September 14, 2004
DVDs... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes."
I was standing near the customer service counter at an electronics superstore recently, waiting patiently for them to search yet again for one of our family laptops. I thought I might even become a hip-hop-rap-new-music fan, since I no longer noticed the driving, thumping background music, on this, my fourth trip to the store.
With all of the teenage staffers having disappeared from sight, my gaze fell on the DVD rack with all the hot releases. To my surprise, I found it filled with such titles as The Greatest Story Ever Told,? Paul the Apostle? and The Last Temptation of Christ.? My confusion only rose when I saw a South Park character on yet another DVD entitled The Passion of the Jew? and a Life-of-Christ cartoon series offered Country Western sing-along hymns.
Stunned, I walked around to the other side. Every shelf was completely filled with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.?
Mystery solved. I wasn't in some dissociative fugue state, brought on by sensory assault.
Now, if they could only find our laptop.
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There was a time not so long ago when a movie was just a movie. If one caused a brouhaha, it lasted only about as long as it played in the theatres, and then it pretty much became an historical note. Whatever made it to TV had been cut to smithereens, but all that has changed now.
The DVD release of The Passion of the Christ? has broken a number of records, selling 9 million in its first week. While it hasn't matched the opening day record of Finding Nemo,? I'm hazarding a guess that you won't find Nemo being played to the homeless under freeway overpasses or to whole congregations of the faithful in makeshift theatres. What started in movie houses is now moving to the theatre of the street, of the community, and of the individual.
The official price of each DVD tops out at $29.95, with VHS at $24.95. But don't let this fool you. With discounts, the DVD version is the cheapest option, and it's because that's what's available..
Which got me thinking about the emergence of any new consumer technology.
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Americans started the 1950's with less than half-a-million television sets, and six short years later, they had 30 million. And the reason? Most people agree that it was Milton Berle. His live comedy show pretty much shut everything down on Tuesday nights, especially since you had to be there. With no ability to record, it was the coast-to-coast start of Be there, or be square.?
So what about DVD? The penetration of DVD players hasn't begun to approach the VCR, but with the release of The Passion of the Christ,? it's pretty obvious to me it's about to change.
The American buying public is ready to purchase this equipment right along with the DVD, even though all reviews state that it does not contain special features found on most DVDs.? And why? Because the producers don't need to lure you into buying it anymore. Later on, they will surely sell the Director's cut, special interviews, and a documentary of the making of the film. This first version of the DVD is only the beginning, mark my words.
While it doesn't seem quite right to mention Milton Berle and Jesus Christ in the same sentence, there's just no telling when something will come along that suddenly spurs everyone to take action.
I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.
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