By Peter M. Bracke

December 30 and 31 : Last post of 2000; Dreamworks unveils Oscar contenders; new Columbia March catalog announcements; Warner Oliver Stone reprice and Elvis announcement

Well, I guess this is it, what will most likely be our last release news update for 2000. It has been quite a year, and the number of DVDs that were and continue to be announced on a weekly basis is nothing I would have ever predicted when I first bought my player back in 1997. Remember those first 25 Warner titles? The "only available in seven test markets" thing? My, how far we have come! So, here's to 2000, and great expectations for 2001.

Dreamworks announces two Oscar hopefuls

Though I'm sure Dreamworks was a bit disappointed by the box office performance this past fall of both Almost Famous and The Contender, with the Academy Award nominations looming, there is always hope that Oscar consideration might bring in more audiences to these overlooked films. Coming on 2/27 is a special edition of The Contender, featuring audio commentary with director Rod Lurie, a featurette, deleted footage, production notes, cast bios and trailers in addition to the usual anamorphic widescreen transfer and English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks.

Three weeks later on 3/13 comes Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, in a new, never-before-seen 30-minute longer cut. Though there will be no additional extras aside from the obligatory production notes, cast bios and trailer, the disc features a 1.85;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks. Retail is $26.95 each.

Columbia March catalog titles

Columbia announced this past week the full specs for some upcoming catalog titles due 3/13. After a very long wait, Barry Levinson's acclaimed Avalon arrives, though aside from an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese 2.0 surround tracks, talent files and trailers, the disc includes no additional extras. Also arriving is the biblical adaptation The Story of Joseph And Jacob, in full frame and English, French and Spanish 1.0 mono, and the thriller Shadow Of Doubt (not to be confused with the Hitchcock classic), in 1.85:1 widescreen, English 5.1 and English and French 2.0 surround. Both discs also include talent files and trailers, and retail is $24.95 each.

Oliver Stone Collection reprice update

After much confusion due to varying prices released for the upcoming Oliver Stone Collection due on 1/16, Warner Home Video has issued a formal notice on the correct retail price. (You can read the original press release here.)

The correction reads "Previously listed prices for Warner Home Video's Oliver Stone Collection (available January 16) were misprinted on our previous press release. The correct prices are as follows:" DVD 6-movie giftset priced at $166.68 SRP/$119.92 MAP (includes "Any Given Sunday Special Edition Director's Cut" Deluxe Double-Disc Set, "Born on the Fourth of July," "The Doors," "JFK Special Edition Director's Cut," "Natural Born Killers," "Wall Street," and career retrospective "Oliver Stone's America" while the 10-movie giftset is priced at $276.78 SRP/$199.92 MAP (includes all of the above plus "Nixon," "Talk Radio," "U-Turn," and "Heaven And Earth"). The Warner individual titles "JFK Special Edition," "Natural Born Killers," and "Heaven and Earth" remain at $24.95 each, while the double-disc set of Any Given Sunday and "Oliver Stone's America" are unavailable except in the box sets. The single-disc version of Any Given Sunday, however, will remain on the market. Expect an editorial on this one next week!

Finally, Warner has also announced a 3/6 date for a special edition of Elvis: That's The Way It Is. The disc features 27 songs and 30 minutes of never-before-seen rehearsal footage. Produced by award-winning filmmaker Rick Schmidlin (Touch of Evil, Greed, Doors: Live at the Hollywood Bowl) and his team, the special edition "includes close-ups of Presley's famous footwork and guitar work, cut-aways of the band, never-before-seen footage including ten musical numbers, and Elvis' off-stage antics." Retail is $24.95, and you can read the full press release here.

December 22 through December 29: 'Wonder Boys' rescheduled; 'Meet The Parents' specs

'Wonder Boys' delayed

Paramount has just sent us a brief announcement that due to its Golden Globe success (nominations including Best Picture and Michael Douglas for Best Actor), the DVD and VHS releases of Wonder Boys,, originally due on 1/9, have been pushed back until a new date is announced. My guess is that if the film snags any Oscar nominations (usually announced in February), we'll see a new date then. Let the Oscar season begin!

More on 'Meet The Parents'

Universal has just issued the full press release for the 3/6 bow of the megahit comedy Meet The Parents, and the full specs look pretty dang good. Not one but two audio commentaries, with director Jay Roach and editor Jon Poll, and the second with cast members Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller, director Jay Roach and producer Jane Rosenthal, deleted scenes and outtakes, interactive games and more. Retail is $26.95.

Universal has also issued the press release for the Keanu Reeves thriller The Watcher. A pretty bare bones disc, with only production notes, cast bios and the trailer to keep the main feature company. Retail is also $26.95.

December 21 : 'Oliver Stone' confusion; Blair Witch 2 arrives...sort of; MGM announces 'The Fantasticks'

Nancy Drew, help us!

In a mystery worthy of a really, really good Scooby Doo episode, the hotly-anticipated Oliver Stone Collection, due on 1/16, seems to be flipping prices on us. While the press release announced prices of $199 for the 10-disc set and $119 for the 6-disc set, while retailers are now selling these sets based on a $276 and $166 list price, respectively. Why the discrepancy?

Well, we looked into it and Warner seems to have released different prices to retail via their direct web site (where the higher prices still stand), and to consumers and the press via the press release. A Warner spokeswoman we spoke with yesterday was not aware of the discrepancy, but Warner will now be looking into it (mismatched prices doesn't help anyone, to be sure.) Of course when some final word comes back to us, we'll post. Let's just hope the lower price turns out to be the actual one!

Book Of Shadows

I guess there is no easy way to say it, but Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 was a box office disaster. While the original grossed over $140 million in the U.S. alone, the sequel scared up less than $30 million, which is about what the first one did in a weekend! Perhaps folks just didn't care anymore? Anyway, Artisan has announced a 2/20 date...for the VHS only. While an Artisan spokesman we spoke to said a DVD would be forthcoming, the date and price hasn't been set and may not arrive day & date with the videotape. But some features to watch for include a widescreen transfer, audio commentary, "The Secret Of Esrever" feature (also on the VHS), deleted scenes, trailers and extensive DVD-ROM features. So is this another example of a DVD being delayed for extra features, or just a studio once again wanting to milk the VHS release for extra rental profits before the DVD eats into sales? We'll see.

A modern musical

After it sat on the shelves for years, MGM finally decided to release the modern musical The Fantasticks earlier this year, but it barely caused a ripple at the box office. But, it sounds interesting, so you can check it out the DVD on 2/27 for yourself. The disc features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English and French 5.1 surround mixes, an audio commentary with Director Michael Ritchie, deleted and extended songs, additional deleted footage and an alternate ending . Retail is $24.95.

December 20 : 'Lost Souls' due in February; new Columbia March February and March titles; Warner announcements

Get DVD

Hot off its disappointing theatrical run, Warner has announced a special edition of the Sly Stallone remake of Get Carter, due 2/27. The disc is feature-rich, with an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 mix, audio commentary with director Stephen Kay, deleted scenes, cast & crew bios and the theatrical trailer. Retail is only $19.95. Check out the full press release here.

The Exorcist + Stigmata = Lost Souls

Proving once again that Hollywood loves scripts written by osmosis, New Line will be debuting the religious horror thriller Lost Souls on 2/27. The disc features a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, an audio commentary with longtime Spielberg cinematographer turned first-time director Janusz Kaminski, deleted scenes, the complete screenplay with direct scene access accessible via DVD-ROM, the trailer and cast filmographies.

Also coming from New Line is the kiddie vampire comedy(?) The Little Vampire on 3/6. The disc features anamorphic widescreen and full frame versions, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, and "kid-interactive" extras including three animated menu-based games, jokes, recipes, the original website and the full screenplay accessible via DVD-ROM, cast & crew biographies and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $24.95.

Columbia winter news

Just in time for the holidays, some early Columbia street dates have come our way. First up is The Broken Hearts Club on 3/6, which features anamoprhic widescreen and full screen formats, English 5.1 and English and French 2.0 surround tracks, an audio commentary with Director Greg Berlanti and Producer Mickey Lidell, deleted scenes with commentary, talent files and trailers. Retail is $29.95. Then watch for some pretty cool stuff this winter, including The Right Temptation also on 3/6. then Barry Levinson's Avalon, episodes of the television series Starship Troopers: Roughnecks and the art-house flicks The Story of Joseph & Jacob and The Tao Of Steve, all on 3/13. Other goodies to look forward to in late March include a Krull special edition, Postcards From The Edge and some little movie called Lawrence Of Arabia...

Universal announcements

Finally today, Universal has announced the arrival of two art-house imports, Wonderland and The Tic Code, arriving on 2/27. Both are rather straightforward discs, in widescreen with 2.0 tracks, and the usual production notes, trailers and weblinks. Retail is $24.95 each.

December 19 : 'Terminator' news; Paramount March hints

"I'll be back"

Attention Terminator fans, if you live in Region 4, for once you might actually be able to get a cool title months before we here in Region 1 do. Normally, it seems that North America gets most big titles earlier than the rest of the world, but MGM overseas has announced a March arrival for the long-awaited Terminator special edition months before we're gonna get it. Complete with new transfer, 5.1 mix, new "Terminator: A Retrospective" and "Other Voices" documentaries, deleted scenes, the film's original treatment, first draft and final shooting script, extensive still galleries and multiple trailers and teasers, this release sounds pretty good, eh?

Unfortunately for those with little patience, MGM told us yesterday that the Region 1 version of The Terminator is a ways off...not until at least the third quarter of 2001. Needless to say, the above Region 4 details will probably give a good hint at what will be on the release here, though we'll just have to wait and see. The cover art has also been released, and of course a number of non-Region 1 DVD sites are abuzz with the news, so you can check out our Resources page if you want to find out more. Let's hope good things will come to those who wait...

'Survivor' update and Paramount March title hint

Paramount has just issued an update on that Survivor "Season 1 Highlights" DVD due on 1/6. Originally announced as 16x9, the disc is actually full frame only. Also, a bit more interesting was a small little note at the bottom of the February press release announcement giving a sneaky hint at Paramount's March titles. It mentioned that coming in March, look for "More Audrey Hepburn classics, more Star Trek original TV series and more big-name romantic genre catalog titles (speculation invited)..."

Hmmmm, sounds interesting, and when a studio so generously asks for speculation, who am I to say refuse? And since Paramount mentioned such classic lovey-dovey titles as Love Story at Studio Day, and owns the rights to such Hepburn favorites as Roman Holiday, Sabrina and Funny Face, it is fun to guess what these titles might be. Actually, you know, if I wanted to dream I'd ask for a reissue of that Breakfast At Tiffany's disc as a special edition on par with the previous laserdisc version. And a Hepburn box set would be even better, wouldn't it? Hey, it is fun to speculate...and dream...

December 18 : New Top Pick contest; Latest Universal, Columbia and Paramount announcements

This week's Top Pick contest - Holiday Wonderland

With the end of the year upon us, it seems only fitting to celebrate the eve of the real new millennium with our last Top Pick contest of 2000 and go out with a bang. So today we present our Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza mega-spectacular, which we call Holiday Wonderland. While our Top Pick proper this week is New Line's Se7en (do I need to tell you this 2-disc marvel is a great set and to go out and buy it?), we'll also be giving away a few other nifty prizes. We're staging multiple giveaways, plus one grand prize drawing.

Here's how it works. Just go to our contest page, and you can enter one of the following contests: Se7en, the Friends Best Of 2-pack, The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen, or Road Trip (which has been extended beyond last night's previous deadline.) Then, one winner out of all the entrants will be picked at random to receive the grand prize, a copy of all these discs plus a gift certificate from one of our sponsors, Better Cables. So, what have you got to lose? Check out the contest page for your chance to win.

And a nice job goes out to last week's winner, Greg Hubbard of Providence, Rhode Island, who picked up a copy of HBO's The Sopranos box set. Congrats!

Someone's watching me?

A surprise box office hit last fall, Universal will be releasing the thriller The Watcher on 2/20, though perhaps the only thing scary about this film is the sight of Keanu Reeves trying to act. Anyway, the disc features a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 surround mix, production notes, cast and filmmakers biographies, the theatrical trailer and DVD-ROM features including wallpaper and screensavers. Retail is $26.95.

Also new from Universal, and though already announced as part of the Spike Lee Collection box set (along with Crooklyn and Jungle Fever,) Mo Better Blues will be available separate on 1/30. The disc features an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 2.0 surround track, production notes, cast biographies and the trailer. Retail is $24.95.

More Chan

Coming on 2/20 from Columbia is the latest Jackie Chan opus to hit DVD, The Prisoner. The disc features an anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, an audio commentary with Martial Arts Expert Philip Rhee, production notes, talent files and the trailer. Retail is $24.95.

Hot 'Pursuit'

Finally today, we have a new day & date announcement from Paramount, for the thriller In Pursuit. The disc features an anamorphic transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround mixes, an audio commentary with director Peter Pistor and writer John Penney, a still gallery and the trailer. Retail is $29.95 and street date 2/27.