Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DVD packaging

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 10-02-2002, 07:04 PM:

I do not know if you all agree with me but I have been very impressed with the way some DVDs have been packaged lately. Although almost everyone at various DVD forums have expressed how much they dislike cardboard covers, I think most of them are very nice. The only cardborad covers I still dislike are the so called 'Snappers" Warner Brothers is still using on almost all of their releases both old and new. Other than that, covers for Warner's two disc releases including "AMADEUS", "ONE FLEW OVER THE COOKOOS NEST", "SINGING IN THE RAIN" and "UNFORGIVING" are very nice. Even the covers for Disney's Vista series including "PEARL HARBOR" is nice. The only think I dislike about the "PEARL HARBOR" collection is the way each disc is individually enclosed in a envelope that make disc handling very tricky. Although almost everyone hate them, I think the thin cover for "PANIC ROOM" is very nice and I can find nothing wrong with the "GREASE" cover. Many said it looks cheap but I disagree. The Warner keepcase does indeed look cheap but not some of the new cardboard covers. Another packaging I like is the way "24", "THE CIVIL WAR" and many recent TV series on DVD are packaged.

-Claude.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 10-02-2002, 07:45 PM:

Hi Claude
Paramount is using it on the "Saturday Night Fever" disc also.
But the rest of that series "Flashdance", "Footloose", "Urban
Cowboy" and "Stayin' Alive" use the old Amaray type cases.
One thing Paramount did was to try with "Grease" disc was to
add a outer packaging for the US/Canada market. (Like afew
of the special editions from MGM had)

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-02-2002, 07:52 PM:

I am perfectly happy with the Amaray boxes, but I do not like many of their rip-offs. The actual Amarays make it easy to pop the disc out, while the imitations do not. I like the size of the box and I like the clear plastic that covers the paper insert. There is also room on the inside for an insert. I wish all DVDs would choose this as standard packaging. Having a whole bunch of different DVD cases sitting next to eachother on a shelf looks very odd indeed.

For the record, I do not like the Warner cases (they look and feel cheap). I also do not like the way the Simpsons DVDs come packaged. Very bizarre and sometimes I fold it back up incorrectly, which is easy to do. I don't care for the tin can that Akira comes in. I am not sure why certain DVDs feel that they need special packages like that. It doesn't make the movie any more special. Maybe they are like that just so people feel like they are getting more for their money when they pay too much for a certain DVD.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 10-02-2002, 07:55 PM:

Did anyone have a tough time getting Singin in the Rain out of the packaging? I almost snapped disc 1 before finally getting it out. And yes, I'm aware of how to get these discs out, but this thing was almost glued to the center ring.

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 10-02-2002, 07:59 PM:

Joe

Did you like the packaging for the Special Edition of "Basic Instinct"
the one with the little ICE PICK pen?

The Amaray boxes are the Best ones.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 10-02-2002, 08:21 PM:

I haven't seen the packaging for Basic Insinct, so I can't whine about it.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 10-02-2002, 08:31 PM:

MiKe,

Although I like the "SINGING IN THE RAIN" case very much, I do agree with you that the discs were very difficult to remove from the plastic hubs. One will need to be very patient when removing discs when they are packaged this way. Although the "SINGING IN THE RAIN" was difficult, "AMADEUS" was not too bad. By the way, I loved the new transfer for both "SINGING IN THE RAIN" and "AMADEUS" I did not get to watch the rest of "AMADEUS" in my home theatre after viewing the first half on a express bus to Honolulu last week. I just did not feel like driving that day into the city so I took my portable DVD player with me and watched as much of the movie as I could during the commute. Watching movies on a bus is a great way to catch up on my backlog of DVDs I bought but did not watch yet.

Bill,

I am happy Paramount is using the cardboard cover for "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER" and feel they should also use it with the others. I have been waiting for "SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER" and "FLASHDANCE" ever since DVDs were first introduced in 1997. I felt that Jennifer Beals looked awesome in "FLASHDANCE" and I did enjoy the songs. I like "SATURDAY NIGH FEVER" and I consider it to be one of John Travolta's best movie.

-Claude

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 10-02-2002, 11:25 PM:

Artisan Entertainment's packaging of "Basic Instinct" was a total misfire. The concept was decent (an elegant clear plastic case holding the disc and an ice pick that's really an ink pen). The execution of it was horrible. The DVD is not secure. It is just balanced on some little blue foam thingie and the disc can rattle loose and fall all over the inside of the case.

Artisan came up with that package about the same time as the strange "Total Recall" SE package, which included a very flimsy paperboard case expected to hold this little metal biscuit of a disc container. Unlike "Basic Instinct", at least that one had a freaking lid!

I hate snappers. Totally flimsy. The only advantage to them at all is full bleed printing across the entire case. And that is the only failing of the Amaray/Keepcase containers. You just have some little paper insert under a clear plastic sheet. It really is kind of cheezy in appearance. But the plastic cases do a better job protecting the disc(s).

My favorite DVD package design is still "Fight Club". That's a paperboard 2 disc case that actually works well. The graphic design is agressive and cutting edge. That separate sleeve to hold the booklet on "how to start a fight" is an excellent touch that far surpasses any 2 disc plastic case. All they seem to have is little tabs to hold in the booklet.

Overall, I like it when DVDs are released with unique package designs. But the video companies really need to have quality and durability factored into the unique designs. Otherwise you get weird cases that don't work very well, such as the strange package design of the 2-disc "Close Encounters" DVD.

Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 10-02-2002, 11:42 PM:

Basic Instinct comes in 2 different packages, one is the one with the ice pick pen and the other is the standard amaray case.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 10-03-2002, 01:04 PM:

My friend used to scan the WB case covers, print them out, and put them in the outer sleeve of an empty amaray case. He would still keep the original boxes in a drawer, but put all the amaray ones on his shelf. This got to be time-consuming, so he stopped, but it was a good idea for people who have to have everything neat, even, and uniform on a shelf, like me.

=TMP=

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 07-29-2003, 04:40 PM:

quote:
Having a whole bunch of different DVD cases sitting next to eachother on a shelf looks very odd indeed.

Brings to mind the boxes that Disney uses for VHS releases. Known around my house as "The big ugly white boxes that won't fit in the drawer with the rest of the movies."

I know I'll probably get flamed for this, but I honestly don't have a problem with the "snapper" cases. They fit in about the same amount of shelf space as the Amarays, they hold the discs better than some of the "Amaray-style" ( [bs]

) cases I've seen (one case would not hold the disc on the little plastic hub and another took about 3 minutes just to get the disc out, but only 3 seconds to put it back).

I don't like when additional printed matter comes with a DVD, it's just another thing that can get lost. The 3rd DVD that I bought was "Twelve Monkeys" (Non-DTS Edition) it comes with a printed insert that has a short article about the making of the film. Everything in this article is repeated either in the filmmaker commentary, the production notes section of the disc, or the very interesting documentary "The Hamster Factor, and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys" there is no point to this thing having been included. Most DVDs that I've seen come with a printed insert that has the front cover artwork on one side and a chapter list on the other side (again, information that can be obtained from the disc itself). In the cases where there is some sort of printed matter involving the production of the film, the same information can be included on the disc, thereby saving the paper it took to make the insert.

Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 08-05-2003, 10:32 AM:

I think the packaging for a DVD box is important. When I saw the "Basic Instinct" I almost bought it because of the packaging. It looked cool and the pin/ice pick nice idea, it show thought and creativity. I thought the "Total Recall" package was cool also. Wish more DVD companies would do this.

The snap cases are cheap and I don't like the look but they work and I have grown to like them. The "Lord of the Rings" special 4 disc set is also annoying. It folds out and the DVDs are a pain to get out. Then if you want the book shelf holders that is another 20 bucks. [Mad]

I hate DVD's that open like an according. The tin covers are nice looking, but you rip off your finger nails when trying to open it.