I'm Obsessed with... DVD Chapters

[azul017]

Oh no...will this mean Harry Potter 4 won't have a chapter insert?

I'm guessing we won't - if you've ever been to Davis DVD, Warner Brothers are putting the proof of purchase tabs above the UPC symbols on the back. Unless they have a change of heart... no more chapter inserts.

[Lazario]

Paramount does a good job, sometimes, on their special editions, especially for Star Trek, Top Gun, Forrest Gump, and a couple of their old movies, like Sunset Boulevard and To Catch A Thief. But the majority of their catalogue titles are completely barebones.

I think we're going to see Paramount rising a little more from the ashes they buried themselves in with a whole host of Collector's Edition re-issues. It pretty much began with the Star Trek and Friday the 13th movie series, which were the very first examples of Paramount re-releasing any of their older titles that had already seen a first release. Now, everything's getting a re-release: Top Gun, Footloose, and soon- Clueless, The Truman Show, McLintock!, Witness, the original War of the Worlds, Star Trek Nemesis, Hondo, and several more. Anyway, I'd say even before Disney, this year Paramount is the busiest studio in the special edition department.

[Escapay]

Whoa, there's gonna be a collector's edition of Clueless???? I knew I was holding off on buying that movie for a reason.

Laz, do you know if there's gonna be a Breakfast at Tiffany's CE?

Escapay

[Lazario]

Laz, do you know if there's gonna be a Breakfast at Tiffany's CE?

At this stage, a collector's edition of Breakfast at Tiffany's is only tentative. I know how long fans have been clammoring for it. Longer than Clueless and a hell of a lot longer than anyone's screamed for a special edition of Tommy Boy.

And as for Clueless:

This edition will be out 1 week from this Tuesday. Along with the Tommy Boy special edition. Tommy Boy apparently will be 2-discs while Clueless's number of discs is yet unknown.

[Escapay]

LMAO, I love how it's called the "Whatever" Edition.

I heard about the Tommy Boy CE. Didn't see the movie, and I don't really care much for Chris Farley anyway.

IIRC, there's an SE of Airplane! coming out called the "Don't Call Me Shirley" Edition, or something. And I vaguely remember reading a year ago that there's gonna be a Ferris Bueller CE, but I don't know if it was just a rumor or something tentative for now.

Escapay

[Lazario]

I heard about the Tommy Boy CE. Didn't see the movie.

Trust me, it's the pits. I liked it a little when I first saw it, but I watched it again recently, and it's truly a horrid piece of trash. Quite possibly the worst film to come from the Saturday Night Live cast / sketch.

Right now, I don't see a listing for a re-issue of Ferris Bueller. The Airplane! re-issue is due for release on November 15th. Cool enough.

[Escapay]

I heard about the Tommy Boy CE. Didn't see the movie.

Trust me, it's the pits. I liked it a little when I first saw it, but I watched it again recently, and it's truly a horrid piece of trash. Quite possibly the worst film to come from the Saturday Night Live cast / sketch.

Right now, I don't see a listing for a re-issue of Ferris Bueller. The Airplane! re-issue is due for release on November 15th. Cool enough.

Woohoo! A lot of DVDs to buy in November!

Thanks for the tip about Tommy Boy. CE doesn't necessarily mean good movie, thank god.

Escapay

[magicalwands]

Oh no...will this mean Harry Potter 4 won't have a chapter insert?

I'm guessing we won't - if you've ever been to Davis DVD, Warner Brothers are putting the proof of purchase tabs above the UPC symbols on the back. Unless they have a change of heart... no more chapter inserts.

Warner Brothers should just make Harry Potter in the digipacks again so they can slap on the chapter inserts inside of the case. Then make Harry Potter 3 in a digipack as well.

[azul017]

I like the digipaks they did for the first two movies, but they were just inconvenient to pull out and put back in (you had to fold out the packaging in order to get to the movie or watch the extras). Plus, if you happen to watch the movies a lot, the cardboard on both the slipcover and digipak shows serious signs of wear (particularly my copy of the second movie). To me, the Amaray release of Harry Potter 3 was a welcome change than the flimsy digipaks - much more durable, attractive, and easier to get in and out of.

I'm glad that Warner switched to keep cases, and I won't mind an absence of a chapter insert once the fourth movie comes out on DVD. It's what the DVD has on it that matters.

[azul017]

Nothing, I just wanted to bump this thread to add some more thoughts about chapter placement within recent DVDs. It seems that Disney is progressively getting better at puttting in more chapters in their live-action titles. But then it depends on how successful the film itself actually is.

Compared to 2003's surprise hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had a measly 16 chapters, the subsequent sequel is divided into a more generous 28 chapters. And The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy were divided into 24 chapters each -- nice touch on Disney's part.

But Universal is more iffy on the chapter placements. For their 3-hour long movies (or close to 3 hours long) the number of chapter placements vacillate widely. Munich is a 164-minute long film, and it's divided into a mere 20 chapters. Peter Jackson's 188-minute long King Kong, however, is divided into 50 chapters.

Warner Brothers also vary too. Most of the times their standard is 28 chapters for films that did middling to poor box office, but sometimes it goes down to 22 (Poseidon) or goes up to 30 (Beerfest). But I do commend their consistency on their treatment for their superhero revivals of Batman Begins and Superman Returns -- the former has 40 chapters and the latter has 41. (I am at a loss as to why Harry Potter 4 gets 29 chapters -- it was a box-office hit for one!)

I do admire Fox and Sony's chapter consistency, though. The standard for Sony is 24 or 28 chapters, while Fox follows the same pattern. Paramount is slowly improving but still needs to boost up the number of chapters for each movie they release -- 15 to 17 for each movie still isn't cutting it.

[Lazario]

Sony is really iffy on this sort of thing - only in the past few years. When they first acquired MGM's library, they began giving them 12 chapters - as of October 2005. Their more recent release of the Roadhouse Deluxe Edition however, had 28. And I believe that included the End Credits, which is not Sony's style. Yes, they usually budget 28 - but they never (only once I've ever seen) had the 28th chapter be the Credits. And MGM's special editions are always 32 chapters. With the exception of the 2004 special edition included on the Species Trilogy boxset, of Species - 16.

And they released a DVD of a movie called Cover Girl. Which had a very measely 16 chapters, total, or right around there.

[numba1lostboy]

Ha, I'm always releived to find that people on this site share the same OCD about DVDs as I do. I love the chapters too. I love looking at the scene selection menu on some DVDs because sometimes the studios pu cool animation in them. The Star Wars chapter menus are hands-down my favorite, though. I share the hatred for sudios that don't break-up the movie into an adequate number of chapters. For instance, Freaky Friday (2003) had 12 chapters (I think), and I hate it. I love the LOTR DVDs because they have, like, a million chapters (with a cool select-a-scene menu to boot).

I'm also a sucker for the DVD inserts. When I buy a DVD without a chapter insert, I feel gyped. Why does the case come with the little tabby-thingies if the studio isn't going to spring for inserts?? Sometimes, if is a movie i really like, I'll create my own DVD insert. I've done that for Phantom of The Opera, Spider-Man 2, Peter Pan (2004), Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Shrek 2, and Heartbreakers.
I waste so much time on these little projects, it's not even funny.

[Lazario]

Sometimes, if is a movie i really like, I'll create my own DVD insert. I've done that for Phantom of The Opera, Spider-Man 2, Peter Pan (2004), Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Shrek 2, and Heartbreakers. I waste so much time on these little projects, it's not even funny.

Ha. I don't do that, just because it takes too long. But I used to do that with CD booklets when DVDs first started coming out and I imagined that the CD cases would be the same size as DVDs. Because I was told the discs would be. So I would create CD-foldout booklets for DVD movies. But no one I knew (that I knew of) had any DVDs or a player yet. And back then - just imagine how many movies hadn't been released yet, and how expensive the discs were. Trying telling Those people at That time that VHS was inferior!! It certainly was Priced as though it were, but who the heck could have afforded to spend the darn money?!

I have several projects related to DVD chapters though. For one, I write down all the times of all the chapters on Every DVD I own and keep them in a stack (it's not That thick, but getting thicker all the time) of paper. Later, I plan to catalog the chapters. Just to see what the longest, shortest chapters are of all my DVDs. Then, what are the longest and shortest chapters of each studio, etc. Most and least chapter groups. The list goes on, if I think about it.

Next, I plan on writing down all the Times of all of my DVD bonus features, and adding them up. To see how Much time of bonus features I have total is - for all my DVDs. To see how many Days it would take me to watch them all. I've thought this out so far, that the first consideration I took was to remind myself to exclude Repeat features, like Bonus Trailers and such. Or non-animated / Slideshow organized photo galleries and storyboard presentations.

I am so obsessed with DVD chapters, I have even made lists of how I would chapter the movies I love if I owned a company who put chapters on movies.

I wonder - do studios hire companies to chapter their programs? Or do they have people do it themselves? What instructions do they give them? What technology does it take to do this / how is it done?

[azul017]

Sony is really iffy on this sort of thing - only in the past few years. When they first acquired MGM's library, they began giving them 12 chapters - as of October 2005. Their more recent release of the Roadhouse Deluxe Edition however, had 28. And I believe that included the End Credits, which is not Sony's style. Yes, they usually budget 28 - but they never (only once I've ever seen) had the 28th chapter be the Credits. And MGM's special editions are always 32 chapters. With the exception of the 2004 special edition included on the Species Trilogy boxset, of Species - 16.

And they released a DVD of a movie called Cover Girl. Which had a very measely 16 chapters, total, or right around there.

Hate to bump this up, but Sony never goes above 28 chapters (unless the movie is really long) for each modern movie they release on DVD. Only Spider-Man 2 is the lone exception - a whopping 52 chapters, and the final chapter is the end credits. But it's sad to see Disney going back to the 16 chapters or less front for their modern live-action releases, such as Bridge to Terabithia and Wild Hogs.

And Paramount has grown progressively better with the number of chapters and the placement, but they have varied wildly (Face/Off has 40 chapters!). Blades of Glory (which runs around 90 minutes) has 12, but Next, a movie roughly the same length, has 18 chapters. I'm hoping that Stardust gets the same chapter treatment as the latter...

[Lazario]

Back in '97, Sony/Columbia-TriStar used to do far more than 28 chapters. Examples are, the first editions/releases of: The Net (1995), The Craft (1996), and I believe, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

However, now that 20th Century Fox is some kind of partner now, MGM's DVDs have gone from 12 or 16 chapters being the standard, to 20. Which is good for the new releases of Night of the Comet, The Burning, Scarecrows, Solarbabies (if I'm not mistaken), and Sometimes They Come Back (which I couldn't find a listing for, last I looked, but still it could be there somewhere).

And Paramount has grown progressively better with the number of chapters and the placement, but they have varied wildly (Face/Off has 40 chapters!). Blades of Glory (which runs around 90 minutes) has 12, but Next, a movie roughly the same length, has 18 chapters. I'm hoping that Stardust gets the same chapter treatment as the latter...

Yes, I thought it was 2006 when they were starting to improve, but they are the only company that just goes back and forth, looking like they'll never make up their mind to what the standard should be. Some days, 11 chapters seems to suffice. Next day, 18 or 19. They're not at all consistent, probably never will be. I was just impressed that Hellraiser III got 16 chapters after Orca the Killer Whale and The Prophecy both got 11. Another thing... for a special edition, they'll never update their chapters when most other companies always do: MGM, Anchor Bay, 20th Century Fox, Disney / Buena Vista, Universal.

[azul017]

Another company inconsistent with the number of chapters they place on their DVDs is Miramax. Yes, they're distributed by Buena Vista now, but even the Touchstone and Disney DVD releases have had a consistent amount of chapter listings (like 16, 24, or 28).

Back then they gave movies a generous amount of chapter placements, like An Ideal Husband (which got 29 chapters for a 90 minute film!), but now they vary wildly from 12 to 14 (The Hoax) to 16 (The Queen). Good night, BVHE, just set a standard for chapter selections and run with it!

And I found out that Sony has given their DVD release of Spider-Man 3 the same amount of chapters that graced Spider-Man 2: a whopping 52 chapters (the last one is end credits).

And Paramount is showing inconsistency AGAIN with their release of Transformers: that movie got a generous 23 chapters. It goes to show that companies like Fox, Warners, Universal, Lionsgate, and Sony know their stuff when it comes to choosing your favorite scenes in movies much more easily.

[Lazario]

This is how obsessed I am with DVD Chapters... I fake-make my own!

Here are some menus I did for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh:

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1. Opening Credits (2:03)
2. Winnie the Pooh (1:12)
3. Up, Down, Touch the Ground (2:49)
4. Rumbly in My Tumbly (1:33)
5. Christopher Robin (2:08)
6. Little Black Rain Cloud (2:13)
7. Attack of the Bees (1:49)
8. Lunch iwth Rabbit (2:21)
9. Pooh Gets Stuck (1:11)
10. Gopher (1:52)
11. Waiting to Get Thin (3:02)
12. Don't Feed the Bear! (1:23)
13. Today is the Day! (1:35)
14. Stuck Again (0:37)
15. The Blustery Day (1:23)
16. Happy Winds-Day (2:55)
17. Owl's House (2:54)
18. Anxious Sorts of Noises (1:06)
19. Tigger (2:43)
20. Heffalumps and Woozles (4:34)
21. The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down (2:24)
22. A Very Big Waterfall (1:43)
23. A Hero Party (2:28)
24. Hip Hip Pooh-ray! (1:39)
25. What Tiggers Do Best (1:58)
26. Meeting at Rabbit's (1:48)
27. Missing in the Mist (2:10)
28. The Very Same Sand Pit (2:34)
29. Lost and Bewildered (2:18)
30. Playing with Roo (1:17)
31. Ice Skating (1:11)
32. Up in the Treetop (1:19)
33. Four Sets of Paw Marks (1:56)
34. Tigger's Promise (3:00)
35. Everybody Bounce! (2:22)
36. The Last Chapter: We Say Goodbye (2:26)


The Chapters of Disney's DVD
1. Opening Credits / "Winnie the Pooh"
2. Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree
3. "Up, Down, Touch the Ground"
4. "Rumbly in My Tumbly"
5. "Little Black Rain Cloud"
6. Pooh Pays a Visit to Rabbit
7. Owl Tries to Help
8. Pooh Remains Stuck
9. Today is the Day
10. Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
11. Piglet and Pooh Visit Owl
12. A Blustery Day and a New Arrival
13. "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers"
14. "Heffalumps and Woozles"
15. "The Rain, Rain, Rain Came Down, Down, Down"
16. A Hero Party ("Hip Hooray for Winnie the Pooh")
17. Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too
18. Lost!
19. The First Snowfall
20. Pooh is Having a Problem
21. The Final Chapter

[Luke]

I've noticed that a number of studios don't even come up with chapter titles anymore. That must pose a creative challenge for you. And they're all begging for chapter listing inserts now as well.

[Lazario]

I've noticed that a number of studios don't even come up with chapter titles anymore. That must pose a creative challenge for you.

No, I've been doing this since I didn't have a DVD player. Used to do it with VHS.


Here's one I just finished for The Sword in the Stone:
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My Chapters
1. Opening Credits (1:40)
2. Storybook / Legend of the Sword (1:48)
3. The Dark Age (1:37)
4. Hunting with Kay (3:36)
5. Dropping In for Tea (3:49)
6. Higitus Figitus (2:09)
7. Plans for the Future (2:21)
8. Wizard In the Castle (2:42)
9. The Unwelcomed Guest Room (2:18)
10. Big News from London (3:00)
11. The Science of Jousting (1:58)
12. Fish Formula (2:19)
13. A Lack of Instinct (1:16)
14. That's What Makes the World Go Round (2:25)
15. Brain Over Brawn (3:17)
16. The Biggest Fish Story (1:48)
17. A Medieval Assembly Line (2:01)
18. Life As a Squirrel (3:10)
19. A Most Befuddling Thing (3:08)
20. The Greatest Force on Earth (2:47)
21. Kitchen Chaos (2:31)
22. Popping Off (1:55)
23. History in Reverse (2:15)
24. Man Will Fly (1:17)
25. Flying Lesson (2:35)
26. Madam Mim (2:50)
27. Mad Games (1:27)
28. Wizards' Duel (4:22)
29. Mim's Rare Disease (1:52)
30. Replacement Squire (1:08)
31. To Bermuda (1:22)
32. The Tournament (1:13)
33. Pulling the Sword (1:36)
34. The Miracle (1:34)
35. King Arthur (1:02)
36. A Great Legend / The End (1:23)


Disney's DVD Chapters
1. Opening Credits
2. The Legend of the Sword in the Stone
3. Wart Drops in for Tea
4. Higitus Figitus
5. At Sir Ector's Castle
6. Big News from London
7. Magical Education for Wart
8. That's What Makes the World Go Round
9. A Medieval Assembly Line
10. A Most Befuddling Thing
11. Meanwhile, Back at the Castle...
12. Archimedes Takes Over Wart's Education
13. Wart Tries His Wings
14. Madam Mim
15. The Duel of the Wizards
16. Wart is Made a Squire
17. King Arthur