though there's a lot more of this jam session on one of the extras on the first disc, so it's moot here - 28 minutes

So, the whole disc is about 70 minutes, with about 5 minutes worth of stuff you might want to watch again.

Thanks for this info. I thought the LE would be worth it due to the extended songs, but since they're not complete, it doesn't seem that great a deal.

what doesnt make sense?

i work at one, i have it i my hand, it has 2 dvd's.

i never mentioned online rental.
we dont get them in a collectible "container" they come in a regualr cover amamry type that has a space on the side for a lock.
you can easily remve the cover and put it in a regular amaray that holds 2 dvd's.

i'm not telling people to buy it this way, just offering a suggestion.

There's also a couple extended songs on the first disc's extras, but those aren't complete songs either.

Now, after checking out the whole package, I can safely say that this thing is a total scam by Universal. All the extras from both discs together, total well under 2 hours - they could have easily fit them all together on one, one-sided disc and had the movie by itself on one, one-sided disc, and just put out a typical 2-disc SE. But no, they went for a cash grab with this LE. And I was a sucker and fell for their shenanigans.
But what else would you expect from Universal, they really are one of the shittiest studios out there.
And before you throw the Back to the Future thing in my face, that wasn't Universal's doing - I know Bob Gale - he was the one that forced Universal to fix their mistake. If left to their own, they would have done nothing.

What do you mean by "uncut" performances? Isn't all the music just Ray anyways? If you want something "uncut" couldn't you just buy the soundtrack or a Ray album?

I ask this because I'm a huge Ray fan, and I probably have all the music anyways.

I am confused about something, is the regular one a one sided or two sided disc or is it actually two. In that case, is the collector's edition a two sided disc and a second one sided disc?

I didn't mean to offend you, I just find it suprising that they would rent the standard version online and the LE in-store. It's far from the first weird thing they've done.

If this is the case (and by your post, I now believe it is), by far the cheapest way to get the LE would be to "rent" Ray at Blockbuster and not return it. As I understand it, since "The End Of Late Fees", if you keep it longer than a week, you're charged the PVD price and can keep the disc. This is correct, right?

And slop, Thanks so much for your posts. You've convinced me that the LE isn't worth it. Sounds like a bigger rip-off than the LE of Red Dragon (and that's really saying something).

Saw the film for the first time last night and loved it. That said, the 2-disc edition doesn't really sound worth it now that slop has broken down its contents. Sounds like if they were going to go all out, they could've added so much more to the LE. So for the time being, I may just be sticking with the single disc edition, although I absolutely love the cover for the 2-disc edition.

Thanks for taking time to post your thoughts. -smile-

So I guess the question now is, who else is getting the LE set?

I took a look at Blockbuster. Their DVDs are 2-disc sets. I'm wondering if these are the same as the one-disc regular edition, but put out on 2-discs to avoid dual-sided wear and tear (like The Pianist Canadian Version or T2 : Penultimate Edition), or whether there was some last-minute spec-shifting (a' la ET). Wish I coulda checked out disc 2 to see what was on it, but these BBV guys didn't know me and weren't cool to my private investigation.

Anyone who works at BBV, could you check that out for me?

hmm good question decker. i hadnt thought of that possibility. i'll take a look.

here is the list of bonus features on disc 2.

deleted scenes.
extended musical performances.
stepping into the part.
ray remembered.
a look inside ray.
theatrica trailer.
previews.


there are only 2 exteneded musical scenes.

ray & the raelettes perform what kind of man are you

ray and the raelettes perform hit the road jack

7 deleted scenes with play all feature.

so there it is.

is this whats on the special ltd edition?


the only bonus feature on disc 1 is a dir commentary.
when you hit play it asks if you want to watch the extended or theatrical version.

Those are the same exact extras that appear on the flipside to disc one of the LE - they total no more than 45 minutes.

The extras on the LE could have easily fit together on one disc, without having to make the movie disc two-sided. I think I'm gonna sell my LE and get the regular version, just to get the movie on one, one-sided disc.

So basically it looks like the limited edition is really a "three disc" but has the "two disc" regular on a flipper. Bleh..

As for the extended version, are all those extension in the deleted scenes because I don't like the sound of that terrible branching.