Everbody loves an Easter surprise. But who really wants to deal with the messy post-Easter basket chocolate aftermath? This April, movie geeks can bypass the bunny and access creamy nougat of a digital kind.
Easter eggs are surprises programmers hide for intrepid nerds to discover. From deleted scenes to computer glitches, there are goodies hidden in a lot of your favorite DVDs. Here’s a sampling of some different Easter eggs waiting to be watched. And the only thing you have to hunt for is your remote control.
“Arrested Development”
Fans of the first season of Fox’s now cancelled show know that the “Arrested Development” box set is jam packed with special features. What some ADers may not know is that there is a collection of hilarious outtakes featuring David Cross as Tobias. To access this montage, go to the deleted and extended scenes menu on disk three. Highlight “Best Man for the Gob” and press the right button on your remote control to see a few extra deleted scenes that feature a very angry and somewhat nude Cross.
“Gladiator”
Russell Crowe has proven that he’s willing to take on any man. What most people don’t know is that he almost fought a rhinoceros in his 2000 Oscar winning performance as Maximus. To access hidden features dedicated to Crowe almost fighting a computer generated rhino, go to the “Original Storyboards” section of disk two. On the second page of the storyboard menu, click on “Rhino Fight” to see the first page of the storyboard. On the first page, press up on your DVD remote and you’ll be taken to a hidden menu with more Russell on rhino action than you could have ever asked for.
“Memento”
This Easter egg only works with the limited edition of the DVD. For those left scratching their heads after watching Christopher Nolan’s ground-breaking film “Memento,” there’s a way to watch the movie in chronological order, hopefully cluing in those last few stragglers. To watch the film in chronological order, select the clock on disk two. You will be prompted with a short quiz. Answer “C” five times. You will then be given a puzzle that asks you to put a series of pictures in the correct order. Instead, put the pictures in this order: 3, 4, 1, and 2. You will then be shown the credits played backwards followed by the rest of the film’s scenes in the correct order.
“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”
I bet you didn’t know that Yoda was a hip-hop master. To witness a display of his rhyming ability, pop disk one into your player. Select “Options” off the main menu and press 1, 1, 3 and 8 (the name of George Lucas’ early films, “THX 1138”). This Easter egg is also present in the DVDs of Star Wars Episode I and II, except instead of a hip-hop Yoda, you’ll find a blooper reel.