(At first glance)
I bought the Twilight DVD from a record bar in Abu Dhabi a week before the package came. Included in the package is a surprise Twilight DVD my closest cousin got from one of the record bars in Metro Manila. I watched it as if that’s the first time I’m seeing it. Lol.
But the moment I opened it and rolled the first disc for the first 10 minutes, that’s when I concluded something’s wrong. What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But because I happened to have a basis of comparison, I thought “bakit parang clear copy lang at hindi DVD copy yung nirelease ng Viva?” Aside from the inclusion of advertisements (i.e. Volvo, Choco Mucho, etc.) in the one released in the Philippines, the following discrepancies were glaring:
(a) Viva-released cover is better. At least. It has a cute cut-out packaging. The back cover is practically just the same, except for the promo lines:
Released in the Philippines
The immortal romance based on phenomenal bestseller.
Released in UAE
The most epic romance since Titanic. – Hollywood.com
But the rest of the discrepancies, I’m not sure you’d like to know if you are planning to buy a DVD from the Philippines or if you already got one.
(b) Absence of Scene Selection mini-poster
(c) Absence of disc separator and censor’s rating indicator
While those are tolerable, I think these make a big difference:
(d) Missing Audio Commentary. This is a significant portion and generally a standard feature.
(e) No option for subtitles and spoken language selection . Isn’t this standard?
(f) 6 out of 7 portions in the documentary The Adventure Begins are missing! How come? That’s equivalent to at least 54 minutes missing scenes. To simply state it, it’s not worth the price.
Here’s an excerpt from the statement issued by Viva Video:
The 1st disc contains the full feature or movie in its entirety. The 2nd disc contains the DVD extras or DVD add-ons licensed to us by the international licensor. Such content are confined and limited to the rights granted to us by Summit Entertainment. The release of the Twilight video is in accordance with the License Agreement between Viva and Summit Entertainment.
Ganun? Eh, bakit yung narelease dito complete naman. I was thinking of the aspect of censorship. Hindi pa rin eh. The regulators here are stricter with regard to the media being circulated.
Although there are missing parts in the Special Features in the DVD released by Viva, the entire movie (as shown in the cinema) came out as it is. BUT, the video quality is really inferior to the one I bought here.
If you’re planning to buy the DVD, the following should be included in the two discs:
* Entire film as shown in the cinemas
* Audio Commentary
* Muse music video: “Super Massive Black Hole”
* Paramore music video: “Decode”
* Linkin Park music video: “Leave Out All the Rest”
* Five extended scenes with director introductions
* Five deleted scenes with director introductions
* Seven-part documentary: “The Adventure Begins: The Journey from Page to Screen”
* Comic-Con Phenomenon
* Theatrical Trailer and Theatrical Campaign
* A Conversation with Stephenie Meyer
* Music: The Heartbeat of Twilight
* Becoming Edward
* Becoming Bella
* Catherine Hardwicke’s Vampire Kiss Montage and Edward’s Piano Concert
* Catherine Hardwicke’s “Bella’s Lullaby (Remix)” Music Video
What you don’t know won’t hurt you. But whether you ignore it or not, you’d feel something half-baked. 😉
witsandnuts 
0 thoughts on “To sell something half-baked”
luna miranda
that is not good! original DVD’s are not cheap…tapos marami naman palang missing. i have a pirated DVD of Twilight, borrowed from a friend, that i haven’t watched yet. sana naman, worth naman kapag bumili tayo ng original.
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blue rose
uhmmm… talaga! pirated nalang bibilhin ko. kulang man at least mura ko namang mabibili. hehehe. *i’m bad*
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HalfCrazy
Hmm, not a lot of people buy original DVDs pero sa atin, alam nating original kapag maganda ang quality – looks like this Twilight release doesn’t do justice.
Isa nga lang original kong DVD eh. Pussycat Dolls: Live in London LOL. Yung iba download lang kaya namamatay yung industriya eh LOL.
HalfCrazys last blog post..Trip in the City.
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mordsith
what no subtitle?!?
my cousin’s pirated copy has one, though some words are incorrect. hehe.
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bursky
ay… i hate Viva na. was planning to get one for A nga sana as gift. pero saw your plurks nga with miss toni… now, concrete evidence na panget nga yung Viva release. kanino kaya ako makaka-request ng dibidi na maayos? (manong Quiapo, are you there? lol)
burskys last blog post..when one thing leads to another
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ever
pano pa magiging seryoso ang pagbili satin ng dvd,kung yung sinasabi nilang original copy nila ay kulang..kaya siguro bumibili yung iba satin ng pirated kasi sasabihin nilang pareho rin naman ng features sa original copy satin ng dvd.sana mapansin din ito ng mga movie board member.kakahiya kung maikompara sa ibang dvd.
evers last blog post..di ako TaKot sa mUmo!
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kg
i though that the “legal” version should be more sulit…well, baka mas maganda yung source ng sa UAE.
kgs last blog post..What lies in Manila Ocean Park
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yummybite
thanks for the info. may ireregalo na ko sa little sister ko. hehehe
yummybites last blog post..I Was Not Invited?
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BlogusVox
Could it be that the licensing is similar to MS software licensing contract? You get certain features depending on the license you bought. If that’s the case, nag tipid sila and bought a license with the least amount of feature. It they sold that DVD at a price the same as the other DVD’s with full-feature then you’ve been short-change by Viva!
BlogusVoxs last blog post..Anniversary Special
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CandyQ
We also bought a couple of Viva DVD’s (Sesame Street, Winnie The Pooh, etc) for our little boy and we were so disappointed at the video quality. It was very pixelated and would also skip. To think we’re supposed to be getting original copies, hmpf!
CandyQs last blog post..kicking and screaming
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upto6only
nyak, i hope Viva knows that. kaya ok pa din ang pirated hahahaha
upto6onlys last blog post..Weekly Winners April 5-11
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joby09
thanks for this info ms. jo! napaisip tuloy ako. Viva might have done the same thing for other DVDs. Di kaya?
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bw
looks like adulterated yung DVD bought from Pinas – original pa naman kuno. Minsan mas mabuti pang bumili ng bootleg DVD kasi pag may kulang, hindi ka gaanong gumastos !
Gosh, when you said that the movie quality is inferior it makes me mad because those people are definitely cheating the public and it makes my horns rise up 😡
bws last blog post..Good Old Quebec City
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kayni
sorry to hear about the discrepancies between the two discs. you’re right, it’s good to know the differences. it’s up to the buyer if they’d still buy it or not. i’m just hoping that Viva would do a better job next time.
kaynis last blog post..A D.C. Morning
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Photo Cache
I think I’m the only one left in the universe who hasn’t seen this movie. Nope, don’t tell me. I will see this movie, eventually.
Photo Caches last blog post..Shimmering Petals
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Amelia
i felt sorry for the DVD bought in Phils. original ba talaga yun? or baka VCD format naman yan…at least you have the other DVD Twilight…
Amelias last blog post..Another Gift on a Good Friday
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fortuitous faery
ohmygod….truly you’re a hardcore twilighter to provide such in-depth analysis of the DVDs! haha!
fortuitous faerys last blog post..litratong pinoy#46:hardin (garden)
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jeanny
Ah really ganun pala. Buti na lang hindi pa ko nabili ng orig nyan, medyo mahal pa kasi. Padownload ko na lang kay hubz 🙂
jeannys last blog post..LP: Hardin sa probinsya
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onyxx
i thought about buying the DVD special but after a while i realized it wasn’t worth it. i procured a copy from my supplier (heheh) the day after its official release and it’s a great copy
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Angeli
the copy i watched is a grainy, pirated copy with terrible audio. it wasn’t just half-baked. hilaw na hilaw. 🙂
Angelis last blog post..Why Bother?
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toni
nakakainis naman ang viva kung ganon! buti nalang i haven’t bought pa. i’ll just wait till i can order nalang the US one!
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Rico
Anak ng! Kaya nga bumibili ang mga tao ng original eh para makuha yung mag features na yun eh! Eh kung wala yun, eh anu pa ang difference ng orig at ng dibidi? Kaya bumababa ang sales nila eh. Sana ayusin nila mga ginagawa nila.
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Nebz
It’s so uncool nga.
A friend gave me downloaded torrent of this film pero hindi ko rin na-appreciate dahil nag-e-skip ung copy. Sa Pinas ko na lang sya panonoorin.
Nebzs last blog post..Lessons of Freecell
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Josiet
I bought a Twilight DVD in Manila last month when I went for a quick trip home. Pinag-isipan ko talaga ng matagal kase medyo mahal. I didn’t notice the missing subtitles then. But when I checked it just now, wala nga. Grrr..hehehe.
Josiets last blog post..Into the why’s
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