Mill Creek Entertainment's Reissue of THE THING (2011) Missing Chapter Access in Main Menu? (1 Viewer)

[Kaskade1309]

Can anyone who owns this release confirm something for me?

Universal had originally put out this Blu-ray of the 2011 prequel to John Carpenter's shocking classic, but Mill Creek Entertainment reissued it last year, and that's the version I recently picked up.

I didn't notice until last night, when I watched the film for a second time since owning it, that there doesn't seem to be any chapter skip option in the main menu -- or anywhere else. This is the first time I've ever seen a disc -- whether Blu or DVD -- authored like this...

Can anyone who may have this release confirm for me that there's no chapter skip protocol in the main menu? Are there other releases like this out there?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

I've seen chapter indexes left out of a number of recent Blu-Ray menus unfortunately, although they were still chaptered and could be accessed manually. I've always wondered who has the job of deciding where chapters go- I've done it for a few movies I've transferred to DVD myself and was hard to decide in some cases.

 

[Kaskade1309]

I've seen chapter indexes left out of a number of recent Blu-Ray menus unfortunately, although they were still chaptered and could be accessed manually. I've always wondered who has the job of deciding where chapters go- I've done it for a few movies I've transferred to DVD myself and was hard to decide in some cases.

Thanks so much for your input, Jesse; I didn't even realize this was a "thing" (no pun intended). This is the FIRST time I'm coming across a Blu-ray or DVD menu without chapter access via the menu...

Yes, I was able to, of course, skip manually with the player's remote to find the scene we left off at from the night before, but this is ridiculous that it was left out. It seems like things we took for granted in the past with physical media and their corresponding hardware -- front panel displays (on disc players), resume playback (on players) and now chapter indexes -- are just being swept aside.

What other Blu-ray titles have you come across, offhand, that didn't have chapter indexes if you can recall?

What's strange is that NO review of the title I mentioned in my original post mentioned this omission.....

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Kino's recent titles have not had chapter indexes. They were just stills anyways, they were never named. In the laserdisc days there was a bit of an art to naming each chapter.

 

[Johnny Angell]

A lot of blu rays don’t have auto resume, which pisses me off.

 

[Malcolm R]

And Mill Creek is a bargain label, so anywhere they can save a few bucks on the production side they're likely to take advantage.

 

[JoshZ]

What other Blu-ray titles have you come across, offhand, that didn't have chapter indexes if you can recall?

Any Criterion Collection release of a David Lynch film (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, etc.) will be encoded with no chapters at all. Lynch has peculiar ideas about how his films should be watched and hates the idea of viewers skipping around without watching the entire movie start to finish.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Any Criterion Collection release of a David Lynch film (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, etc.) will be encoded with no chapters at all. Lynch has peculiar ideas about how his films should be watched and hates the idea of viewers skipping around without watching the entire movie start to finish.

That is just screwy!

 

[JoshZ]

That is just screwy!

Indeed. The old DVD release of Mulholland Drive came with an insert booklet that had a note from Lynch rambling some nonsense about film being " a continuum" that must only ever be watched in its entirety.

The UK Blu-ray release of Mulholland Drive is even more perverse and only has a random access scenes selection menu. The chapters in the menu are unlabeled, and no matter which one you choose, you'll be brought to a random spot in the movie (different every time). If you try skipping forward or backward while the movie is playing, those controls are completely locked out.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Indeed. The old DVD release of Mulholland Drive came with an insert booklet that had a note from Lynch rambling some nonsense about film being " a continuum" that must only ever be watched in its entirety.

The UK Blu-ray release of Mulholland Drive is even more perverse and only has a random access scenes selection menu. The chapters in the menu are unlabeled, and no matter which one you choose, you'll be brought to a random spot in the movie (different every time). If you try skipping forward or backward while the movie is playing, those controls are completely locked out.

And that’s even more screwy! Lynch wants too much control of the viewer.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Kino's recent titles have not had chapter indexes. They were just stills anyways, they were never named. In the laserdisc days there was a bit of an art to naming each chapter.

The only Kino release I own is that of the original Taking of Pelham One Two Three; I believe I accessed the chapter menu once when watching it and, yes, I believe you're right that they were just stills, not descriptive. However, I'd take that over NO chapter access via the main menu...

Incidentally, there are a lot of titles -- including DVDs -- that used the stills approach for chapter identification...I know the Columbia SUPERBITs did this.

 

[Kaskade1309]

A lot of blu rays don’t have auto resume, which pisses me off.

Yeah, this is a head-scratcher to me, as well; whenever you get a Warner Bros. Blu-ray, you can be sure of its ability to remember the resume spot...

HOWEVER -- since moving on from an Oppo Blu-ray spinner and Cambridge UHD 4K player to a Panasonic UB9000, I no longer have the ability to pick up where a disc leaves off...on ANY disc. The Panasonics, for some unknown asinine reason, do not remember the resume playback point of ANY DVD, Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray UNLESS the Blu-ray or UHD Blu has that "RESUME YES/NO" protocol prompt baked into their authoring...then, the player will allow you to pick up where you left off when inserting the disc next time.

So with this new player, I'm having to always go through the chapter system of a disc to find where we may have left off the night before watching a certain disc...

Really friggin' inexcusable, especially for a player of the UB9000's price.

 

[Kaskade1309]

And Mill Creek is a bargain label, so anywhere they can save a few bucks on the production side they're likely to take advantage.

It wouldn't have even occurred to me that a studio -- as bargain basement as some of these are -- would opt to leave chapter authoring off...

 

[Kaskade1309]

Any Criterion Collection release of a David Lynch film (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, etc.) will be encoded with no chapters at all. Lynch has peculiar ideas about how his films should be watched and hates the idea of viewers skipping around without watching the entire movie start to finish.

Like the member who commented after you said...that's indeed screwy.

Is this true about Lynch's films?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

The DVD of "Knife in the Water" even had the pause button locked out by request of the director. They wanted it played straight through no matter what.

 

[Kaskade1309]

The DVD of "Knife in the Water" even had the pause button locked out by request of the director. They wanted it played straight through no matter what.

 

[JoshZ]

Indeed. The old DVD release of Mulholland Drive came with an insert booklet that had a note from Lynch rambling some nonsense about film being " a continuum" that must only ever be watched in its entirety.

Like the member who commented after you said...that's indeed screwy.

Is this true about Lynch's films?

Turns out that note from Lynch was actually packed with the DVD of The Straight Story, rather than Mulholland Drive.

 

[Kaskade1309]

Turns out that note from Lynch was actually packed with the DVD of The Straight Story, rather than Mulholland Drive.

View attachment 82397

 

[bujaki]

When you go to the movies, unless you take a bathroom break, that's the way you watch a film. What's so different about the way Lynch wants you to watch his films?
If you want want to exercise control at home, use the pause button, check the timeline, or use any other method; but I do see his point. A book has chapters; a film does not.
To each his own.

 

[dpippel]

When you go to the movies, unless you take a bathroom break, that's the way you watch a film. What's so different about the way Lynch wants you to watch his films?
If you want want to exercise control at home, use the pause button, check the timeline, or use any other method; but I do see his point. A book has chapters; a film does not.
To each his own.

Indeed, but removing the choice is the issue for many I think. Home video has had chapter stop technology for a LONG time. Want to experience the film like you would in a theater? Fine, just don't use chapter stops OR the Pause button, but don't take away the ability for those that find it convenient to use. As for Lynch, if he's that concerned about how people experience his films then perhaps he just stick to theatrical releases only.