Special Features...Are they worth it?
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Last Week

Last week was my first real chance to escape the confines of work and go shopping. I know it sounds girly but this last quarter of 2007 was brutal. All the running around, deadlines and holidays made it one giant nightmare. I like to shop, shop for movies that is. I often know what I want and more importantly I know what I want to pay for it. So on Tuesday afternoon I ventured out to find this week’s additions to my library.

‘Earth Vs the Flying Saucers’ was what I really wanted. I started at the “big blue” store in the hope of scoring a really great deal. Much to my dismay Ray Harryhausen’s special effects extravaganza/ allegory for a communist invasion was no where to be found. The store did however find a way to pry some money from my pocket with a deal on Clint Eastwood’s classic Western ‘Unforgiven’ - 2 Disc Collectors Edition. The price was right (really cheap) and the Special Features highlighting the film and Eastwood’s career were worth the few dollars I spent. As I was heading out of the store I saw another deal on Darren Aronofsky’s breath taking Sci-Fi film ‘The Fountain’. With its dirt cheap sale price I snagged a copy and headed to the cashier. In retrospect I regret buying ‘The Fountain’. The reason being it is the type of film the Criterion Collection will eventually re-release loaded with everything this barebones edition doesn’t have. This probably means I’ll end up buying it all over again.

With a little discouragement I ventured into the canyons of the mall in the hopes that one of the stores will a have a copy. Low and behold there it sits with a price tag that could have purchased my new copy of ‘Unforgiven’ almost three times over. Is an 83 minute film really worth that? I flip the titles behind it knowing that there is a good chance that any previous incarnations of ‘Earth Vs the Flying Saucers’ will be cheaper (figuring at least I could still have the film I really wanted). It will, after all, not have as many Special Features as the new version has (or a second disc) so the price should be less. Much to my surprise the film was only a whole five dollars less than its brand spanking new counter part. So I placed them next to each to other to weigh out what five dollars was actually buying me. The bare bones edition has a trailer and that’s about it. This new Special Edition had Ray Harryhausen features galore. Commentary by Harryhausen and mind blowing Special Features suddenly made my five dollars not worth holding onto. 

So the question this week is: are Special Features really worth it when it comes to classic cinema? They meant very little to me except as a bonus when I got them on sale with ‘Unforgiven’ but they were essential when it came to purchasing this 83 minute classic from 1956. They are not the deciding factor in current (less than a year old) releases. More often than not they are simply prepackaged TV Special junk meant to jack the DVD price up, but have very little weight in our appreciation of the film. Again, are Special Features worth those five extra dollars to you?

ACTION / ADVENTURE / THRILLERS / WESTERNS

The Bushwhacker

Eye in the Sky

The Hunting Party

Juarez Mexico

Kings of Fists and Dollars

Loaded

Missionary Man

The One That Got Away

The Rarescope Double Feature: The Chinese Godfather /Duel of Karate

Right Place, Wrong Time

ANIME

Angel Sanctuary

Avatar The Last Airbender - Book 3 Fire, Vol 2

Basilisk: The Shades of Night v.5 - Viridian Collection

Basilisk: Fate's Finest Hour v.6 - Viridian Collection

Comic Party Revolution Complete Collection

Kiddy Grade - The Complete Series (The Viridian Collection)

Noein: To Your Other Self - The Complete Series, Vol. 1-5

Red Garden, Vol. 3: The Body Snatchers

Tokko: The Complete Series, Vol. 1-3

HORROR

Dungeon of Dr. Dreck

Goth Girls

The Kingdom - Series One and Two

The Kingdom - Series Two

Saw IV (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Saw 4 [Blu-ray]

When Evil Calls

TV LAND

Barney Miller: The Complete Second Season

ER - The Complete Eighth Season

Hawaii Five-O - The Third Season

The Hustle: The Complete Season Four

The Odd Couple - The Third Season

Swamp Thing - The Series

Thunderbirds 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition Megaset

Torchwood - The Complete First Season

The Criterion Collection

Miss Julie - Criterion Collection

This Sporting Life - Criterion Collection

4 by Agnès Varda

(La Pointe Courte, Cléo from 5 to 7, Le bonheur, Vagabond) - Criterion Collection

BOX SETS

20th Century Fox Best Actress Collection

(Anastasia/The Three Faces of Eve/Norma Rae/Boys Don't Cry/Walk the Line)

20th Century Fox Best Actor Collection

(In Old Arizona/The King and I/Patton/Harry and Tonto/Wall Street)

20th Century Fox Best Picture Collection

(How Green Was My Valley/Gentleman's Agreement/All About Eve/The Sound of Music/The French Connection)

The John Frankenheimer Collection

(The Manchurian Candidate / The Train / The Young Savages / Ronin)

Worth a Look (?)*

Confessions of a Superhero (2007)

* Bob hasn’t seen it as of press time but is really looking forward to viewing this title. If any one sees ‘Confessions of Superhero’ please post a review in the Mania Stuff review section.