You are shopping for DVDs and/or Blu-rays. But the same movie has different covers, different options, much confusion. Even the raunchy, crazy comedy The Hangover is out this week in a variety of editions.
Yet there are basic rules, even about standard DVDs — as opposed to the Special Edition Blu-ray versions which, in this case, are all the same in terms of content. They vary only with The Hangover collectibles included, depending on where you buy the Blu-ray.
On DVD, Todd Phillips’ road movie is typical of many new releases. The Hangover comes in a movie-only edition with no extras. It is intended either for rental or for people who don’t bother with bonus materials (a quick survey in my own office reveals that people are split 50-50 between those who want just the movie and those who want more). Note that the basic DVD offers only the theatrical cut of The Hangover.
Then there is a Special Edition DVD. It has two cuts: the theatrical and an extended cut eight minutes and six seconds longer. This is for fans who can’t get enough of the hijinks that Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha get into during their bachelor party in Las Vegas.
“This is a movie that I think people really want more of!” a grinning Bartha says in an interview in Vegas this week.
The Special Edition also has a lot of extras, including a photo gallery of 100 snapshots that fill in some gaps in our knowledge about what those goofs did that first night in Vegas. Other bonuses are making-of materials.
Fans can read more about The Hangover and its Vegas home entertainment launch on Saturday (my interview with Heather Graham) and Sunday (Phillips explains his approach to extended cut and extras).
