Bravo THE DIGITAL BITS for summing up how it feels to be a DVD REVIEWER

Having written mini-reviews for various items for years, I decided to finally start up my own site for full-fledged official DVD reviews(www.chanarama.com).

Some interesting topics have been brought up here, such as whether focus on the film, or to focus on the DVD itself. When I wrote my review for The Two Towers, this was something that I grappled with for quite a while. I thought "many people have seen this movie already, do I need to rehash it for them?" Whereas with my City Hunter review, I was of the opinion that the film needs to be sold, as not that many people are familiar with it.

And then there's the topic of spoilers. Do you have them in the review, or do you avoid them? Do you have some sort of spoiler disclaimer, or just let them fly?

And of course, there's the writing style. Being used to small reviews, it's interesting taking the time to figure out my style on these new, full reviews.

At some point in time in the past, I've probably said something unkind about a review I read online. I don't remember doing that, but I probably have. However, I do know that I say negative things regarding the review itself very rarely (the film is game, but not usually the review). I think that kind of respect is something that far too many anonymous people on the internet don't give.

Derek M. Germano wrote:

No trouble at all, Derek. I'm always thrilled to find quality on the internet, and your website is a reliable, well-maintained resource to which I've often turned for DVD news and reviews.

Mark Zimmer wrote:

Oh, I understand the limitations -- I hope Joel didn't think my remarks about silent coverage were intended censoriously. I greatly appreciate DO's silent coverage, and admire the depth of your reviews. But so far as I've found, no mainstream DVD website has created a dedicated page or section for silents coverage, and so many titles continue to slip through the cracks, with only a line or two mentioning their release in news sections. The advice I offered The Digital Bits in my earlier post, as per their stated policies of "widen(ing) people's film horizons by exposing them to films they may never have seen or heard of before," and "exert(ing) a positive influence on the industry," is really a piece of feedback for anyone in the DVD website business -- while there are wonderful fan sites for horror, anime (animeondvd.com is an extraordinary accomplishment in coverage -- I have no idea how they do it), and other genre releases, most of the silent sites out there offer little or no DVD coverage, and the only one I've found that does so only reviews the very occasional title. If anyone's looking for a hole that still needs filling in on-line DVD product coverage, I'd say silent films (of which there are hundreds of titles out there -- I haven't actually counted, of course -- something many probably don't realize, with more arriving just about every month) are an opportunity waiting to be grasped.

Digitally Obsessed has embraced silent coverage more than most (perhaps any other) mainstream DVD site(s), and for that I offer my sincere congratulations. I understand that many of the involved companies simply don't or won't send out screeners for limited run titles, or even, as you point out Mark, for titles as widely popular as Phantom of the Opera, so the frequency of silent reviews on the site remains all the more impressive. Well done.

Bill,



A very understanding wife.

We just hit our five year this year and I'm still having fun doing it. While there are some aspects of it that are tiresome, I love about 95% of it. One of the really nice parts with the anime side is getting to go to all the conventions out there, meeting so many readers and getting that realtime feedback. That's what inspires me to keep going.

I think David Boulet hit it on the head with his analysis (sorry David, but I'm not gonna try to get the capitalization right when your comments are on the other page). There are three types of ways I look at a DVD review depending on my opinion of the movie. DVDs for movies I loved and will buy unless the DVD is totally screwed up, Two Towers, the Star Trek 2 discers, etc all fall under this category. These are movies I really enjoy, so the main purpose of the review is to ensure that the studio didn't screw things up. Second is movies I've seen, enjoyed somewhat, but wasn't huge on. A good DVD to back up the movie can be cause enough for me to jump the gun and buy, Daredevil was under this category. I was on the fence on whether or not to buy the movie, but the phenomenal reviews were enough to make me decide to buy it. Similarly I knew that I would get only moderate enjoyment out of Pearl Harbor, but the wealth of historical supplements were enough to get me to pick up the Vista Series set. Finally are movies I've never seen before. I'm pretty picky with my blind buys, I don't have the budget to buy a gazillion of them, so I'll rarely blind buy a movie on one or two good reviews. But when I get a consensus across reviews which is backed up by strong word of mouth here on the HTF, I'll take the plungs. Three Colors, Once Upon a Time in America, Unforgiven, and others fall into this list.

The first two categories the movie review isn't really necessary in my decision making process (although I always enjoy reading the thoughts of others, even when I don't agree with them, see DVD File's recent review of Three Colors for a review I very much disagreed with). But in the third, the DVD review is often some of my first exposure to the movie. In this case the review is highly influential on my decision making process. Unless the supplemental features are outstanding AND in a category that's interesting to me (like Pearl Harbor's WW II discussions), if the review hits on things I dislike in movies, I'm not gonna pick it up.

The one place where I have a problem with reviewing the movies is sites like IGN DVD. There the reviewer's personal take on the movie is weighted into it's final score. This is so subjective it can substantially lower the final score of a movie I really liked if the reviewer didn't like it himself. I much prefer DVD File's way of reviewing the movie, but the final score is completely independent of the critic's feelings about the movie, and are instead based solely on the technical and supplemental merits of the DVD. The Bits takes this a step further and gives no final average (like the Value score at DVD File), rather they just score the film, video, audio, and supplements completely independently, letting you reach your own conclusions.

It seems that most of the posts to this thread are from current reviewers on various sites. I wanted to add my perspective as someone who enjoys movies very much, rarely goes to the theaters, because I have built a fairly kick ass Home Theater and prefer to watch at home. I depend on reviews that I read online. These review help guide me toward my purchases. It is not just videophiles that view these sites, its many average viewers as well. I would like to see reviews of popular mass releases as well as obscure independents. I even appreciate reviews of classic and silent films. I have purchased a few of these recently and will continue. But I still consider myself an average guy who likes movies of all kinds. As far as separating people into content or technical geeks, I appreciate both the reviewers impression of the film content as well as the technical details. I don't always agree with reviewers and will sometimes take a chance just because of a particular actor/actress, or director that I love. In any case, I loved Ron's reviews and found that most of the time, I agreed with him. I miss his reviews and its too bad he burned out. I for one will start to comment more as I am often silent and just read. I know it takes quite an effort to post these reviews and you'll have my support from now on. I appreciate the efforts of the 7 new reviewers on HTF and think that they are all getting into the swing of things and are developing a style that works. Thanks to you all. If its not a taboo, I may write an unofficial review or two myself and post them. One last comment: Please keep in mind, no matter how many movies you eventually sit through and review, most people watch movies to be entertained and escape from life. If it takes their mind off their troubles and has entertainment value, tell them to take a chance. Not every movie is a classic but many are enjoyable escapism. Sometimes people that review films professionally never seem to truly love anything. Maybe its because they have seen so many, nothing does it for them anymore. Good luck guys and keep it fresh. Thats my two cents.

Well, gosh. This was all certainly unexpected. First off, thanks to all of you who took the time to read the column and then took even more time to send me a note or post a message here. The response has been extremely gratifying, to say the least.

Bill (Hunt) was right on in his defense of my jibe at Ain't It Cool. I check that site out as much as the next guy. But the facts are that when the average person thinks of Internet coverage of film, they think AICN. And AICN does have a lot of bad writing on it. It's not all bad writing. But when you're posting verbatim e-mails from anybody and everybody as reviews of test screenings, you're going to see a lot of spelling errors, bad grammar, and basic Writing 101 mistakes. And I'm not saying I'm the single greatest writer to ever grace the net. I'm pretty aware of my flaws in that regard. If somebody wants to dub me King of the Run-On Sentence, I wouldn't disagree.

Anyway, one of the reasons I enjoy writing DVD reviews as opposed to movie reviews is the ability to step outside of the Hollywood Hype Machine that inevitably surrounds a new release and assess whether or not the film stands on its own merits (see what I mean about those run-on sentences?). Not that there isn't a fair amount of hype around DVD releases. It just isn't quite as crushing. If you buy say...Daredevil the day it comes out and watch it that night in the privacy of your own home, it's quite a different experience than if you joined everybody else in the world in the queue at the local multiplex to see Daredevil on opening night.

As for Bill (Burns') request for more silent film coverage, I'd like to second that vote. I'm a huge silent movie fan and would gladly review any that get sent my way. Unfortunately, not too many do. Why? Beats the heck out of me. While I occasionally request specific titles from Bill (Hunt) or the handful of people I know directly at the studios, I personally prefer to wait and review whatever random stuff gets sent my way from the vast and teeming Digital Bits HQ in beautiful Irvine. Because let's face it, if I only wrote about movies that I wanted to write about, you'd never see another negative review of anything from me up there. Not that I like going out of my way to write a bad review. It's just more interesting for me creatively to mix it up. It may not be more interesting for you, the readers, but hey...I ain't getting paid for this so I've got to get my kicks somewhere.

Anyway, thank you all again for saying such complimentary things about the site, the column, and we poor misshapen DVD critics in general. I feel just like Sally Field.

Funny thing is, with all the other sites up, AICN isn't nearly as relevent anymore. Sure, they were one of the first, but I don't think they are indicative of movie news reporting anymore, and almost a non-entity as far as new news goes.

After writing two "recommended" artices for Anime On DVD (Princess Mononoke and Jubei-chan, fyi), I realise how difficult it is to write a review. It is difficult to put feelings into words and to sell people on your view of things.

Most of the time, I skip the movie review part, since mostly I'm looking for any problems with DVDs. (The exception is the DVD Savant, who has such interesting information to say about the films he reviews.) Sometimes with reviews, tho, they don't have the time to spend looking at every nook and cranny to find problems. That's what forums are for, so that people can talk about these things and they come out into the open.

Jason

1) There might not be anybody else to do it.

2) The comments about picture/sound/extras should still be valid - just take the rest with a grain of salt...

While I have had certain reservations with The Digital Bits in the past (I wasn't a fan of Bill's No Original Star Wars Trilogy rant for one), for my money The Digital Bits leads the pack in overall professionalism and integrity. You guys, (and their counterparts here on the HTF and DVDFile among others), do a valuable service to the community which I almost take for granted at this point.

While I'm disappointed to see a film I dearly love trashed in the movie section of a DVD review, it's more than made up for by knowing that a positive review of a movie I'm on the fence about is honest. Hang in the ring guys, you're appreciated more than you realize.

P.S. Jeff: do you even have the infamous Harry Knowles pube-y hair beard?

As Colin notes above, sometimes you just get stuck with a disc. But note that the reviewer is being thoughtful enough to let you know that he doesn't like Paul McCartney, so you know up front that you can take his opinions regarding content with a large grain of salt. Not all reviewers will do this, and rather than ripping him you might be appreciative that he's being straightforward about where he's coming from in his review.

I started checking out The Digital Bits about 3-4 years ago and have found the reviews overall to be consistently well-written and the products well-researched for the reviews. I know for fact that if it hadn't been for TDB, I wouldn't have made my decisions regarding some great DVD choices I've made over the last three years (the Lord of the Rings DVDs and the Metropolis anime come immediately to mind).

As with anything in life, it always helps to be aware of both strengths and weaknesses simultaneously, so that way you can turn those weaknesses around into strengths.

One thing is the off-and-on mention of Easter eggs on DVD releases. While TDB may get some notable ones (T2, LOTR Extended, and The Abyss, for example), others do get lost in the shuffle. That's why there are other resources available online, including www.dvdreview.com and DVD Easter Eggs to supplement that need.

Another one is reviews of DVDs that may have slipped through the cracks on TDB. For example, FHE's DVD release of Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie came out six months ago, yet it took some searching online to find it at DVD Toons. None of the "big three", as I would refer to them collectively - The Digital Bits, DVDFile, or DVDReview - managed to review this little gem of a film that is packed out to the max with extras and has a great reproduction that rivals the Pixar stuff.

Being aware of strengths and weaknesses simultaneously helps in the long run to only make you better, because you can capitalize on the strengths you have, work on the weaknesses to turn them into strengths, and wind up with a better product.

Having solid reviews on TDB and HTF, as well as sponsoring fan support of requested DVDs (the OriginalTrilogy.com fan site), gives DVDs the strong sense of legitimacy in the market, even with the awareness of illegal DVD products (and that's all I'll limit that part of the statement to for the respect of the site leaders). And the consistent stand for anamorphic widescreen is the trendsetter - when Star Wars: Episode II came out last November, I was able to sell a couple of potential buyers on the strengths of widescreen based on the helpful info from TDB!

Keep up the great work!

I came across this thread while doing some research - a great read, and one that I find I can relate to as an HTF reviewer. An oldie, but a goodie.

Nice find, Neil. I'd forgotten about this thread.

Interesting perspective when one considers this quotation from Ron's initial post of over 6 years ago:



Certainly a valid insight at the time, but how times have changed. Forget "respect"; print reviewers can't even get jobs, with publications folding left and right. And who goes to TV reviewers to learn about DVDs? The internet has at least equal as a credible source. One is just as likely to see an internet disc review cited by a PR dep't as one from Entertainment Weekly.

 having reviewed movies for print and dvds for the internet, I prefer the dvds. Respect of the readers is overrated when compared to beefing up the dvd collection for free. While it was a kick to get the press kits with the photos, they've gone digital so they're not that exclusive. You watch a preview of a movie, when the theater lights come up, you're left with memories and your notes. Review a DVD/Blu-ray, and you've got a prize for the shelf or a gift to a friend if you never want to see it again. What's better, a digital press kit or a Blu-ray of The Godfather films?

The nice part about being the DVD reviewer is that if you're a good enough pal, I might loan you a reviewed title - or least have you over for dinner to watch it. Whereas the film critic can't really sneak friends into a preview screening. They merely mock you by telling you what a hard life it is and listing all the films they have to see that month. Rarely do they ask you to tag along since that's just not professional.

People do want to know about bonus features to make sure if it's worth upgrading.

Although, there comes a time where your DVD collection gets too big. You see DVDs that you gave bad reviews for lying around (and it is a bit unethical to sell them). 

But to go back to the original post, I have to agree that at times, the thoughts on the film are the least important part of a DVD review.

I've reviewed films theatrically before DVD and now review DVDs.  They are different  If someone wants to see a film, they will have usually made up their mind by the time it is released, to see it in theatres, or wait for DVD.

If someone likes a film, they really don't care what you have to say about the film in your DVD review.  They just want to know what the extras are, or what the transfer is like.  Nothing you can say will change their opinion.  

It is always fun to champion a little known film, and get people to see it.  That is a different thing.

But for the major titles, you might as well skip your thoughts on the film altogether.

Generally that's the case, but not necessarily.

The truly great film critics (people like Kael or Ebert at this best) have often managed to be thought-provoking even when their bottom line on a film differs from mine. Any critic can write a condemnation, but it takes a talented critic to write a genuine critique -- to explain the nuts and bolts of what made them dislike the film, all of which may not change your ultimate view, but may make you see things about the film in a different light. Just to take one example, Kael notoriously despised The Exorcist, but her review of it made me appreciate much more how the film worked as a technical manipulation of an audience. (And I still think it's a horror masterpiece.)

I'll never even be in striking distance of that league, but I try to keep that ideal in mind when I'm writing a disc review of a film I didn't like. I try to ask myself why it didn't work and figure out a way to express that in the discussion of the film. If nothing else, it makes writing about a bad film more challenging and therefore more interesting for me, even if no one else reads the final product.

I find the reviews of credible internet sites, such as this one, to be of far more value than TV/newspaper/magazine reviews (and have, going back almost to 2003). Of course every site is different, but the vast majority seem to be composed of reviewers who are also fans/buffs/consumers, and therefore disclose all the information one wants to know; for example, are the films remastered, is the OAR respected, are the TV episodes uncut with all music intact, does the packaging damage the discs, etc. And, now, is the movie on DVD or DVD-R?

I think that's the biggest advantage, because consumers don't lie. And if a property has been given bad treatment, there's no hiding it.

while you don't need to explain much when it comes to the latest blockbuster coming out on DVD besides the extras, the vault and low profile releases do need more if the writer wants to share the love. This isn't merely about servicing the devoted, but tempting the curious to sample.

DVD (home video) has changed the game of the critic. Back in the '70s, the audience had no real control of what and when they could watch a film. They were at the mercy of local theater bookers and TV programmers. if they were lucky, there was an art house/college that ran retrospective series.

And if you wanted to rent a 16mm print (that wasn't part of your library's system), the fee was a little bit steeper than a Criterion DVD. 

But now if you get a hankering for something - just put it on your netflix queue. film criticism was a cheap alternative to seeing the film - watching the movie through the eyes of another. but why bother with that now? cheaper to rent the dvd than buy the magazine with the review.

far as what to do with the lame dvds, i can always find someone to take them

By the time a film has come out on Blu ray or DVD I already pretty much know if a film is good or bad based of either seeing it or reading previous theatrical reviews.  With Blu ray, my main interest is in PQ more than anything.  The reviews on all the sights are a great information source for me.  Unfortunately there are many trolls on the boards who use the opportunity to pounce on reviewers criticism and they do get very rude and nasty.

 

If I have the right to bash Warner, a movie or an actor then someone has the right to bash me.  I've always looked at it that way.  Unless you sugar coat a review, as many sites make you, then you're going to draw heat from "die hard" fans who are going to throw a fit no matter what you say.  You can't try to please anyone so it's best to stick to your guns, deliver what you want and people will either follow or back away.  Most people can accept the fact that a reviewer is giving an opinion.  A lot of people can't and they are the ones who throw a fit because Ron didn't think FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII wasn't the same quality as GONE WITH THE WIND. 

If anything, I find a lot of websites getting rather boring because they only review popular stuff while lesser known titles either don't get reviewed or has someone reviewing it and putting the film down because a something that you should expect from a 90+ year old film.  You can find a review of a Warner title at any website.  It's harder to find a review of something from Synapse, Alpha or various other smaller labels.  A lot of great releases are out there but they never get mentioned on bigger sites simply because no one either has the time, has a connection to that or it just isn't big enough as something like LORD OF THE RINGS. 

I think reviewers are pressured to give the "popular" opinion, which is a real shame.  I'm sure some of this can be pointed at the "internet crowd" but some of it has to go towards the editors, the writer and the owner of such a site.

While this may be a problem at other sites, our policy is to let the reviews call them as they see them.  We may put pressure on to have a review done in a timely manner, but not on content.  Kevin's recent review of Drag me to Hell (BD) is a good example of this.  A sound engineer who worked on the film disagreed with his giving the sound 3 stars and tried to appeal the review to owners and moderators.  Michael Reuben also had some issues with Hardware (BD) recently.  The biggest underlying point of a review is for you to know if it's worth your time and money.  If we pressure reviewers to gloss over problems and sugarcoat things that essentially makes them useless to you and does a disservice to our reviewers. 

While there is still progress to be made, thanks to our reviewers we have done a better job over the last few months of getting lesser known titles reviewed.  I am very happy with the group of reviewers we have now, and HTF is very fortunate to have them.

 Wow, what a great old thread. Dare i say, i miss seeing posts from some of those guys. Not taking anything away from the guys who post, and review for the site now. Just noticed some old names.

That's a two-way street. A lot of great releases do get reviewed, but then the thread drops like a stone, because no one reads it. I could give you a list, but since none of them would fall into your areas of interest, you probably wouldn't care.

Oh, what the hell. I reviewed Sin Nombre on DVD (because there is no Blu-ray). I think it's one of the best films I've seen in 2009, and I called it the most impressive feature film debut since The Sugarland Express (yes, Spielberg's first film). Two months later, the thread has a single reply and 144 views, which is nothing.

Then there's The Betrayal, one of last year's Oscar-nominated documentaries. Reviewed six weeks ago; 2 replies, 121 views.

Somewhat better results with NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: The Wild, Untold Story of OZploitation!, which went up 2½ weeks ago: 1 reply, 211 views. Still not much attention compared to a major release.

It's not just a matter of sites covering 'em. People should read 'em too -- especially people who complain that the sites only cover big stuff.

SIN NOMBRE and NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD are on my to see lists but the sad thing keeps growing and growing.  The lack of views or replies with films like these is sadly the decline of anyone wanting to see films like this.  I love "art" but if I were a producer I wouldn't even try to make one as no one is going to see them or theaters aren't even showing them.  It seems fans blame theater owners but theater owners blame fans.  I personally just think quality means nothing to people anymore.  I've got friends from all over the world and they seem to think that people overseas care for quality more but judging by some of the box office figures, it seems the entire genre is dying down.

I don't know how you feel about it Michael but I'm sure you've rolled your eyes at times wondering why more people weren't reading or looking at certain reviews.  Hopefully you'll at least feel good if one person does read it, checks the movie out and it becomes one of their favorites.  Hopefully reaching at least one person will have you continue to review them even though they might not hit 1000 replies.

Personally speaking, no matter where I've written in the last 10 years, I've tried to mix up the coverage. Some of the big movies, some smaller things.

You certainly have to do this or things will crash and burn quickly.

While this may be a problem at other sites, our policy is to let the reviews call them as they see them.

Yeah, I don't think anyone would go as far as to say this site would do that.  My original post was aimed at a few horror sites that use to attack Ron's reviews of various (POS) horror films that he would give an honest opinion on only to get attacked by so-called die hard fans.  It's always brave to put yourself up for people to take shots at but I'm glad Ron actually gave his real opinion and didn't sugar coat it or try to please those who were going to get upset no matter what.  Willing to be honest will get you some heat but in the long run it will also get you respect, which I believe is why there was such disappointment when Ron did step down.