The thing that gets me is that for films I’m really invested in, I’m always paranoid that the initial limited release with all the paper filler and the 2x, 3x, sometimes 4x (!) price point will contain a film cut not present in the subsequent releases.
For example, let’s say I prefer the theatrical cut of a film and the extended/director’s/some other cut is the only thing that seems to be able to get a release. The 4K limited edition comes out and it has both cuts on 4K. What are the chances subsequent releases aren’t just the revised cut?
Or take it the other way, preferring an extended cut you saw long ago but you can only get the theatrical now.
There’s only a handful of movies where this makes a difference for me, but I confess that I’ve paid the premium for the peace of mind of not having to wait for a follow-up release that may never come (and sometimes doesn’t).
For me it’s this but with bonus features. That’s one of the real benefits of physical media. But then you get shitty situations like recently with Leon where the regular 4k edition comes with a special anniversary documentary but the ultra steelbook edition doesn’t… It’s just not right. If you plump for the best of the best edition you should absolutely rightly expect it to come with all the content and bells and whistles or at the very least match that of the regular edition.
I think it’s safe to say the majority of the time, it will be the same disc with cheaper packaging. With 4K being niche, I can’t imagine that the studios would want to spend the money pressing a new version of the film.
The thing that gets me is that for films I’m really invested in, I’m always paranoid that the initial limited release with all the paper filler and the 2x, 3x, sometimes 4x (!) price point will contain a film cut not present in the subsequent releases.
For example, let’s say I prefer the theatrical cut of a film and the extended/director’s/some other cut is the only thing that seems to be able to get a release. The 4K limited edition comes out and it has both cuts on 4K. What are the chances subsequent releases aren’t just the revised cut?
Or take it the other way, preferring an extended cut you saw long ago but you can only get the theatrical now.
There’s only a handful of movies where this makes a difference for me, but I confess that I’ve paid the premium for the peace of mind of not having to wait for a follow-up release that may never come (and sometimes doesn’t).
For me it’s this but with bonus features. That’s one of the real benefits of physical media. But then you get shitty situations like recently with Leon where the regular 4k edition comes with a special anniversary documentary but the ultra steelbook edition doesn’t… It’s just not right. If you plump for the best of the best edition you should absolutely rightly expect it to come with all the content and bells and whistles or at the very least match that of the regular edition.
I think it’s safe to say the majority of the time, it will be the same disc with cheaper packaging. With 4K being niche, I can’t imagine that the studios would want to spend the money pressing a new version of the film.