Extras, extras

Harold and Kumar went to White Castle - problem was, nobody went with them. And if this was just a few years ago, they’d never go anywhere again.

THE DREAMERS

But now thanks to the DVD revolution (or because of, if you’re assigning blame), Harold and Kumar may soon be bound for Europe.

The catch? They have to sell a lot of DVDs.

"The DVD (release) gives us a chance to rectify (its poor box office)," Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle’s Kal Penn tells the Sun. "The movie can find an audience at its own pace."

And if it does, he confirms there’s a script - Harold & Kumar Go To Amsterdam - waiting in the wings.

That a sequel is even a possibility demonstrates how drastically DVDs have altered Hollywood’s way of thinking.

Culturally, DVDs have made even casual movie-goers full-fledged film geeks. There was a time if you didn’t own a laserdisc player, you rarely gained much insight into the creative or technical aspects of filmmaking. Not so anymore.

But, more significantly, the DVD has forged a new business template - one in which movies that were losers can become unlikely blockbusters. Because DVD, as opposed to VHS, is priced to sell rather than rent, DVD sales now account for at least half of an average film’s total revenue.

So critical are DVD sales that studios now throw premieres for a movie’s release - unheard of in the days of tape.

And it’s not just box-office losers thankful for a second chance who are experiencing the gold rush the DVD revolution has generated.

They can bolster the coffers of not just bombs, but blockbusters. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was a gigantic hit in theatres, raking in $314 million US in North America. But it earned $500 million US in DVD sales. Numbers like that become especially pertinent when you consider the budgets of pricey epics such as Alexander.

At a cost of $150 million US - and with the box office not likely to exceed a third of that - DVDs are the only way director Oliver Stone has a hope of breaking even.

It’s doubtful Alexander would have even been made without the advent of DVDs.

Fifteen years ago, the $100-million blockbuster was expected to be all but extinct due to escalating marketing costs and stagnant box-office attendance. DVD sales have now made such outrageous pricetags excusable. That’s partially because, with the amount of extraneous material available, it’s common for a studio to release multiple versions on DVD.

Do you want the Silver Screen Collection? Or the Ultimate Platinum Edition? This year’s Spider-Man 2 DVD is as exhaustive a compilation as any fan of the webhead could want - yet director Sam Raimi has already said there will be a Spider-Man 2.5 DVD special edition released prior to 2007’s Spider-Man 3.

Sometimes a DVD can help a movie find an even broader audience that may have stayed away when it was in theatres. 2000’s X-Men grossed $150 million US in North America. Hollywood logic would have the sequel do about 60% of that.

Yet following a well-received run on DVD, the sequel, X2, was released in 2003 to a box-office tally of $220 million US.

Similarly, each instalment of the Lord of the Rings films grossed more than the previous one.

So whatever you may hear about The Matrix sequels being duds, remember this - the DVD sales of the just-released Ultimate Matrix Collection will doubtlessly more than pay for Keanu Reeves’ $30 million US paycheque.

And, if all else fails, a studio can always release the unrated version. With Hollywood fearful of the R rating - which, because it limits the potential audience - studios now aim for a PG-13 rating in theatres, followed by an unrated DVD edition, which contains scenes too sexy or violent or profane for the more family-friendly PG-13.

Sometimes, even an R-rated movie is released unrated (The Girl Next Door, for example) in the hopes of enticing moviegoers with material they couldn’t see in theatres.

For film buffs with a seemingly insatiable appetite for behind-the-scenes footage, it provides a glimpse at not how a movie is made, but how it’s rated. Some of this is crass commercialism, of course - do we need an extended Girl Next Door? - but for some directors, it’s also the only way their movie can be seen as they intended it.

Similarly, creative folks - both in film and TV - now have a second chance at appreciation and success. Take, as examples, The Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane or Firefly’s Joss Whedon, both of whom have seen their cancelled shows reborn - either on the small or big screens - because the suits couldn’t argue with strong DVD sales.

So with 2004 marking yet another terrific year for DVD enthusiasts, on the opposite page are 10 titles that, if they’re not part of your collection already, probably should be.

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• THE STAR WARS TRILOGY

This box set collects the original trilogy - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi - and offers a fourth disc that’s packed with extras. It boasts more than four hours of footage and featurettes, the centrepiece of which is Empire of Dreams, a two-hour documentary that tracks the saga’s origins (Lucas wanted to pay homage to the 1930s adventure serials he had grown up with as a kid) to its iconic status as modern-day mythology. It’ll make you remember why you loved it in the first place.

• THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING SPECIAL EDITION

Oscar winner Peter Jackson has married film and DVD like no one before him - cutting the theatrical versions of his movies to a box-office-friendly length, while knowing full well the excised scenes would end up on the DVD. On one hand, I’m offended that the three-hour movie I paid $14 to sit through was incomplete. On the other hand, how can you deny the geek majesty of this masterfully-produced DVD and its prequels?

• THE WALT DISNEY TREASURES SERIES

This trio of DVDs collects priceless - and timeless - material dating back more than 70 years. The first DVD is devoted to Mickey Mouse, the second to his dog Pluto and the third to episodes of The Mickey Mouse Club TV series from the 1950s. Rarely is there truth in advertising - and rarer still in a title. But in calling these three DVDs treasures, Disney couldn’t have selected a truer or more worthy name.

• MARTIN SCORSESE COLLECTION

This five-disc set collects some of the director’s most challenging work - After Hours, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Goodfellas, Mean Streets and Who’s That Knocking At My Door? Scorsese contributes a commentary for each film.

• THE ROCKY ANTHOLOGY

This DVD set collects all five Rockys and parallels Stallone’s own career - from unknown to glitzy 1980s superstar, to Ronald Reagan-era Commie basher to, at last, a once-proud fighter too damaged by fame and time to ever recapture his former glory. Of course, the only great film of the bunch is the first Oscar-winning classic.

• CITY OF GOD

This sprawling crime epic about the slums of Rio is vibrant and grim, electric and sombre. The DVD includes a startling TV documentary about the real place.

• BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON SEVEN

The final season of this cult classic expertly nails - or should I say "stakes" - the deft balance between comedy and horror that exemplifies its best episodes. Various creative folks contribute commentary tracks.

• MARY POPPINS 40TH ANNIVERSARY

This lavish two-disc edition of the classic Julie Andrews family fantasy includes a new 50-minute documentary, commentary by actors Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and archival recordings from others including Walt Disney, a new animated short called The Cat That Looked Like A King, Van Dyke’s makeup test and I Love to Laugh Set Top Trivia Game.

• STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES

It’s illogical that a show with such a rabid fan base would go so long without being beamed up properly on DVD. Nevertheless, 2004 finally saw Kirk and Spock arrive in style.

• AMERICAN SPLENDOR

Fittingly for a movie that blends fact and fiction so memorably, the DVD of this excellent biopic about underground cartoonist Harvey Pekar includes a featurette that follows the real Pekar and his family to the premieres in Hollywood, Sundance and Cannes.

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BEST OF THE B FLICKS

One of the pleasures of DVDs is discovering small films that never received much of a theatrical release. Without the pressure of weekend box-office performance - which can often see a film immediately bumped off screens - smaller efforts can thrive and find loyal audiences on DVD. Here are a few 2004 releases worth checking out if you’re in the mood for a movie or two:

• THE COOLER: William H. Macy and Maria Bello are excellent in this unlikely love story about a luckless loser whose new romance threatens his casino gig as "a cooler" - someone whose luck is so bad, he spoils the good fortune of others around him.

• INFERNAL AFFAIRS: Smart, stylish police thriller in the tradition of John Woo. This Chinese hit is being remade by Martin Scorsese for Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.

• THE DREAMERS: Bernardo Bertolucci’s tale of erotic intrigue and political activism in 1960s Paris garnered positive reviews at January’s Sundance but went unheralded in theatres, largely due to its NC-17 rating. So in the comfort of your own home - and considering you probably have an unrated version of Old School in your collection - now’s the chance to sample this smart drama that views sex as the stuff of adult interplay, not juvenile pratfalls.

• SHATTERED GLASS: Hayden Christensen plunges headlong to the dark side. No, not in his future role as Darth Vader in Episode III, but as a young, accomplished journalist whose life disintegrates when his editor learns his stories - and sources - are pure fiction.

• SPARTAN: Playwright David Mamet (Wag The Dog, House of Games) rejuvenates the well-worn political thriller with this tale of a covert operative (Val Kilmer, left) searching for the kidnapped daughter of the President. Dark and twisty, this movie unfolds like one of Mamet’s on-screen con games. William H. Macy and Derek Luke provide able support to Kilmer, who is sensational as a soldier who finds himself stranded in a conspiracy in which the only compass he has is his own battered sense of justice.

• RIPLEY’S GAME: John Malkovich convincingly assumes the role of Tom Ripley, the sociopath played in The Talented Mr. Ripley by Matt Damon. This thriller was dumped by its distributor, despite a compelling screenplay and solid work from its cast, particularly from its creepy, charismatic leading man.