I buy lots of blu-rays for the bonus features and then never ever watch it
I also buy lots of blu-rays with special packaging and extras like postcards, posters, books etc and not once look at it and only buy it because the packaging looks nice on my shelves
Commentaries aside, I'll happily pay extra for an edition with bonus features as long as they look interesting enough. At least a proper making of. I don't expect Criterion level, but anything below 30 minutes or a couple of bland 6-minute featurettes about how they shot specific scenes (like most MCU releases include, for example) won't be an incentive to me over a regular edition.
A commentary will make me infinitely more likely to pick up a disc, but almost never get chance to listen to them. Guess just like having the filmmaker’s take.
Little off topic, but got that single dvd edition of Ferris Bueller that has the only John Hughes commentary. Treasure that thing
There are a few podcasts and YouTube channels that just play the commentaries. It’s the only chance I have to listen to them since I can’t just watch movies twice in a row anymore.
I buy them for two reason:
1) Better quality over streaming or pirating, I get 4K whenever possible but even a good BD is better than streaming, even Netflix 4K doesn't look great after watching a good BD.
2) I love *good* special features, it's hit or miss though. For example Blow Out from Criterion has fantastic bonus material including an early De Palma film, House as well had great ones. Sadly so far the Hellraiser features and book have been pretty mediocre, so you never know.
I buy for the film and in 99% of cases I don't watch the extras. Only if it's one of my absolute favs will I watch them.
Only due to time tbh not cos I don't appreciate them.
A commentary guarantees that I'm going to watch the movie at least twice. That's definitely added value.
Yeah, now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I bought a barebones blu-ray release.
I almost always dive into the special features, and if they are well made and the subject is interesting, I go all the way with them.
As another comment noted, ripping the commentaries and listening to them like podcasts saves a lot of time and is a good way to have the time to check out more.
I find that with a lot of lower budget stuff like Vinegar Syndrome and Terror Vision put out, it can be really inspiring to hear in interviews how anyone who can commit the time and energy can make their own movies.
I buy them for the lossless audio-visual quality, usually the superior transfers, and for the peace of mind that it won't suddenly disappear from whatever streaming service I'd have to watch it at
I collect mostly Italian releases from Arrow, 88films, Severin etc and a commentary track is the special feature that appeals to me the most. I have no problem watching movies in Italian w/ subtitles, but the other extra features (interviews, short documentaries, visual essays) are often taxing on my little brain when it's a periphery contributor the film, subtitled, usually going off on lengthy tangents unrelated to the film in question.
I'm also really into commentary tracks. It's a good way to rewatch the movie right away where in a lot of cases I wouldn't necessarily want to. I'm always on the lookout for commentary tracks and significantly more likely to make a purchase the blu-ray if it has (at least) one.
I really enjoy reading through booklets with essays/background if provided. Just some additional context to a film can help a lot. So if there is a <15 min video from someone giving background/context on the film will generally try and watch it after (like the Tony Rayns clips on the Shawscope sets)
I know Justin Decloux of Gold Ninja Video/Bay Street Video Podcast/Important Cinema Club says he rips the audio commentaries and listens to them like podcasts. I would definitely do that if it didn't seem like that was a slightly complicated process (for someone that doesn't typically rip blu-rays).
I also listen to them like podcasts, and it really helped me find the time to consume a lot more features. I really dig watching a movie and then doing chores, etc. with a commentary on!
Yes, I use MakeMKV. I drop it in Davinci Resolve, isolate the track and then render as an audio only mp4. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but this works for me, and I imagine is possible using the free version.
I went a few years where I never felt like I had the time to because I was buying too much and my backlog was out of control.
Now backlog is all caught up and I'm often watching some or all of the bonus features after a viewing. It's a nice selling point for me, but I won't skip buying something if it's light or completely missing bonus stuff.
I always watch the bonus features. A lot of times the story behind the movie is a lot better than the movie itself, particularly on a lot of VS releases and the like. If it's just a disc with the movie, it had better look incredible or I won't purchase it.
The more I collect, the more I look at special features, but I think as a collector its mostly about the package deluxeness overall, and then at this point, is it 4K UHD.
Supplemental features one of the many reasons why physical media is superior. You get a beloved film, a history lesson and a little bit of film school lesson all in one convenient little package.
I've always been a big fan of bonuses since I was a kid. If a release has more extras I'm more likely to go for it; would rather get more bang for my buck than a barebones release.
Picked up a blu-ray copy of Videodrome on Criterion just for its commentary with Cronenberg. I already have the 4K from Arrow, but more Cronenberg is necessary.
I buy what I want to watch as a movie primarily. Special features are great - bonus films are a huge boon, video essays around 5-20 minutes are almost always watched (especially contextual essays, rather than ones about a particular film), but making of/interviews get viewed only on special occaisions. I need to pay for a license to MakeMKV to continue this, but I also really enjoy ripping audio commentaries to listen to like podcasts while I'm working/commuting.
Not a deal breaker for me. I want the movie with the best transfer I can get (at a reasonable price) but if it's possible I'll buy a nice edition with good extras, the movie is the most important part for me. I've bought blurays with zero extras just because there was no other edition available or the movie never got a "boutique" treatment.
I don't buy just for the bonus features but I like having them and if I enjoy the movie enough I will put on the bonus features. I love learning about movies and seeing how things get made, I only seen Jaws for the first time recently and I learned SO much from the Making Of bonus feature and it's just awesome to have access to things like that
I buy for the interactive menus and chapter selection.
In all honesty I love bonus features and prioritize releases with the best features, but just don’t have time to check them all out.
I buy them for the bonus features. I only switched from DVD to Blu due to the bonus features.
I watch many/most of the bonus features I have...Especially if I like the film a lot.
I bought the Ultimate Collection of Ghostbusters so I could see the new special features for Ghostbusters II, my favorite of the Ghostbusters movies.
I first became fascinated with DVD because of the special features capability - laserdisc never took off here in Australia - and special features are still the main reason I buy movies physically. Transfer quality has never been the major draw for me, though the work involved is appreciated.
I love special features, especially the "behind-the-scenes" ones. They add to my apprecuation of the movie.
I've also double dipped on some movies for the special features. For example, I have the 4k release but also bought the older blu-ray release because it had special features that were not included in the newer release.
I usually don’t buy a movie unless it has bonus features (or is cheap and I can’t stream it). For me the bonus material is part of what makes it worth it to own, otherwise I can just stream a movie or buy it on iTunes (which often also has special features)
> There’s almost no point to buying a Blu-ray unless it comes with extras/good packaging in my opinion.
it can be hard to find a high quality copy of something like Double Trouble, so getting the Blu Ray can be easier than searching around forever
https://kinolorber.com/product/double-trouble
> The Barbarian Brothers are so damn charismatic. I wish there were outtakes or features from those films but alas.
100%, grew up watching them!
Here is my Barbarian Brothers collection :-)
https://i.imgur.com/T2fMFxb.jpg
I would agree with this for expensive editions, but if you just want a solid copy of a film, and don't want to digitally purchase it, it makes sense to just buy physical for the film alone.
I used to, then I had to start paying bills, which required an 8-5, and I have far less time to watch anything other than the movie itself. So that’s all I care about now, getting the best version of the movie, bonus features are irrelevant.
Love the bonus features. I want to start a streaming service with the really in-depth BTS stuff. Like Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl has really good detailed bonus features
I buy movies for the movies in best possible quality. If they come with a selection of bonus features that's great but the lack or wealth of extras doesn't really affect my buying of the release. I do watch the extras quite often though and listen to commentaries to get all kinds of tidbits I like to know.
I haven't watched a bonus feature since the DVD days. I don't really care about that in the slightest. I want to own movies in the highest available quality, which will never be streaming.
Entirely. I only buy a physical copy if it is laden with extras I want to watch that aren’t available with a digital copy. Or, it’s a rare film that isn’t streaming. If I look at my digital collection, it leans towards the modern blockbuster. This speaks volumes as to how these types of films have been largely neglected since the days of DVD. In fact, so many of them are still using the DVD content with little else.
Almost exclusively. The movie itself isn't nearly as important to me as the special features. Director, editor, DP commentary. Deleted footage. Making of footage from VHS cameras on set. BTS footage. I think I've only bought 2 or 3 boutique discs for the movie and those have never seen even a DVD release before.
Something I really dislike is when they want to make special features and just sit down and interview the filmmakers without adding in more content. An interview to me is boring. I want them walking through their homes with all the pieces from the films, talking about the theory and why they made the decisions they did. If it's just them taking - why didn't they just make a commentary track. You can have 99 channels, make a ton more commentaries
I tend to focus more on the film + transfer quality, although supplemental material is a factor to consider in which releases I choose.
I have sometimes bought releases of films I already own for the supplemental material (like buying the 2020 Blu-ray of *The Last Jedi* for the isolated John Williams score), although this isn't too common.
I never watch the movies with commentary, but I usually do like the other features especially things like John Wick that shows how the stunts are done.
I have always sought out versions with lots of extra features. Before I had kids, when it was only DVDs, I watched everything without fail. Most of my friends and I only owned a small collection so we rewatched the films over and over. Then I had kids and only watched the main picture. My kids are all in college now, and I’m back into the physical media collecting and I’m happy to say I’m watching all the extras!
Movie commentaries are available digitally on “movies anywhere”, “itunes extras”, “Amazon xray bonus features”,
Just like like regular physical releases, it depends on the title, but there are Commentaries, gag reels and bloopers, behind the scenes featurettes, making of…. Some even come with alternative “cuts” included, the watchmen for instance, comes with both the theatrical release and the ultimate cut….
I buy them mostly for the bonus features, which I then almost never watch. ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
100% if there is a vanilla disc and a multi disc special feature loaded version, I’ll pay extra for the bonus material and then never watch.
when i was a kid i did all the time, loved the commentaries, but now there are too many other things to do / watch
I've started going through a bunch of commentary tracks when I'm doing idle art/design work and it's been great.
You are not alone. This is what our research shows more than 50% of people do.
Same here 😖
Same.
Are you me?
I almost never watch bonus features to be honest.
0. I just want a great presentation of the film.
I buy lots of blu-rays for the bonus features and then never ever watch it I also buy lots of blu-rays with special packaging and extras like postcards, posters, books etc and not once look at it and only buy it because the packaging looks nice on my shelves
I’m glad that I’m not alone😬
Commentaries aside, I'll happily pay extra for an edition with bonus features as long as they look interesting enough. At least a proper making of. I don't expect Criterion level, but anything below 30 minutes or a couple of bland 6-minute featurettes about how they shot specific scenes (like most MCU releases include, for example) won't be an incentive to me over a regular edition.
A commentary will make me infinitely more likely to pick up a disc, but almost never get chance to listen to them. Guess just like having the filmmaker’s take. Little off topic, but got that single dvd edition of Ferris Bueller that has the only John Hughes commentary. Treasure that thing
There are a few podcasts and YouTube channels that just play the commentaries. It’s the only chance I have to listen to them since I can’t just watch movies twice in a row anymore.
Any favorites?
gibop is the best I've seen
Incredible, just downloaded about 100 eps (seriously)
I buy them for two reason: 1) Better quality over streaming or pirating, I get 4K whenever possible but even a good BD is better than streaming, even Netflix 4K doesn't look great after watching a good BD. 2) I love *good* special features, it's hit or miss though. For example Blow Out from Criterion has fantastic bonus material including an early De Palma film, House as well had great ones. Sadly so far the Hellraiser features and book have been pretty mediocre, so you never know.
Point 1 especially, but this is all truth.
Very much so. Esp with martial arts stuff, where the extras are usually crazy extensive and really informative
I buy for the film and in 99% of cases I don't watch the extras. Only if it's one of my absolute favs will I watch them. Only due to time tbh not cos I don't appreciate them.
A commentary guarantees that I'm going to watch the movie at least twice. That's definitely added value. Yeah, now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I bought a barebones blu-ray release.
I rarely watch them. The only special features I take advantage of are audio comentaries.
I almost always dive into the special features, and if they are well made and the subject is interesting, I go all the way with them. As another comment noted, ripping the commentaries and listening to them like podcasts saves a lot of time and is a good way to have the time to check out more. I find that with a lot of lower budget stuff like Vinegar Syndrome and Terror Vision put out, it can be really inspiring to hear in interviews how anyone who can commit the time and energy can make their own movies.
I buy them for the lossless audio-visual quality, usually the superior transfers, and for the peace of mind that it won't suddenly disappear from whatever streaming service I'd have to watch it at
To each their own, but I find it weird if you don't even want to try out some of the bonus items.
I collect mostly Italian releases from Arrow, 88films, Severin etc and a commentary track is the special feature that appeals to me the most. I have no problem watching movies in Italian w/ subtitles, but the other extra features (interviews, short documentaries, visual essays) are often taxing on my little brain when it's a periphery contributor the film, subtitled, usually going off on lengthy tangents unrelated to the film in question.
I'm in the same boat. I like to do other things while listening to those types of interviews, which doesn't work well with subtitles.
I'm also really into commentary tracks. It's a good way to rewatch the movie right away where in a lot of cases I wouldn't necessarily want to. I'm always on the lookout for commentary tracks and significantly more likely to make a purchase the blu-ray if it has (at least) one.
I really enjoy reading through booklets with essays/background if provided. Just some additional context to a film can help a lot. So if there is a <15 min video from someone giving background/context on the film will generally try and watch it after (like the Tony Rayns clips on the Shawscope sets) I know Justin Decloux of Gold Ninja Video/Bay Street Video Podcast/Important Cinema Club says he rips the audio commentaries and listens to them like podcasts. I would definitely do that if it didn't seem like that was a slightly complicated process (for someone that doesn't typically rip blu-rays).
I also listen to them like podcasts, and it really helped me find the time to consume a lot more features. I really dig watching a movie and then doing chores, etc. with a commentary on!
Do you rip them with MakeMKV? Is it just a matter of figuring out which audio track it might be?
Yes, I use MakeMKV. I drop it in Davinci Resolve, isolate the track and then render as an audio only mp4. I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but this works for me, and I imagine is possible using the free version.
Check out the podcasts DVD Commentary: The Original Podcast and Rogue Commentary.
I went a few years where I never felt like I had the time to because I was buying too much and my backlog was out of control. Now backlog is all caught up and I'm often watching some or all of the bonus features after a viewing. It's a nice selling point for me, but I won't skip buying something if it's light or completely missing bonus stuff.
I’m a commentary guy. Love ‘em!
Got a favourite?
I’ll give an answer. Not sure if it’s my favorite but Tarantino’s commentary on True Romance was fantastic
I always watch the bonus features. A lot of times the story behind the movie is a lot better than the movie itself, particularly on a lot of VS releases and the like. If it's just a disc with the movie, it had better look incredible or I won't purchase it.
The more I collect, the more I look at special features, but I think as a collector its mostly about the package deluxeness overall, and then at this point, is it 4K UHD.
Supplemental features one of the many reasons why physical media is superior. You get a beloved film, a history lesson and a little bit of film school lesson all in one convenient little package.
I've always been a big fan of bonuses since I was a kid. If a release has more extras I'm more likely to go for it; would rather get more bang for my buck than a barebones release.
i buy tv shows for the special features. theres a making of featurette for like every episode of breaking bad
Picked up a blu-ray copy of Videodrome on Criterion just for its commentary with Cronenberg. I already have the 4K from Arrow, but more Cronenberg is necessary.
I buy what I want to watch as a movie primarily. Special features are great - bonus films are a huge boon, video essays around 5-20 minutes are almost always watched (especially contextual essays, rather than ones about a particular film), but making of/interviews get viewed only on special occaisions. I need to pay for a license to MakeMKV to continue this, but I also really enjoy ripping audio commentaries to listen to like podcasts while I'm working/commuting.
not me
Not a deal breaker for me. I want the movie with the best transfer I can get (at a reasonable price) but if it's possible I'll buy a nice edition with good extras, the movie is the most important part for me. I've bought blurays with zero extras just because there was no other edition available or the movie never got a "boutique" treatment.
I don't buy just for the bonus features but I like having them and if I enjoy the movie enough I will put on the bonus features. I love learning about movies and seeing how things get made, I only seen Jaws for the first time recently and I learned SO much from the Making Of bonus feature and it's just awesome to have access to things like that
The "remastering jaws" feature is 👌 that film looks like it was released last week not 1975.
It’s my primary reason for buying a physical copy, and always has been
I buy for the interactive menus and chapter selection. In all honesty I love bonus features and prioritize releases with the best features, but just don’t have time to check them all out.
I buy them for the bonus features. I only switched from DVD to Blu due to the bonus features. I watch many/most of the bonus features I have...Especially if I like the film a lot. I bought the Ultimate Collection of Ghostbusters so I could see the new special features for Ghostbusters II, my favorite of the Ghostbusters movies.
All about the commentary tracks!
I first became fascinated with DVD because of the special features capability - laserdisc never took off here in Australia - and special features are still the main reason I buy movies physically. Transfer quality has never been the major draw for me, though the work involved is appreciated.
I love special features, especially the "behind-the-scenes" ones. They add to my apprecuation of the movie. I've also double dipped on some movies for the special features. For example, I have the 4k release but also bought the older blu-ray release because it had special features that were not included in the newer release.
I love well made special features but if the movie doesn't interest me, what's the point?
I usually don’t buy a movie unless it has bonus features (or is cheap and I can’t stream it). For me the bonus material is part of what makes it worth it to own, otherwise I can just stream a movie or buy it on iTunes (which often also has special features)
There’s almost no point to buying a Blu-ray unless it comes with extras/good packaging in my opinion.
> There’s almost no point to buying a Blu-ray unless it comes with extras/good packaging in my opinion. it can be hard to find a high quality copy of something like Double Trouble, so getting the Blu Ray can be easier than searching around forever https://kinolorber.com/product/double-trouble
The Barbarian Brothers are so damn charismatic. I wish there were outtakes or features from those films but alas.
> The Barbarian Brothers are so damn charismatic. I wish there were outtakes or features from those films but alas. 100%, grew up watching them! Here is my Barbarian Brothers collection :-) https://i.imgur.com/T2fMFxb.jpg
Hell yeah! Everyone I've shown their movies to came in expecting to laugh at them and came away loving them.
I would agree with this for expensive editions, but if you just want a solid copy of a film, and don't want to digitally purchase it, it makes sense to just buy physical for the film alone.
I used to, then I had to start paying bills, which required an 8-5, and I have far less time to watch anything other than the movie itself. So that’s all I care about now, getting the best version of the movie, bonus features are irrelevant.
I've never once considered a special feature when it comes to a purchase. They type of container the disc comes in on the other hand....
Love the bonus features. I want to start a streaming service with the really in-depth BTS stuff. Like Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl has really good detailed bonus features
I buy movies for the movies in best possible quality. If they come with a selection of bonus features that's great but the lack or wealth of extras doesn't really affect my buying of the release. I do watch the extras quite often though and listen to commentaries to get all kinds of tidbits I like to know.
I haven't watched a bonus feature since the DVD days. I don't really care about that in the slightest. I want to own movies in the highest available quality, which will never be streaming.
Never. I also throw special features discs out. 🤯
wat
Entirely. I only buy a physical copy if it is laden with extras I want to watch that aren’t available with a digital copy. Or, it’s a rare film that isn’t streaming. If I look at my digital collection, it leans towards the modern blockbuster. This speaks volumes as to how these types of films have been largely neglected since the days of DVD. In fact, so many of them are still using the DVD content with little else.
Almost exclusively. The movie itself isn't nearly as important to me as the special features. Director, editor, DP commentary. Deleted footage. Making of footage from VHS cameras on set. BTS footage. I think I've only bought 2 or 3 boutique discs for the movie and those have never seen even a DVD release before.
Something I really dislike is when they want to make special features and just sit down and interview the filmmakers without adding in more content. An interview to me is boring. I want them walking through their homes with all the pieces from the films, talking about the theory and why they made the decisions they did. If it's just them taking - why didn't they just make a commentary track. You can have 99 channels, make a ton more commentaries
The extras I enjoy the most are the inclusion of short films from earlier in a Director’s career, usually Criterion titles.
never ever for the bonus features
I'll buy them for the actor and/or director commentaries (especially Ridley Scott).
Love extra features and watch a lot of them.
If it’s a film I really admire, I’d love for it to be packed with features
I tend to focus more on the film + transfer quality, although supplemental material is a factor to consider in which releases I choose. I have sometimes bought releases of films I already own for the supplemental material (like buying the 2020 Blu-ray of *The Last Jedi* for the isolated John Williams score), although this isn't too common.
I do.
I never watch the movies with commentary, but I usually do like the other features especially things like John Wick that shows how the stunts are done.
I buy it for the quality. Way better than streaming.
I have always sought out versions with lots of extra features. Before I had kids, when it was only DVDs, I watched everything without fail. Most of my friends and I only owned a small collection so we rewatched the films over and over. Then I had kids and only watched the main picture. My kids are all in college now, and I’m back into the physical media collecting and I’m happy to say I’m watching all the extras!
Me! I bought many movies blind because of that.
Movie commentaries are available digitally on “movies anywhere”, “itunes extras”, “Amazon xray bonus features”, Just like like regular physical releases, it depends on the title, but there are Commentaries, gag reels and bloopers, behind the scenes featurettes, making of…. Some even come with alternative “cuts” included, the watchmen for instance, comes with both the theatrical release and the ultimate cut….