Twitch-O-Meter: Briefcase! BRIEFCASE!

Runners up: Korean Pimp!
Korean Limited Editions require a Twitch-O-Meter of their own. It started with copying what the Japanese were doing, only the Koreans did it a lot cheaper. Quality is often so high that I’ll always check the Korean editions, even of Western movies. They released the best packaged versions of films like “Dances With Wolves” which included feathers, and “Pan’s Labyrinth” which, despite being affordable, included an 18 carat gold replica of the key used in the movie!
But also their domestic films are a joy to behold, just check their “The Host Gift Set” which is just gorgeous. Pity they never subtitle their extras though…
For the reason mentioned above I wanted to keep the Koreans out of my list altogether, and save them for a seperate future article. But this list is a personal one, so a single title still crept through and below you can read which one it was.

Honorable Mention: Nearly went bust…
Strangely enough I generally hate busts. Maybe it’s because I keep my special editions in my living room, and do not find it cool to see a bunch of severed heads staring at me from atop my bookcase. So no “I, Robot” or “Planet of the Apes” for me.
However, when the execution is clever enough there is always an exception, and in this case it’s the Alien Quadroligy. Some countries released this in an ultra-special version which housed the set within a translucent-topped alien head, with the discs arranged in an attractive fishbone-like structure. Almost too cool to pass up, unfortunately it wasn’t available over here and shipping was way too prohibitive…

On to my top 5!

1/: The Briefcase
Well, no surprises there. This was just about the best release of 2007, ending that year on a high note. The briefcase included five discs with all known versions of the movie “Blade Runner”, plus artwork, trinkets and damn fine piece of packaging, based on the original Syd Mead designs. I was worried that the briefcase itself would be of a rather weak plastic, but thankfully this wasn’t the case: it’s quite sturdy.
Well done Warner!

I’ll stop writing now to look at it again…

2/: Ultimately Mindboggling.
Those wacky people of Studio 4°C released their movie “Mindgame” in one regular and two special editions, both of which fine enough to get in this list!
But the boss is of course their 6-disc Ultimate edition. It includes three artwork books (manga source material, thumbnails and one with finished art), a packet of artprints and two soundtrack cd’s.
This made the specially designed package almost a perfect cube!
It’s also very expensive though, so I actually own the OTHER version. Thanks go to Alex from the forum for providing this picture.

3/: The Bloodbag
This one had me in stitches, just as the movie itself. The new US R1 DVD of Miike Takashi’s “Ichi the Killer” was released in a replica bloodbag. The two discs are in a special hidden dry chamber in the middle, so the red liquid doesn’t actually touch the discs. It sloshes around freely though and the effect is perfect.
Some people complained about how difficult it was to get the discs out. These can indeed stick to the inside of the bag a bit, but you could work them free easily with your fingers and THEN extract them. So, to all of you who cut open the bags with scissors to get the discs I have this to say: THAT WAS DUMB, OKAY?

4/: Wonderful Package
And here is that one Korean LE that I couldn’t omit from this list. it was the first Korean disc I bought and I was immediately hooked into collecting Limited Editions. One of the most gorgeous sets ever produced, the Limited Edition of “Wonderful Days” contains a vastly improved version of the movie “Sky Blue”.
And to get at the discs you open the case, held together by magnets, and it unfolds,
and unfolds,
and unfolds,
and unfolds,
and unfolds,
...

5/: I (Like) Robots
The special packaging for “Transformers” was of course too cool for me to resist. No matter what you thought of the movie, it was almost made to be owned on DVD: watch it in its entirety once, then replay choice bits endlessly.
And while doing that, fiddle with the packaging!

Folded it’s the size of a double Amaray, but once unfolded it towers a whopping 15 inch, an impressive piece of design.
All in all very nice release, brilliantly executed.





Please do note that descriptions (and pictures!) of these DVD’s can also be found in our forum, which has a topic dedicated specially for this subject.
Browse around, there’s plenty more where these came from!

And feel free to add your opinion, and pics of the choice bits of your collection. Share the fun!

Related Links

• Our forum-topic on beautiful DVD-packaging can be found here.