What’s the name of that classic movie, the one where the giant shark harasses a coastal town in Massachusetts? Ah yes, that’s right: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat. And what’s the one where Al Pacino is a gangster with a weird accent? Yup, it’s Say Hello To My Little Friend. Well, at least that’s what it appeared those movies were called when comedian Paul Scheer took a trip to his local Target yesterday.
As is clear in the photo, Target is marketing these Blu-rays as “Classic Quote Packaging only at [Target]”, as though these covers were some kind of desirable collectable feature that didn’t make it look like the film came from a $3.99 bin at the gas station.
There’s plenty that’s bad and dumb about these covers. For one thing, as Scheer points out, they make it look like the quote is the title of the movie, since that’s what’s written in giant text where you’d expect to see a title. (Notably, this has become a problem for some actual movie posters as well. Just looking at this poster for Seth Rogen’s latest movie at a brief glance, would you say it’s called Long Shot, or Feel Something Different? It’s equally hard to discern the title of Rebel Wilson’s latest film.)
For another thing, all these movies, even fucking Fletch, have actual, much better posters that surely any movie fan would rather have on their shelf than this garbage. And, perhaps worst of all, as many people pointed out on Twitter, this particular aesthetic of a still image from the movie combined with the dialogue from the scene pictured written in a blaring Impact-style font makes these covers look exactly like internet memes.
Yes, it appears the DVD industry, in dire straits, has turned to memes to try to get the youth of today to purchase physical copies of movies (think of them like shiny frisbees that play Netflix), instead of just loading up Parks and Recreation yet again. This absolutely will not work, but it did give folks a chance to reimagine some more films in the, uh, Classic Quote Packing style.
Best of luck to DVDs—you’re gonna need a better marketing plan.
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34 Comments
Ewww, physical media.
1. I actually kind of like these.2. Sooooooo… I have started buying a small amount of physical media again. Netflix keeps dropping stuff I love, and with their increasing drive to original content, it’s no longer the great repository of older movies and tv shows I primarily use it for. I’m glad I own Wayne’s World, Almost Famous, Community, and Futurama. I’m VERY glad I own Newsradio, which hasn’t been online in years now. I need a different service to watch Letterkenny. Disney+ is going to see the removal of even more from Netflix. No plans have been announced for Disney+ Canada, so I don’t know if we’ll see it in fall, but if I ditch Netflix for D+, then I’m out Archer and other shows. Brooklyn 99 is another one. I mean, obviously bluray and dvd sales are continuing to tank. But at the same time I’m leery about the future of streaming right now and all the great stuff that will be forgotten.
Newsradio is on Crackle.
The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd! Baseball is back on wnyx!
I’m Bill McNeal on crack. I like boys.
Don’t worry most of us will be dead very soon and the rest of us won’t have any electricity so there’s literally nothing to worry about…
Does Canada have access to Hulu?Letterkenny, Archer, and Brooklyn 99 are all on Hulu here in the states.
Nope. B99 and archer are on Netflix Canada (for now). Letterkenny is available on a Canadian only streaming service called crave.
Physical media like Blue ray and DVD’s will never die for the same reason physical books will never die.
Re: “Yes, it appears the DVD industry, in dire straits, has turned to memes…”Or, as it says right on the packaging: Money For Nothing.We’re going to need a bigger quote.;)
If they want to make a strong case for physical media, they should highlight all the shenanigans going on with the various streamers who adding and remove content at will. In a world without physical home media, that is a scary prospect, for a particular title to quite literally disappear because Netflix or Disney or what have you has removed it. It’s why I still have, and continue to buy physical media, so I know I can have my favorite titles always available. As a filmmaker, this is especially important for me, as I frequently turn to one title or another for visual references, and so my collection is as much a reference library to which I am always adding and maintaining.
I’m actually surprised sellers of DVDs and blu-rays haven’t resorted to blatant fear-mongering. Instead they kind of rely on some of us to do it ourselves. Which can’t be the most efficient approach.I recognize that all the discs in my closet will eventually disintegrate, but until then I won’t have to Google “where to watch Prospero’s Books online” (answer: nofuckingwhere).
so I know I can have my favorite titles always available Exactly. I’m fine with streaming when it’s something I want to watch, but … As an example, I felt like watching Firefly / Serenity a few weeks ago, and it was (suddenly, to me, although I’m sure it was announced and warned about when it happened, on this site and others) not on Netflix anymore!So – good thing I have the dvds. This happens to me often enough that I don’t tend to get rid of dvds unless I’m absolutely sure I will never watch them again, or want to make someone else watch them…
You nailed it. It’s a scary prospect for those of us who like content outside of the mainstream. Because really, shows like The Office or Friends will always be available. But what about Firefly, or other shows or films that are really deep cuts. My bookshelf is full of silent films and foreign films with subtitles and the kind of obscure stuff that, were it not for home media, I would be really, really concerned about how I’d access this kind of content, Let’s face it, Netflix is not in the business of programming Russian films made during the Soviet era, or Danish silent films. We all saw what could happened, when Filmstruck went under, and suddenly a lot of really important, but decidedly not-mainstream content suddenly faced becoming unavailable. Thank goodness Criterion stepped up, but if something happens to them, physical media might be the only way one can access the rarities of cinema, and that scares me.
I mean, have the best of both worlds. Buy it digital on Amazon and stream it
I’ll buy a digital copy of something I kinda like if it’s cheap, mostly because I like collecting movies. But if it’s a movie I REALLY like, that I know I’ll want to rewatch several times at least, I always buy the blu-ray.I never buy ANY stand-alone digital copy that costs more than $5.00.
Streaming/on demand was and is a superior replacement for all other forms of movie rental, so it’s no surprise that it supplanted Blockbuster/Redbox/Netflix discs. But for movies I want to own, I’m sticking with physical media.
Yeah, I’m cool with ‘buying’ digital copies of the Marvel movies through Amazon Prime. But stuff like Casablanca, Double Indemnity, Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, or even Big Trouble in Little China and Buckaroo Banzai is going to be on physical media.
Even that’s problematic for me. I don’t usually get streaming hiccups, but they CAN happen, and it’s annoying when it does. More importantly, Netflix’s DVD library is about 5,000 times more extensive than their streaming library. I’d give up Netflix streaming before I’d give up their DVD mail service, because that’s the only way I can get a lot of the material they carry.There’s no really good reason that EVERYTHING’S not available digitally now. But until it is, availability is one of the strongest reasons to stick with physical media.
You’re going to need a library of just The Princess Bride because of all the standout quotes.
The problem with digital media is that it can disappear. The TV show Louie was available on Netflix but now is only available for purchase at other sites. The Monkees movie HEAD is still unavailable digitally. Considering the revolution in streaming services that has barely begun, it’s impossible to say what’s going to be available in 10 years. I’m guessing Marvel movies and Disney movies will still be ubiquitous, but who’s to say what circumstances and societal changes will make what treasured entertainment a pariah in the future, or if not a pariah just simply unprofitable. UltraViolet just closed down and I wonder how many people lost movies they paid for simply because they didn’t have a physical copy. In other words, I’m still buying the blu-rays.
I still have Head on VHS somewhere…
So far my DVD collection is the only place to watch Wonderfalls, so by that argument alone, I say DVD wins.
On that note; who wants to come over and watch Wonderfalls?
Let me guess:“Whoa” Is a 20-pack of flicks.
Okay but the box set of “I didn’t come here to make friends” will set you back about 5,000 bucks.
I still buy DVDs because I don’t believe we really own digital purchases long term (iTunes, Xfinity etc.).Is there some way to buy digital that cannot in anyway be reverted or otherwise touched by the original seller?
I only “buy” digital media from Amazon, just because I can be reasonably certain that Amazon isn’t going anywhere and it’s not tied to a service I’ll probably discontinu eventually (like Comcast).
What should be saving physical media is cool bonus features. Studios started getting lazy about that stuff right around the time streaming started becoming a thing.
I really thought this was an Onion article.
The vast majority of DVDs and Blu-rays of movies have covers that are uglier than those movies’ original poster art.
This isn’t that terrible; I own copies of “Revenge of the Nerds: Panty Raid Edition” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Those Aren’t Pillows Edition”.
And those aren’t just slipcovers; it actually says that on the disc itself. I suppose I should be lucky it wasn’t “Revenge of the Nerds: We’ve Got Bush Edition.”
This isn’t that terrible; I own copies of “Revenge of the Nerds: Panty Raid Edition” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Those Aren’t Pillows Edition”.
And those aren’t just slipcovers; it actually says that on the disc itself. I suppose I should be lucky it wasn’t “Revenge of the Nerds: We’ve Got Bush Edition.”
Sometimes you see a headline and you need to double check you didn’t click on the “Click Hole” or “The Onion” tabs at the top.
When the great streaming service splintering happens, BluRay and piracy is going to have a big bump in popularity again.Plus, I just bought a 4k player and TV so I’d like the actual media to stick around for a while.
These movies cost too much and I only want to watch them once. Someone should open up a store where I can rent these for a day or two.