DVD Extras

I love DVD’s in comparison to videotapes. However, what once an odd trend has now become a de facto standard in the DVD world: the inclusion of “bonus” material on DVD’s.

I confess that I rarely watch this stuff. The only thing that I will regularly watch is a “blooper” reel from the movie. However, even a lot of these are just the actors flubbing their words and then yelling out some curse word while laughing and walking off the set. Those aren’t really all that funny or necessary to include.

What is really odd is the “alternate endings” and the “deleted scenes” stuff. Hollywood is so in love with itself, to the point of tuning out the rest of the world (and often reality), that they actually think we want to see all their creative attempts before the final edit. They probably wonder why nobody plays Mozart’s Concerto in D - Alternate Ending Version. I’m dreading the day that publishers catch on to this trend. You’ll be reading along in some novel and an entire page will appear between pages 96 and 97 with a bunch of deleted material that was cut by the editor. Then, we’ll eventually have an “Author’s Version” of a book that will come out after the published version. Editors - hold the line!

A few movies I’ve rented lately have had a “making of” feature. These were movies with no special effects - no flying superheroes, no spaceships, no stunt doubles, no laser blasts. You just sit there and watch the producer yak about how they almost chose Kevin Spacey for the role, but then Harrison Ford expressed an interest, but they didn’t have the budget, so they had to go back to finance, etc. They drone on about how tough the lighting was to do in a cafeteria shot, or how the original script kept getting edited during production. It’s as if they must record, for posterity, every ounce of effort that went into making the film. Can’t they just make a film and let it rest on it’s own merits?

The sad thing is that these are not Oscar winning films, or top box-office hits. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised when I see everyone spending money to buy and rent television shows. Totally lame. If I had the time, I should probably compile a DVD full of commercials, along with “the making of” features and “deleted scenes” and try to sell it. People would probably eat it up. Or maybe a DVD of game show outtakes. People will watch anything.

Technorati : DVD, bonus material, deleted scenes, movies

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