I've just noticed lately that some of the recent releases such as Babel, The Departed, and Flags of our Father have been released with limited extras. Even the Departed 2-disc's main entry is a 2 year old doc about the director. What do you think? Are studios releasing these disc too soon or should they wait and put quality extras on these discs? Personally I would rather they wait and put out a good 2-disc or 1-disc for that matter than rush a release or double dip. I guess we all are guilty for allowing this to go on since we all buy or rent as soon as they come out. Any thoughts?

Considering that I rarely watch extras, I'd rather have the movie sooner.

Well, the trends on dvd have changed alot. Used to, we'd have to wait 5-6 months, and depending on the studio, get 1 fully loaded release. Then, Fox and a few others began the shady ordeal of releasing a 1-disc release. Then, magically announce a couple of months later after everyone bought it, that they would be releasing a 2-disc set. Sadly, they still do this now, except the 2-disc gets released in Region 2, so we do get a sort of heads up.

Then, some studios started releasing just a 2-disc set, loaded with extras, and priced right at $29.99 retail. But they got wise, and now we are in our current form of getting 1 and 2-disc versions at the same time, with the 2-disc being higher. Now, the retail listing isn't much of a difference, but retailers do not discount the 2-disc as much as the 1-disc on release week, so you will pay a premium on the 2-disc set. And now, the retail on some of those is creeping back up to a higher price point, examples: World Trade Center and Mission: Impossible III 2-disc sets have the same retail listing as their HD counterparts at $39.99. ouch indeed.

Now, to answer your question, if it's a movie I really, really love and from a favorite director, I would prefer to have lots of bonus material. But if it's a Summer blockbuster, I say give it to me 3 months after release with a nice anamoprhic transfer and a kick ass DTS audio track.

Word.

Same here. Just give me the theatrical trailer and some fancy packaging and i'm good.

I'm not a big fan of extras. I usually will check out a few of the featurettes, I love blooper reels, but for the most part they're strictly a one shot deal. Some things I really look forward to are documentaries surrounding events which the movie is based. Other than that give me maximum sound and picture and I'm happy.

Quick release please.

Considering most extras are compiled when the movie is released in theaters, we shouldn't have to wait at all.

I'm not really big into extra features so a quick release works for me.

I haven't watched a dvd extra in months. What more is there to learn at this point? Oh my, what-d'y'know, the film presented challenges which were overcome! Also, would you believe that the cast and crew still had time to have fun on set? Yawn. Just give me the movie.

uhh...this thread is kinda stupid.

Has there EVER been a set where extras have delayed it? It's not like we're talking about a regular occurrance here. The real news is that there are LESS extras on newer releases.

That's what it sounds like to me.

I used to prefer extras, but since most I only watch once or are crap, i'd rather have a quick release.

Why can't we have both? Is there some reason we can't get a relatively quick release that also has extras?

There's no reason why we can't. This thread is just speculation based on nothing.

Wow... I'm a little surprised about what you guys are saying. I thought it'd be the other way around, with a preference for a later release with extras.

In any event, I'd rather wait for a movie to be released on DVD with extras, as opposed to a quick movie-only release. Simply put, I like extras and don't like to double-dip at all.

Normally, it's not a problem, because we'll know in advance if there's going to be a later release, a la Sin City.

There are very few DVD's in which I have watched the extras more than once. The Alien Quad extras, the Empire of Dreams documentary, and the extras on the Criterion version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are the only onces I can think of right now that have watched multiple times. I would even say that I haven't watched the extras once on over 75% of my DVD's. I haven't even watched the extras on the extended editions of the LOTR trilogy and I have owned them since they were released.

It really depends on the film and the extras. Like others, I like to have them, but don't watch them very much.

Special Features are worth the wait for me; the bonus features (deleted scenes, commentaries, etc) are, to me, what dvd's are all about.

GOOD extras are worth the wait. I really don't need any more "green screen" featurettes, but a solid commentary, or historical background features can really enhance your appreciation of a movie.

I'll second that.

I LOVE EXTRAS~!

I hate quick releases without extras.

That answer the question?

I bought into the DVD format in 1998 because of the DVD's many capabilities including DTS sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 or 6.1 and epsecially the special features.

What I don't get about the quick turnaround on alot of these movies and minimal extras is that most studios hire a DVD production team to shoot all the behind the scenes material while the film is in production. Why can't these guys shoot and edit the behind the scenes material while the film is in post production and in theaters? Instead we end up with these crap EPK features which the studios already produce for news agencies and entertainment shows like ET. I like audio commentaries, but some can be a hit or miss on some movies. In the T-3 commentary, Claire Daines was very uncomfortable doing it and wasn't very good at articulating her thoughts. I remember listening to the commentary for "The Score" and Frank Oz said he was recording his track the day the film was released in theaters. Why can't the studios add a clause in the contract for the actors and directors and producers to record an audio commentary during the films release and promotion? That way it won't be as difficult trying to track these people down, who probably move on to other projects right away.

Personally, I think if the studios had their acts together, they can easily produce and release a solid DVD with great extras 3-4 months after the films theatrical release.

There is no excuse to release a barebones DVD especially on something like "Flags of our Fathers." It's the studios fault for being cheap. There is so much background story on the production and history on the events of the movie that can be told in some good documentaries. This release tells me that Dreamworks didn't want to spend any money on this DVD other than transferring it to disc.

What Mr. cinema said.

I don't see how hard it was to get Scorsese atleast for an audio commentary for The Departed, it only take like 2-3 hours.