How Shameless Commercialism and Litigation Has Ruined DVD Entertainment
Dec 08 '04
The Bottom Line DVDs are generally good, but the fun has been soiled. Together we can clean it up.
There is no denying DVD's influence on home entertainment. VHSes were a big hit when they first came out and are still preferred over DVDs for cheap rentals. Laserdiscs were an exciting concept, but the bulky discs came with bulky prices, not to mention having to flip sides halfway through the movie. I still remember the excitement about the whole idea of scene selection on laserdiscs and being able to watch an old trailer for the first time.
DVDs, however, maintain to be the ultimate format for at-home movie-watching. With their smaller size than laserdiscs, larger memory storage, and sharper picture/sound than VHS, home theater buffs are now better off than ever. The DVD is now seven years old- longer than most people anticipated them to be around, as some believed DVDs would fizzle out like Laserdiscs. Since then, DVDs have become better recorded, with more extras and deleted scenes than ever. Moviemakers now have the double task of producing extras for their anticipated DVD release while still preparing a movie for the theater showings.
Unfortunately, no longer are DVDs simply a movie on a handy disc. Legalities and greediness have gotten in the way of having a good time watching a good movie. Hopefully this article will send the message to studios that the following "features" on DVDs and annoying and unwanted by the public.
First things first: previews. Grrr! On VHS, these aren't too bad, since anything on VHS is fast-fowardable. However, a lot of DVDs are programmed so that you can't get around the previews. I've tried pressing "play", "menu", "top menu", "fast-forward", "right", "enter", and "next", only to get the message Current operation prohibited by disc every time. Discs aren't supposed to prohibit me; they're supposed to let me view only what I want. I sometimes get the urge to send the studio my DVD and a letter demanding my money back. When I buy a DVD, it's to have a certain movie to enjoy watching over and over again for years, not previews that become pointless in a matter of months. Previews are time-sensitive advertising. Time-sensitive advertising does not belong on a medium that is designed to last a lifetime. Why do studios feel the need to force us to watch previews after we already forked out $25 for their DVD? Don't we have a right not to be cornered with advertising, especially on a product already paid for? I can't be alone on this.
After we suffer through previews (or at the very least, get annoyed when we have to push whatever button it is to skip over them), DVD yet again takes advantage of the fact that it can hold you from the movie as long as it's programmed to and displays the FBI warning. Again, on VHS- just fast-forward. Try doing that to a DVD; it won't happen. Yet another way to take control away from the paying consumer.
Think we're at the main menu? Think again! Thanks to increasing litigation, we now get the message The opinions and views expressed in the interviews and/or commentaries are solely of the individuals and are not the views of (insert studio company), its parent, affiliate, or subsidiary companies. Thanks, Lawsuit America, you've managed to spoil the fun of something as simple as listening to a director comment on his own movie. Why should that disclaimer be necessary at all? Don't we have Freedom of Speech? Kudos to the Special Edition of Fight Club. On one of the commentaries, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt bash everything from VW Bugs to Rosie O' Donnell. Guess what? Not one disclaimer. Whoever made the DVD stood by the principles of "they said what they want to say, they have the right to do so, and nothing should have to be spelled out to lawsuit hounds." Disclaimers seem apologetic too; I hate that. To me, a commentary disclaimer says, "I'm sorry if anything these guys say offends you...just please don't sue us." Anyone's right not to be offended is nothing in the face of the right to free speech.
The worst example of this I saw was the DVD to Scary Movie 3. Not a great movie, but as I was curious of the commentary, I selected commentary. It then prompted a menu stating a legal agreement for me not to sue, and the button to play the commentary was actually- get this- labeled "I Agree." What the hell? When I'm playing a DVD, I don't want to feel like I'm signing a legal document! I immediately ejected it and returned it to Blockbuster. Some studios have completely removed their testicles and get too scared to release commentaries already recorded, like the wusses at Comedy Central that released South Park: Season One on DVD without any, despite the fact commentaries were recorded.
One last note on commentary disclaimers; they're insulting to the intelligence. I am smart enough to know that Edward Norton and Brad Pitt's opinions on something are just that- their opinions. I know it's not Fox DVD's opinions. I'm not stupid, and neither are a lot of other people that would willingly rent/buy a DVD and take it upon themselves to listen to commentary, knowing damn well it will contain an individual's opinions and views. Just because lawsuit sharks are too dim-witted to realize that notion doesn't mean the rest of us need to have the obvious spoon-fed to us.
After all this crap, we're finally at the main menu. Sometimes, still, you'll have to go through some graphic animation or clips of the film to get to another menu. Sure, having the screen explode when you choose scene selection for the first time is cool, but things like that get old quickly. Studios need to learn that simplicity of design is key.
Without getting too much into the fullscreen/widescreen argument, watch out at your local DVD stores. The widescreen and fullscreen sets of the Star Wars Trilogy and the Indiana Jones Trilogy are colored differently to make it easier to distinguish the formats, which is helpful. Next time you're at your local Best Buy or Wal-Mart, pick up the Special Edition to Predator. The widescreen and fullscreen packages look identical. I accidentally picked up the fullscreen copy, and when I went back to get the widescreen one, I went through about 5 fullscreen copies on the shelf before I saw the one I wanted. What actually happens is that people don't buy as many fullscreens so they put those ones up front, hoping to trick people into buying them. But the point is, with DVD it shouldn't even be an issue, because it's possible to include both formats on a single disc. The fact that studios flood the market with two separate editions is not only shameless commercialism, it's also wasteful. That's not even mentioning instances when movies are released on DVD several times, each with more extras than the last, leaving consumers with the old copy feeling screwed. It wasn't very long after my brother purchased Pulp Fiction on DVD that a new Special Edition Pulp Fiction DVD came out with the black packaging, leaving him stuck with the old one. There should at least be an option to trade versions at the store with a small upgrade fee or something, or, better yet- release it right the first time!
Unfortunately, with more features and extras on movies nowadays, the more opportunities studios and lawyers have to annoy us during our movie-watching. At least anything on VHS can be fast-forwarded. Just like every rose has its thorn, every DVD has its annoyances. Hopefully, if enough people complain to the studios, they will no have choice but to comply, as anything affecting their pocketbook will spark their attention. Now go watch a movie.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
metalking
|
|
Location: Midwest
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Studying recording engineering. Proficient in guitar, piano, vocals.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.