The Good

Eye catching packaging that sets this release apart on the crowded DVD shelves.

The Bad

The same movie has been released for the 4th time and the main difference is the inclusion of a poker set? Does someone who would buy all 4 releases of this movie even play poker?

Alright, I liked Snatch just as much as the next guy but at last glance there were already three versions of this DVD in the marketplace. Undeterred, Sony has seen fit to bestow a fourth one us. First there was the single disc release, then there was the Special Edition and then the Superbit Deluxe Collection. Lets ignore the fact that all three of these were released in the same year on the same day, but now we have the Snatch: Deluxe Edition with “Poker Kit”.

Okay, I saw this movie in the theater and I have even watched it a few times on DVD. This funny tale of mixed up jewel thieves, Irish gypsies and pig farmers plays just as good each time out. I would venture to say that Snatch is one of the more interesting experiences that one can have watching a movie. However, this doesn’t mean that we need four copies of the film on DVD! If somebody were willing, it seems like they could spend upwards of $80 to essentially own the same movie. Lets just get down to brass tacks, okay? No matter what they put on all these discs, essentially what consumers are getting is the same movie, just with different packaging.

Snatch: Deluxe Edition with “Poker Kit” is an interesting release but at the end of the day not one that I think consumers need to shell out another $20 for.

Features

Snatch “Poker Kit” and Bonus Scrapbook

Okay, now I am going to be brutally harsh. Guy Ritchie or anyone else who had anything to do with this movie skip to the next section. This movie isn’t a collector’s piece like say, Lord of the Rings. Is there any reason why anybody would ever want to own the Snatch “Poker Kit”? Is there any need to have this as a “collector’s item”? And on top of that, lets say that somebody has bought this DVD more than once. Chances are, they are probably what one would call a “media consumer”. They like to get their entertainment visually. Why in the world would you then give them a Bonus Scrapbook for them to read? This thing talks all about how ”Ritchie’s slick and witty sophomore effort was brought to the big screen! What makes the creators of this DVD think that after owning 3 copies of the same movie, that the person buying it now wants to read about it? If they were such a big fan wouldn’t they already know the story of how it got made?

Frankly, I can’t say anymore except that in my humble estimation the Snatch: Deluxe Edition with “Poker Kit” makes no sense.

The following “Special Features” have been previously released on other editions of the Snatch DVDs:

Commentary by Guy Ritchie and Making Snatch urette

The Commentary by Guy Ritchie wasn’t as action packed as I thought it would be. Honestly, I don’t really know what I was expecting but I guess when you watch a director’s movies, you sort of expect that director to be a certain way. He talked about the making of the movie, how the shots were conceived, what it was like working with various actors and that kind of thing but I guess I just expected him to be more like Quentin Tarantino than Michael Mann. The Making Snatch featurette has the actors and crew talking about working on this movie. There are people who have worked with Guy Ritchie before, and they obviously have a different take toward his approach than someone who hasn’t. While this featurette was pretty much what I expected it would be, it was really interesting seeing the shots I’d only seen in the movie, being performed without the help of movie magic.

Deleted Scenes; Storyboard Comparisons and Video Photo Gallery

The Deleted Scenes weren’t anything too special to me. I actually watched them but didn’t really study them like I thought I might. I guess when you have seen a movie a number of times, and you are really used to it being one way, deleted scenes of this nature could possibly have a negative effect on it. Also, Snatch is such a specific movie in how it’s cut, that scenes like this can also appear superfluous. I am going to comment on the Storyboard Comparisons and Video Photo Gallery together, because like the Making Of piece, it was nice getting an inside glimpse of some of the more interesting shots in the movie. The Storyboards showed what was drawn vs. what was shot, and the Video Photo Gallery is a behind the scenes look at what life was like on this set. Both of these supplemental features do their part to give us more access inside the making of this film, but I think the Storyboard Comparisons will be more appreciated by the film buffs.

Video

Widescreen. Okay, as this is a Guy Ritchie movie so it’s look has every bit as much substance as the story. This is one thing we can certainly expect from his movies. They may look visually like something we have never seen before, but they really work because the stories are well told and the characters are people who have a great deal of depth. This is why I was so fond of Snatch when I first saw it. It moved at a terrific pace but I never felt like I lost anything or was having to play a game of catch-up. Ritchie has such a command of what he wants to achieve with the camera and the production design of his movies, that amidst all this style emerges a real sense of authenticity.

Audio

Dolby Digital. Close Captioned. Subtitled. I admit that sometimes I have a hard time understanding the accents in the movie, but that really isn’t a sound issue so much as me taking a few moments to get acclimated to what the characters were saying. Still, even with that time to get my “Brit Legs” under me, I never found that I lost any of the information that was being put across in Snatch: Deluxe Edition with “Poker Kit”. This is probably one of the most interesting things about this movie from a sound standpoint. There is so much happening on screen, the dialogue so quick, the action even quicker, yet as a viewer I never felt overloaded or that I was having to pause the movie to try and figure out what was happening. However, after seeing this movie the number of times that I have, I really don’t have too hard a time following it. Yet, Snatch is one of those films that you notice more things about it the more you watch it.

Package

With “Collectible Packaging” like this I think the term “bigger isn’t always better” really applies. The cover gives us the main cast of characters with their names next to them so viewers can keep things straight. There is a nice yellow glint to this entire “box set” that should make consumers take a second look when they browse around the DVD stores. The packaging is bit bigger and this is because of the “Poker Kit” that comes with this release. The back cover features the standard description of the film, a “Special Features” listing, a cast list and some technical specs. Like I mentioned, the audience for this title isn’t the same as the one that goes for Lord of the Rings. Due to this, I am not sure that this blown out edition of Snatch is really going to rake in the dough, but I am sure the folks at Sony know what they are doing, right?

Final Word

I think it’s very interesting that they display Brad Pitt so prominently on the front cover of this DVD, when in truth, he is probably in the movie less than anybody. Also, what has happened to Guy Ritchie? I didn’t even see his most recent offering, Revolver, and as I recall it seemed to open and close in the same weekend. Might Madonna have something to do with his missteps? We can most likely blame her for Swept Away, but to be fair, that blame probably falls in how the film was received and not in how it was made. I never saw the movie so to comment on it (other than to say it was panned and not widely seen) would be wrong.

If you don’t already own Snatch on DVD, then I guess the Snatch: Deluxe Edition with “Poker Kit” would be as good a version to own as any.