Digital Joe #13

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The movie studios are absolute geniuses when it comes to marketing. It used to be that we got one version of a release: there´s one version of "Pleasantville", one version of "The Hulk" and one version of "Contact". Then something happened, I´m not entirely sure who started it or when it actually hit the shelves, although I think I can peg it on Disney. Many moons ago, they released some of their most sought after movies on DVD under what was called the "Limited Series". Those titles included "Pinocchio", "Mulan", "101 Dalmatians", "Hercules", "Peter Pan", "Lady and the Tramp", "Lion King II", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Jungle Book".

These discs, if we all remember correctly, trumpeted French and Spanish language tracks, 5.1 Audio, Widescreen transfer and "Full Color Character Artwork on Disc" as extras. That listing comes from "The Little Mermaid" disc, which I still have in my possession. Around this, I think, Disney also threw out their Gold Collection line, consisting of more titles than you could shake a stick at. Somewhere along the line, they started to release most of their more current movies in two versions: single and double disc. They´ve thrown out their Anniversary Edition´s, Masterpiece Edition´s and the much-publicized Platinum Edition´s.

Being the dopes we are, I´m sure most of us gobbled up every single version of the discs. But that´s not the point. A day didn´t go by that, on street date, you couldn´t find the two-disc edition of "Dinosaur" or "Atlantis" on the shelf right next to their single disc counterparts. The same went for any other dual-release that hit the stores. Sure, there was a price difference for each, but that´s to be expected.

This was also the time where the widescreen and pan-and-scan releases were prevalent. Really, at the time, there weren´t that many choices when it came to which version to buy: widescreen or "standard". Sometimes the choice came down to widescreen with bells and whistles and barebones widescreen. I will always advocate the consumer having as many choices as they could possibly want. Recently, though, things have started to get out of hand.

It´s gotten to a point where the movie aficionado online community works itself into a tizzy because some two-disc set is a "limited edition" and is reportedly hard to find. Something along those lines happened back when "Munich" debuted on disc. It followed on the heels of "Jarhead", which was preceded by "Batman Begins" and "War of the Worlds". I know there are more instances of this, but you´ve got the idea.

So, on release day, hordes of movie geeks (myself included) rush out to wherever our movie buying habit takes us and snap up the higher priced versions of that week´s poison. God forbid we can´t there that day. The store may be completely sold out of what we want. Some of us only grab the single disc edition because of the inevitable double dip once one of the HD formats becomes a clear winner. Others of us simply won´t give the studio juggernaut what they want: more money. Then there are some of us who just get what we want, grit our teeth and enjoy having it on our shelf and in our players.

The most common excuse for a store selling out of a two-disc set I´ve heard is that not enough were ordered. That kind of strikes me as ludicrous. You would think that, once the first disc wasn´t ordered in sufficient quantities, they would learn and order more for the next time. Let me ask you this: if you made the same mistake over and over again at your job, would you still be employed? Probably not. Then why are the same people in charge of buying when they clearly can´t do it correctly the first time around and show no signs of learning from their mistakes?

On the flip side, though, the marketing people are geniuses, as I´ve said before. They purposely throw a "Special Edition", "Limited Edition", "Collector´s Edition", "Director´s Edition" or other such moniker on all their titles to make them appear, well, special. Know what the other thing they do is?

They create demand by imagining a new line of discs to market. Anyone remember the Vista Series of discs? How many did it eventually release? Half a dozen? Remember New Line´s Infinifilm series that was supposed to complete with Vista? But for every line that fails (like those two) another five flourish. New Line is still releasing Platinum Series discs. Fox had a good thing going with the Five Star Collection for a long time, putting together very nice editions of "Speed", "Die Hard", "Independence Day", "Cleopatra" and other flicks.

But far and away the most insidious of these special collections are the Fox Film Noir and Fox Studio Classics sets. Excellent movies and presentations all around; the thing that makes them insidious is the fact they´re all numbered.

That´s right, they´re numbered (Fox also started with this practice on their repackaging of the Five Star Collection). Which means if you only want a handful of disc from Studio Classics, you´ll end up with large gaps in the numbering. I am perfectly willing to call myself so ornery when it comes to my collection that I simply can´t stand gaps. Sure, "Batman and Robin" might be the biggest movie clunker I remember from its theatrical release, but it´s sitting on the shelf right next to the other three ´90s "Batman" movies. Am I particularly enamored with "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier"? Nope, but going from "The Voyage Home" to "The Undiscovered Country" doesn´t sit right with me.

I´m willing to bet a lot of people are like me…and that´s exactly what Fox is counting on. People who need to have complete collections for whatever reason. Am I advocating the end of the numbering system or special collections? Of course not. Part of the fun of being a movie fan/collector/hobbyist is finding and completing the collection. Even if it means scavenging all the different stores and websites for what we´re missing.

Me? I proudly count one Studio Classic film in my collection right now: "Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte". Will I be adding more? Of course I will (and I know I´m late to this particular party).

As soon as I can find the other titles I really want, I´ll be grabbing them.

Will I be getting the entire collection? We´ll see about that.

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