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Tilted Cat Head
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Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
Greedy studios make DVDs not so special
By Renee Graham, Globe Staff | April 27, 2004
When I received my first DVD player for Christmas in 2001, I did what anyone with such a spanking new high-tech toy would do: I immediately dashed out and bought an armload of my favorite movies on disc. I started with "Blazing Saddles," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "The Great Escape," and by the time 2001 turned into 2002, I had also picked up "Enter the Dragon," "Amadeus," and Akira Kurosawa's "Ran."
I've spent the years since replacing those early acquisitions with newfangled DVD versions of the same movies. As a DVD novice, it never occurred to me that the studios would release multiple versions of the same film.
And I don't just mean full-screen versus wide-screen (letterboxed) formats. I refer to the irritating, increasing tendency of the ever-rapacious movie industry to make a big deal out of releasing a hotly awaited film on DVD, and then months, sometimes years later putting out another version of that movie that's tricked-out with features. Collector's editions give way to special editions, limited editions are replaced by ultimate versions -- all with the intention of wringing more dollars out of consumers.
On the first day of its DVD release, "Kill Bill Vol. 1," Quentin Tarantino's ultraviolent, ultrastylish revenge orgy starring Uma Thurman, sold 2 million copies and made a whopping $40 million. Customers snapping up this fairly bare-bones disc -- in addition to the film, there's only a making-of documentary, a "Vol. 2" trailer, and video from the Japanese all-girl band the 5.6.7.8's, who perform in the film -- probably did so expecting a later version featuring both parts of the film. ("Kill Bill Vol. 2" recently opened in theaters.) But what customers buying the disc didn't know was that Miramax is actually planning six different DVD releases of the "Kill Bill" films.
Here's how Rick Sands, Miramax's chief operating officer, explained it to The New York Times last week:
" `Vol. 1' goes out, `Vol. 2' goes out, then `Vol. 1 Special Edition,' `Vol. 2 Special Edition,' the two-pack, then the Tarantino collection as a boxed set for Christmas," he said. "It's called multiple bites at the apple."
The apple ain't the only thing getting bitten.
It may have taken the studios a few years to recognize the public's embrace of DVDs, but now they're clearly focused on greedily exploiting that desire as much as possible. Studios can now spend as much promoting a film on DVD as for its theatrical run, and the financial benefits can quickly become a bonanza. And movie executives understand that someone willing to buy a movie they've probably already paid $10 to see in a theater wants the best available version of a beloved film. (This is why "The Lord of the Rings" fans who bought the two-disc versions of the first two films turned right around and bought the extended four-disc box sets at twice the price.)
See, it's never been just the much-improved quality of the picture and sound on DVDs that makes them so hot. It's all those cool extras such as full-length commentary tracks from cast and crew members, deleted scenes, outtakes, and behind-the-scenes documentaries. Some also offer interviews with stars and directors on programs such as "Charlie Rose" or appearances from film festivals. Save being on a movie set, it's the most comprehensive way to fully experience a favorite film.
If the studios wanted to be fair (and, of course, there's no indication that they would even know how), they would take their cues from the Criterion Collection, generally recognized as the gold standard for DVD releases. The collection features films from the world's great directors such as Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, and Alfred Hitchcock, and its releases are lovingly restored and usually enhanced with multiple special features. Criterion DVDs tend to be more expensive -- a typical two-disc set runs about $40 -- but it seems worth it because these releases tend to be definitive versions. And Criterion avoids such meaningless terms as "collector's edition" or "special edition," meant to lure customers believing they are getting something extra.
Studio suits would do well to remember the hard lessons learned by the record industry. As CD prices inexplicably increased year after year, some fans turned to peer-to-peer downloading services such as Kazaa and the then-illegal Napster for their music fix. The music industry has been crying foul ever since and suing the very people it wants to purchase its product.
With the "Kill Bill Vol. 1" disc selling so well on its debut day, the studios probably believe they have a green light to continue abusing their customers -- "Hey, no one's making them buy those DVDs," they probably reason. Yet it seems only a matter of time before the public's love of DVDs is poisoned with anger at the studios for exploiting that love for more and more money.
Life in the Pop Lane appears on Tuesdays. Renee Graham can be reached at graham@globe.com.
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http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/arti...pecial?mode=PF
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