When I discovered that Adaptation (one of my favorite films from last year) would be released as a SuperBit™ title, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Why?"

For those who don't know, SuperBit™ is a process that uses all of the available space on a DVD for the sound and picture,

Past Editorials

In Praise of Jackass: The Movie

Enough Is Enough Is Enough Is...

Roger Ebert's Overlooked Fest

Bits and Pieces

Bullets, Babes, and TV!

The Opposite of "Above Me"

instead of bonus features.

I like the idea of SuperBit™ for certain films where the sound and picture are extrememly important (I'm speaking mostly of action films where the bangs and explosions are the whole point). But certain films would really benefit from director and writer commentary, or in-depth documentaries about the process. Adaptation is one of these films. Certainly a complex look at the process of Adaptation in all its forms, the film has many nooks and crannies that could be explored through supplemental matterial.

A visit to the website answered all of my questions. The Sony Pictures website for Adaptation had the little Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment logo in the upper right corner of the page. It appears Sony Pictures owns Columbia Tristar, because the SuperBit™ website has a Sony Pictures address, but says that it's a registered trademark of Columbia Tristar. It all makes sense now, kind of. Did Adaptation need the extra picture and sound quality? No. Did Columbia Tristar need the addition of critically acclaimed, award winning films to it's SuperBit™ catalogue? Yes.

And once again it's the consumer who loses out. What can we expect? Probably a Special Edition release of Adaptation in the near future with all of the features that they just didn't have room for on the SuperBit™ release. You can also look forward to the SuperBit™ release of Punch-Drunk Love (another of my favorite films from last year) in June, but thankfully, Paul Thomas Anderson pushed back the release of the first disk to include a second disk of special features. He promises that this will be the only DVD release of PDL.

For more on the multiple release strategy of big studios, read Jon Waterman's Behind The Screens expose.

respond to joe@filmbrats.com