I will watch documentaries if they seem interesting, the ocassional deleted scene, and the trailers. I've grown tired of commentaries (for reasons already mentioned) and I hate PiP stuff and interactive stuff (like Maximum Movie Mode) because I'd rather watch the movie or how it was made. Constantly jumping back and forth between both is annoying as I find myself more interested in watching the movie and find everything else annoying distractions at best.

I think this is just a "figure of speech", he did not mean he really was that far.

I proudly watch every bit of Extra features, it makes me feel like I am getting more bang for my buck. And some of them I really enjoy.

"The Family Man" had a gag reel that I still bust a gut (Figure of Speech) every time I watch it. Cage is trying to get one of his lines right and he just keeps messing up...him and his buddy in the movie just cannot hold it together.

It's gotten to the point where they should just stop doing 'bore-us material' for movies unless the people who made the movie REALLY want to. So much of it gets repetitive. Some of my favorite cliches:

"At the end of the day..."

"We brought more to the table"

"(So-and-so) is the greatest (cameraman, helicopter pilot, gaffer) in the business, and we were lucky to get him for this movie"

"When I read the script..."

"My character..." (Proceeds to do an in-depth analysis of the character they play along with clips of every major line they say)

"We wanted to give audiences something they had never seen before."

I'd love to see stuff like this where everyone says stuff like "This movie really turned out to be a piece of shit" and "I hated working on this thing- I was glad when it was over!"

Another one- when talking about the city the movie took place and was filmed in: "This city was another character in the movie."

I feel the same way! It's like a Magician, or an Illusionist reveals how they perform their tricks, and illusions. If the audience knows how all the tricks are done, the mystery of magic will be ruin. Can you imagine David Copperfield telling the world how he does his illusions? His career will be over because everybody will attempt, or emulate is work!

I don't understand this perspective. I love making-of features, but I still find a well-made movie absorbing and magical. I mean, anyone over the age of 7 should understand that what they're seeing isn't real. Once you've accepted that, what difference does it make if you know how it's not real?

Well I'll give you another example, then maybe you'll understand! If you were a famous gourmet chief, and own a very posh reknown restaurant, that serves exquisite delicacies, (that no other food establishment in town have on their menu,) would you give away your secret recipes? If you do, you will be out of business, because people will start preparing your meals at home. The late Colonel Sanders has never given away his recipe for his famous Kentucky Fried Chicken. That's why!

Doesn't equate. We're not discussing why film-makers should be protective of their trade secrets. We're discussing whether knowing how movies are made interferes with enjoying movies. So to come back to your false analogy, would knowing what the Colonel's 23 herbs and spices are make KFC less appealing to you than it is today when you don't know what they are?

The movie magic being ruined doesn't really make sense to me. My thoughts are from Feynman's book "What Do You Care What Other People Think"... let me see if I can get the quote.

And that last sentence is how I feel.

A movie is a movie. It's a product made by many people. It's not "magic" in the sense we know what magic tends to look like.

Knowing how a film is made shouldn't at all effect how you feel about the movie. That's a bs mentality. Seeing what they use to make something isn't as important has HOW they use it. Yeah, I really like knowing how Kubrick made that pen float. Knowing it doesn't at all kill the illusion of floating. It just makes me damn appreciative at how fucking smart he was.

Appreciating a film as a self contained element should NEVER be affected by knowing what they did to do it. It may make us not like it at times but as a self contained piece of work..it stands on it's own.

I don't watch those behind the scenes because it's all promo crap shown on HBO/other movie channel, to get people excited about the film yet not showing anything.

I normally don't watch bonus features unless the movie ends and the cat is sleeping on my chest and I don't want to get up.

Yes it would! Because the chicken will no longer be special, and different. Then I will be able to prepare it at home.

jesus christ. just came to check on this thread and it seems my initial reaction is still my current one.

Pen & Teller tried this with a TV special in which they made a sunken ship disappear. They hyped it up that at the end of the special, they'd reveal how they did the trick (and they did indeed reveal it).

That special was a huge ratings disaster.

Just because you know "how it's done" doesn't mean you have the skills to actually do it.

That might not have been the reason for the ratings disaster.

FOX used to have a popular series of specials where the masked magician revealed tricks.

After seeing how the FX were done on a couple movies I found I did not enjoy them as much or was distracted on repeat viewings. So if you want to call it irrational I won't argue with you. I just prefer not to know the secrets.

I just don't understand how a grown-up, much less a movie aficionado, could be bothered by knowing how movies are made. I mean, we all know that movies are shot over the course of weeks and even months; has anyone actually stopped and thought, "I wonder how far apart in the shooting schedule these two scenes were?" while watching a movie? Who gets distracted imagining the costume designer sketching? The composer at the piano trying out theme ideas or the writers sitting at a Starbucks with a laptop? Why should the special effects be any more intrusive or detracting?

No, for me I don't find this kind of information damaging in the least. What I find ruins a movie is a trailer that feels like an abridged form of the film that brings me up to speed with the final scene. I saw a trailer for the next Anne Hathaway movie (One Day, I think it's called) where she and a guy meet annually and catch up and we apparently see their lives ebb and flow over twenty years. Fine, except there's a shot of the guy carrying his obviously sick mother, then he's crying; gee, I wonder: does his mother die in the movie? Could that be an important, emotional moment in the story? Maybe, except now I know it's coming and I already feel put off by its attempt to manipulate me.

It's not knowing how a story is realized that cheapens a movie; it's knowing what the story will be that kills my interest.

Yes, I remember! I guess the reason why the ratings were a disaster is because, nobody didn't want to see it.

No you wouldn't. All that would happen would be that you know what's in it. That's all. If you knew the parts in a car, would you be able to build one ? I know what's in a radio, but for the life of me, I couldn't build one. Your argument is invalid.

Your analogies make no sense and they are destroying your argument. Just because somebody conceptually knows how something works does not mean they will be able to execute it in the same exact way. That fact that you assume that's the case with all things ranging from food to movies is stupefying. At first I thought that you were just trolling people, but after more posts comprised of the same thoughts....just wow.


For me, I don't watch most special features because they are nothing more than marketing fluff. As others have already pointed out, there is zero depth to them and just endless fawning over everyone and anyone involved in every aspect of the production. It's likes somebody was able to capture the essence of Donald Trump in a special feature.

As a bonus features junkie, I can definitely appreciate this sentiment. All I know is that when I sift through the fluff I find enough gems to keep me willing to keep exploring the Disc 2s in my library.

I wish I had the determination to do that. For certain films and labels, such as Criterion, I'll devour everything because I know it's going to be quality from the start. However for the majority of mainstream films and recent releases, I've pretty much given up hope. Maybe there is a potential for a new thread in here? People can list the quality special features on releases that wouldn't appear to have them.

I'm sure there are already threads about bonus features, and right now I'm too lazy to go looking for one to bump. In the interim, here's a blog post I wrote for Flickchart about some of my favorite bonus features for anyone who might be interested.

Glad that you were overwhelmed Eric but, "trolling" is a waste of time!