2004 DVD Release List

[Matt]

So, what to watch first tonight:

--Lost in Translation?

--American Splendor?

--Rain Man: Special Edition?

--Planet of the Apes: 35th Anniversary Edition?

or. . .

--Ed Wood: Special Edition?  

Mwah-ha-ha. . .

 

[Fettish Sez Thanks]

Sounds like my line up..

"Lost in Translation" (Haven't watched it yet..)
"American Splendor" (Unique, but kinda disappointed..)
"The Fighting Temptations" (Haven't watched it yet..)


I rented "Mimic" because I am rounding out my Guillermo del Toro kick, after seeing "The Devil's Backbone" last night. Groovy flick, by the way, and the subtitles made it more enjoyable, actually.

Rented "Thirteen Ghosts" as well, because I saw bits and pieces, and it looked interesting. It was, but the movie left something to be desired.

Lastly, I am ashamed to say it, but I rented "National Security". In between Guillermo del Toro flicks, I am on a Steve Zahn kick. I loved him in "Daddy Day Care", so much I bought it, and the same for "Joy Ride". But this one was nothing but Martin Lawrence's tired racial jokes coming rapid fire, one after another.

Anyone recommend "Saving Silverman"?  

[Fettish Sez Thanks]

Well, heres the skinny Re: "Ed Wood", from  The Digital Bitsand  VideoBusiness.com

But in the interest of helping as many of you find copies of the Ed Wood: Special Edition as possible, without having to buy it on eBay for $100+ from would-be profiteers (which is just plain wrong), we wanted to update you on where readers are finding it. Supposedly, Borders and Blockbuster have put it up for sale, along with many Costco locations (and probably other warehouse retailers as well). We've had readers tell us that a few Best Buys locations have also made it available for sale. Some Fred Meyer store locations apparently have it available, and many of those who were smart enough to pre-order the disc on Amazon are being told via e-mail that their discs have shipped. The message is that the disc is out there, and you should act fast if you want it.

FEB. 2 | Buena Vista Home Entertainment has pulled the planned Feb. 3 release of its DVD special edition of Ed Wood, leaving some retailers stuck with product to return and others wondering why the title was yanked so close to street date.

"Distribution dates get changed all the time," a BVHE spokesman said, adding that the studio is looking for a better date to release the DVD.

Trans World Entertainment's executive VP of merchandising, marketing and inventory management Fred Fox said he had been told the title was pulled because of a rights issue.

Another source told VB that director Tim Burton was unhappy with the DVD extras. Burton's publicist could not be reached for comment by press time.

Buena Vista said the DVD release is being postponed, not canceled, and that no changes are expected on the disc, which includes a

commentary by Burton and actor Martin Landau, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes footage hosted by actor Johnny Depp, a cross-dressing retrospective and a featurette.

Musicland Stores and its Suncoast Motion Picture Company had begun taking preorders on the title and some had already received product, which they were told to return, a spokeswoman said. Trans World's FYE stores had also received the DVDs, said Fox.

Buena Vista wasn't able to recall all copies. On eBay, sellers were advertising the DVDs as recalled and pricing them as high as $150.

It's the second time the Ed Wood DVD has been delayed. It was first scheduled for release in late 2002.

[Matt]

Now, does this mean that I have to send my three copies back?

 

[SilverZ]

Yes, do as Disney says and send them back to be properly destroyed. Look into the Rat's eyes... obey!  

Found a couple copies of E.Wood at Blockbuster this morning after an otherwise futile search, and even at that it took about 12 stores to find one that actually received them. Took so much time I didn't have a chance to actually bother with Translation, Splendor, or Apes! Have to grab them tomorrow.

I did get to see something pretty cool tonight though - there's a theater here, called the Arclight, that every few weeks does special screenings of classic and contemporary movies, shown on one of their nice new stadium screens. Tonight they ran Planet of the Apes, and had a Q&A with the movie's producer afterwards. It was really, really fun. I want that new disc more than ever now.

J

[Matt]

Update:

I just sent my three copies of Ed Wood (two sealed, one opened, but unwatched), back to Disney.

Hopefully, they'll see it in their hearts to at least send me some kind of gift certificate or rebate or something.

God damn them.  

 

[Scott]

Hopefully, they can give you some Marion Ravenwood Figures in return



Fingers Crossed for you

[Morgbug]

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040202/20cfox.htm

[jokabofe]

that alien head is sooo sweet... anybody have any contacts in japan that might be willing to import one for me  



looks like it comes with some kind of alien kubrick as well... i need it!!

[Fettish Sez Thanks]

Anyone else spot "Ed Wood" in abundance? I forgot to mention, I;d like to own it.

[jokabofe]

Virex, do you run any region-free DVD players or drives? I'm honestly looking forward more to the Japanese Kill Bill release...

same here, although i haven't seen any real confirmation that the blue leaves scene is going to be in full color yet. i have read that overseas in japan - and even a few other countries -  that scene was shown theatrically in vibrtant color. now, i got my hands on a dvd quality pal version "bootleg" a while back, and that scene is in black & white (i was soooo disappointed) so i'm not sure what to think.

and yeah, if anybody has any extra copies of 'ed wood' laying around, hook me up already!!  hint, hint

[SilverZ]

I suppose it depends on how lazy they are when the master the disc. There was a time when the Japanese (and, oddly, Korean) versions of their discs usually came from different prints and had less compression artifacts since they normally don't cram the discs full of useless extras, like here.  I've been burned a few times lately by Disney discs that I've imported though, like Pirates of the Carribean. The US disc looks HORRIBLE, and unfortunately the Korean disc looks just as poor. I really, really hope the KB doesn't suffer the same fate. I want the disc with that scene in color, since it sounds from all the discussion that it was a R/NC17 ratings issues that pushed it to B&W here.

The Alien (non-head version) is up at CDJapan:
Alien
They're pretty good about responding to emails (in English) and it might be worth asking about the head.

J

[SilverZ]

They're pretty good about responding to emails (in English) and it might be worth asking about the head.

Wow, re-reading my post, this is kinda funny taken out of context.

[SilverZ]

and the the OT DVD release is official:

Star Wars set for DVD bow
Tue 10 February, 2004 06:16
 
By Brett Sporich

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Star Wars Trilogy," one of the most-requested DVD episodic film franchises, is expected to be released as a four-disc DVD box set on September 21.

A global rollout on DVD is expected within days of the domestic release, according to Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The trilogy, featuring the classic franchise films "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," will be released on three DVD discs, with a fourth disc likely to hold a newly made documentary about the "Star Wars" franchise and never-before-seen footage, among several other bonus materials, said Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's vice president of marketing and distribution and the DVD trilogy's executive producer.

"We are currently in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD release, so we're still working on details of the marketing strategy," Ward said. "But I believe that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all media."

Lucasfilm and Fox chose the September release date to maximise on holiday gift buying during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, 20th Century Fox president Mike Dunn said.

"We sold about 17 million VHS 'Star Wars' units during two fall release periods in '95 and '97," he said.

Combining huge consumer demand for the "Star Wars" franchise with being first out of the gate during the busy fourth-quarter home video market, Fox and Lucasfilm are hoping to cash in on DVD sales throughout the holidays and up until the theatrical release of "Star Wars: Episode III," which is set for release nationwide May, 25, 2005, Dunn and Ward said.

Each of the three films in the "Star Wars Trilogy" has been digitally restored and remastered for sound and picture quality, Ward said.

"First and foremost, the DVDs will deliver the very best possible sound and picture and take advantage of everything the medium can offer," Ward said. "On top of that, we are creating added-value material that gets inside the creation of the 'Star Wars' films in a fresh and fun way. We want watching this DVD collection to be as memorable as seeing the movies for the first time."

The films of the "Star Wars Trilogy" will be sold exclusively as a collection at a still-to-be-determined retail price and not separately, Fox executives said. However, retailers have been known to break up DVD box sets and sell individual titles after the first month out on store shelves.

[Scott]

The Star Wars Trilogy on DVD