Blog: An intergalactic policeman, a WWII veteran, the god of thunder and a 20 something telepathic walk into HMV....
Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America, X-Men First Class. What do all of these films have in common? If you said "they're all superhero movies released this year" then you are right, but thats not the answer I was looking for.
If you look at their DVD releases, you will see that they have very little features actually occupying their discs. Thor has a commentary, deleted scenes and some useless tid-bit, Green Lantern has previews, X-Men has a digital copy and 5 deleted scenes whilst Captain America currently has nothing. But if you look at their Blu-Ray releases, you will see features, commentaries, deleted scenes (12 for X-Men) and various other tid-bits occupying the Blu-Ray discs alongside the movie. So this means that if you haven't made the jump from DVD to Blu-Ray yet and you enjoy watching the featurettes, then you're left hung out to dry unless you're willing to upgrade.
You may be reading this and merely thinking "So what? If you want the extra features, just buy the Blu Ray", but it isn't that simple. I'm one of the people who's still using DVDs to watch movies. I enjoy paying a few pounds more to watch a feature or a commentary that helps me to further understand why the director chose to do the film the way he did and what was going through his mind when making a certain scene the way he did, and i'd rather have these on the DVD than a couple of clips that add nothing to the story and are there just for padding. Plus, it's easier said than done when it comes to watching films on a format that is different to the one you've been using for many on-going years. Remember how difficult it was switching over from VHS to DVD? It's like that all over again. Plus, not to mention the additional cost that comes from buying a Blu-Ray player.
Besides, it's not like DVDs are flailing in the sales. They're still selling strong, with stores still having larger sections of their shop displaying DVDs as opposed to the sections displaying Blu-Rays. I also find myself asking why the studios didn't think to release two disc editions with the extra features like they've done in the past, as they also do well in the charts and allow the casual viewer to get only the film on the one-disc edition whilst letting those who wish to watch the features the chance to get them.
Perhaps this could be the beginning of a new trend, with DVDs displaying less and less features with every passing release, until companies stop releasing DVDs and choose to focus all of their releases onto the BD Revolution. Companies didn't stop releasing films onto VHS until about 10 years after DVDs were first released. So if history is to repeat itself, then we have approximately 4 or 5 years left to enjoy staying in our current ways of watching movies on DVDs. Best enjoy it while we can then.
If you enjoyed Rodders' thoughts on this blog post, do say so, and maybe he'll do it again
If you look at their DVD releases, you will see that they have very little features actually occupying their discs. Thor has a commentary, deleted scenes and some useless tid-bit, Green Lantern has previews, X-Men has a digital copy and 5 deleted scenes whilst Captain America currently has nothing. But if you look at their Blu-Ray releases, you will see features, commentaries, deleted scenes (12 for X-Men) and various other tid-bits occupying the Blu-Ray discs alongside the movie. So this means that if you haven't made the jump from DVD to Blu-Ray yet and you enjoy watching the featurettes, then you're left hung out to dry unless you're willing to upgrade.
 |
| "At least I can watch the Agent Coulson one-shot on my DVD" "My son, I have bad news..." |
You may be reading this and merely thinking "So what? If you want the extra features, just buy the Blu Ray", but it isn't that simple. I'm one of the people who's still using DVDs to watch movies. I enjoy paying a few pounds more to watch a feature or a commentary that helps me to further understand why the director chose to do the film the way he did and what was going through his mind when making a certain scene the way he did, and i'd rather have these on the DVD than a couple of clips that add nothing to the story and are there just for padding. Plus, it's easier said than done when it comes to watching films on a format that is different to the one you've been using for many on-going years. Remember how difficult it was switching over from VHS to DVD? It's like that all over again. Plus, not to mention the additional cost that comes from buying a Blu-Ray player.
Besides, it's not like DVDs are flailing in the sales. They're still selling strong, with stores still having larger sections of their shop displaying DVDs as opposed to the sections displaying Blu-Rays. I also find myself asking why the studios didn't think to release two disc editions with the extra features like they've done in the past, as they also do well in the charts and allow the casual viewer to get only the film on the one-disc edition whilst letting those who wish to watch the features the chance to get them.
Perhaps this could be the beginning of a new trend, with DVDs displaying less and less features with every passing release, until companies stop releasing DVDs and choose to focus all of their releases onto the BD Revolution. Companies didn't stop releasing films onto VHS until about 10 years after DVDs were first released. So if history is to repeat itself, then we have approximately 4 or 5 years left to enjoy staying in our current ways of watching movies on DVDs. Best enjoy it while we can then.
If you enjoyed Rodders' thoughts on this blog post, do say so, and maybe he'll do it again
Comments