I feel like I’ve been cheated out of … something. Don’t you feel that way?
Here let me explain the scenario. Johnny (as I will call my buyer) goes to his local store, really only like Target and Wal-Mart. His sees that Daredevil is out on DVD.
Johnny is somewhat confused. You see, Johnny is a big movie fan so he already owns a copy of Daredevil on DVD. How is Daredevil a “new release?”
It’s a new release because there are five minutes of “never before seen” footage, a “different” commentary track and a “new” art gallery. Oh, did I mention it is a new rated “R” version of Daredevil.
Now Johnny is beyond mad. Why? He wasted money buying the first DVD and now has to waste money buying the second one. Johnny feels cheated, I feel cheated the buyer feels cheated and the credibility of the DVD is no more.
Does anyone remember when DVDs first came out? I do. They were advertised as having a better, crisper picture than a VHS. They had better sound than a VHS.
More importantly, there was more on the DVD than on a VHS. Not only could you get the movie, but you could get deleted scenes, the making of the movie, previews and you could jump from scene to scene. No more fast-forwarding a tape to your favorite part.
Slowly and inevitably, the VHS died. DVD was now the reigning king of home entertainment. Then DVDs made a turn for the worse with the release of the “Special Edition.”
You see, it was standard for a DVD to come with the full package: deleted scenes, the making of the movie and so forth.
Now, however, that isn’t the standard. Here’s proof. How many people own more than one copy of a DVD? The movie is the same, but the cover to the DVD is different and the studio has added maybe one or two special features. Slowly but surely DVDs hit the shelves at a fast speed, faster than a VHS, but they had no “special features.” It was the movie, a scene selection and maybe a commentary or deleted scenes. The buyer would buy the DVD, then two months later, a special edition of the movie same would come out. It would be the same movie, only this “edition” had even more deleted scenes and a new director’s commentary. Who cares!
There is that rip off marketing scheme, and there is one more. I pose this question, how many people have the two editions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy? They release the movie and six months later they come out with and “Special Edition” of the movie that has 50 minutes of deleted scenes that we shot and now are incorporated into the film. Wow! If you could’ve done that why not do it in the first place. Why tease the consumers with a generic DVD only to make them waste their money on a DVD they should have waited for?
The problem with the DVD market is you don’t know what to trust. It’s also up to the consumer to know what they are buying.
Take, for instance, the Kill Bill movies. I think those two movies are great. I would love to buy them, but I don’t. I don’t buy them, because I read a report online that the studio is planning to release “special editions” of both movies, and the studio is even planning on incorporating both movies and making it one long movie.
Hey, that’s great, but again why not think of this earlier, like maybe when you first released the DVDs? How much money are you going to have me spend before I can get the movie I want?
Of course, that is up to the consumer. If you’re looking for just the movie, then buy the DVD. But if you’re looking for “special features” you are going to waste a lot of money.
The new thing is taking a series and making it into a box set. The Matrix recently came out with a 10-Disk Box Set. So, what was the point in buying the DVDs when they first came out?
That is to say not all DVDs are like that. The Harry Potter series has only came out with one DVD.
I like what Spiderman 2 did. They released both the DVD and the collector’s set at the same time and let the consumer decide which one they wanted. That makes me feel like I’m not being cheated. When you look at it, however, you getting the same DVD just a comic book, some postcards and artwork.
DVDs are a lost art. I remember when you got everything all at once. Now you have to wait and take what you get. If you want just a movie, that’s fine, and you have nothing to worry about. If you want special features and all the goodies, you’re in trouble.
DVDs are getting worse and worse when it comes to “special editions,” “deluxe editions,” “collector’s editions,” “director’s editions,” “masterpiece editions,” “Infinifilm editions” and so on. Truly the buyer must beware.
DVD is the greatest rip-off of all time and there’s not much we can do.

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