I went out and bought this

November 30, 2001 1:57 PM

I went out and bought this...and now on Tuesday they're releasing this! Don't get me wrong, I'm just as excited as the next guy (like Harry Knowles, for example)...I just hate wasting my money.
posted by adrober (11 comments total)

That's not nearly as bad as it is with some movies, though I definitely feel your pain. Laserdisc owners got duped like this several times over, and big movies like Star Wars probably have 14 different versions out between VHS, Laserdisc and (hopefully one definitive) DVD version.
posted by robbie01 at 2:01 PM on November 30, 2001

Do you mean there is someone who actually liked "Almost Famous" enough to buy the video? Is it Kate Hudson nude? Is that the big attraction? This was a film almost entirely without dramatic tension, where a suicide attempt and a near plane crash pass without drawing any kind of significant emotion from the viewer. It's a film where no one in the script ever mentions what to the viewer is the most single most salient and inescapable fact about the fictional band Stillwater: They totally suck. It's a film about bands and groupies that never addresses what is surely going through the mind of every viewer who watches the characters capering from bed to bed: These people must be RIDDLED with venereal disease.
posted by Faze at 2:10 PM on November 30, 2001

Holy crap. I just bought a DVD (with game system attached) player last week, and yesterday I found a copy of almost famous used at Blockbuster for $12.

It's a small small meta world.
posted by alana at 2:17 PM on November 30, 2001

The implications are simply staggering, alan. Staggering.

And Faze, I don't get it. Did you like the movie or not?
posted by Kafkaesque at 2:21 PM on November 30, 2001

OK, gang. I can't decide on which snarky, asshole comment to post, so I'll post them both. You decide which one is better.

1. I came to MeFi for posts like this, and instead I got this. Don't get me wrong, I like movies too, I just hate wasting my time on lame-ass posts.

2. Holy crap. I just bought a DVD...

Wow, dude. I, like, own a dvd player. And so does adrober. And so does alan. This is seriously fucked....
posted by jpoulos at 2:38 PM on November 30, 2001

Yeah, this is becoming fairly common on the DVD scene. The transfer technology and what people expect from the package (lots of extras) has apparently changed quite a bit over the past couple years, and as the dvd marketplace has evolved the success of some re-releases has resulted in more experimentation in this area, such as Columbia's Superbit line, and re-releases even on very recent stuff.

On the plus side, a re-release usually results in a significant price drop on the original dvd, so you can get a good deal if you don't have to have the latest and greatest.
posted by markavatar at 3:29 PM on November 30, 2001

jpoulos, I'm going to say #1.

Faze, I thought Almost Famous was ok when I saw it; after reading your review, I hate it!

And after all the snarkiness, Markavatar comes in for the thread-save.
posted by Doug at 3:40 PM on November 30, 2001

Nice catch, markavatar. First time in the outfield too, I see.
posted by lucien at 7:44 PM on November 30, 2001

Thanks, lucien. I've developed a sizeable dvd habit in recent months and these "what version to get / should I wait to see if they release a superedition" issues are something I've had to wring my hands over also. The market forces in the industry are pretty interesting... a combination of geek tech and pop culture.

The new Almost Famous dvd seems to be getting good reviews. I was surprised to see the bootleg director's cut has 35 or so extra minutes.
posted by markavatar at 8:44 PM on November 30, 2001

You're way ahead of me. I'm still baffled by the local zoning laws and chuffed that my playstation 2 plays the incredibly diverse (sarcasm) selection of DVD's available in Australia for zone 2.
posted by lucien at 11:57 PM on November 30, 2001

Almost Famous is yet another in a long line of Universal movies to do this. Universal has a habit of screwing the DVD collector by releasing double disc special editions up to 12 months later.

After buying DVDs like American Pie and The Mummy (both Universal releases) before they came out as double DVD sets I feel your pain. Now days, instead of buying a Universal DVD right away, when it is on sale, this trend has put breaks on my DVD buying. Now days if I see a film from Universal that I want to get on DVD I wait a year to see if they are going to release it as a double disc set.

Universal pics that have second, Ultimate or special editions released after the first single-disc edition:

American Pie
The Mummy
Almost Famous
Notting Hill
Meet Joe Black
Cats (yes, the musical has two editions)
Patch Adams (3 vrsions)

I would not be shocked to see 'Ultimate Editions' of these other Universal DVD's I own:

Casino
Field of Dreams
Half-Baked (OK, so I am wishing here)
Dazed & Confused
Galaxy Quest

If Universal doesn't figure out that they are pissing of DVD enthusiasts then they are going to see a much lower initial sales volume from their first DVD releases.
posted by DragonBoy at 10:20 AM on December 1, 2001