Why does Will Smith always seem to come in a tin?
I don't believe it's anything necessarily to do with last year's rumours about his bad breath (http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/2007/08/13/will_smiths_breath_stuns_fan_on_set_of_hancock.php), but Smith's films do seem to come in for regular, heavy-duty, packaging-based protection when released on DVD. I Am Legend follows in the wake of his other genre outings I, Robot and the Men in Black two-movie double pack, by being released in a super deluxe, steel jewel-cased edition.
There's a lot of it about, of course: The Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, the remixed Sin City, the double-disc version of Pan's Labyrinth, Transformers, and not forgetting the multi-disc release of Blade Runner - all lovingly mounted in hinged boxes vaguely reminiscent of those slightly tacky "pen and propelling pencil" gift sets you occasionally see lurking in Woolworth's dump bins following a lacklustre Christmas.
A lot of 'em are manufactured by Steelbook (http://www.steelbook.com), whose promotional line, "YOU CAN JUDGE the book by looking at the cover", makes me cringe for a number of reasons, not least the really obvious one: These aren't books. They're movies. But there you go...
On an environmental level, I was unmoved by one overheard observation to the effect that these tins are "kinder to the planet" than traditional plastic DVD jewel-cases. Largely because most of them contain an inner plastic lining (with remarkably sharp edges, actually) to contain the disc/s within the tin structure. However, as presumed "luxury items" with somewhat limited general appeal (and corresponding production runs), it's all down to fanboy aesthetics, really, as to who's going to give a toss. Nevertheless, I find it ironic that CD singles (sales forever plummeting, as people opt for digital downloads over hard plastic) are increasingly being issued in miserable, conscience-bolstering-but-otherwise-flimsy-and-naff cardboard sleeves, whilst oil-based plastic DVD boxes continue to rule the roost. Or at least the stores' shelves...
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"No, officer. We're just minding this 72-inch plasma screen TV for one of our neighbours. And we always go running at this time of night..."
LiveJournal is a friend of community policing. Why not blog about your housebreaking and burglary activities today?
There's a lot of it about, of course: The Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer, the remixed Sin City, the double-disc version of Pan's Labyrinth, Transformers, and not forgetting the multi-disc release of Blade Runner - all lovingly mounted in hinged boxes vaguely reminiscent of those slightly tacky "pen and propelling pencil" gift sets you occasionally see lurking in Woolworth's dump bins following a lacklustre Christmas.
A lot of 'em are manufactured by Steelbook (http://www.steelbook.com), whose promotional line, "YOU CAN JUDGE the book by looking at the cover", makes me cringe for a number of reasons, not least the really obvious one: These aren't books. They're movies. But there you go...
On an environmental level, I was unmoved by one overheard observation to the effect that these tins are "kinder to the planet" than traditional plastic DVD jewel-cases. Largely because most of them contain an inner plastic lining (with remarkably sharp edges, actually) to contain the disc/s within the tin structure. However, as presumed "luxury items" with somewhat limited general appeal (and corresponding production runs), it's all down to fanboy aesthetics, really, as to who's going to give a toss. Nevertheless, I find it ironic that CD singles (sales forever plummeting, as people opt for digital downloads over hard plastic) are increasingly being issued in miserable, conscience-bolstering-but-otherwise-flimsy-and-naff cardboard sleeves, whilst oil-based plastic DVD boxes continue to rule the roost. Or at least the stores' shelves...
___________________________________________
"No, officer. We're just minding this 72-inch plasma screen TV for one of our neighbours. And we always go running at this time of night..."
LiveJournal is a friend of community policing. Why not blog about your housebreaking and burglary activities today?