In 2006, we were introduced to two new formats: Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Media was evolving, 720 pixels weren’t enough for us anymore. We wanted more realistic video, more engaging sound, we wanted to physically feel the movie. The heat as John McClane jumped from an exploding helicopter, the shrill hiss of the Xenomorph right over our shoulder, the sharpness of Patrick Bateman’s axe. We wanted it all, and we decided on Blu-ray. And for a while, the superior picture definition was enough, but we came to the startling, disturbing revelation soon after. What happened to the special features? What happened to the aquarium from the Finding Nemo second disk?
Unfortunately, with the dawn of the Blu-Ray disc also came the great erasure of our favorite special features. My childhood copy of ‘Finding Nemo’ came with two discs, one of which being specifically for special features, which was loaded with fun extra videos and games. I would spend hours exploring the virtual aquarium or watching the Jaques Costeau parody, even playing Fisharades. But none of these were on the Blu-Ray. Why would a large chunk of footage be exempt? Did Disney believe it wasn’t worth saving for future generations? Did they think Mr Ray’s Encyclopedia deserved to be lost media?
A Blu-Ray disc can hold, at minimum, 25 gigabytes of storage, which equates to 2 hours and 15 minutes of HD footage with an additional 2 hours of SD footage. ‘Finding Nemo’ is an hour and 40 minutes long and fits an additional 47 minutes of bonus material onto the disc, the only one returning from the DVD being Knick Knack, an unrelated short film. Meaning, even with the minimum 25 gigs of storage, they could still fit another 47 minutes onto it.
Disney, where are my special features?
It doesn’t stop there, the distributors have been pulling even dirtier tricks. Some have cottoned on to how important extras are to film lovers, so they came up with an idea: Lock them behind a paywall. I received my copy of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ for Christmas from my mother and I still hold it to be the best, if not, one of the top 3 Tarantino films of all time. When Lionsgate came out with a 4K steelbook for the film, I had to have it. It was gorgeous, had a slipcover with the cop’s severed ear coming off with it. I rewatched it and fell in love with it all over again, only this time, there was something new waiting for me. Deleted scenes, never before seen. My old copy never had any, where did they come from? Were they just sitting in the Miramax vault, gathering dust all this time? As I watched them, I didn’t know how to feel, these scenes linked the Tarantino cinematic universe even further. ‘Reservoir Dogs’ referenced ‘Pulp Fiction’ before ‘Pulp Fiction’ was even made!
Was my copy, that came in a special faux-VHS case not good enough? Was my mother’s money not good enough? I know that distributors have to make certain extras exclusive as to warrant such a high price for special editions, but why must they cheat us this way? Could they not have made new special features? A commentary track with all the stars? Maybe the actors re-enacting the scenes now that they’re older?
Miramax, Lionsgate, where was that special feature?
But alas, the atrocities don’t stop there. In some cases films come with barely any special features at all! This can be seen with the Blu-Ray release of ‘Beau Is Afraid’, a 3-hour surrealist horror film in which the titlular character goes on a journey to visit his mother, but finds himself confronting people and entities that challenge his reality and sanity. These can be as simple as a PTSD-suffering soldier attempting to kill Beau or as bizarre as Beau fast-forwarding the TV to see how the rest of his journey develops. So why is the only special feature on the physical release a 15-minute behind-the-scenes featurette? Even David Lynch had an hour-and-a-half documentary for ‘Eraserhead’, one of the most well-known surrealist horror films of all time. For a movie with a giant genital monster, there’s no concept art? No showing of the layers of animation? Not even a commentary of Ari Aster discussing where he got his ideas from? How it evolved from a 7-minute short to a 3-hour feature? When distributors and studios cut and refuse to make special features, we’re left with just the result, when it’s the process, the evolution, I’d argue, that makes the film achieve such a high quality. A24, where are my special features?
So why the decrease in extras? Is it a cost issue? Is it because the special features are too large? Is it because distributors and film studios are starting to care less and less? Whatever the case, the situation needs to change. When I pay around $30 for a new release film, I’m expecting a little more than just the film. No one sinks a $100,000,000 budget into a film for no reason, so please, studios and distributors, give us the reason. Stop witholding the sweet backstory that we often have to get from boutique labels that charge upwards of $40 per film. Why is it that special features now have to be delivered via expensive special editions when we had them all in the DVD era? What changed? For the love of God, please tell me, where are my special features?
Mason Horsley is a graduate of UOW with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts, majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in Theatre. He hopes to write and direct a feature film and has been working on screenplays since he was 17. He writes film reviews for the Tertangala and works on his latest project ‘The Last Film’ while working a full-time job at a fish market. Mason despises reviewing films he dislikes and because of this, every review he writes acts as a recommendation.
Image Credit: IMDb