DVD has changed cinema, forever.
Okay, it hasn’t changed how films look and sound, but it has changed the way that we view them. A little over 10 years ago when you wanted to watch a movie, you had to watch it on the big screen at a movie theater. Sure, we had VHS (remember VHS?), but the big screen was the way to see a movie. The picture was first rate, you saw it in the correct aspect ratio and the experience was mind-blowing.
With DVD you can get all this at home, for a fraction of the price considering how inexpensive DVDs have become and the cost of multiple tickets, concessions and gas for the trip to the theater.
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Now major studios are making direct to DVD features that not only have high production values - but also top tier talent. When your favorite franchise has run its course on the big screen you can check out a new installment from your favorite chair at home.
So how did it all change?
What DVD has also manged to do is present to the viewer films that they would never normally watch. Suddenly you didn’t have to seek out an art house cinema to watch a foreign film or independent feature. I recently saw a selection of Cuban films that I’d never have seen if it wasn’t for the vast selection of foreign titles that are available on disc.
When VHS was dominant the expression “direct to video” was like a dirty phrase, something that was to be ignored. You rented (or bought) these films at your own risk, taking the chance that the film would star a Z-list actor and feature a terrible script. This is no longer always the case - films that premiere on DVD can at times be better than some that appear on the big screen. While they might not have huge budgets for special effects they will often have something much more important: good scripts, interesting stories and decent acting. In recent years I have seen films such as Blind Horizon (2003), Bone Dry (2007) and The Backwoods (2008) that have entertained me despite bypassing my local cinema and going straight to my local DVD retailer.
The release window between when a film opens at a movie theater and when it arrives on DVD has also been reduced, so seeing a film on the big screen is merely a preview for the DVD. At times the movie’s cinema release poster is still on billboards and buses by the time you can buy it! Even former big screen stars such as Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Damme and Wesley Snipes can still earn a healthy living by churning out action movies that make a killing on DVD. At times these actors can be paid several million dollars a salary comparative to that of their big screen colleagues.
When DVD broke through you could suddenly watch a movie with excellent picture and sound quality in your own home - and not only that but if you so wanted, you could watch scenes that were cut from the movie and listen to the director talk you through the film. In your own living room! The film buff experience was available to all, DVDs were sold on their special features and discs were often re-released with more features and extra footage. The DVD was a cash cow that was forever growing. If a movie was a modest hit in cinemas, but a huge seller on DVD a sequel could be green-lit due to this success.
There have always been movies that never made release not because they were of bad quality but because too many films are produced and there is limited cinema space. I know that’s hard to believe in this multiplex day and age, but it is true. DVD studios and independent companies are able to cut out the middle man and release these lower budget niche films without having to pay for prints and advertising and most importantly of all - split the gross with the cinema chains.
(Click to continue ‘DVD Killed The Cinema Star’)
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20 Comments
Niall,
Nice change of pace in articles and very well written. I’ll have to check out a few of the movies listed here–I hope in the future that Screenrant can have reviews on movies that aren’t in theaters and went straight to DVD =)
Rev
Solid Article Niall.
It’s totally true, I’m seeing sequels to everything out there, scorpian king 2, behind enemy lines 2…all that feature different casts then their predecessors but are still fun to watch.
I think the DVD Genre is a great thing because independents can easily get into the game, nowadays anyone can make a DVD and its great that there are so many option available.
Now with Blu-Ray out, I wonder if that will succeed… or will the industry move more to the online way of things instead…I mean, these discs are hugely expensive and I know for myself, I will never buy one. I’d much rather see my TV hooked up to the internet, and get things for much less expense. Adding more to the point is more and more people making their computer into a home entertainment system hooked up to an HDTV, etc.
I love dvds. I have to admit I rarely go to the cinema now. Prices and idiot audience members for two reasons, but also the hype. I still haven’t seen Iron Man and TDK, and won’t until everyone stops ranting about them. Hype has ruined my enjoyment of movies in the past so I avoid them a while, get the dvd and watch for myself.
The Backwoods - the two actors on that cover alone make me want to get it.
oh geeze,
this is OT. But my most hated thing: Fox Studios is at it again! Why are the executives at that company so out of touch with the industry and consumer-base.
http://chud.com/articles/articles/16113/1/NOT-EVEN-THE-DIRECTOR-OF-BABYLON-AD-LIKES-IT/Page1.html
that article talks about how the director of Babylon A.D. doesn’t like his own film and that Fox screwed him. Here we go again, its happening to Wolverine as we speak, and it happened to Joss Whedon’s Firefly
Cool article Niall, you skipped over the Laser Disc era, lol. (That one that lasted about 26 min)
I have waaay tooo maaaany dvds. Its a bad habit. I sure don’t see BluRay ever catching up to Dvds.
By the time they do, convienant downloading services will make BluRay too expensive.
There’s also the Dvd computer program discs. Those arnt changing into BluRay.
BluRay won’t ever catch up !!!! You suck BluRay.
I don’t miss those damn VHS tapes. Blah! ;+p
Dvds have changed things, and for the better!!
With the demise of Ebert & Roeper, you’re not going to find access or reviews of these “niche” films. The only way/reason I’d watch these films is if they mentioned them, for good or ill. I wouldn’t follow their reviews. I’d decide myself.
I tend to agree that DVD has changed things, and I don’t have a problem with movies done direct to DVD. Many of the movie I’ve rented recently, and subsequently purchased, have effectively been such movies, and they’ve been better than most of what I’ve seen released to theaters. Perhaps the one area where the theater-released movies out class the dorect-to-DVD titles are the visual effects, but that’s rarely, if ever, a deal breaker for me.
As for downloading from the internet, that will never, at least for me, be a viable option. The quality/resolution has a long way to go the even catch up to even VHS, and connection failures or a dead computer anywhere along the route, can prevent you from getting a complete download, resulting in the possibility of you having to pay more than once to watch something just once. The fact that I can’t put the download on my shelf or watch it again anytime, or anywhere, I want adds to the issues I have. In order for me to overcome those issues, the story would have to be extremely compelling and freely available for me to stream it, or purchasable and viewable without restrictions for me to find a way to pay for it.
So far, I have yet to find anything that will replace DVDs as my format of choice.
I don’t think it’s that simple. It’s not just that DVD has changed things. There are so many contributing factors that I can’t even say for sure that DVD gets the majority of the credit. Don’t forget the availability of LCD/Plasma and Hi Def television these days.
Daniel,
True, but HDTV has only begun to make serious inroads into people’s homes this year.
Vic
FlamesStrike,
I can see where you are coming from on the quality of the streaming video, but I think that the tech is just around the corner that will allow you to D/L hi-def quality movies in a short time. The Netflix player (that I think Vic reviewed on here) is a good option right now because all you need is a $9/month Netflix account and you can download as many movies as you want. Where I don’t think the dvd can be replaced is for the bonus features and the easter eggs. Well, that and the fact that the d/l doesn’t look impressive on your shelf.
As for the straight-to-dvd movies, some are utterly awful (like the American Pie sequels) and most would never have seen the light of day if they had to be on the big screen. Granted, there have been some good flicks (like the Stargate movies), but for the most part those dvd’s are for when you are browsing Blockbuster and there is no new releases left.
Maybe the tech to download them is right around the corner, but no tech can account for internet outages. The only way to avoid that is to connect directly to the Netflix computers, bypassing the internet, and hope their system is up to handling the load. Still, purchased downloads aren’t a substitute for having a purchased physical copy on the shelf. In addition, the way things are set up these days, if you change computers you’re probably going to be screwed on the purchased downloads.
Regarding the straight to DVD movies, yeah, like anything they’re going to be a mixed bag, and it will come down to what you’re looking for. I’ve rented movies that never made it to theaters in my city, thus qualifying for my definition of straight to DVD, that were far, far better than almost anything I’ve seen in theaters in recent years. I’ve also seen movie, like the American Pie series, that I avoided in theaters because they looked utterly awful, much like their direct to DVD sequels.
Truth be told, there’s very little I’m unwilling to check out when I’m renting a movie, but I’ve consistently found that a number of the big name movies I’ve rented have been outclassed by movies that premiered on DVD. It’s just a matter of knowing what you’re looking for, and what you’re not looking for.
I will agree with you, though, that most would never have made it on the big screen, if for no other reason than they aren’t what most people seem to want to watch.
Just briefly reading all of the comments,
Driving to the video store to rent a movie has many more factors than downloading a video.
Rev
Actually HD in the homes started to gain steam in 04 and really hit big in 05. Movies going direct to video has been happening for a very long time but getting prestige and actually being decent films didn’t start until the last two years. yet DVD’s have been around for over 10 years.
I’ll never be a downloader. I don’t even download music. I prefer to own things. I like having stacks of dvds and cds about.
The one thing I will say that dvd has done that is possibly bad, but certainly annoying, is the way they keep making new ones for us to buy. You buy the dvd for the movie, and a couple of months later there’s the two-disc dvd, and then later there will be a special edition, and then a director’s cut, and then the final edition, and so on.
I don’t blame dvds, the industry has just taken advantage, but it is really annoying.
At the same time, I now buy movies on dvd cheaper than when they were on vhs, much better for it.
“The one thing I will say that dvd has done that is possibly bad, but certainly annoying, is the way they keep making new ones for us to buy. You buy the dvd for the movie, and a couple of months later there’s the two-disc dvd, and then later there will be a special edition, and then a director’s cut, and then the final edition, and so on.”
Yeah, that is mildly annoying, unless you actually care about the special features then it’s undoubtedly significantly so. I tend not to bother with those most of the time, seeing as I buy the disks for the movies/episodes, so it’s not as big an issue for me. Only a couple of times have I gotten more than one version of a movie on DVD, theatrical and director’s cuts, and both times they were very different movies despite being made from, mostly, the same footage.
@Daniel
Oh, HDTV started to gain some steam back then but it didn’t explode I think until late last year and this year. I don’t recall exactly but heck, didn’t they even end up pushing back the all-digital TV thing a couple of years due to relatively low sales of HDTVs?
Vic
I’m waiting for the day (and it is probably sooner rather than later) when I can download a new theatrical release straight to my big-screen in my living room. Imagine Opening night for Dark Knight and you can watch it as many times as possible in a 24-hour period. That would be sweet!
Have to admit I can be a sucker for some of the special features, especially commentaries. If I like/love/respect the people involved then I want to know what they have to say.
For instance, I have to get Hellboy 2 with commentary, as the first one is even better when listening to Perlman and Tambor.
But if I do get the movie, or tv show, it had better be amazing for me to get it again.
Have to say, instant premiere does sound appealing.
“instant premiere”
I like the sound of that. You better get it trademarked before someone takes it from you.
I’m by far the worst sucker for Special Features and the words “Special Edition” I lose so much money because of this crap. I actually own three different Versions of Batman Begins. They released an edition with nothing but the movie, two disc edition and then a few months back they released that huge special edition. I bought all three.
I love special features and if I love a movie I want the biggest and best Special edition I can find I just wish they would release that from the start instead of every 2 years another edition. However look at the flip side there is no such thing as a special edition on Blu Ray which is part of the reason I don’t actually own a Blu Ray despite having a Blu Ray player.
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