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March 31 - MGM Does Kubrick, Universal announces June SE details, Speedier Star Trek Paramount: Due to the new Star Wars flick (hey, that is what I heard), Paramount has moved up the street date for both the VHS and DVD versions of Star Trek Insurrection to May 11, two week earlier than originally announced. This is confirmed, so set your phasers for "buy." MGM: Good news for Kubrick fans, Warner isn't the only one with DVD plans up their sleeves. MGM has some Kubrick classics in the planning stages, namely The Killing, Paths Of Glory and Killer's Kiss. These are all United Artists titles, and are therefore not affected by the recent Warner/MGM deal. However, Kubrick's classic version of Lolita, as far as I know, is now with Warner, and laserdisc fans know Criterion put out a disc of it a few years back, which I hear was quite good. What Warner does with it is unknown at this point. Right now, there is no set dates for any of these Kubrick titles. The transition period for the MGM/Warner thing is until early 2000, and as far as I know no actual production has begun on the MGM Kubrick titles. But, they are being planned, so groovy! Universal: Has released the full details for their Psycho (1998) and The Last Starfighter special editions. Both will be 16x9 and 5.1, with the usual documentary and commentary tracks. Check the full details in the database. By the way, I am looking into whatever happened to the Back To The Future SE...look for more next week. March 30 - More details on The ALIEN Legacy box set, and Paramount goes ape this summer Fox: Well, the full press release for the ALIEN Legacy box set has been released, and although it looks truly terrific, there is a trouble spot, to be honest. Bound to be controversial is that due to some production issues, the new 20th Anniversary retrospective documentary, which was to be included on the first ALIEN disc, will now reside on a separate fifth disc (the ALIEN disc, though, will still have the deleted scenes, storyboards, etc., on it...the fifth disc will just be the new documentary). This wouldn't be so bad, except that you will have to mail in for the fifth disc, and pay shipping and handling. I'm completely serious...this is official. Bound to anger more still, this fifth disc will NOT be available to those who buy the series individually, you have to buy the box set (retail $109.95) to get it. Also, I did voice my concern that if one purchases a very nice and shiny new box, what happens when the fifth disc shows up...will it fit on the box as well? And what happens after the set has been available, will the new boxes be larger and fit the fifth disc, or will it always be something one has to mail away for? I have been told more info on this issue will be released soon. On the bright side, all four discs will have great stuff, and the fifth disc is really a bonus, with the new 66-minute documentary, so each will still be great in and of themselves. However, and see today's editorial, but there is the question of whether it would just be better to postponed the box for a few weeks or a month to put it on the first ALIEN disc as was planned, even if it means missing day & date with the VHS release (which, by the way, will not have as many extras as the DVD, even though it is five tapes). Lastly, the full details from the press release (which is a bit confusing, fellow webmasters, so read it carefully!) are now in the database (just type the word Alien in the search by title option, and all aliens will show up). There is even more stuff than first announced, including an isolated score for ALIEN, as well as full subtiitle and language info. And the packaging is actually going through more revisions, and last I heard, it would be some gold embossed thing, so it will be cool to see what it will actually look like. Final pics will be available soon, and I will try to put them up when they are released. Paramount: Thanks to faithful reader and ape fan Mr. Movie Guy, I talked a bit with Paramount, and they confirmed that they will be releasing a first-ever widescreen transfer of the 1978 remake of King Kong. This has been a cult classic for a while, so it is good to see Paramount putting it out. Right now, all I know is it is wide and due this summer...stay tuned for more details. March 29 - New Search Options, June Buena Vista titles, more 75th Anniversary Columbia and day & date Varsity Blues from Paramount New Search Options: I've finally added extended search options for the database. To your right is a quick "search by studio" option, and you will also see a link to extended search options as well. Since there are so many ways to search, I needed a separate page to do 'em all! Also, the search by studio option to your right is smaller than the one on the extended search, because I figured most people search for the major studios only (hate to say it, but that seems to be the way it is!). Criterion: Not my favorite company, but they will be issuing the lusted-after Brazil 3-disc special edition to DVD tentatively in June (why don't they just wait for DVD-18s?). Look for most of the same features as the laserdisc, but exact features have not been released yet. Stay tuned. Also, look for Insomnia from them on May 25, 1999. It is a foreign thriller starring the underrated Stellan Skarsgard (from Good Will Hunting), and will be a English-subtitled, 1.66:1 letterboxed $29.95 release. Buena Vista: Keeping good on their promise to add more DVD titles each month, look for two rather impressive waves of titles in June. Enemy Of the State, Little Voice and The Faculty bow 6/15, and look for Rushmore and The Mighty 6/29. Along with those are a host of catalog titles including White Squall, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, Ready To Wear, Flirting With Disaster, Mrs. Brown, Arachnophobia and more . (You can use the new "by studio" search to the right to find 'em all out...). Also, some of these will include featurettes. Lastly, Nixon will be the same version as the laserdisc, which I believe includes some deleted footage, as well as a making-of feature. And by the way, Shakespeare In Love and Life Is Beautiful are going to be in a theaters a while for their post-Oscar push (Miramax especially wants to get Shakespeare over the $100 million mark), so we should be hearing more about home video plans in a couple of months or so, and the general word is to look for August or September berths for these titles, though sooner for Life Is Beautiful is possible (including an English dub!), and they should be special editions. Columbia: Yikes! More great 75th Anniversary stuff. Gotta love Columbia, for not only do they do great DVDs, but they are very free with their release schedules. However, many have asked me why I don't put more streets dates for stuff in production, etc. My policy here is that I'm not going to copy Laserviews or DVD.com. I won't put any features or date up until I get the press release or it comes directly from the studios. This is not to detract from others...I love Laserviews and DVD.com has a great scoop, but, these things change so much, that just looking over the DVD.com Columbia list, some of those dates are already moved, and will surely move again, so the way the database will remain is to be TBA until the press release or official confirm can be obtained (though of course stuff still can change even after the press release debuts!). Paramount: Adds Varsity "I don't want yer life!" Blues day & date June 22. I've gotten conflicting info on whether it will be 16x9 or not, so I will wait for the press release to add the features... March 27 - Buena Vista unleashes "The Faculty" Buena Vista: I'm not supposed to reveal this until Monday, but I know you loyal weekend readers tend to get blah updates, so hopefully no studio folks are reading this and I won't get in trouble. Buena Vista will be launching The Faculty on June 15, as a movie-only $29.95 release. However, a Collector's Series is not out of the question someday, but as of now this is it. March 26 - Fox/Lorber May titles, a couple of Pioneer Operas and Monty Python episodes A&E & Monty Python: Check out The Digital Bayou's latest headlines, as they have a scoop on A&E potentially doing Monty Python And The Flying Circus episodes on DVD this summer. That should make some of you very happy, so give it a look... Fox Lorber: Adds a new selection of May titles, including stuff I'm not familiar with, like The Aviators Wife, Boyfriends & Girlfriends, Millionairess and Summer. All are $29.95 and subtitled (for those who don't know, Fox Lorber is a foreign-film specialist). Pioneer: Adds a couple of Metropolitan Opera titles, Ernani and Manon Lescaut. (Uh, don't ask me, I can't understand a word of it.) Both are $29.95, Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Closed Captioned. March 25 - Fox DVD and HD in 1999, Columbia unleashes Gloria remake, Private Ryan gets a date (he needs one), and May HBO titles Fox: Our friends at Fox look to have some good stuff coming our way over the next 9 months or so. Faithful readers will remember postings here and at other spots like The Digital Bits that Fox is really improving their DVD output, with 16x9 and improved features. Those lucky enough to have a High-Def set and access to HBO's new HD channel can look forward to seeing some of Fox's new HD transfers very soon. Also, most if not all of the HD set is planned or in production for DVD for release over the next several months. Of course, like every title in this business that is planned, things may change, but I thought you'd all be interested to see some of the completely done HD transfers Fox has done and DVDs they are plotting. Look shiny happy DVDs of an interesting selection of titles, including The Full Monty, There's Something About Mary, Great Expectations (1998), White Men Can't Jump, Picture Perfect, The Object Of My Affection, Oscar and Lucinda, The Ice Storm, Doctor Doolittle, She's The One and Two Girls And A Guy. Additionally, expect more day & date titles, including The Thin Red Line, 20 Dates, etc., though Fox has its thing with rental windows, hence the $34.95 price tag on day & date titles. Lastly, Anastasia (1998) is already done on HD, though as far as I know no DVD is being worked on, but I've heard Xmas 1999 on the sly, but don't quote me on that one. Many have also asked about Independence Day. The only info I have remains what is in the status report...I haven't seen the flick on the HD schedule, and do not know of the director's cut on HD, so from what I know, the DVD SE would be the laserdisc redone for DVD. We'll see. Oh, I am trying to get the entire Fox and Paramount HD schedule soon...I hope to be able to print it for you. Columbia: Has decided to foist that Gloria remake on us, a mere four months after its dismal theatrical run. If someone should actually want to buy this film, it will be a generally featureless DVD, with full frame and 16x9 wide versions, and MAP is $24.95. You've been warned. DreamWorks: That perpetually single Private Ryan guy gets a date...sort of. This is already up at some other sites, and will be in the trades next week, so I succumb and will post it now for fear of my life. The Saving Private Ryan VHS date is May 25. Yes, there is work going on for a day & date DVD release, but due to the general deficiencies with DVD production capabilities, getting it out is another story. But, DreamWorks will be doing a SPR disc.I"m sure it will debut as soon as possible, so don't send DreamWorks any hate mail. My hat is off to DreamWorks for their efforts, especially in light of the fact they are stuck with Steven Spielberg for a boss. HBO: Has set their May titles. Look for Q&A, The Princess & The Pirate, Jean Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer and They Got Me Covered, all on 5/25. They will be the usual HBO features, mainly a trailer and multiple language and subtitle tracks. However, though Princess and They Got Me are originally 1.37:1, Kickboxer and Q&A will be full frame. I've sent a nice email to HBO telling them we don't like this. Retail is $24.95. Ah, that elusive gold statuette. If you watched the ceremonies, you'll know there was plenty of surprises and even a bit of controversy. I think the best part was Whoopi in that Velvet Goldmine number! Anyway, here is the latest DVD info on all the top nominees (and yes, I did hold off on some of this info until today...I'm mean, I know): First Things First: Well, there is already a wealth of 1999 Oscar nominees and winners already out there on DVD. Definitely pick up or rent Primary Colors, Bulworth, Out Of Sight, The Truman Show, One True Thing, The Horse Whisperer, Armageddon and Pleasantville. Some of these have great special edition material, especially Pleasantville and Out Of Sight. All are available now at retailers everywhere. Some stuff already announced and due soon include titles with solid supplements, including American History X (4/4), Elizabeth (5/25), What Dreams May Come (5/4) and Patch Adams (6/22). Some more Oscar flicks not getting such special treatment (though many deserving of it) include Beloved (May 18, Buena Vista), Babe: Pig In The City (5/4), A Bug's Life (4/20) and Best Adapted Screenplay winner Gods & Monsters (6/15). There are some Oscar winners and nominees due soon but with no set date. Look for Affliction somewhat soon and A Civil Action sometime in July, and a special edition of The Prince Of Egypt which looks to be great. Again no set date on these yet. Lastly. Image will be releasing a best-of type history of the Oscars, called 50 Years Of Academy Award Winners on April 13. Life Is Beautiful: Who doesn't love Roberto Benigni, or as Steven Spielberg called him, "an Italian furby"? Anyway, I reported a while back that this title was being planned, with a quote from Miramax executive VP of home entertainment Kevin Kasha saying in regards to a DVD special edition that they'd "like to release collector's editions for both" (referring also to Shakespeare In Love), "because each certainly lends themselves for that," Kasha said, "but they're still works in progress." The latest word I have heard on this film is that it has been bandied about for VHS with a release a ways off, after the Oscars hoopla dies down and box office subsides. A SE DVD is definitely in production. It will be the typical $39.95 deal. However, Miramax and Buena Vista are not known for getting any SEs out day & date with VHS, so to be totally honest, I have no idea if the SE will come out near the VHS. Again, I was told "wait until after the Oscars" for anything really concrete to come down the pike. But, there WILL be a special edition DVD of this eventually. Saving Private Ryan: Well, I'm treading on dangerous ground with this one, but given the fact that the trades and everyone else will be jumping to get any home video info on Saving Private Ryan, this is going to get out sooner or later. I've been looking into this title for a while, because if email and general anticipation is any indication, this title is up there with Titanic and Indiana Jones. First, getting any info on this disc has been pretty difficult...like a war in itself. I cannot give you an exact release date, or some people may kidnap my dog (Columbia has already stolen Sparky, and I can't bear to now lose Fido). But, I will snitch a little and say that the VHS will debut before June 6, which is the anniversary of D-Day (is this a heartfelt tribute to WWII vets, or crass cross-promotion? You be the judge). The DVD is definitely planned for day & date with VHS, whenever it will be priced for sell through. But, stress the word "planned." I did a little snooping recently, and we are looking at an easy 500,000+ disc replication run, which as of this writing would make Saving Private Ryan the biggest DVD release ever. However, those smart folks in the audience will be able to calculate that this requires some serious replication time and facilities (stress the plural here), so there is a bit of, um, sweat being exerted to get this together for a day & date release. As for features, well, from what I know, there will be some, but it appears that this may not be the gargantuan special edition some may (perhaps unrealistically) expect. I will further go out on a limb here and say a little bit before I update my Spielberg Connection feature again (which will be soon). I've talked a bit with most studios with Spielberg titles, and as of now his DVD stance is still, um, cautious for lack of a better word. But, I believe the Saving Private Ryan DVD will be the best it can be given the time frame and challenges involved, and certainly will deliver where it counts, in the audio and video department. Further, I can say with certainty the packaging for the VHS and DVD are done. I will of course get as many details on this major release as I can and print the exact date for you soon (or when I am allowed to, eh eh.) Shakespeare In Love: Alright, I admit it, I haven't seen this film yet. Just say the words "Shakespeare" to me and I cringe. Bleech. I know, I know, I should be ashamed of myself, it is great literature... Anyway, as with Life Is Beautiful above, I reported that this title was being planned, with a quote from Miramax executive VP of home entertainment Kevin Kasha saying in regards to a DVD special edition that they'd "like to release collector's editions for both" (referring also to Life Is Beautiful), "because each certainly lends themselves for that," Kasha said, "but they're still works in progress." The latest word I have heard on this film is the same as Life Is Beautiful: wait until after the Oscars for the VHS announcement date, which should be sometime in June or so for a later in the year release. Needless to add, transfer has already been done, and a SE DVD is definitely in production, and it will be the typical $39.95 deal. I do know that all the principals have been discussed for a commentary track, so expect a great one. However, Miramax and Buena Vista are not known for getting any SEs out day & date with VHS, so to be totally honest, I have no idea if the SE will come out near the VHS. Again, I was told "wait until after the Oscars" and all the hoopla and box office is milked to hear more. But, there WILL be a special edition DVD of this, and Life Is Beautiful. Miramax isn't stupid. The Thin Red Line: Look for the other WWII flick on June 22. There won't be any major extras, though a commentary track from Terrence Malick would have been quite a coup, huh? Anyway, it will be the usual Fox $34.95 and 16x9 downconverted from HD (no, I'm not kidding). Again, no major extras that I know of, though of course I don't know everything... Warner: Yes, the frustration builds. Warner has announced yet more of their awful "budget line," argh! If I wanted VHS crap, I'd just buy Video Cds. (Note to Warren...you've proved your point that DVDs can be made cheap, okay?). And worse, this time there really are some good titles in there, which will undoubtedly piss many of you off: Fearless, Funny Farm, With Honors, My Blue Heaven and Divine Madness, as well as stuff like The First Deadly Sin (with Frank Sinatra) and Caddyshack 2 (even though the Caddyshack SE still doesn't have a date). All are "full frame" except for Divine Madness. On the bright side, look for the re-issue of Bonnie & Clyde with widescreen this time, as well as the two Seagal titles On Deadly Ground and Out For Justice which have both P&S and wide as well. Finally, the long-awaited (by some) The Hudsucker Proxy will also debut for $19.95 and have both aspect ratios. All titles are due May 25, 1999. Polygram: Has done a bit of price shifting for Elizabeth and What Dreams May Come, to $34.95. Personally, I think these are over-priced. They will have commentaries, making of features, the usual cast & crew biographies and nice menus, but still... Cancellations: Bonnie & Clyde, the Criterion version of Spinal Tap and the original Arrival are all discontinued. Bonnie & Clyde and The Arrival have been replaced by re-issues, while Criterion simply does not have the rights to Spinal Tap any longer... Street Date Changes: There are plenty of new street dates and features for some titles in the database...just use the "latest modified" search to the right for all the recent titles altered. Holy Grail Canceled?: There seems to be some confusion over whether Columbia has canceled the Monty Python & The Holy Grail disc or not. According to Columbia marketing and sales, it is canceled. Many retailers attempting to order it have been told to alert consumers who have preordered it that it has been canceled. However, it seems that it may just be a rights problem and is only temporarily postponed, according to those in production. In any event, there will be a delay on the disc if it is released. Lots Of Street Date Changes: Note that I've updated alot of stuff, and starting filling in info for some titles, so the "latest modified" listings are pretty busy...searching for a specific title may be easier for now. Pioneer: Has some interesting Artisan-licensed titles coming our way, including After Dark My Sweet, Gleaming The Cube, the black comedy Parents and, yes, Baywatch! Really scary! Look for them all May 25th for $24.95, though the two-episode Baywatch set lists for $29.95. Fox Lorber: Launches quite a few interesting foreign titles, inlcluding Truffaut greats like The Last Metro, Two English Girls and a newly-licensed The 400 Blows (note the Criterion edition is now discontinued). All are in their original French with English subtitles. New Horizons: Springs some cool Roger Corman "greats" on us in April, including a personal guilty pleasure, Humanoids From The Deep, along with Big Bad Mama, The Big Doll House and Eat My Dust! All are unfortunately full frame and $24.95. A&E: Has set more cool episodes for original The Avegers for April 27. You can either buy 4 seperate 3-episode discs for $24.95, or get six episodes in a Complete Set for $44.95. Note that The Complete Set #4 has a bonus 7th episode... Xenon: Welcome another newbie to the DVD format, Xenon,an indie company specializing in really cultish titles. Look for the really funny Dolemite, Buddhist Fist, Master Of Cracked Fingers (?) and others, all March 30 for $19.95. They also include some cool extras, including commentary tracks. Neat-o. Tai Seng: Has announced a few new expensive ($49.95) Region 0 imports, as well as discontinuing 8 of their titles. Check out the Discontinued list to your right for the full scoop. Columbia: Add Higher Learning, Stir Crazy, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Gloria (remake), The General and Baby Geniuses (ugh) to the list of Columbia 75th Anniversary titles they will be putting out on DVD this year. Also, stay tuned for some Fox plans for Monday... Universal Goes Multi: Alright, some of you may remember that Universal's web site listed Meet Joe Black as being widescreen and Pan & Scan a while back, which turned out to be an error. Well, they have Babe: Pig in The City listed now as P&S and Wide, and Universal assures me this is correct. However, there is a price to be paid for the first Universal mutli-aspect ratio title, and that price is $29.95. This is too bad, as Warner and others are able to provide dual ratios for $24.95 or even $19.95. But, I suppose it is a start for Universal. Also, the following titles have been officially confirmed: Psycho 1998 CE, Gods & Monsters, Last Starfighter SE, Battlestar Galactica (movie) and K-9, all for June 15. Also look for Patch Adams CE on June 22. Brrrrr: Trimark will bow Stephen King's Storm Of The Century on June 22. Look for the complete full frame miniseries on an RSDL disc. Give me what I want, and I'll go away...yeah, whatever, Steve. March 16 Paramount: Has scheduled their May titles, and are thankfully returning to solid 16x9 support. Look for The Phantom, Drop Zone, Star Trek Insurrection, Virtuosity and Days Of Thunder on May 25, with all but the Days being 16x9. As usual, there are no special features, though I did not get any specifics on Insurrection yet. All titles will be the usual $29.95. VM1: has announced they are shipping volume 2 of their free monthly DVD magazine. This time, look for the flick The Big Squeeze on it, as well as lots of cool trailers and other extras. It is a free subscription, so head over to their DVD4U site to subscribe. March 15 Bug's Life: Just a note for you Bug's Life fans, the Disney Store online is offering a limited edition A Bug's Life DVD, Lithograph and Watch set for $29.95. I wouldn't normally promote Disney without getting paid (ha ha), but this is a pretty good deal as A Bug's Life lists for $34.95 by itself. (Thanks to Ben K. for the link.) Polygram: Brings us Oscar nominee Elizabeth, which is listed on sell sheets as a "special edition', though no definitive features are listed. it will be RSDL, 16x9 and $39.95, and debuts May 25. The price is awfully high,and I will try and find if this is some sort of misprint. Also look for a film of a different sort, Orgazmo, due June 16, which will be the NC-17 edition. Fox: Has issued definitive street dates for Soul Food, Waiting To Exhale and a day & date Waking Ned Devine, all of them due June 1st, along with the Alien films. Sony: Launches an interesting slate of music and special interest titles for spring. Look for Kate Bush's The Line, The Cross & The Curve, on May 11, and on May 18 both new Grammy-winner Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vita Loca (which is also Sony's first DVD single) and (no, not her again!) Celine Dion Live In Memphis. Also on this date, Sony debuts the first exercise title on DVD, Kathy Smith's Kickboxing. Take that, Ms. Dion! Lastly, the George Michael greatest hits DVD has been put on postponed status, as Mr. Michael launches his new chain of public restrooms. Universal: Will bow a long-sought cult classic, the Coen brothers' Blood Simple in either June or July. Stay tuned for features... March 12 Miramax/Buena Vista: Has just announced the launch of their new "Classics Series, which celebrates "20 years of release quality films" (hey, I don't write these press releases). But, before you get too excited, these will just be standard and generally featureless titles, non-16x9 enhanced and $29.95 MSRP as usual. The first three titles in this classic series are Mighty Aphrodite, Sirens and Muriel's Wedding. Though I like these films, the designation of "Classic Series" for them seems odd to me. Hey, don't ask me to explain it, I just work here. Also, I've added the complete specs for BV's May 18 titles. No big surprises, though Beloved does have a featurette, and Muriel's Wedding will feature a music video. Stop me before I fall down from excitement. Lastly, I've started to add box cover art again, so look images for all the BV titles through April, including A Bug's Life. Fox: Has put a couple of interesting titles into production. Look for The Madness Of King George and that Diane Keaton flick Baby Boom sometime in the next few months. No, I'm not making this up... MGM: Have the great classic ghost story The Haunting on tap for around July, just in time for the remake. The disc won't feature any extras aside from the trailer and the usual 8-page booklet, but I think this is a classic, so it will be good to have on DVD. Also look for some classic war flicks on May 18, including Bataan, Run Silent Run Deep, They Were Expendable and Pork Chop Hill (can I have some applesauce with that?). Search Options: A search option has now been added for the database to find all the latest updates and added titles. Just click the button on the top right there, and it will automatically the most recent modifications, from most recent on down. Note that it lists these titles by date of modification, not by their release date or alphabetically. This is done because it seems to make the most sense to have it sort by most recent changes. Hope this new search works well for you all. March 11 Enemy Of The State: Will be launched June 15 from Buena Vista, and as usual will be there typical featureless, $29.95, 16x9-barren extravaganza . Poor Will deserves better, don't you think? Columbia: Is celebrating their 75th anniversary in a big way. In addition to generally improving their standard features (look for cast & crew bios, nice booklets and DVD-ROM web links in the future), they will be introducing real DVD-ROM features on select titles, and have scheduled about 100 titles for 1999. Columbia has (in my opinion) the strongest day & date support of any studio. Titles such as Cruel Intentions, 8mm and Jawbreaker are already in production, and look for all of their theatrical titles big and small to debut day & date with VHS. Also look for a strong mix of new and old for the rest of 1999. I've mentioned some of these before, but look for the following this year: Special editions of The Last Picture Show, Pink Floyd The Wall, Silverado, Funny Girl , Ghostbusters I and II (and both will be $24.95 MAP, roughly $29.95 full price) as well as various levels of extras for The Blue Lagoon, Shampoo, 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, Red Rock West, Immortal Beloved, Born Yesterday, Against All Odds, Heavy (1995), Heavy Metal, John Carpenter's Christine, Birdy, Anatomy Of A Murder, Guns Of Navarone, Never Talk to Strangers, the camp fest Eyes Of Laura Mars and tentative late-Fall releases for special editions of Tootsie and The Natural . And there is plenty more coming, and I will try to get as many details on more as I can. Way to go Columbia! Artisan: Announces for interesting titles for April 20: look for the long-awaited The Punisher and Millennium, both of which will get new 16x9 transfers. Also, they will be debuting Belly day & date with VHS on the same date, as well as the Neil Diamond "classic" The Jazz Singer, which will be full frame only. Elite: Has set a new date of March 30 for that Evil Dead special edition, but who knows if it will be postponed yet again. Also, look for releases of the Tobe Hooper cult flick Eaten Alive and The House On Sorority Row soon, though no confirmed date for these as of yet. Warner & Kubrick: Still shocked over the surprising death of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, there isn't much information to get regarding the quartet of special editions Warner was planning for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Barry Lyndon. It is very sad that Warner was planning to do commentary tracks, but Mr. Kubrick had just finished polishing Eyes Wide Shut for summer release, and I was told by Warner there were no commentary tracks recorded. Boy, I hope I'm wrong on this, but it seems pretty much the case. But, Warner will still be doing the SEs, though no word of course on the supplements at this time. March 9 X-Files Delayed: That shifty duo Mulder and Scully have been bumped two weeks, to May 4. The features of the disc still hold, thankfully! March 8 Fox Shows Off Its Aliens: The Fox web site had a poll up that allowed viewers to choose between two competing box cover designs for " The Alien Legacy" 4-pack coming on VHS and DVD (not to be called "The Alien Saga" as I originally thought). Note they displayed the following two art concepts, which will be used for both formats: 
The poll unfortunately disappeared very fast, though by all accounts the green box won out hands down. Look for the DVD set to debut June 1st. EMI Joins DVD Camp: EMI Records made their long-belated entrance into the DVD market with the announcement of their first title, Radiohead's new documentary Meeting People Is Easy. EMI's announcement is exciting for music fans, because they possess one of the larger rosters of any music label on the planet. They also they have more titles lined up, and check out the press release for the full details. March 6 and 7 Star Trek Update: Just a note that I forgot to report on some of that Star Trek stuff in the new database, so why wait until Monday. This follows up a bit on Bill Hunt's great news over at The Bits. First, Star Trek Insurrection is due May 18. It will be anamorphic widescreen, and have a couple of trailers and not other extras. Also, there was many scenes cut from the finished film, but they will not be included on this disc, but Paramount did interestingly say a future release is not "unlikely." Second, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home will be the next Trek film to hit DVD, but not until Fall. It will be getting a new transfer, along with the rest of the remaining Trek films. Also, I had mentioned a few months back in the Status Report that some Trek TV episodes were coming, and Bill recently reported on the new remastered original series coming out soon. Well, he is right. I have heard the same info, and some episodes will be out this summer. So, looks to be a great year for Trekkers (alas, though, no immediate plans for The Next Generation episodes or any of the other Trek shows on DVD just yet.) Columbia Goes DVD-ROM: Gee, the whole world is just going DVD-ROM, isn't it? In a not very surprising move, Columbia has plans to add DVD-ROM features to select titles. Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss what the first kickoff title will be, or they say they'll kill my dog (no, not Sparky!). But, it will be soon, and note that DVD-ROM features will not necessarily be standard on every title, although a general "web link" type of feature a la Universal titles may be. Stay tuned for more on this, and personally, I just hope they will be Mac compatible, or I'm gonna kill their dog. (Come here, Fifi, come here girl...). March 5 Arrival Double Feature & VersaDisc: While we're on the topic of new releases, Artisan has scheduled the just-broadcast TV miniseries Alice In Wonderland for May 25th, along with a double feature of The Arrival and Arrival 2, priced very well at $29.95 for the double-sided disc. (Thanks to Brian L. for the update.) Also, many have asked about the VersaDisc February installment. Yes, they are still going strong, and the issue will ship, but it is just a little late for February. If you are a subscriber, watch for it soon. If not, get your free subscription (hey, what do you have to lose?) over at DVD4U. March 4 Warner Does DVD-ROM: Warner has issued the official press release for the upcoming you've Got Mail DVD and VHS, and despite what your opinion of the film may be, it is a very exciting release for Warner. It will contain their first DVD-ROM features, and in fact seems to be the most extensive DVD-ROM accessible title yet. In addition to the usual DVD-Video extras such as commentary, documentary, cast & crew biographies, even an isolated score, etc., it will also allow DVD-ROM access to the script, extensive production calls sheets, music notes a tour or New York's Lower East Side and email correspondence between the film's stars. Also, there will be even more features accessible through the DVD-ROM portion via the film's web site (this requires Internet access, but then you have that already if you are reading this). Alas, my only complaint is that, once again, it is not Mac-compatible. I am looking to this, and there seems to be some complex reasons for this, mainly (so they say) Apple did not provide software development tools to aid in compatibility, as well as cost vs. potential viewership issues. Stay tuned. March 3 Pink Floyd The Wall Gets Its DVD: Leader of the old Pink Floyd (back when they were good) Roger Waters announced yesterday that Pink Floyd The Wall would be coming to DVD late this year. A call around to Columbia confirms this one is in production as well, and that Mr. Waters is accurate with the features, which look really good. 16x9, 5.1 remaster, at least a deleted scene or two, a commentary track and possibly a DTS track, though that will be difficult to pull off given space allowances (Pink Floyd are big DTS fans, you can be sure). Also, this will be a Columbia Music release, not a Columbia or Sony release (through this is practically the same thing). Tentative street date is September 1999. (Thanks to CS and Joe for the their help on this one.) Buena Vista: Look for Beloved, Holy Man, Monument Avenue, Simon Birch, Mighty Aphrodite, Sirens and a couple of personal picks, Velvet Goldmine and Muriel's Wedding, on May 18th. All will be the typical featureless and 16x9-deprived BV titles. Columbia: That Taxi Driver SE has a definitive date now of May 4th. It will include a new full-length documentary on the making of the film, and a few other goodies. Look for the same transfer and soundtrack as the previous edition. Alien "Saga": Just a quick note that the Alien 4-pak will actually be titled "The ALIEN Saga." Can't wait to see the box art for the set (note that like the Die Hard Trilogy, the set will contain the same 4 keepcases as the individual units, just in a nifty box with additional artwork and lobby cards). (Thanks to Gotcha Man for the info.) March 2 Fox's Spring Lineup: Fox has issued most of their full release schedule for the spring. Many of you have been wondering just what is up, as there have been some release lists with some titles and not others, titles bouncing around, etc. Anyway, Fox will be re-promoting Predator on DVD on May 25, along with two other Arnold flicks, True Lies and Commando. This release of Predator will be the same, however, the Canadian release information lists it as having additional production notes and cast bios, and motion menus. Alas, it will be the same transfer and sound mix as before, so it is not really a "re-release." Also, Romancing The Stone is also due on the 25th along with the already announced The Jewel Of The Nile. No word yet on exact features for these, though only The Alien films will be 16x9. For now, here is the full Fox titles thus far announced:
Note that Strange Days is now TBA. Let's hope this schedule doesn't change yet again, but as of today, this is it. Sigh. |
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