An4h0ny

I don't know for sure but based on previous experience (with another company) I believe these versions will have a different UPC, probably one check digit off - or close.

So there will probably still be some confusion but if the person enters the UPC correctly to their Amazon or Ebay listing then it should show up correctly.

I'm a big fan of special features and watch them 99% of the time, but then again I buy a lot of discs so it probably won't affect me too much.

Still seems like a paltry move that will annoy a lot of potential customers for Fox.... *shrug*

dx23

Not really. Blockbuster usually has promotions of buy 4 for $20 and other similar to that. You can get used DVDs for $5 or less and that includes recent releases.

But I don't get the point of FOX doing several prints of the same film. Lately their second disc is only for the digital copy. Why then remove extras that come in the retail version of disc 1. Isn't that putting more work to a single product? Films like Idiocracy were release with all extras on disc 1. Why are they going to give barebones disc to the rental stores when the disc can easily fit everything. FOX is complicating matters for their greedy reasons of cutting the secondary market of used dvd sales, something they have been opposing for many years.

dollfins1

doesn't surprise me. even less reason to visit blockbuster etc. now.

drmar35mm

This is just a further attempt to squeeze more dollars out of an economically stressed environment; like raising the price of breakfast cereal by reducing the size of the box. Similarly, it seems to me that the "sale" prices on DVDs that I'm seeing on Amazon and Deep Discount (and elsewhere such as Target) are noticeably higher than a year ago or even last fall. This notion that the best strategy is to raise prices on highly discretionary goods (DVDs, electric guitars, books, whatever) in the face of a deep recession puzzles me. "Hey guys, sales are way down. Let's raise our prices!" Speaking for myself, I've bought very few DVDs since November because there are so few good deals. Perhaps it will be a winner for the DVD makers. Or a wash--sell lower numbers and come out with the same bottom line. Or it could do greater damage, as DVD buyers cut back even further. After all, you can't eat DVDs.

hotsexyboi

This doesnt affect me in the least since I NEVER rent anymore, I just buy DVDs if I think I'm going to like the movie

Matthew Chmiel

Warner had not a single thing to do with the film's release. Fox Searchlight bought the rights to it when Warner Independent and Picturehouse shut down.

OldBoy

funny they mention "The Wrestler" since the SD doesn't have much anyway that most people are already irate about.

islandclaws

Doesn't bother me at all. I've never been a renter, so anything that drives more people to buy DVD and BD sounds fine to me. I do think it's lame for those who do prefer to rent, especially for new bonus features they may not want to double dip for, but I understand why Fox is doing it.

DJariya

What was the last FOX movie released to DVD that put out an extensive behind the scenes documentary over 1 hour long? Was it Live Free or Die Hard? Plus, the rental market didn't even get that 2nd disc since FOX put out a 1 disc version.

bigjim25

That's exactly what I was thinking.

JeffTheAlpaca

I agree


Pinocchio would have been $14.99 in the past but now it is $16.99 everywhere.


if they cut the special features what is next?

they remove the scene selection option on all dvds and remove any options for 5.1 surround sound?

hotsexyboi

I agree!!!

Nick Danger

That's just inflation. After a decade of inflation in the 3-4% range, it's higher now. They've got to squeeze more dollars out of their product, because each dollar buys less. Nobody said that a recession would be fun.

UngersPride

Me too!

critterdvd

If this becomes common practices it is going to dramatically change the film studies departments at a lot of colleges.

I'm currently a fourth year in college studying film and psychology and on almost a weekly basis I'm given projects that involve watching special features (specifically commentaries) ontop of the film themselves.

I get everything through netflix (students can't usually afford upwards of $50 a week to purchase all the movies they need to watch), so this could get interesting for my younger classmates.

Travis McClain

I would suspect that the majority of renters are not concerned about bonus features. I consider myself a bonus features junkie--I don't review one for my blog without watching every part of a release--and even I confess to generally skipping them with rentals. Especially if it's from Redbox; there just isn't enough time.

I would hope that this would translate somehow into lower rental fees, though. It's been ages since my last Blockbuster rental, but I would like to think that those who rely on such places for their rentals will get something out of this downgrade.

gogogadget

This is annoying. I buy a lot of previously-viewed DVDs, and I like the extra features. Guess I'll just hit up Ebay/Amazon more.

man*machine

I never watch any extras on anything I get in from Netflix. Just want to see the film - plain and easy. And then IF the film is something I really liked, I will end up buying a new copy later on. And only after I've purchased the DVD will I choose to decide to watch any of the extras. Honestly, if you don't really even care for the movie enough to think about owning it, why would you even waste any time watching any extras about it? I own a ton of movies I really like and even on those I don't have the time or interest to spend on the extras most of the time.

If this saves Fox some dollars and gets more extra-fanatics to buy instead of rent, I think it's an excellent plan. The rental market has a huge negative-effect on DVD sales, especially the little independent DVD companies trying to stay alive with niche-market titles. Why let a rental idiot like Blockbuster - or Netflix (who has been brilliant in their business plan so they deserve success) - make all the profit when the actual DVD companies putting out these films are struggling to survive on actual sales with the majority going to rental copies?

People complaining that they can't see some useless extras on the countless DVD's they rent from Netflix each month at a barebones cost really need to come down to earth, especially in this economy. If you netflix a movie you really-really like, then pony up some extra money beyond your flat $10 netflix-month rate and just buy it. If you can't afford it, too bad.

WMAangel

I don't know why they are claiming they are starting this practice with the March 31 releases....they ALREADY started this practice earlier this year! I rented "The Secret Life Of Bees" from Blockbuster when it came out last month (which is a Fox title), and the box had the same art and list of bonus features as the retail version...however, the disc itself did NOT have the features on it! The same thing happened with "The Rocker" there the week before as well....

nightmaster

I tend to buy used and will continue to do so with or without the extras. Since I buy used I don't expect the studios to cater to me...it might irk me a little but it's understandable - its not in their best interests. As long as I get the movie, I'm fine. If it's something I'm gaga over then I'll spend the extra cash for the SE.

matome

Never cared about extras and never really rented, so this has no effect on me and I can understand Fox's position. Since the practice of having two versions of pretty much all big releases (1-disc bare bones, 2-disc SE) has been around for a few years already, haven't places like netflix usually only carried the 1-disc barebones anyway?

TheMovieman

Actually, they've already had 2 different versions of some of their movies on DVD (Hitman I know is one). A 1-disc featureless version and a 2-disc version with all the features on disc 1 and the digital copy.

Personally, I think it sucks because I normally buy ex-rentals from either Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. Oh well.

jjcool

Wonder if they will pull disc art from the rental discs as well. It would make it a lot easier to differentiate between the two. This sounds like they are going to issue the 1 disc versions to rental, and the two disc versions are going to be for retail. Wonder if they plan on pulling the 1 disc retail versions.

orangerunner

I understand why the studios want to do this and personally a lot of films I watch, I really don't care to see any extras or making-of featurettes.

I don't care to see how "The Waterboy" was made for example.

On the other hand if they do release a feature-only version with no extras, I hope they still use a dual-layer disc and maximize the bit-rate for a more superior quality image rather than just encode it on a cheaper, single-layer disc.

Too many extras on a single disc does compromise the picture quality of the film itself.

My Other Self

Then what was with the ribbing Boyle gave Warner at the Oscars, and why is Warner still listed on Wikipedia?