Fireproof came out on DVD today — in two versions, one a regular edition for the mainstream market, and the other a “special collector’s edition” for the Christian market — and just as there was something a little unusual about the way this movie was made (i.e., by a cast and crew made up almost entirely of church-based volunteers), so too there is something a little unusual about the way this film has been packaged for home video.
Here, for example, is a screen that pops up when you first load the “collector’s edition” in your player:
I don’t think I have ever seen a message like that at the beginning of a regular DVD before. What makes it even more interesting is that both versions of this disc include a “study guide” and a collection of film clips that are meant to be used by groups — but I guess these materials are intended for home-based study groups, and thus they fall under the category of “home viewing” rather than the category of a public “event”:
Finally, note how the opening menu screen on the “collector’s edition” makes a distinction between the regular “special features” and the “exclusive bonus features” found only on this disc:
Oh, one last thought: I admire the way that this disc — both the packaging and the menu screens — avoids drawing all that much attention to the actors involved in this film. Even the one bona fide celebrity, Kirk Cameron, is kept in shadow. This keeps the focus on the overall movie and not on any of the personalities involved, and it underscores the point that this movie exists for ministry reasons, and not to stroke anyone’s ego.
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