It’s 2007. You’ve just been to Blockbuster, and you’ve picked up a DVD copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. It cost you a comfortable $7 for an overnight rental, and you’ve just gotten home, opened the case, and slipped the disc into your cutting-edge Pioneer DVD player. The DVD menu begins. This is good. Life is good. Timeskip to today, and such menus no longer exist – but they should. Case in point: a fan-made DVD menu for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi is… Well, look, as far as Star Wars goes, it’s certainly controversial. Directed by Rian Johnson (who went on to create Knives Out), The Last Jedi was praised by some fans for being daring with Star Wars canon (by critiquing the good versus bad paradigm of the series), and hated by other fans for how off the beaten path it went (particularly for its treatment of Luke Skywalker, the liberties it took with the force, and for how it strayed a bit from what Episode VII: The Force Awakens was setting up).
I, personally, loved the film, but admit it had its problems. First and foremost, though, is the fact that it doesn’t have a sick DVD menu like this (created by Twitter user @CireSW75).
The Last Jedi DVD Menu (If it was 2007) Supremacy (Final) pic.twitter.com/In0ziOR8p5
— CT-Cire (@CireSW75) September 11, 2023
Let’s not avoid the obvious; The Last Jedi did have a DVD release, but here’s the menu it had. Boring! A PNG with some scenes played in the background, completely washed out by the film’s poster colours. To show you how far we’ve fallen, here’s the Bluray menu for Episode III: The Revenge of The Sith back in 2005.
Now, look, to be completely fair, there’s hardly a demand or even a need for elaborate DVD menus like this. Streaming services make the process of playing a movie extremely easy, and a DVD-style menu for The Last Jedi on Disney+ would just get in the way. It’s ready to play, and I want to watch it. DVD pre-roll menus are a lost art.
But still, listen, I was nine back in 2007 – the year @CirseSW75 reckons this DVD menu best captures. Do you have any idea how hyped I would get with a pre-roll video like this? I’d be bouncing off the walls, drinking cordial, and playing with LEGO in front of the TV. I would live for this.
Anyway, director Rian Johnson actually loved this fan DVD menu. Good for him. I hope he’s well.
Image credit: @CireSW75 on Twitter
Shoutout to Fergus for bringing this to my attention, you’re a champ.
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