- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,786
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
I just read quite a rather remarkable article
by Adam Jahnke that really hit home.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...nke082703.html
Please read the above before moving on.....
Adam talks about what it feels like to write
DVD REVIEWS despite all the criticism that
surrounds people who write for DVD websites.
I was rather pleased he used our forum as
a reference point, because I have seen the type
of posts that he is referring to.
I wrote DVD reviews for this forum for a little
over two years, despite the criticism I received
from those that stood on a pedestal (as if they
earned that right) and proclaimed that I had no
right to review DVD product and that this forum
had no place as a review site.
I stopped doing reviews simply because I became
burned out. As Adam's article also points out,
it just became plain difficult to find new and
exciting adjectives to describe the quality of
these DVDs. As Adam also points out, a major
studio release is going to look far better than
its VHS or (in most cases) LASERDISC counterpart.
Unless you have a company like Artisan
releasing a title, you can expect the transfer
to look quite decent.
Adam also dwells into the argument as to whether
we DVD reviewers should be talking about the merits
of the film itself. I always believed that it was
equally important to sell the movie as it was the
transfer -- especially for those that may never
have previously heard of the film. You may not
agree with their opinion of the film itself, and
it mostly at those times when critics fall under
attack.
As reviewers, we are doing publicity for the
studio that is sending us the product. In the
same token, we are also keeping the studios in
check by expressing our opinions of how well a
particular studio's product comes across. It is
forums like ours and THE DIGITAL BITS that talk
frankly and honestly about how well the studios
are handling their DVD product.
I don't think there is any print publication that
gives a more frank and honest look at the industry
from the consumer's point-of-view than the Internet
forums and websites all of you regularly frequent.
As Adam points out, none of us will ever get the
respect that PRINT and TV reviewers receive. But
you know what? In my unbias opinion, I don't think
you'll find more honesty in a DVD review than the
ones you read from the "unrespected" reviewers of
sites like these who give you heartfelt and
detailed opinions of what they see and hear, and
do it without trying to impress anyone with their
enlarged vocabulary.
Quite frankly, I have read reviews from some of
the self-proclaimed "professional reviewers," and
I find reviews written by the common guy to show
far more enthusiasm.
This is why Parker and I finally decided to pick
seven "amateurs" (or near amateurs) to review for
this site. I think it's more important that you
get the viewpoint from someone that writes reviews
from the heart rather than from the Thesaurus.
I am very happy that Mr. Jahnke took the time to
write an article that really hits home when it comes
to looking at the "unrespected" DVD reviewers of
the Internet.
by Adam Jahnke that really hit home.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...nke082703.html
Please read the above before moving on.....
Adam talks about what it feels like to write
DVD REVIEWS despite all the criticism that
surrounds people who write for DVD websites.
I was rather pleased he used our forum as
a reference point, because I have seen the type
of posts that he is referring to.
I wrote DVD reviews for this forum for a little
over two years, despite the criticism I received
from those that stood on a pedestal (as if they
earned that right) and proclaimed that I had no
right to review DVD product and that this forum
had no place as a review site.
I stopped doing reviews simply because I became
burned out. As Adam's article also points out,
it just became plain difficult to find new and
exciting adjectives to describe the quality of
these DVDs. As Adam also points out, a major
studio release is going to look far better than
its VHS or (in most cases) LASERDISC counterpart.
Unless you have a company like Artisan
releasing a title, you can expect the transfer
to look quite decent.
Adam also dwells into the argument as to whether
we DVD reviewers should be talking about the merits
of the film itself. I always believed that it was
equally important to sell the movie as it was the
transfer -- especially for those that may never
have previously heard of the film. You may not
agree with their opinion of the film itself, and
it mostly at those times when critics fall under
attack.
As reviewers, we are doing publicity for the
studio that is sending us the product. In the
same token, we are also keeping the studios in
check by expressing our opinions of how well a
particular studio's product comes across. It is
forums like ours and THE DIGITAL BITS that talk
frankly and honestly about how well the studios
are handling their DVD product.
I don't think there is any print publication that
gives a more frank and honest look at the industry
from the consumer's point-of-view than the Internet
forums and websites all of you regularly frequent.
As Adam points out, none of us will ever get the
respect that PRINT and TV reviewers receive. But
you know what? In my unbias opinion, I don't think
you'll find more honesty in a DVD review than the
ones you read from the "unrespected" reviewers of
sites like these who give you heartfelt and
detailed opinions of what they see and hear, and
do it without trying to impress anyone with their
enlarged vocabulary.
Quite frankly, I have read reviews from some of
the self-proclaimed "professional reviewers," and
I find reviews written by the common guy to show
far more enthusiasm.
This is why Parker and I finally decided to pick
seven "amateurs" (or near amateurs) to review for
this site. I think it's more important that you
get the viewpoint from someone that writes reviews
from the heart rather than from the Thesaurus.
I am very happy that Mr. Jahnke took the time to
write an article that really hits home when it comes
to looking at the "unrespected" DVD reviewers of
the Internet.