The Rage In The Kage Vol. 5 | DVD Special Features
Written by: Kage Alan

It occurred to me while writing a couple of reviews how easy it is to
complain about something I don't like regarding a DVD release and make it
sound like it's the end of existence.  It's actually been through feedback
I've received regarding my "Signs" theatrical review and Darren Hayes CD
review that I started to realize that I react the same way other people do,
though I try to use a spell checker a little more often.  Anyway, it wasn't
too long ago when collectors started buying laser discs not only for the
better picture quality as well as Widescreen transfers, but also because of
the extras not available on VHS.  We just had to have that little bit more we
couldn't get at Lackluster Video.  Then came DVD.

So, let's look at what the studios are defining as "special" or "bonus
features." On the "Commando" DVD, Fox lists the theatrical aspect ratio,
interactive menus, scene selection, theatrical trailer, languages and
subtitles as "Bonus Features" while Paramount's "Graveyard Shift" lists
aspect ratio, language tracks, subtitles, menu and scene selection and then
notes "Special Features Not Rated." You're kidding me, right?  What brainiac
thought to add that?  Dimension has a better handle on the situation and
lists the aspect ratio and audio tracks as "Specifications," which they are.  
As for interactive menus and scene selection, I'd say they were more of a
standard feature than a special one.  Interactive menus are cool to look at
as in the case of "Alien" and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," but do we really
need anything fancy?  I wouldn't want the price of the disc jacked up on me
just for those.

Theatrical trailers are actually decent extras as long as they include one
for the film we're watching.  We may not see the need for them on brand new
films fresh out of the multiplexes, but look at all of the older titles that
are being released.  "Spacehunter" has a couple of trailers on it, but none
for the film itself.  Heck, even the loaded special edition of "An American
Werewolf In London" is missing its trailer (though it does have one for "The
Wolf Man").  We may just be feeling curious or nostalgic enough to watch them in 10 years or show them to our children…or adopted Himalayan Whistle kids. Whichever.

As for subtitles being bonus features, I don't know if I necessarily find use
for them, but they do come in handy on Robert Altman films like "Gosford
Park" or any other movie where there are various accents or bits of
overlapping dialogue.  Okay, my parents enjoy reading along with them too.  
Don't ask me why.  They aren't that old.  On the other hand, having subtitles
for the hearing impaired makes them more of a technical feature than a bonus
one.  Also in light of the hearing impaired issue, I would think it also
makes them a "must have" on discs these days.

Another feature commonly found on DVDs these days is the notorious audio
commentary.  They sometimes lure us in to buy the discs as was the case with
"Halloween: H20," which boasted a track with Director Steve Miner and actress Jamie Lee Curtis.  The disc was priced at $32 and it wasn't until we got home and popped it into the player that we found out we were royally screwed. There was no commentary on the disc and no price reduction was offered along with no change made to the back of the box.  Lovely, huh?

Commentaries used to be something only serious filmmakers would take
advantage of, but they'll let anybody do them nowadays as can be evidenced on "Ticker" and the import of "Deepstar Six." The participants are either
sitting there watching the film like we are while we listen to them breathe
or they're busy blowing smoke up their own asses.  Worse yet, some of the
stars (Schwarzenegger for one) are now requesting huge sums of money to
record these things.  If that's going to be the case, then we ought to hold
them to high expectations because if Arnold's commentary on "Total Recall"
("I like to fire the big guns and see lots of explosions"-no, he really didn't say that, but you get the flavor of his comments) is any indication of what we're in for, the studio might as well save some money and quit while they're ahead.

The John Carpenter/Kurt Russell collaborations are some examples of
outstanding commentaries (i.e. "The Thing," "Escape From New York" and "Big Trouble In Little China").  One doesn't necessarily have to be full of
anecdotes regarding who did what and when and to whom (though those can be pretty fun!) so much as it must be engaging.  I like it when a filmmaker
shows some attitude and stands up for his or her vision and the decisions
made during production as well as discussing studio interference.  It's
really the only time we're going to be able to get the other side of the
story and since there are already disclaimers posted that the views expressed
during the commentary are not necessarily those of the studio, I say have at
it!  "The Blair Witch Project 2" stunk, yet the director claims it's not his
fault and he is the one carrying the blame.

Featurettes (or documentaries) are another biggie on these discs and can
range anywhere from a minute and a half to well over 20 minutes.  The shorter
ones that the studios enjoy tacking on just so they can boast about it on the
packaging are usually full of clips of the movie and a few blurbs from cast
and crew talking about how great it is.  BORING.  I also call them "fluff,"
the product of a studio orgasm (it doesn't last long and there's nothing very
interesting about it).  The longer pieces tend to boast a great many more
behind-the-scenes bits and more extensive interviews that go beyond the usual
fluff.  The documentary on the "The Thing," for example, is a whopping 90
minutes!  Oftentimes larger documentaries are divided up into smaller
sections so that we can pick and choose what we want to see.  Heck, sometimes (such as on "Dirty Harry" or "Superman") we'll even be treated to a
retrospective documentary, which is a special bonus.

Other fun extras to look for are outtakes (bloopers), deleted scenes,
extended scenes, footage from television shows, picture galleries, poster art
galleries, promotional galleries, text commentaries and conceptual drawings.  
A lesser feature is the cast and crew profiles.  More often than not, they
are poorly done and hardly comprehensive.  Well, they aren't going to tell us
the same information that the Internet Movie Database will, but sometimes we
luck out with a tidbit or two.  There's also some extras on the discs that
can only be accessed using a DVDROM drive on the computer, but I rarely find myself interested in those areas and hope we aren't paying much more for the disc because of them.  Sometimes there will be a screensaver that's kind of
cool ("Farscape"), but I don't usually find myself looking at the script or
using the feature to access their websites.  They haven't convinced me that
it's a worthy part of the disc yet.  Once they capture my interest, we'll
see.

Well, I think that about covers it this round.  I've probably left a few
things out, but that just means I can do a follow-up in the future.  In the
meantime, I would be curious to hear from anyone who has opinions on the
extra features of their discs, things they like and things they don't like.
Heck, let's even open it up to things we'd like to see.  It might not mean a
thing to the studios, but maybe we can give them a few ideas.

Until the next time,

The DVD Snob

Previous installments:
Vol. 1 - Critic Kage Alan rants about dvds and Warner Bros.
Vol. 2 - Railing on Region Coding
Vol. 3 - Widescreen Vs. Pan And Scan
Vol. 4 - Artisan, PFE and Conventions...Oh, My!


Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels. kage@modamag.com