An option that is often given on the menu of a DVD movie. Selecting this option leads the viewer to material that is related to the movie, but not neccessary to understand it.

With the invention of the DVD came a new dimension of movie viewing pleasure, usually labeled on your movie menu as “Special Features” or “Featurettes”. With “Special Features”, even the stupidest movie in the world can start to feel important. When you see how the movie was made, how hard the actors tried, and the funny accidents from the set, you will appreciate your movie in a whole new way.

Why VHS movies rarely thought to include such depth and information concerning the film making process is unclear. Perhaps they didn’t want to waste all that expensive video tape, whereas on a DVD, the space on each disc is predetermined and the creators may as well fill it up while it’s there.

In any case, we sure are glad they started providing us with special features. With VHS I could all too easily rent a movie, watch it, and forget I ever saw it. We’ve all accidentally rented the same movie twice before, haven’t we?! But with my special features, I learn so much background from the actors themselves, the producers as they give me commentaries, the editing process as I learn what kind of scenes get cut from a movie and why; all this information reaches into my mind and I won’t be soon forgetting these facts.