Are the reviews used to calculate the metascores for the DVDs based on reviews of the actual DVD packages (including special features, video transfer, audio etc) or are they done solely on the film itself?

All film reviews on the site are reviews of the original theatrical release. When a DVD is released, we simply add selected information about the DVD to the existing film page and make that page available again. We found early on that the most honest and reliable assessment of a film's worth came from a critic's first reaction to it. For example, many publications (which shall remain nameless) which panned "The Sixth Sense" upon its theatrical release, gave it a much higher grade upon its DVD release. Giving a "DVD grade" essentially gave these publications a second bite at the apple, a way to revise their opinions based on box office success and other factors, not on the quality of the DVD's special features.

We may eventually provide a separate section which specifically reviews the DVD extras & special features, but that section would unlikely ever effect the "metascore" assigned to the movie.

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How did you conclude that first ractions were the most reliable?

K-Dog

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Years of experience... We're not fans of revisionist history.

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