DVD AND THE SELF-FASHIONING OF AN ACTIVE AUTEUR

Eli Roth is the perfect figure with which to begin a discussion of the selling of the Splat Pack and their films on DVDs. As interest in the films of the Splat Pack grew, Roth positioned himself as a spokesperson for the group, making himself available for interviews and readily speaking about himself, his films and the films of his cohort. In many ways, Roth is the epitome of what Ernest Mathijs calls the ‘active auteur’. Writing about David Cronenberg, a director whose work blends the avant-garde with horror, Mathijs observes that Cronenberg's ‘activities to assert his authorship’ in a public sphere in which his films have often drawn controversial attention include ‘writing letters to papers, reacting to hostile reviews and granting interviews to informationhungry fanzines to get his own views known to his audiences’ (2008: 5). These activities make Cronenberg an ‘active auteur’, who ‘has not retreated into an ivory tower’ but instead ‘shares his insights generously’ (2008: 5).

One need look no further than the DVD releases of Roth's films to find generous helpings of Roth's auteurist activity. The number of extra features included on DVDs of Roth's films is staggering. The DVD release of his debut feature Cabin Fever contains five feature-length commentaries consisting of Roth chatting about the movie with a variety of people, ranging from cast and crew, to his parents, to one of his former professors at New York University. Also included are a ‘making-of’ documentary, deleted scenes, and other precocious features, such as a ‘Family Friendly’ version – hosted by Roth in mock-Mr Rodgers mode – which is only sixty seconds long and a ‘Chick-Vision’ version, a mode in which silhouette fingers cover up the film's gore. The extra features on the DVDs of the Hostel films are even more extensive. The first edition of the Hostel DVD released in April 2006 has four feature-length commentaries featuring Roth and various people, such as Tarantino, who executive produced the Hostel films, and Harry Knowles, online film critic and founder of Ain't It Cool News, an online hub of film news and reviews. This release also contains ‘Hostel dissected’, a ‘making-of’ featurette directed by Gabriel Roth, the director's brother.