MTRodaba2468

I know there have been exceptions. Another one would be Anchor Bay/Starz getting to use Criterion's laserdisc commentary of Halloween on their 25th Anniversary set.

I agree that since Criterion has made it clear they have absolutely no intentions on ever revisiting this title on either standard or Blu-Ray, it's possible that the extras will be ported over. But I wouldn't necessarily count on it, which is one of the reasons I plan on hanging onto it (the other reason being portability, since I'm the only one out of my friends to have a Blu-Ray player).

I do think it's kinda odd that Miramax apparently ISN'T releasing a standard version of Chasing Amy (I guess it's due to the Criterion licensing), yet they are releasing another version of Clerks on standard, which is already a 3-Disc set (and when you consider that the Blu-Ray is supposed to contain everything on the 3-Disc, PLUS more...).

Gizmo

I just made a copy of the Criterion DVD which I will stick in my Canadian Blu-ray versions case. If the USA release has tons of new extras I'll rebuy but if not...nahh.

tylergfoster

Well, I imagine Criterion is more willing to let go of something they won't use but doesn't bring them any value. Since CC has never and will never do Halloween again, they were probably willing to let go of the track for cheap. I also forgot about Trainspotting, which has the LD CC commentary. In the end, I'd chalk both the likelihood of the CC extras being included and the lack of an SD-DVD re-release up to demand. Kevin may be popular, but I'd have to imagine the mainstream popularity of Chasing Amy is the lowest of all of Kevin's films. Thus, there is no demand for Criterion's extras, and they'll let them go to Buena Vista for cheap, and this will be a Blu-only release. It makes everyone happy: Miramax gets a packed SE BD release to hype, and Criterion keeps the SD-DVD rights.

Gizmo

Which is a shame since I always teeter between Chasing Amy and Clerks II being my favorite Smith film. Too bad the audience just never embraced Chasing Amy as they have his other films.

MTRodaba2468

I would have to disagree with Chasing Amy being Kevin's least popular flick. I think the general consensus is that Jersey Girl is his least popular flick (and even then, that one has become more appreciated since it's release). In fact, I think most Smith fans think Chasing Amy is one of his best films, if not THE best (now me, I think Clerks I and II are his best, although I think Chasing Amy is his best screenplay).

Regardless, while I would love Criterion's extras to get ported over, and don't think it'll take a miracle for that to happen, I'm not going to get my hopes up, and plan on hanging onto the Criterion regardless (if only for the portability factor).

Now we just need Lionsgate to rerelease Dogma (I know they ported everything over from the SE DVD, but a Dogma X wouldn't be bad, especially if they include Judge Not: In Defense Of Dogma), Universal to put out the 10th Anniversary release of Mallrats, and Miramax to redo the Jay & Silent Bob DVD (something that looks like it might not happen, with the planned 3-Pack) and to release the Extended Cut of Jersey Girl, and I'll be set for Smith on Blu.

WMAangel

Lionsgate does not have the home video rights for Dogma, Sony does (and they are the ones who released it on Blu-ray and DVDs)....and unfortunately they didn't quite port over everything from the SE DVD onto the BD either (missing the trailer, PiP inserts during the commentary, etc.)

Gizmo

I don't really count Jersey Girl since its not in the Viewaskew "universe". Still a decent little film and something I'd pick up on Blu-ray if it ever came out (the HD DVD is $50 or so - a bit too much for my taste)

tylergfoster

Best and most popular are different things. I know Smith fans like Chasing Amy, but I was referring to the rest of the world. It doesn't have the real-people appeal of Clerks, the stoner audience of Mallrats or Jay and Silent Bob, the Comedy Central love that Dogma gets, and I just don't think it was as widely-seen as Clerks II. I imagine Criterion's sales on Chasing Amy are a slow but steady trickle of purchases here and there, as Kevin gains new fans, but even when it debuted I doubt there was a huge rush to get it.

I did forget about Jersey Girl though. And maybe it was mentioned on the podcast, but I heard somewhere that Buena Vista had the same stance on that as they took on Chasing Amy, i.e. not getting a SD-DVD re-release.I'm mainly disappointed that it lacks "In Defense of Dogma", but I'm sure Sony will revisit it at some point as it's probably a fairly good seller for them. For the record, though, it looks really great, IMO.

Michael Corvin

Best + Favorite = Chasing Amy

MTRodaba2468

I see, my mistake. I notice that that's not the first time the PIP parts of the commentary have been dropped, since that wasn't ported over on the Mallrats X DVD either. It still wouldn't surprise me to see Dogma get a rerelease, though.

Just cause Jay & Silent Bob aren't in it doesn't make it any less of a Kevin Smith film.

I'd imagine that the sales for Chasing Amy on DVD are better than that. I know Kevin has stated that it's made $12 million on DVD (along with the $11-12 million it made in the box office), and while it's not HUGE, it's pretty good when you consider that Kevin doesn't have a huge mainstream audience.

As far as Jersey Girl goes, you're right, Buena Vista has no interest in re-releasing it on standard DVD. He's pushing for a Blu-Ray release to get the extended cut out (something that his fans have been pushing for for some time now), and did state on the podcast that he hoped that these releases would lead to a Jersey Girl release.

And I can see Dogma getting a re-release, if only because Smith has been open about wanting to do 10th Anniversary Editions of his films, with Dogma's being this year, and the fact that all of his DVDs typically sell well. That's really the only reason I've held off on the Blu-Ray. I know In Defense Of Dogma did get released as an extra on Vulgar, but I'd like to see it packaged with the actual film it relates to, along with the typical extras Smith tries to put together for these releases, such as Q&A's and making-of docs).

WMAangel

Unless there is a change in policy at Sony Pictures, you probably will not see the "In Defense Of Dogma" being released through them....it was originally going to be on the second disc of the Dogma SE DVD, but they would not agree to have it on there when Disney threatened legal action (since it kind of bags all over them for how they handled the film before it came out)....that's why it got stuck on the Vulgar DVD...

tylergfoster

True...but when Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay came out, there was an article in Entertainment Weekly that mentioned how incredibly well stoner pictures do on DVD. Smith's films weren't mentioned, but H&K 1 had made $60m, Super Troopers $80m and I think Mallrats is probably more popular than either of those, and has been out for longer. As for the 10th Anniversary thing, maybe. I was excited about that potential too, but when Chasing Amy got derailed, it seems to have dissipated that plan a little bit.Well, the movie is 10 years old at this point, and the featurette did get put out on another DVD and Disney didn't sue. We can hope that it's all water under the bridge now and either Sony isn't worried or Disney no longer cares about it.

BuckNaked2k

I agree, hands down.

Not to TC, but was someone singing the praises of Clerks II? Yikes.

spainlinx0

I can't imagine Mallrats is more popular than either Super Troopers or Harold and Kumar.

MTRodaba2468

True, although as droid said, Disney didn't sue anybody when it eventually got released, so maybe they'd get away with it this time.

It just annoyed me, since I don't really have any interest in Vulgar, therefore, I don't want to have to buy the DVD for a bonus feature about a completely different movie altogether.

As spainlinx said, I don't see Mallrats being more popular than either Harold & Kumar or Super Troopers...

As far as the 10th Anniversary releases go, yeah, the talk about them has seemed to have died down since the whole Chasing Amy fiasco. Still, it wouldn't surprise me to see something...

Yes. I think Clerks II is on the same level as the first Clerks. So what?

tylergfoster

I think Mallrats is more popular than those two movies, because as I said it's been out longer and been building a fanbase for more time, and Kevin has pointed out how it's the "gateway" film of his, which to me implies that regular people are watching it as well.

Universal has released Mallrats four times thus far: the original Collector's Edition, the High School Reunion Edition (identical), the 10th Anniversary Edition, and the HD-DVD, and a Blu-Ray is no doubt coming as well. That's twice as many releases as any of Kevin's other films, indicating that it must make quite a bit of money for Universal. Not to mention Universal initially produced the "Collector's Edition" bonus features for laserdisc, so even in that era there was some significant demand for the title.

More people may have seen or heard of Super Troopers and H&K but I doubt more people will ever have seen or own the movie on DVD or BD than Mallrats, by a significant margin. I bet it's made Universal more than $100m on DVD to date, if not more.

Qui Gon Jim

I agree. For those of us that have grown up with Kevin, this film truly resonates.

Every bit as good as Clerks! or Chasing Amy.

BuckNaked2k

Clerks was a fresh, inspired piece of original comedic film making. II was a shameless money grab, lacking any semblance of humor or originality. Read the reviews.

Quack

I also enjoyed Clerks II. I don't need to read any reviews to tell me otherwise.

Arthur Dent

Clerks is superior IMO, but I don't think it's by a wide margin at all.

sgnhcs

while true it was a money grab - the story showed how people change or dont change years later

99.9% of reviews are malarkey, they have financial incentives and/or use their personal bias in reviewing the film,

the only reviewer who means anything is the person reviewing the film for himself only, not some overpaid person telling people what to watch

My Other Self

I enjoy Clerks I & II the same.

That "read reviews" argument is so lame. It's someone's opinion. And? Maybe they don't have the same taste in movies that I do.

WMAangel

Hmmm, OK, here are the reviews in an overall sense:

Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 65

Those numbers clearly indicate a majority of reviews were favorable, maybe not by an overwhelming margin, but they obviously do not back up your statement....at the absolute worst, you could say they were mixed.....

PixyJunket

Word.

BuckNaked2k

OK, OK, I can see this thread (nay, forum) may be populated by an inordinate number of Viewaskewniverse fanboys.....perhaps maybe even the fat man himself is lurking around here under a nom de plume.....

To each his own, but I'll never put II in the same league as the original.