Favorite special features that don't seem to make it on DVDs anymore
 

I the thread about single DVDs that are full of special features, it got me to thinking about some older DVDs I own that would have great special features, and some of them really don't seem to make it on DVD anymore.

1941, for example, had the full soundtrack on the disc. And I think Apollo 13 does too. I know there were other early DVDs that also had soundtracks on them. But that seems like something that never really took off, and I can't think of many recent DVD releases that have the soundtracks included on the DVD (not as a separate disc in the set.)

And trailers, especially for older movies. Sometimes you get them now, but early in DVD you seemed to get them all the time.

Filmographies

Production Notes/ Bios, Multi-Angle, trailers for the film itself not just trailers for other films.

True, but it's much easier to look that stuff up online now. And more fun IMO

Big Time.

"interactive menus" listed as a special feature.

color bars

Trailers and TV Spots for the actual film are the ones I miss.

IMDB is always more extensive and up to date than the filmographies, but I still miss those too. It was easier to just look on the DVD instead of having to go to the computer to look it up!

I miss Web Links.

The Theatrical Trailer! :grumble:

Music-only or music/effects tracks.

text commentary, text trivia, etc.

I think I agree with you. I really liked them when I first discovered them, but I think I prefer audio commentaries now, as you can multitask better with those.

Isn't Apollo 13 the one where it will play the entire soundtrack if you let it sit on the menu for long enough?

or chapter selection.

better yet, just run them both at once...

Yep, but if the movie only has one or the other, I prefer audio, because then I can do other things and not have to have my eyes glued to screen.

But when done right, these "pop-up video" type special features are a lot of fun. I wish there were more of them. I think someone here once had a thread devoted to listing them all.

Universal makes great Trailers, but somehow thinks they shouldn't be on dvds anymore.

The best part about DVD filmographies was that often someone would get so confident that a project was happening they'd jump the gun. See "Ghostbusters III (1998)" on several of Dan Aykroyd's filmographies on Universal DVDs, or Die Hard 4 on Reginald VelJohnson (and I think Bonnie Bedelia)'s page on the original Die Hard releases.

At least Disney no longer considers disc cover art a special feature.

I miss theatrical trailer on DVD too :(

Those comprehensive making-of featurettes and commentaries on recent Disney/Pixar DVDs (especially Ratatoullie).

And yes, having no trailers on newer DVDs really suck now.

The filmographies also listed some 'future' movies under one title, when they ended up being changed to something else on release. That stuff gets outdated pretty quickly so I can see why they don't do those much anymore, but it's always good to at least have general info about the main actors and the director if nothing else, provided they don't later die in a bizarre manner or get a sex change or something.

Yeah, I agree with the trailers and TV spots.

Pretty much the only extra I care about: trailers. And not the ones for "upcoming" titles.

I can't believe we don't get trailers for movies anymore. The Kanye West "Jesus Walks" trailer for Jarhead was great, but it's not to be found on the Jarhead disc. Ugh.

Until you mentioned it, I hadn't even noticed they were gone. They were fun to have, though. As the trailers would have been nearly free to include, any idea why they aren't?

Trailers and TV Spots. Agreed.

Their market research probably said people don't care about them. People who feel that way see them as an advertisement for the movie they already bought. It's a shame.

Another vote for trailers and tv spots.

If the trailer has music, the studio might have to cut another deal/check with the band that was featured. That might be one reason some get dumped.

Damn music rights screwing things up again :grumble:

I'll throw in another vote for trailers, and I'm a bit behind on Pixar movies, but will be watching Ratatouille tonight, so I'm casting a pre-emptive vote for decent extras on Pixar DVDs.

Actually, I also miss "exclusive bonus DVDs" that actually have meaningful content. I'm speaking of course of Seinfeld, where the first two bonus featurettes were included as easter eggs on later season sets, and the final "screw you" was a best-of compilation of bloopers, ALL of which had appeared on the season sets. What a waste!!!

The studios would rather use the trailer space to sell you movies you didn't already buy.

Does "not charging extra for the second disk" count?

I miss the visual commentaries that were on Men in Black and Muppets From Space and Ghostbusters. Sony abandoned that concept.

I loved the filmographies/bios that used to be on the dvds..

Those were okay, but now with the picture-in-picture visual commentaries available on HD-DVD (and Blu-ray?), the silhouettes seem a little low-tech.

Yup.

'1941' has the entire soundtrack on the disc? How do I get to it? Is it the 'chapter stops' kind of a deal or what?