| DVD Roundup April 2006
Can They Really Be Called Extras Anymore?
 The whole thing started with
laserdisc and The Criterion Collection. When that company first released King Kong
on LD, the film was accompanied by a commentary. Other LD releases presented only the
film, and perhaps a trailer. But Criterion’s monaural commentary track told us about King
Kong and pointed out things in it we might otherwise have missed. This idea was
entirely new, and enhanced viewers’ enjoyment. Criterion went on to release other
movies on LD with commentary tracks, and other features as well.
When films began to be released on DVD-Video, at first no
one followed Criterion’s example other than Criterion itself. Still, not all
Criterion releases included special features, and those that did cost considerably more
than the average DVD. Other companies seemed to define "special features" as a
trailer and language options, or as a two-sided disc with a letterboxed version of the
film on one side, a pan-and-scan "fullscreen" version on the other.
Gradually, this changed, and Criterion, too, began to
include better extras. Lord of the Flies (1963) had an audio commentary, excerpts
from the novel read by author William Golding, a deleted scene, a production scrapbook,
and excerpts from Gerald Feil’s 1972 documentary The Empty Space, which
demonstrated director Peter Brook’s method of creating theater. The Red Shoes
also had a commentary, Jeremy Irons reading excerpts from a novelization of the film,
Martin Scorsese’s collection of Red Shoes memorabilia, rare publicity stills,
and more. The public reacted with brisk sales, the critics with rave reviews.
Gradually, other studios began to provide more special
features: deleted scenes, alternate endings, and one, two, or even three commentary
tracks. But whereas Criterion’s special features were always created to enhance the
enjoyment of the feature presentation, these others were often mere backslapping promotion
spots from Hollywood’s mutual admiration society. Some director’s commentaries
were just a way to repeatedly compliment the actors on their achievements, deserved or
not. Some commentaries seemed more like party tracks -- as if the participants had smoked
a few joints or downed some beers before ruminating on their roles in making the film.
We’re now at the point where "extra"
features are expected. A release without them, no matter how wonderful the video and audio
transfers, is considered barren and minimal. Even films we don’t care to know
anything more about, such as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo get "special
editions" with deleted scenes. For my money, that whole movie is a deleted
scene. Two-disc editions, the second DVD devoted solely to special features, are now
commonplace. Often I wonder why anyone needs a second disc full of such fluff. But here is
a point to consider: Unlike the early Criterion DVDs, which provided more but cost more,
today’s special editions seldom cost any more than a regular release. So why not
have the special features? At little extra cost, you can take them or leave them.
I think that if the studios are going to provide such
features, they should do them right. With a few exceptions, get someone other than the
director to do the commentary -- perhaps a film historian who is not politically or
financially connected to the film, and is therefore more likely to be open-minded about
it, and offer more information about its cons as well as its pros. Second, skip the games.
Does anyone actually play the games on the Disney or Harry Potter DVDs? Let’s
face it, the remote control is simply too slow. There should be one chapter stop for
games, and that should be a link to the Internet, where they can be played more easily.
And don’t design beautiful, complex menus that take two minutes to load. What might
be fun the first time can be irritating the second or third time around. Menus, in
general, need to be more effective.
Criterion still provides the best special features, but
others have come close -- notably Disney, which has the best way of presenting galleries
of stills: by showing a screen of thumbnails that you can choose from in order to see the
picture you want. Here are three recent DVD releases that I feel have excellent special
features, all of which enhanced my viewing pleasure:
Laura (Fox Film Noir Series): This DVD has two
intelligent commentaries, one by film historian Rudy Behlmer, the other by the composer of
the original score, David Raksin, with film professor Jeanine Basinger. The music in Laura
is all-important, so Raksin’s commentary was a brilliant idea. Taken together, these
commentaries have tremendously enhanced my appreciation of the film. There are also two A&E
Biography episodes, on stars Gene Tierney and Vincent Price. Watching Laura, I
remembered that before Price became a horror icon, 20th Century Fox groomed him as a
romantic leading man, something this biography makes clear.
Shoot the Piano Player (The Criterion Collection):
The film receives a thorough and informative commentary by film scholars Peter Brunette
and Annette Insdorf. A second disc contains special features that are anything but fluff,
including several discussions with director François Truffaut that make clear his
seriocomic intent for this film, something that had puzzled me for a long time and had not
been completely answered by another viewing of the movie.
A History of Violence (New Line Home Video): This is
one case in which the director’s commentary seems objective and clear, as David
Cronenberg tells us about his way of working. A brilliant hour-long documentary gives even
more information about Cronenberg’s unique method of directing by showing him doing
it. We are also made privy to the inner feelings of the main character, and many of the
questions the film had raised for me were answered. New Line took this supplement
seriously enough to present it in widescreen, just like the film.
There are other good examples, and even more bad ones, but
one thing seems clear: DVD extras are no longer "extra," but essential parts of
DVD releases that should be rated and critiqued in their own right. They have become a big
part of the DVD experience. But they present a new dilemma: How to find time to watch them
all?
...Rad Bennett
radb@hometheatersound.com |
