Are "special edition" DVDs worth it?

[maxanon]

This is just a discussion on those special edition DVDs. There have been some real gems (Fight Club, etc) that add some real insight in the movie making process, but recently I've found that they suck. They have some lame 30 minute ad and some 5 second deleted scenes. The commentary is crappy as well.

I will buy a movie that I really like (or liked, if its being released on DVD), but I find I usually breeze through the special features and never watch them again.

What do you think? Also, Widescreen or Pan and Scan?

[Kwitko]

Widescreen without a doubt. That's how the movie was originally shot. Pan & scan is okay for movies that suck, like Sister Act or whatever Thrax likes :p, but for the classics, it's widescreen all the way.

[gtghm]

In my experience the SE editions of DVDs not only come with all of the foofy stuff but usually they have improved sound and picture formating... Also sometimes scenes are added and stuff.

I would rather have the SE addition myself if one is available at the time.

[GnomeWizardd]

thats all i can find down here in FL all SE nothing else

[Camman]

yeah, most of the DVDs I've bought are "special edition" and theres usually nothing special about them. and I hate pan and scan, definitly gotta be wide screen

[TheBaron]

i buy only the widescreen editions, if that means SE then so be it. one SE that is really worth it in my opinion is the fellowship of the rings SE, the special features give a lot of insight into tolkien i didn't have before. i give it a thumbs up

[Thrax]

Fellowship of the Rings, Two Towers, and what will be Return of the King are worth it in my opinion. An additional 20-45 minutes of footage that portrays, and quite accurately so, the contents of the book in the manner that Peter Jackson has come to be known for is worth it.

[Lincoln]

I generally just wait for the special edition and buy that rather than getting the "regular" one in the first place.

WIDESCREEN is the only way to go. Full screen is cinematic blasphemy only appropriate for stand up comedy and $5 movies. It's removing a third of the movie - passive censorship!

[Mt_Goat]

SE doesn't get any votes from me.

As for the format issue, I do have an issue! I have a nice big TV in the living room and a much smaller 20" in the bedroom that is farther away than I would idealy like it but as close as I can get it. Wide screen without a doubt is better if viewd on a big screen but when put on a small screen it becomes too small to see well (especially when you consider the effects of pixelation). I wish they made all movies with wide on one side and full on the other. Who needs the ginchey graphics on the DVD anyway? It certainly doesn't do any good since it is either in the case or the player. Make better use of it then we can all have our choice of cake or pie and eat it too, and change our mind later if we want.

[Mancabus]

I hate those two sided DVDs, they will inevitably, no matter how careful you are, get fingerprints and scratches on them. Give me an SE DVD with Wide and Normal on one side. A lot of companies will use the full DVD and do that, but most don't use all the space.

[Enverex]

Anamorphic Widescreen is the best.......

I buy SE DVDs if they look better, but I have never watched the extra scenes or anything on ANY of the DVDs I own..... just cant be bothered.

The only time I have bought a different version is when I could get Saving Private Ryan on DTS (have to buy the US Special Edition as the DTS version is not sold over here).

NS

[WuGgaRoO]

it seems to me like every dvd thaqt comes out is special edcition....its useless

[MediaMan]

I scoff at anyone who buys full screen editions. Scoff scoff scoff. :p In the case of the Lord of the Rings series the SE discs are worth it for the additional footage. If you don't care about the behind the scenes footage, etc...get the normal edition WIDESCREEN DVD's.

Enjoy!

[Straight_Man]

Um, if you have a lot of scratched DVDs, a SkipDR MD is a good handy ting to have, it also recovers old Operating System CDs for folks. If you have a lot of FRIENDS with scratched DVDs, the whole thing after you get spare wheels is about $60.00 if you buy right. One hint, Osmosis Distilled water is a vERY nice lubricant-- down here, water is bad enough that the snowbirds and new migrators demanded Publix install them, and they did so well that many Publixs have 2-3 for use. Distilled water can be bought most places down here, and the SkipDR MD (electric driven) can get out MOST scratches on DVDs and CDs and officially uses "specially distilled water," which is what Osmosis distillers are putting out. An all cotton terrycloth towel and distilled water spritzer makes a nice pair of things for removing fingerprints-- down here we have lime water, the underpinnings of most of Florida are sand then Limestone fairly deep down to bedrock, so water here from tap has enough chemicals that it is not a good polishing liquid-- good side, distillers are common here.

John.

[danball1976]

When I buy a DVD and see a regular version and a directors edition, I will always buy the directors edition. My DVD's always have to be widescreen. I hate the way pan and scan cuts off the edges of the movie.

I'll be glad when HDTV 16x9 screens are widely available and cheap so that I won't have to see those black bars either.

[PowerMD]

Thrax said
Fellowship of the Rings, Two Towers, and what will be Return of the King are worth it in my opinion. An additional 20-45 minutes of footage that portrays, and quite accurately so, the contents of the book in the manner that Peter Jackson has come to be known for is worth it.

4 discs each!!??#@$#@
They're pretty awesome
and last year they had a ticket for TT
well worth the price


braveheart had some goodies from what I remember

[panzerkw]

For most of the DVD's I own, the on screen commentary is just pure BS. It's like the commentators were dragged in there and asked to talk about anything BUT what's going on in the movie. THat's what you usually get with writers and producers. The only ones I find interesting are when you have commentaries about the music of the movie done by the composer. He actually talks about his thought process when he wrote the music for that scene, and it's very fascinating. Excellent example being the Matrix music commentary.

[Buddy J]

When I was taking film classes, I always tried to buy the SE versions because there was usually something that helped when I was writing papers. (I think I used Fight Club for 3 papers or so) The thing to do is buy special editions on movies that have cinematic value or are a big personal interest. Buy the normal edition for basic movies.
And, always buy widescreen.

Kinda off topic, but how is the Holy Grail special edition? I saw it at WalMart and tried to get Garg to buy it with his discount, but I guess he doesn't love Monty Python like I do..