Brandon's Pop Culture Site

I don't know how many of you are aware of it, but there is a new and horrible trend among DVDs. I have to wonder why I have not read about it yet and have only discovered it by accident. I can only believe that there has not be a public outcry because of it due only to the fact that most people have not even really noticed it yet, or if they have that they only thought it was an apparition that they wouldn't see duplicated in a long time, well I am here to tell you it is real and this is not a one time problem.

The last two DVDs I purchased were Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and Batman Begins. Both of them shared and unexpected thing in common. The DVDs were bought the first week of availability and they both contained only the movie. No special features to speak of, no second disc, not even an option on the menu that said "Special Features". Neither disc possessed so much as a theatrical trailer or cast and crew. There was absolutely nothing but the movie.

I have watched over the years with disgust as movie companies kept putting out new editions of DVDs, "Special Editions", "Collector's Editions", "Platnium Editions", "Betcha don't have this one and will shell out thirty bucks Editions". Somehow or another always finding new footage that they can shove in there to make diehard fans shell out some more hard earned money. They will continue to do this until we say "Enough!".

I wouldn't have given my Batman Begins too much thought, but only a couple of weeks after I bought it, I was in Sam Goody's and saw another edition with a second disc full of special features. This is not years later, only weeks later. They are shortchanging the diehard, gotta-have-it-today fanatics, which is in essence their bread and butter. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. But we let them get away with it, why? Because we want everything they have to offer.

Now my Harry Potter DVD is still too new to actually know whether or not this trend will actually continue the way it has been, maybe they will actually wait a few months to put out the better edition. I watched Toy Story 2 get released three different times. First on it own, then as a "Collector's Edition" and then as a boxed set. Of course historically speaking Disney has been the greatest offender of making the most off of it's movies.

There is a possibility that for the moment this new trend is relegated to only one cinema. Both Batman and Harry Potter movie franchises are owned by Warner Bros. So maybe this is just there plot alone, but I am sure that the other cinemas are waiting on pins and needles to see if this works. And if people fall for it you can be sure that the others will take the opportunity to cash in. They are trying still to recover from low movie turnouts of the last few years. Of course they would seize on the this chance, instead of trying to make up lost revenue by doing something constructive like making better movies.

In the end, I guess they see us as nothing more than sheep and think we are willing to graze on any pasture they set us on. My way of making sure they don't win in this is to not by any other edition of a movie after I buy the first. I think most people feel this way too, but they will still put them out hoping to lure a few in. This new trend bothers me so bad I guess, because now my dollar truly buys less. I was always comfortable with knowing that there would be a newer edition with more features. I bought the last two Lord of the Rings movies with this knowledge and never thought twice about it. But now I am not even getting the bare minimum of features. Not even a trailer, you have to be kidding. What if they stopped serving happy meals with a toy? The only movies that are allowed to have no special features are bargain bin movies, but I am only paying six or seven bucks for them. Friday I dished out twenty bucks for a subpar Harry Potter movie with no other redeeming qualities. How come the only part of DVD technology that is not getting cheaper and better is the movies? That doesn't make any sense.

I am not asking them to stop with all the editions, I doubt that will ever happen, but I do ask that they either stop this despicable trend of offering less for the same price, or at least advertise it on the front of the case or display, if they had I wouldn't have bought it.