DVDs Get Tricky

Posted Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 10:44 AM Central

by John Couture

The DVD explosion has taken the nation by storm. In its wake, we're left with neat terms such as Easter Eggs, Audio Commentaries, and the nefarious Storyboards. And while it was once in vogue just to plop these extra features on the discs for the world to see, the studios are starting to get creative.

For instance, on the recent Harry Potter DVD, it's not an easy task to find the deleted scenes, or any of the extra features for that matter. The user must interact with the DVD playing games and solving puzzles in order to unlock these hidden gems. And while this approach is a hit with the young audience that the title is intended for, it's causing a lot of adults to scratch their heads in wonder.

But, it's not just child's play. Other titles are quickly jumping on the band wagon. Last week's Limited Edition DVD release of Memento is a wacky trip rivaled only by the subject matter of the movie itself. Not that you can play it easily. Just to access the movie, you have to pass a memory test in which words are flashed on the screen with increasing speed and then choose words that weren't displayed on the screen. Accessing the extra features on the second disc is no easy task either. You have to complete various psychological tests to unlock various features. The only problem is that you don't know what features you're unlocking with each test.

So much for popping some corn, sitting back on the couch and enjoying a flick.