I can remember the first DVD I ever bought, I was 15 years old and a sophomore in High School. It was on New Years Eve and I was at The Wiz in Monmouth Mall where I purchased my first DVD - "Deep Blue Sea" (yes, that shark movie with Sam Jackson). Since then my taste in movies have gotten better, much better and my collection in DVDs has gotten large, much larger. So much that I have run out of room on my shelves and racks and had to resort to keeping them under my TV in the cabinet; because, well lets face it, if they can't all look nice as a collection then why put them out in the first place.
Also, when one movie-buff meets a fellow movie-buff don't be surprised if they get into a verbal competition to see who's the cooler (or geekier) of the two by comparing what DVDs they own and how many copies they have. I myself have gotten into this debacle my share of times, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. Hey, nobody is perfect.
So if you didn't already figure when a new hit film has come out it would seem logical for any film/DVD collector to run out and purchase it for his/her collection library. Correct. That's exactly right, and why wouldn't we. I can't tell you how many times I've set my alarm early and have change my schedule around just to get to Best Buy to get a copy of a brand new released DVD I wanted hot off the presses. There have been times when I've been the stores first customer to get the movie I've been dying to own, a scary thought I know.
Okay, I think you get the point. This blog is not about me or my DVD collection, but merely an introduction on where my frustration comes from. What this blog is really about is how Hollywood literally robs its customers with DVDs. No, not with prices (although that can be argued as well) but with the actual DVD releases. Or to be more specific, the amount of releases a film actually gets on DVD.
Lets be more specific, perhaps even use an example.
"Fantastic 4" as seen to your right is an actual DVD released about 2 years ago. Okay, great. And if you were a fan of the movie (which I wasn't), but nonetheless if you were there was nothing to prevent you from running out and buying this film for your collection. Then you would own "Fantastic 4", own it forever, enjoy everything it has to offer and then you wouldn't have to worry about buying "Fantastic 4" ever again. Right? You'd think that, but no. Get this, check this out.
Look below. That's right, "Fantastic 4" a Special Edition DVD has come out. Oh, and it wasn't released with the first DVD; No, that would make it somewhat acceptable. This DVD just came out within the past month. What the hell is that? Do they expect us to buy the same movie more than once? Why couldn't they just release the full package all at once in one box?
No, that would be too easy. Instead they rip off their customers by releasing on DVD at one time and then BOOM, a few months pass and they release a newer better edition of a film. So if you owned the first version you were now left with having to get his other if you wanted to enjoy its deleted scenes, special features, and such. What a rip-off? Why couldn't just one box set be made? What's so hard about that? So now any and all "Fantastic 4" fans feel naked without the newest version of their beloved film and they must go out and spend another 20+ dollars if they want everything the film has to offer. What a jip.And believe it or not, this sort of thing happens quite often. More often then not and I have become victim to this horrid excuse of Corporate America Rape of Film Loving Citizens. So I hope you get the point so far on what this blog is actually about. No I'd like you to bear with me a while, while I give you a little rundown on scams I've fallen victim to and inexcusable robberies that have taken place on this countries soil.
Superman: Yes, even the Man of Steel has become guilty of robbing it's loyal fanfare with several releases of of the same films. Check this out: "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition".
Wow! What a great buy, and more importantly it has every major "Superman" film ever released and then some - "Superman - The Movie", "Superman II", "Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut", "Superman III", "Superman IV - The Quest for Peace", "Superman Returns". So you'd think if you were a Superman fan this DVD collection would hold you over forever, right? Wrong! Notice the name of the box set: "Ultimate Collectors Edition", I don't know how "Ultimate" it will be when "Superman 6" comes out in 2009 and the 7Th installment come out after that. And Brian Synger has already announced they're in the works. What is that? So what? Are you telling me there are going to be 2 more "Ultimate Collector's Edition"'s to follow. What will they be called "Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition 2 & 3". So why would Hollywood release a box set when the whole collection isn't finished? I'll tell you why. To rip us off, and we all fell for it. Even me. What a rip off. So out of curiosity I took it upon myself to see how many versions "Superman Returns" actually was made on DVD on it's release. Take a guess. Give up: 9. Yes, 9 different editions of the same movie all within a year of it's DVD release. That is a joke.Indiana Jones: In 2003 all our dreams came true. "Indiana Jones" made his debut onto DVD
in what's called : "The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Complete DVD Movie Collection". Note, the "Complete" in the title. Well, I don't know if you've been living under a rock but "Indiana Jones 4" is already in the works as we speak. So does that mean that another box set of the series will have to be released. Probably, and what about everyone who bought the first box set? Were screwed. What a jip. One question: will the title of the old box set be changed to "The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Incomplete DVD Movie Collection"? Just a thought.The Matrix: Okay, anyone with half a brain knows that this is a DVD essential. So with that in
mind 3 years ago at the completion of the trilogy your best buy was "The Ultimate Matrix Collection". And why wouldn't it be? 10 discs, all 3 movies, plus the animatrix series. Truly essential. And then what happens. This: Yeah that's right. The release of "The Complete Matrix Trilogy". Packed foryour viewing pleasure of all 3 "Matrix" films with Brand-Spanking-New features. Well, what about the 10 disc "Ultimatrix" edition. What a frigging rip-off!
The Departed: Okay, this is where the gloves come off. Yes, the Best Picture of 2007 and Scorsese himself have ripped us off big-time. I just counted on Amazon.com and there are 7 different versions of this film released on DVD. Count em: 7. And not just a "Special Edition" DVD,
that would be too easy. No there are actually 3, yes 3 different "Special Editions" of this film besides just the actual plain old widescreen/fullscreen formatted DVDs. Let's take a few seconds to actually talk about each quote-unquote "Special Edition" version of "The Departed". The 1st "Special Edition" and probably the most popular is just a 2-disc set. One disc is the feature in widescreen and the second disc is special features. Okay, that doesn't sound bad. In fact, it's a good deal. Only thing now is that there are 2 more "Special Editons". The second is a 2 disc edition, probably the same as the other. Only this one, comes in a
metal-tin case and has collectible art. And now, for the 3rd: This one has the same 2 disc edition only this package comes with the script of the film. Here's an idea: NO! Wouldn't the more productive 
solution be this: A 2 disc edition of the film (1 the feature the 2ND the special features), collectible art, the script, all packaged together in a metal-tin case. That would contain everything in 1 package instead of 3 different versions of the same freaking thing!! What a waste of manpower, money, and products. No wonder resources in this world are so low, too much mass-production of different versions of the same thing. Thanks for nothing Scorsese!!Do some research for yourself and you'll see how many versions of the same film are actually out there. And you'd be surprised on how many films this actually happens with: dozens and dozens. Go shopping for some of your favorite films on amazon or best buy and you'll see what I mean. I'd post every singe one if I could but there's only so much time in 1 day and I just wanted to give you only so many examples before your brain went numb with dorkiness. But, I think you get the point on what I'm trying to explain. Be careful in your DVD shopping future. Later guys.
-Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment