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News & ArtsFriday, March 6, 2009
Film Crazy Like a Fox
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Hacking Netflix links to a report that Fox is going to cut DVD extras from rental DVDs in order to encourage people to buy the DVDs.
The rental DVD of Slumdog [Millionaire], for instance, carries only the movie and trailers, but the retail DVD also has special features including deleted scenes and commentaries. The rental Blu-ray Disc does have the bonus features, but the retail Blu-ray adds digital copy.
This doesn't make me want to buy DVDs—I still have never gotten more than a half an hour into a commentary track before shutting the movie off in annoyance—but I bet it'll work for some folks, and I think it could wind up being industry practice pretty soon.
(Hulk is not a Fox movie, but I just wanted to point out that it takes 3 discs to contain all the Hulky bonuses.)
1
Serious question: do people still rent and buy DVDs? I don't think I've bought a movie or rented one in like five years. It's like the antique concept of buying a music CD...
2
Universal Video add Hulky extras to Incredible Hulk movie, Incredible Hulk movie take Hulky extras, freak out, 3-DVD out, INCREDIBLE HULK MOVIE BECOME 3-DVD SPECIAL EDITION!
PAUL CONSTANT WILL WATCH INCREDIBLE HULK DVD WITH COMMENTARY TRACK ON FOR HALF AN HOUR, SHUT OFF MOVIE IN ANNOYANCE!
And no, I don't feel like letting it go.
PAUL CONSTANT WILL WATCH INCREDIBLE HULK DVD WITH COMMENTARY TRACK ON FOR HALF AN HOUR, SHUT OFF MOVIE IN ANNOYANCE!
And no, I don't feel like letting it go.
3
You really should listen to your co-worker's commentary track on "Showgirls." It's my second-favorite commentary ever (right after Roger Ebert's insightful and fascinating track on "Citizen Kane").
4
ironically, I just realized I downloaded The Incredible Hulk on a whim months ago and never bothered to watch it
6
I only bother with commentary and extras for movies that are really exceptional, and, if the movie's that exceptional, I might just buy it anyway.
8
Remember a couple of years ago when the Weinstein Company signed an exclusive deal with Blockbuster so that its moves could only be rented from that hateful outlet? Movies like "Bobby"?
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bobby/70045…
That's why certain movies you get from Netflix now include a screen before the movie starts (or the menu loads) saying, "This disc is not licensed for rental." Netflix doesn't seem to give a shit, and more power to 'em.
@3 -- I've had Dark City in my queue since I heard Ebert recorded a commentary for that as well. It was his #1 movie that year, so I expect he's got something to say. More power to him, too.
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Bobby/70045…
That's why certain movies you get from Netflix now include a screen before the movie starts (or the menu loads) saying, "This disc is not licensed for rental." Netflix doesn't seem to give a shit, and more power to 'em.
@3 -- I've had Dark City in my queue since I heard Ebert recorded a commentary for that as well. It was his #1 movie that year, so I expect he's got something to say. More power to him, too.
9
@1 Some of us live in a part of the city that lacks anything approaching a decent internet connection resulting in painfully long download times for torrents(netflix is faster) and have tvs big enough that the resulting pixelization makes streaming video unwatchable.
AS for extras, I could give a fuck. Can't say I've watched any of them in a long time.
AS for extras, I could give a fuck. Can't say I've watched any of them in a long time.
10
@8:The Ebert commentary on Dark City is actually quite insightful (sic) and the movie itself is pretty brilliant. A good DVD all around, anyway.
@9: Some extras are worth it, some are not. It's a grab bag, like most of American culture. I did like the alternate opening for the Incredible Hulk, however. That may just be me being a (drunk) comics nerd, but I liked the whole "suicidal Bruce Banner" bit, along with some of the more poignant Bruce Banner/Betty scenes.
In general: I think Netflix would like to move to an all-instant-queue model, and I'm OK with that. I wish S4 of the Doctor Who relaunch was on IQ, for example. (clever of them to call it something with the initials IQ!) I also suspect it'll take them a decade or so to convince the studios that it's a good idea, though.
Of course, I thought VRML would take off, so take my expectations of Internet evolution with the appropriate dose of NaCl, eh?
@9: Some extras are worth it, some are not. It's a grab bag, like most of American culture. I did like the alternate opening for the Incredible Hulk, however. That may just be me being a (drunk) comics nerd, but I liked the whole "suicidal Bruce Banner" bit, along with some of the more poignant Bruce Banner/Betty scenes.
In general: I think Netflix would like to move to an all-instant-queue model, and I'm OK with that. I wish S4 of the Doctor Who relaunch was on IQ, for example. (clever of them to call it something with the initials IQ!) I also suspect it'll take them a decade or so to convince the studios that it's a good idea, though.
Of course, I thought VRML would take off, so take my expectations of Internet evolution with the appropriate dose of NaCl, eh?
11
Also, if I didn't emphasize it enough, I'm pretty drunk, and therefore giving my honest and heavily biased opinion.
Love you all,
supergp. <3!
Love you all,
supergp. <3!
12
This is such a dumb idea. This is as dumb an idea as the idea the new owners of a casino chain had to cut costs when they bought the thing (this was years ago) -- they stopped serving free drinks to gamblers. They lost an arseload of business before they caught a clue.
I can tell you that I've gone into rental overtime by keeping a disc an extra day to run the film with the commentary and watch the extras. You've done that, right? Everybody has.
I can tell you that I've gone into rental overtime by keeping a disc an extra day to run the film with the commentary and watch the extras. You've done that, right? Everybody has.
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