Techtite Feature Article!

Techtite's 2nd Annual Golden Ottos are awarded in these categories:

Movies

DVDs

Multimedia

Television

Video Games

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Sidebar :

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What? No Video Game Awards?... ...sadly, Techtite's Video Game department is practically brand new, with the exception of a paltry number of reviews in past years. Although a revival of the page is now underway, it was not deemed appropriate to offer awards in a genre with so many consoles (PS2, XBOX, Gamecube), many of which were only recently purchased. See awards for these systems in the 2002 awards...

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Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

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The DVD Golden Otto Winners are...

DVD of the Year: Animatrix. There were a lot of nice DVDs offered this year. However, for every reason that the Matrix sequels were so lacking, Animatrix was everything fans wanted and more. The entire DVD plays out not unlike a 2003  rendition of Fantasia set in the Matrix mythos; various renditions of the Matrix world, as seen through various artists. What really pulls the DVD over the top is the opening sequence, "Final Flight of the Osiris," which begins with the sexiest swordfight this side of Soul Calibur 2, and ends with one of the most poignant parting shots I've ever seen in modern animation. There's not one part of this DVD that doesn't seem imaginative and fresh. Can I say the same for Matrix Revolutions? No. This was everything the Matrix sequels should have been and more.

Best Gift Set: The Lion King, Platinum Edition Gift Set. It's one thing to offer a hardcover collector's book with a gift set; it's even better when someone makes said book the same size as the rest of your DVD collection, placing this gift set neatly in any video cabinet! Even the additional conceptual art is in a box that fits right next to the DVD and the book, all within a small, DVD-sized box to keep them all in. Disney made a lot of mistakes in 2003, but this wasn't one of them.

Best "Hurry Up And Buy It Before They Change Their Minds" Set: Indiana Jones. Finally, one of the best, classic trilogies this side of Star Wars gets the DVD treatment, and aside from no commentaries (and all bonuses on disc 4) it looks great.

Best DVD Set, TV Season: Battlestar Galactica: The Entire Series. Okay, so the cylon box that holds this set does not fit neatly on a video shelf, or even most book shelves. This is still a cool salute to the original series, with not only every episode sans Galactica 1980 (thankfully), but there's also a full-sized collector booklet. Cool.

Worst DVD of the Year: (unrewarded). No major disappointments in DVD this year; even the worst of films had deleted scenes and other interesting extras (our favorite "useless extra" would have to be the Kangaroo Jack commentary, offered by the kangaroo!). As for some of the best of films with the least of extras: at least we didn't have to wait so long to see them released on DVD at all. Overall 2003 was good for DVD.

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