Now, for that Best Buy news. . .

I know that a lot of folks here buy their DVDs at Best Buy and I know that a lot of you eat at McDonald's, so here's something I ran across this evening, which might prove helpful for all of the DVDs due in the next month:

Apparently, from October 14th to November 10th, if you buy Large or Super Size French Fries, you'll get at least one "Best Buy Buck" that you can use toward whatever at Best Buy.  Some of the Best Buy Bucks will also be for $5 or $10, and you could also win Best Buy gift cards from $50 to $5000.

Here's a link to a thread at DVD Talk for more:

HOT! Eat McDonald's Fries - Get Best Buy Bucks for DVDs! 10/14-11/10

Now, personally, I can't stand McDonald's "hamburgers" (haven't had one in two and a half years), but their fries are always good, and this is a fairly decent deal if you buy your DVDs from Best Buy in between meals from McDonald's.

Starts Tuesday. . .

B&M wise, I think Circuit City is the best at $14.99 (it might be $15.99, but still the cheapest).  That's where I'm heading after work.  Its probably going to be hit or miss, because the Circuit City near me sucks when it comes to DVD releases.

Well, either way, it looks like Circuit is the place to beat on Scarface.

(Although, to be fair, a guy at the HTF is reporting that his Wal-Mart will have it for $15.18.  A lot of times, Wal-Mart will quietly beat the lowest prices from other chains, but they don't do a regular weekly ad, so nobody knows.  Plus, Wal-Mart prices can be all over the board depending on which stores you go to, so your mileage may vary.  You'll just have to check your local stores to make sure--which might be easier.  At least around here, Wal-Marts outnumber Circuit City stores by a huge margin.)

Well, here's the list of stuff that's believed to be in the Quadrilogy so far--by no means is it complete, and, again, we'll have to wait for Fox to announce it before we have a complete list.  They should be doing that shortly.

This was compiled by a poster at the Home Theater Forum named Jeff Krispow.  You can follow the entire 37-page thread here, if you so desire.

--Note--I'm quoting the rest from his reply on page 21 of that thread, but I'm not putting it in as a quote as I believe it is harder to read.

"The following is a partial list of the "officially" announced specs for Fox's upcoming The Alien Quadrilogy DVD set. The list of extras have been mostly provided from information released by the British Board of Film Classification (http://www.bbfc.co.uk).

NOTE: The BBFC-listed extras were provided to them by Fox for classification-purposes only, with the intent of including them on the British edition of the Alien Quadrilogy set. Although the feature set between the US and UK sets are likely identical, there is no guarantee that all the specs and extras will be identical between both discs, or that they will even be on the discs at all. Since this set is still in production, the items on this list are not final, and there will undoubtedly be some additions and deletions. So, until Fox "officially" announces the final spec list, please take this list as a "work in progress" only.

New Info: The Digital Bits website has been closely documenting the production of The Alien Quadrilogy for their upcoming book. Bill Hunt has confirmed that some of these BBFC-announced extras have already been omitted from the final set. (Unfortunately, I do not personally know which ones have been dropped.) So remember this as the list is updated with future BBFC specs…


LIST UPDATED ON: 09/25/2003
Officially confirmed items are marked with an asterisk (*)

ALIEN

RIDLEY SCOTT INTRODUCTION TO THE 2003 DIRECTOR’S CUT (0m 55s) *


ALIEN - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen) (116:24) *

ALIEN - 2003 DIRECTOR’S CUT FEATURE (widescreen) (115:46) *
(NOTE: Yes, the Director’s Cut is 37s shorter than the original version…)


AUDIO COMMENTARY (widescreen) (116m 24s)
Commentary featuring dir. Ridley Scott and members of the cast and crew (other participants TBA)


INTERVIEWS WITH RIDLEY SCOTT (8m 18s)
00:06:27:23 | ALIEN - INTERVIEWS WITH RIDLEY SCOTT
00:01:49:20 | ALIEN LASERDISC ARCHIVE - CHAPTER 4 - INTERVIEW WITH RIDLEY SCOTT


PRODUCTION (20m 59s)
00:00:54:03 | UNTITLED
00:00:57:09 | CHAPTER 7 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE
00:00:56:09 | CHAPTER 8 - OUTTAKE FOOTAGE
00:00:45:24 | CHAPTER 10 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE
00:00:18:22 | CHAPTER 11 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:00:30:16 | CHAPTER 11 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:00:17:03 | CHAPTER 11 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE C
00:02:07:12 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:00:33:08 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:00:15:01 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE C
00:00:27:07 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE D
00:00:35:02 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE E
00:00:22:18 | CHAPTER 12 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE F
00:00:30:01 | CHAPTER 13 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:00:37:20 | CHAPTER 13 - PRODUCTION & OUTTAKE FOOTAGE
00:00:09:24 | CHAPTER 14 - PRODUCTION & OUTTAKE FOOTAGE A
00:00:34:08 | CHAPTER 14 - PRODUCTION & OUTTAKE FOOTAGE B
00:00:11:03 | CHAPTER 14 - PRODUCTION & OUTTAKE FOOTAGE C
00:00:45:13 | CHAPTER 14 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE D
00:00:15:01 | CHAPTER 14 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE E
00:00:24:01 | CHAPTER 15 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:00:22:02 | CHAPTER 15 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:00:38:02 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:01:28:20 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:02:02:00 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE C
00:00:34:08 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE D
00:00:57:10 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE E
00:00:47:24 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE F
00:00:18:01 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE G
00:01:21:05 | CHAPTER 16 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE H


POST PRODUCTION (26m 47s)
00:01:39:21 | ALIEN - POST PRODUCTION
00:01:39:15 | ALIEN LASERDISC ARCHIVE - CHAPTER 17 - LAMBERT CONFRONTS RIPLEY
00:02:16:08 | KANE'S CONDITION
00:01:15:19 | RIPLEY AND PARKER
00:02:57:11 | PLANNING THE SEARCH
00:00:48:17 | A QUICK GLIMPSE
00:01:37:06 | RIPLEY REASSURES LAMBERT
00:01:02:21 | THE AIRLOCK SEQUENCE PT. 1
00:00:48:23 | THE AIRLOCK SEQUENCE PT. 2
00:05:44:09 | CH.17 - RIDLEY SCOTT INTERVIEW & THE COCOON SEQUENCE
00:00:22:01 | CHAPTER 17 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B - (MUTE)
00:00:38:02 | PRODUCTION FOOTAGE C - (MUTE)
00:01:17:02 | PRODUCTION FOOTAGE D
00:01:09:23 | CHAPTER 18 - TRAILER
00:00:29:04 | TV SPOT A
00:00:09:18 | TV SPOT B
00:02:49:24 | CHAPTER 20 - RIDLEY SCOTT INTERVIEW


ART OF ALIEN - SCREEN TEST FOOTAGE - SIGOURNEY WEAVER’S SCREEN TEST - W/OPTIONAL COMMENTARY (widescreen) (4m 26s)

BOB BURNS ALIEN COLLECTION (16m 52s) *

DELETED SCENES (widescreen) (15m 42s)
00:02:12:08 | Untitled
00:03:21:13 | THE DERELICT
00:02:06:14 | KANE'S CONDITION
00:01:38:06 | BRETT, PARKER AND RIPLEY ARGUE
00:02:54:02 | PLANNING SCENE
00:01:44:19 | RIPLEY SOOTHES LAMBERT
00:01:44:11 | AIRLOCK SEQUENCE

THE EIGHTH PASSENGER - CREATURE DESIGN DOCUMENTARY (31m 33s)
Featuring Ridley Scott, Ron Cobb, H.R. Giger, Harry Dean Stanton, Ronald Shusett, Michael Seymour, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Ivor Powell, Roger Christian, Dan O'Bannon, Brian Johnson, Derek Vanlint, Carlo Rambaldi

FUTURE TENSE - MUSIC & EDITING DOCUMENTARY (16m 28s)

MULTI-ANGLE CHESTBUSTER WITHOUT COMMENTARY (widescreen) (10m 27s)
00:05:13:09 | Untitled
00:05:13:09 | CHESTBURSTER ANGLE 3

MULTI-ANGLE CHESTBUSTER WITH COMMENTARY (widescreen) (5m 13s)
This is obviously part of the previous Multi-Angle extra

A NIGHTMARE FULFILLED - REACTION TO THE FILM - FEATURETTE (19m 19s)
Directed by Charles de Lauzirika

OUTWARD BOUND - VISUAL EFFECTS FEATURETTE (18m 51s)

PRODUCTION GALLERY - THE DARKEST REACHES NOSTROMO & ALIEN PLANET - FEATURETTE (17m 27s)

RIDLEY SCOTT Q & A (15m 38s)

STAR BEAST - DEVELOPING THE STORY FEATURETTE (18m 09s)
Featuring Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Ron Cobb, Ivor Powell, Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Alan Ladd, Jr.

TRUCKERS IN SPACE: CASTING FEATURETTE (15m 46s)

THE VISUALISTS - DIRECTION & DESIGN (16m 41s)
Featuring Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, David Giler, Gordon Carroll, Ridley Scott, Ivor Power, H.R. Giger


ALIEN - EXPERIENCE IN TERROR: PROMOTIONAL FEATURETTE '79 (7m 08s)

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN SHEPPERTON STUDIOS 1978 DOCUMENTARY (24m 03s)


TRAILER (0m 42s)

THEATRICAL TRAILER A (widescreen) (1m 07s)

ALIEN - THE DIRECTOR'S CUT THEATRICAL TRAILER (1m 54s)
NOTE: This was announced for theatrical issue, NOT the DVD set. This is likely the exact same trailer as the one below, with a minor time difference (probably an extra long leader on the ends for projectionists).

ALIEN - THE DIRECTOR'S CUT (widescreen) (1m 49s)
International Trailer B (NOTE: This trailer WAS announced for the DVD set. It is likely the exact same trailer as the one above. As such, I am including only this one in my time totals.)


TV SPOTS (0m 37s)
00:00:28:06 | ALIEN TV SPOTS
00:00:09:06 | TV SPOT: NOW PLAYING

Film(s) Running Time:
232m10s (3hr52m10s)

Supplementary Length:
431m23s (7hr11m23s)



ALIENS

JAMES CAMERON INTRODUCTION TO EXTENDED VERSION (0m 31) *


ALIENS - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen) (136m 32s) *

ALIENS - EXTENDED VERSION FEATURE (widescreen) (154m 17s) *


PRODUCTION (8m 09s)
00:00:20:19 | UNTITLED
00:00:04:13 | CHAPTER 13 - FILM FOOTAGE
00:00:12:21 | CHAPTER 16 - FILM FOOTAGE
00:00:19:10 | CHAPTER 17 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:00:24:06 | CHAPTER 17 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:00:57:18 | CHAPTER 18 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE
00:00:17:24 | CHAPTER 20 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:01:10:00 | CHAPTER 20 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:02:09:18 | CHAPTER 22 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE A
00:01:21:15 | CHAPTER 22 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE B
00:00:50:16 | CHAPTER 22 - PRODUCTION FOOTAGE


57 YEARS LATER: CONTINUING THE STORY FEATURETTE (10m 59s)

ALIENS UNLEASHED: REACTION TO THE FILM FEATURETTE (11m 38s)

BEAUTY AND THE BITCH: POWER LOADER VS. QUEEN ALIEN FEATURETTE (22m 25s)

BUG HUNT: CREATURE DESIGN (16m 23s)

BUILDING BETTER WORLDS: FROM CONCEPT TO CONSTRUCTION FEATURETTE (13m 28s)

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: MUSIC, EDITING AND SOUND FEATURETTE (15m 30s)

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES CAMERON (9m 29)

JAMES CAMERON INTERVIEW/FILM FOOTAGE (3m 13s)

THE POWER OF REAL TECH: VISUAL EFFECTS FEATURETTE (27m 49s)

PREPARING FOR BATTLE: CASTING AND CHARACTERIZATION FEATURETTE (16m 59s)

THE RISK ALWAYS LIVES: WEAPONS AND ACTION FEATURETTE (15m 12s)

THIS TIME IT'S WAR: PINEWOOD STUDIOS, 1985 FEATURETTE (19m 39s)

TWO ORPHANS: SIGOURNEY WEAVER AND CARRIE HENN FEATURETTE (13m 47s)


MULTI-ANGLE PRE-VIS ANIMATICS W/OPTIONAL COMMENTARY (3m 14s)

THE MAKING OF ALIENS (8m 08s)


INTERNATIONAL TRAILER (0m 29s)

DOMESTIC TRAILER (0m 32s)


TV SPOTS (0m 29s)


EASTER EGG - A BOY AND HIS POWER LOADER (9m 35s)

Film(s) Running Time:
290m49s (4hr50m49s)

Supplementary Length:
227m38s (3hr47m38s)



ALIEN 3

ALIEN 3 - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen) (114m 33s) *

ALIEN 3 - SPECIAL EDITION FEATURE (extended version, widescreen) (144m 38s) *


AUDIO COMMENTARY (widescreen) (114m 33s)
Commentary participants TBA


ADAPTIVE ORGANISM: CREATURE DESIGN FEATURETTE (20m 31s)

ADI'S WORKSHOP PRODUCTION FEATURETTES (23m 26s)
00:14:34:16 | PRODUCTION - PART II
00:08:51:08 | PRODUCTION FEATURETTE PART 3

DEVELOPMENT: CONCLUDING THE STORY FEATURETTE (16m 54s)

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION: TIME LAPSE SEQUENCE FEATURETTE (4m 33s)

MULTI-ANGLE SEGMENT E.E.V. BIOSCAN W/OPTIONAL COMMENTARY (12m 01s)
00:02:00:05 | UNTITLED
00:02:00:05 | E.E.V. BIOSCAN - ANGLE 2
00:02:00:06 | E.E.V. BIOSCAN - ANGLE 3
00:02:00:05 | E.E.V. BIOSCAN - ANGLE 4
00:02:00:05 | E.E.V. BIOSCAN - ANGLE 5
00:02:00:06 | E.E.V. BIOSCAN - ANGLE 6

MUSIC, EDITING & SOUND FEATURETTE (14m 50s)
Features Elliot Goldenthal, Gregory M. Gerlich, Gary S. Gerlich

OPTICAL FURY VISUAL EFFECTS FEATURETTE (part subtitled) (23m 18s)

POST MORTEM REACTION TO THE FILM FEATURETTE (5m 46s)

PRE-PRODUCTION: PART 3 FEATURETTE (1m 39s)

PRODUCTION: PART ONE FEATURETTE (18m 00s)

TALES OF THE WOODEN PLANET: VINCENT WARD'S VISION FEATURETTE (13m 09s)

XENO-EROTIC: H.R. GIGER'S REDESIGN FEATURETTE (10m 17s)


ALIEN 3 ADVANCE FEATURETTE (2m 47s)

THE MAKING OF ALIEN 3 (22m 25s)


TRAILER A (1m 00s)

TRAILER B (1m 07s)

TRAILER C (1m 01s)

TRAILER D (0m 31s)

TRAILER E (1m 06s)


TV SPOTS (2m 41s)
00:00:28:21 | ALIEN 3 TV SPOTS
00:00:14:09 | TV SPOT: THREE TIMES
00:00:15:12 | TV SPOT: EVERYWHERE
00:00:14:11 | TV SPOT: REVIEW
00:00:29:01 | UNTITLED
00:00:28:21 | TV SPOT: A TRUE KNOCKOUT
00:00:29:13 | TV SPOT: GALAXY REVIEW

Film(s) Running Time:
259m11s (4hr19m11s)

Supplementary Length:
311m35s (5hr11m35s)



ALIEN RESURRECTION

INTRODUCTION TO EXTENDED VERSION (widescreen) (0m 44s) *


ALIEN RESURRECTION - ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION (widescreen) (108m 38s) *

ALIEN RESURRECTION - EXTENDED VERSION FEATURE (widescreen) (115m) *


ALIEN RESURRECTION (Widescreen, DVD Director’s Audio Commentary) (108m 38s) *
Commentary with dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (unknown if any other participants)


CRITICAL JUNCTURE: REACTION TO THE FILM FEATURETTE (14m 26s)
Produced & Directed by Charles de Lauzirika

DEATH FROM BELOW: UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURETTE (31m 35s)

FRENCH TWIST: DIRECTION AND DESIGN FEATURETTE (26m 07s)

FROM THE ASHES: REVIVING THE STORY FEATURETTE (10m 03s)

GENETIC COMPOSITION MUSIC FEATURETTE (13m 08s)

IN THE ZONE: THE BASKETBALL SCENE FEATURETTE (6m 41s)

A MATTER OF SCALE: MINATURE PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURETTE (22m 48s)

MULTI-ANGLE SEGMENTS WITHOUT COMMENTARY (8m 34s)
00:02:51:09 | Untitled
00:02:51:09 | MULTI-ANGLE SEGMENTS - REHEARSALS
00:02:51:10 | MULTI-ANGLE SEGMENT - 3 ANGLES (mute)

TEST FOOTAGE CREATURES AND COSTUMES SEGMENTS (14m 27s)
00:09:49:03 | Untitled
00:04:38:09 | TEST FOOTAGE #1 - HAIR / MAKEUP

UNDER THE SKIN: CASTING AND CHARACTERIZATION FEATURETTE (12m 44s)

UNNATURAL MUTATION: CREATURE DESIGN FEATURETTE (26m 21s)

VIRTUAL ALIENS: COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY FEATURETTE (9m 51s)


THE MAKING OF ALIEN RESURRECTION (25m 42s)


ALIEN RESURRECTION - THEATRICAL TRAILER (2m 19s)


TV SPOTS (1m 41s)
00:00:28:22 | ALIEN RESURRECTION TV SPOTS
00:00:28:21 | TV SPOT: SCREAM
00:00:28:20 | TV SPOT: HOST
00:00:14:10 | TV SPOT: SCREAM CUT DOWN


ALIEN EXTRA EASTER EGG (6m 47s)

Film(s) Running Time:
223m48s (3hr43m48s)

Supplementary Length:
342m36s (5hr42m36s)



BONUS DISC

ALIEN EVOLUTION DOCUMENTARY — U.K. CHANNEL 4 (widescreen, part subtitled) (64m 31s)


ALIEN QUADRILOGY TRAILER (1m 05s)

ALIEN LEGACY TRAILER (1m 05s)

Supplementary Length:
66m41s (1hr06m41s)



PACKAGING

9-Disc DigiPak Packaging *
(Truely "The Ultimate in Horror!)


_____________________________________________
Film Running Time — Set Subtotal:
1005m48s (16hr 45m 48s)

Supplementary Running Time — Set Sub-total:
1379m53s (22hr59m53s)
________________________________________
Total Running Time — Entire DVD Set:
2385m41s (39hr45m41s)


ITEMS NOT IN THE U.S. SET
The following items are confirmed removed from the North American version of the set due to space limitations:

THE ALIEN LEGACY documentary (66m 51s)
(NOTE: This apparently IS being included in the various European versions of the set… just not the U.S. set. Phooey!"

Well, I originally wanted to do a "Top Five Biggest DVDs for the Rest of the Year" thing, and the first four were pretty easy, but I couldn't quite decide on number five.  So, instead, here's a few notable releases--maybe kind of like an honorable mentions type thing.  So, here goes:



A Christmas Story: 20th Anniversary Two-Disc Special Edition - Release Date: October 7th



The Lion King: Special Edition: Platinum Edition - Release Date: October 7th



Matrix Reloaded - Release Date: October 14th



Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - Release Date: November 18th



X2: X-Men United - Release Date: November 25th



Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: 2-Disc Collector's Edition - Release Date: December 2nd

-------------------------------------------------------------------



4.  Finding Nemo: 2-Disc Collector's Edition

Well, this has pretty much been the King of the 2003 Box-Office so far, and, more importantly, a great flick (one that I think I still have yet to read a negative review of).  Plus, the DVDs that Pixar and Disney have done for each of their other movies have been absolutely phenomenal, and when you combine that with this terrific movie, you have a no-brainer purchase.  Expect a ton of fun extra features, from folks that are terribly enthusiastic fans of the format, and a fantastic digital-to-digital transfer.

Release Date: November 4th

----------------------------------------------------------------------



3.  The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection

Well, ultimately, I'd have liked this to have been higher than third-place, but compared to the sheer amount of material we're getting with the top two choices, this just doesn't quite match up, with only around four-or-so hours of bonus features.

However, ultimately, the movie should be the most important factor in deciding whether or not to purchase the discs, and I think most of us here would agree that the Indy films are some of the finest action/adventure films ever made.  That, coupled with the fact that we've waited six years for Steve and George to put them on DVD, means that they could have no extras at all, and they'd still be a noteworthy release.

Expect some really nice transfers with this set, which Paramount has always excelled at, and which have all been digitally cleaned-up and remastered by THX, I believe.

Release Date: October 21st

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Special Extended DVD Edition

Not much to say here.  If you've got last year's phenomenal Extended Fellowship set (which everyone should), then expect more of the same this time around.  Also available in a Collector's Gift Set with a Gollum statue.  No word yet on if this one will include a free ticket to Return of the King, like last year, but I'd imagine it would.  Even if it doesn't, though--still a must-buy.

Release date:  November 18th

--------------------------------------------------------------------

And, in my opinion, the biggest DVD release for the rest of 2003:



1.  Alien Quadrilogy

This is nine discs' worth of Alien-y goodness, my friends.  Each movie gets two discs--one for the movie, one for the extras, and then there's yet another disc for more stuff.  Supposedly, we'll be getting both the extended cuts and the theatrical cuts for the first three flicks (and maybe Resurrection, as well).

All told, the extras on this bad boy are supposed to be right around forty hours or so, and that's not counting the length of the movies themselves.  This set is primed to be so good, that it should make up for the rather luke-warm reception that the third and fourth flicks have received--and supposedly, the "new" cut of Alien 3 is restoring it to be the flick that David Fincher intended it to be.

Fox hasn't announced a date for this thing (it was previously thought to be November 11th, and now it's rumored to be released on December 16th, but we'll have to wait on their official announcement to be sure).

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(Dare I say it?)

Thoughts?  

Keep the info flowing V, and it was nice catching you in "that other forum section" yesterday for once!    

Yeah, well, you can catch my pathetic excuse in my reply to that thread. . .  

Also, some HUGE RELEASE NEWS today:



Woo-hoo!  December 9th, boys and girls!  Get'cha some.

But seriously--added a bunch of stuff today (for December and next year), and link-ified a few more to Deep Discount.

Having problems with my computer today, so I'm going to keep this short, but I'll be back later with my top five big releases for the remainder of the year.

I'm not sure if this is the same article I vaguely remember reading, but it answers your question anyway.

Quote

He likes sarsaparilla, too, which may taste like root beer but isn't. America used to drink sarsaparilla, says the king -- now it can't even spell it.

Right on.  Thanks for the link--it even prompted me to do a Google search for (of course), "difference between sarsaparilla and root beer".

So this is from the first thing it pulled up:

During the taste test, our reviewers had difficulty guessing which of the samples were root beers and which were sarsaparillas. The Overall Taste scores, however, show lower scores for the sarsaparilla samples. In general, sarsaparilla seems to be less full-bodied, less creamy and less rich than root beer. The small sample cups used in our experiment seem to favor the brands with the most intense, full-bodied flavor, which can be ascertained in just a few sips. In this situation, sarsaparilla will be at a disadvantage. And in one notable instance, the red food coloring used in some sarsaparillas brought an uneasy reminder of sweetened cough syrup, creating a lower score for the sample.

Great American Root Beer Showdown

(Side note:  So apparently, my dream of referring to root beer as "sarsaparilla" in order to make myself sound cool and different will remain just that: a dream.)  

And, these are the top five root beers tested according to the guys at the above link:

Bulldog Root Beer
Ed McCaffrey's Creamy Root Beer
Rat Bastard Root Beer
Tubz Root Beer
X Root Beer Riot

Haven't heard of any of them.  

So. . .

What's the difference between root beer and sarsaparilla?

(I had to look up "sarsaparilla" in the dictionary, for the spelling, and it was defined as "a tropical American plant; a soft drink made from its root.")

So then, of course, I had to look up what it said for "root beer", which was the following:

"A carbonated beverage flavored with syrup made from the extracted juices of roots, barks, and herbs."

Maybe sarsaparilla is just taken from the root of the sarsaparilla plant, while root beer is a mix of a whole bunch of stuff.

Or, then again, maybe it's a regional thing--different names for the same thing.  I know I don't see sarsaparilla here in Oklahoma, but I saw it a bunch during a road trip of the western U.S. a couple years ago.  Got some, of course, and it tasted pretty much the same as regular old root beer (to me, anyway).

Anyone got the low-down?  All I know is, if they're the same exact thing, I'm going to start saying "sarsaparilla" instead of root beer, because, I'm dumb, and I just think it sounds cooler.