How many of us actually watch *ALL* the extras a DVD has to offer? (1 Viewer)

[Mikah Woodward]

I want to watch all the extras on my DVDs, I really do. I even have a list of the DVDs that still have features I havn't seen. It's just that I have too much other stuff taking up my time, namely watching movies.
In all seriousness though, I think special features are a mixed bag. Some are absolutely brilliant, while others seem to exist only so the box can proclaim that the disc has 6 hours of special features on it. I try to avoid the latter, so I guess I'll never see all the features on my discs.
Honestly, I don't know how you guys with 300+ discs (you know who you are...) deal with it. I'd go crazy, screaming at the top of my lungs "I still have 275 DVDs that have special features I havn't seen! Ahhhh!"

 

[Norm Lalonde]

I generally only watch deleted scenes and outtakes. Nothing else really interests me.

As far as I'm concerned, just the movie in the best possible quality is all I ask. Extras are just that, extras.

Norm

 

[Ricky Hustle]

Not I. Movie and a trailer or two. Only if I REALLY like the film do I go further than that.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Since I have a relatively small DVD collection comprised solely of movies I really like (as opposed to those lucky few who can afford to just BUY WHATEVER COMES OUT ), I definitely check out all the features at least once.
I've done all the Se7en and Fight Club commentaries, I've gone through the Brazil stuff more than once, and I'm a sucker for a good (non-EPK) documentary.
So to answer your question simply: Yes, I nearly always check out all the extras on my DVDs.

 

[Jamie Boyd]

Kelly, EPK = electronic press kit.

I forgot to mention I never watch DVD ROM material. So I look at all the extras except for that.

Theatrical trailers are a must for me, often they are the make or break decision regarding some films. I have a few DVDs that don't have them, but I don't like it.

 

[Chauncey_G]

I make sure to ALWAYS watch the deleted scenes. Those are my favorite aspect of DVD extras. I'll watch documentaries if they're good, and listen to commentaries occasionally depending on the film.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Anyone have any idea what Colin is talking about? How do you play tapes in a car?

J/K, Colin, but that is an interesting way to go about it.

Honestly, I don't know why it apparently hasn't occurred to more people. Granted, I listen to more commentaries than the average Joe because of my reviews, but I did this well before I got the DVDMG gig. It's efficient and entertaining. I used to think it would only work for movies I knew REALLY well - so I could visualize to what the participants referred - but it's never become confusing even for less familiar flicks. (I suppose it helps that I invariably listen to the tracks within a few days of watching the movies.)

And of course, one could also easily record commentaries onto CDRs. I'd want to use CD-RWs, though, since I never want to listen to most tracks again. In any case, I plan to keep using tapes. I'll likely make sure I have a car cassette deck forever, as long as I still listen to commentaries; I've tried CDRs, and tapes are simply much more practical for this purpose...

 

[Mark-W]

That question is a bit like asking,

"How many of you eat all the food

on your plate when you go out to eat?"

Answer: It depends on the restaurant and

what I am being served.

I will tell you one thing,

I did not buy

The Age of Innocence

because it does not have a commentary track

with Martin Scorsese, who has proven

to be a most engaging commentator

on the Powell & Pressburger films,

and on his own DVD set:

A Personal Journey Through Film With Martin Scorsese.

From "must buy" to "ho hum" on a DVD because

of no speical feature. With that film and that

director, a commentary track would've been

very very intersting.

Mark

 

[Chris Bedard]

I watch all the extras on every disc. My collection is up over 350 discs now. What I do is watch a film first, and then put it on a part of my shelves with other discs that I have not watched the extras on yet.

I keep my discs in three spots. There are the unopened/unwatched discs that I keep on a bookcase in my bedroom. Then there are the discs that have had the film viewed, but no extras watched, which are on a special shelf with the rest of my discs. No disc goes into my organized collection until all the extras have been watched. Once watched, then it gets filed with other completely viewed discs.

 

[Dharmesh C]

If I renting or trading, I'll watch a few of the extras, but rarely do I bother with commentaries, I simply don't have the time for them.

My keeper discs? I hardly touch the extras, I don't know why! I guess I keep them for a rainy day. I have too many to watch I guess. The only DVD that I have completed is Superman.

I haven't even touched some of the 2nd discs in my collection. Commentaries in my collection haven't been listened to either, except Superman.

 

[Michael Dueppen]

I used to watch all the extras but lately I just don't have enough time to go through all the stuff. That's why I start watching the featurettes etc. and when it becomes obvious that it's just promotional fluff I stop right away. There are some discs with great extra features out there but most are just fluff imho.

 

[paul o'donnell]

i've got plenty of unwatched films on DVD. So extras tend to suffer a lot too. I will usually check out extras on the day I get the disc, but because I order in batches of 7 from Canada, I usually check out all the transfers etc upon arrival.

I go through phases where I'll watch a commentary every night when I go to bed (my HT is in my bedroom). What I do now is instead of listening to music while trying to get to sleep I'll throw on a commentary with the TV off and listen away until I drift off.

 

[MartinTeller]

Deleted scenes/outtakes/screen tests: always

Featurettes/documentaries: always, even EPKs

Cast/crew bios: very rarely, only when there's someone I want to learn more about

Text supplements: depends... usually, unless it's very long or very technical. I never look at screenplays.

Commentaries: I used to be a commentary junkie, but I'm getting a little more selective these days. I'd say I listen to them about 85% of the time now.

Isolated score/SFX: never... only Danny Elfman on Pee Wee.

Trailers/TV spots: rarely

Still galleries/storyboards/concept art: I'll flip through them until I get bored

I really enjoy a meaty, lengthy documentary the most. Think Close Encounters, To Kill a Mockingbird or 12 Monkeys. But a fun commentary is golden... and can sometimes compel me to keep a disc even when I didn't like the movie that much.

I usually won't move on to the next DVD until I've been through all the extras that I intend to go through on the current one. But after reading Chris Bedard's post, I'm thinking of keeping a shelf for "watched the movie but not the extras".

 

[Raymond Johnson]

I never watch all the extra's on every single disc i own that are packed with them.
I mainly care about the film....& a good soudtrack + OAR.
The only extra's i watch all the time when on the disc are deleted scenes & trailers.
I do like commentaries...but it all depends on the movie + how entertaining it(the commentary) is,otherwise they are extremely boring & a chore to sit through,thus i don't finish them.
Since i'm busy alot..i usualy only watch the movie & paln on getting to the extra's at another time.
The only movies where i've gone through every or just about every extra are(excluding dvd-rom content as i can't paly them)....
Seven...everything except the commentaries & only the one with Fincher,Pitt & Freeman interests me...so i won't bother with the others i'm sure.
Brain Damage....great commentary. The only 'real' extra on the disc,but it's worth it. I can't wait to get the Basket Case SE.
The Thing....awsome set. I love when underrated films such as this get the SE treament,that makes it truly special + the commentary rules.
Dressed To Kill....very informative
The Toxic Avenger......nothing great(extrawise),but has it's moments....the movies what matters most & it's hilariuos!
From Dusk Til Dawn....another awsome set.
Terror Firmer....everything except the commentaries...which i may get to eventually. A fun set...though the documentary gave me a headache(for real!) that it took me 2 veiwings to finish it(watched half & half weeks apart) & still got a headache because it was shot really bad,& just made me dizzy!
A Nightmare on Elm Street set....spent a whole weekend going through the 8th disc & then got to the 2 commentaries another time.
Evil Dead trilogy.....another fun set. Though the first commentary by Rami on ED was very dull..that i never finshed it. The other commentaries where great though on all 3 releases.
Natural Born Killers Unrated...awsome set.
Taxi Driver...has a really good docmentary
Halloween....decent extras,but of course only watched once.
Repo Man....very good & entertaining commentary
Maniac...great extras...love the 'outrage gallery' with scathing reviews from critics & others....the commentaries one of the best & extremely entertaining,funny,informative & fun to listen to......all for a very dark,disturbing,graphic & sleazy film! Even if you've hated this film...the commentaries worth a listen & just may make you change your mind about the film,it did to me.
Phantasm...some pretty good extra's & nice commentary.
Mother's Day....good controverial film...disapointing + very few extra's. Commentary is informative,has some good info..but gets alittle dull since they recorded it with the movie soundtrack muted!...so it's weird to hear.
Big Trouble In Little China...the commentary is the best extra on here + has some good deleted scenes.
Pretty good long list....but this is out of over 100 dvds i own & these have all been watched long ago & theres still tons of extras on various other dvds i have yet to get to & who knows if i ever will.

 

[Jim Tudor]

I watch all the extras, barring foreign soundtracks, closed captioning and alternate sound mixes. I consider myself a student of film, and have found that handy info can be found on even the most unlikely of DVD titles. (Who'd have thought that the "Wild Things" commentary would be worth a hoot?)
My current system is to take a title, and not stop with it until I'm finished with all it has to offer. This way I feel that I've studied the movie pretty intensely. Of course, certain titles do wear me out ("The Abyss" has been kicking my butt for two years now), so I tend to have 5 or 6 going at once. But finish a packed title like "Fight Club" really does feel like an accomplishment!
JiM T

 

[Scott_MacD]

I always mean to watch everything on a DVD, but since I have a large stack of unwatched titles, I just tend to skim over the supplements. Unless of course people advise me to watch the supplements thanks to reviews, newsgroup discussions(!), HTF..
Keep those fully loaded discs coming, though!

 

[Steve Vivona]

Time is so limited that I rarely get to all the extras a disc has to offer. Deleted scenes are always a priority and commentary tracks depend on who is involved. John Carpenter is always a must as is Ridley Scott. A good behind-the-scenes documentary (as opposed to an EPK puff piece) is also a must. I'm not one for storyboard comparisons, etc.
Steve
www.thelatestdvd.com

 

[Denton]

Interesting topic!

Few extras have really struck me as fascinating. The bonus disc with "Citizen Kane" is a major exception.

Commentaries vary from interesting to sleep-inducing. I love Mel Brooks, but his commentary stinks.

 

[Sean Patrick]

i must have hundreds of hours of extras that i have never seen, even on some movies i love (Fight Club, etc). I just don't have time to watch them, even though it's one of the reasons i buy them

 

[Derrick_Ellis]

I try to watch all the making of stuff, but if there is more than one commentary, I may not ever get to it. I only peek at the trailers to hear if they are in 5.1 or if it's an older movie to see how they put the trailer together. (You notice that a lot of older movie trailers showed you a LOT more of the movie than they do today?)