• 32-page book for players, with rules for character creation and a solo adventure
• 64-page book for Dungeon Masters, with the rules of the game, advice on how to run the game, and adventure content
• 2 sheets of die-cut tokens for characters and monsters
• Cardstock character sheets and power cards
• Double-sided dungeon map
• 6 polyhedral dice
That's the components of the Essentials 'Red Box'. So we can immediately see there is 64 pages of DM info in this box. Obviously that isn't going to cover everything that is in the DMG1 now, but it certainly can cover the most critical stuff with no problem. I think its fairly safe to say that a group could play with the Starter Kit, a copy of Heroes of the Fallen Lands to get them all the player info they'll ever need, and a Monster Vault.
Total cost at Amazon just under $48. You can get PHB1, DMG1, and MM1 for $66. Seems like a bit cheaper intro. In the long run no it probably isn't cheaper, the group will want a DM Kit, which is $26 at which point you have spent $74 for essentials. Toss in a Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and you're up to $89. Of course you also got a ton of stuff that doesn't come free with the core 3 4e books (DM screen, dice, 4 adventures, counters, maps, battle mats, etc). 89 - 66 is $23. So really you have to ask if the additional stuff is worth $23 to the group. On top of which you have to ask what the advantage of paying a smaller amount of money for a larger number of purchases is.
Its really not that simple an equation. Essentials probably isn't cheaper to play in the long run, but it certainly isn't clearly more expensive. Considering that the quality of the game is going to be somewhat higher OOTB it looks to me like its just a plain old product refresh like any other. They give you some slightly improved stuff, a few extras, cut back a bit where it makes sense (paperback vs hardback) and put a new paint job on it. Detroit has been doing this since the 30's.
Its not really accurate IMHO to compare it to a "director's cut". Its a product refresh. Movies and RPGs are totally different anyway. Once a movie is released it's done and over. The director's cut may have some minor additional stuff included but fundamentally it's the same product. RPGs are living growing products that people use constantly. They can and do evolve and need to evolve to stay relevant. The equivalent for D&D to a director's cut would be a re-release of 1e AD&D with a whole bunch of interviews with the designers, retrospectives, a DVD, etc (whatever stuff) and a bunch of errata.
