Posted by Pimped-Out-Jedi-Knight at webcacheb12a.cache.pol.co.uk on May 23, 2002 at 13:27:52:
In Reply to: OT - The Top Ten Worst Things About DVDs. posted by Hibernian Psycho on May 23, 2002 at 13:10:05:
...but that's not saying much. I refuse to take the time to think of ten, so just GET OVER IT.
Some are a little over-priced, especially the ones which are little more than crisp 'n' shiny versions of the VHS.
The boxes are irritating occasionally, particularly the ones which don't hold the discs in place. This is most common with those 'fold out' DVD cases, they sometimes get a little scratched.
Using two discs when one disc will do. Silly, silly, silly.
Lonely/over-crowded commentaries. I always feel sad when I hear Ridley Scott talking by himself on his commentaries. Similarily, I feel a little confused when there's about 20 people on a commentary track, and they all sound the same, no-one gets a chance to speak and stories get started, but never finished.
Goodfellas.
Region coding.
Different DVDs for different regions.
Releasing bare-bones DVDs before releasing the super-spanky special edition 6 months later.
: 10. Warner Bros. and New Line's cardboard snap-cases. Hey, why NOT store your film in something you can make at home out of a cornflakes packet...
: 9. Classic films NOT on DVD yet. "Indiana Jones and the search for the Special Edition"... hell, where's "Big Helium Dog"?
: 8. Classic Films on DVD, but not getting its due treatment. "Goodfellas" skimps on extras... bad enough... but also has the film divided into two halves, one for each side of the disc. All in a handy cardboard sap-case.
: 7. CRAP on DVD getting MORE than its due. Do we really need director+producer commentary, deleted/extended scenes, games, and THREE documentaries... for "Snow Dogs"?
: 6. BORING Director's commentaries. John McTiernan... it helps to SPEAK once in a while; Cameron Crowe... yes, we KNOW you like Bob Dylan, it's all over "Vanilla Sky".
: 5. Overpricing. Only a fan will buy "Mallrats" for near $35, which it is in most places. And $25 for "Ransom", which has NO special features and isn't even in anamorphic widescreen? You KIDDING me?
: 4. "Collector's Edition"! "Special Edition"! "Limited Edition"! "Ultimate Edition"! "Awards Edition"!
: 5. Collector's edition BOXES. From Fox's "Hmm, let's wrap it all up in a folding cardboard thing" to Anchor Bay's "He's a big WICKER man, right? Let's give him a big WOODEN box!" - sadder side of this is, they'll often give out regularly-cased versions, but with less features. ?
: 4. Chapter Search, Interactive menus, the trailer, subtitles and the like have NO FURTHER NEED to be called "Special Features". Well, unless you're David Lynch.
: 3. Easter Eggs. Sure, some are funny (Spider-Man on the "X-men" DVD: The Gladiator-esque tariler for "Chicken Run" on "Gladiator"), some are great (a third, EXTENDED version of "Terminator 2"? Sweet!), but most turn out to be stupid bits the director threw on there to appear witty ("Bring It On" - you get the Easter egg, and it's the rather wimpy direcor saying 'Hey, you found it. Sorry, it's just me')... is it REALLY worth it?
: 2. Rgion codes. If I want to import a Strokes CD with extra tracks, it'll play on my CD player. If I want to get a special edition of "Apocalypse Now" or "the Fifth Element", I'd better make sure my DVD player is set to play stuff from GERMANY. Seriously - there is ALREADY bootlegging with VCDs the world ovr, will region-free DVDs really make that much of a dent?
: And finally...
: 1. Pan & Scan is the spawn of Satan.
: Any other thoughts?