Pete 2000

With 2000 drawing to a close, once again I think to myself as I look in the mirror "Man, is time flying by, and damn do I look old!" Unfortunately, DVD's are reflective, so every time I pop one in my player, I think the same thing again. Sigh.

Anyhow, with the New Year almost here, it is time to look back, reflect on the good and the bad, and look ahead to what could be. Normally, I'd sound off on various discs from this past year, but this time I decided that since so many others here have already, I'd rather just take a look at some notable developments, and ponder what we might see in 2001 and beyond.

Attack of the Killer DVD Magazines

Now, here's a hot trend - the DVD magazine. Total Movie, Widescreen Review, Inside DVD, DVD Preview, and the already-established Short and Circuit journals...more and more publications are either offering DVD's as adjuncts to their magazines or special issues, or producing content directly for the format. But why now? Perhaps the advances in disc authoring and the lowering production and replication costs are making these sorts of ideas more feasible and attractive. Are they any good? Sort of. Many are just collections of trailers, which ain't bad, but some offer more, from original content, previews of DVD features, rare shorts and celebrity appearances. Will these DVD mags take off, or simply become gimmicky ways to sell magazines? Hey, if I can get cool stuff on free or near-free DVDs, do I care?

Special editions becoming...not so special

Alright, we all know it, so let's admit it. A commentary just ain't so special anymore. Making-of documentary? Been there, done that. Deleted scenes and extended cuts? If DVD's don't have these, we almost feel cheated. And heaven forbid you don't include the trailer....

In 2000, it was clear that all the studios embraced the special edition concept, and it is possible more extra content was produced for DVD in 2000 by the studios than all the years of laserdisc output combined. Sure, some of it was crappy promo featurettes or content available elsewhere, like music videos, but just the fact that just about every DVD featured some sort of bulletpoint on the back was noteworthy. Of course, the danger here is that consumers will become so immune to commonplace special features that just presenting the movie in great shape will be deemed "less than." Hey, I love extras as much as the next geek, but it is about the movie, isn't it? Witness this hostility to directors who don't want to do supplements or certain kinds of them. Sure, a Spielberg commentary would be cool, but if they guy doesn't want to do one, is there some law against it? Geesh!

The other drawback to the special edition bonanza is that studios will have to jump higher and higher to outdo each other, and instead of admittedly straightforward if dependable supplements like documentaries and commentaries, we'll get tons of discs with so many bells and whistles they'll seem more like a Christmas Tree than a DVD. As much as it may become "ordinary," give me a well-produced documentary or commentary, and I'm much happier than having to wade through submenu after submenu of lame gimmick extras.

Those damn Easter Eggs

Okay, sorry, but I'm not really into the "easter egg" concepts. Sure, they can be fun, but it is really obnoxious when I pay $30 bucks for a disc with some cool advertised special feature, and I have to figure out some damn puzzle just to access it. In the past, hidden features put in most software (such as video games) were there because they had to be. Designers often didn't get credit for their work, or wanted to congratulate users who were experimenting, but this trend of advertising special features and hiding major supplements is really risking overkill.

And I'm sure I'll aggravate someone by saying this, but I have this sinking feeling many studios and producers are starting to include easter eggs because, quite frankly, the content being hidden isn't compelling enough to stand on its own. Sure, some cute outtake or rarity is cool to hide, but if a featurette, alternate ending, documentary or some other footage is way cool, you shouldn't need to hide it. And laserdisc ports are the worst...hey, we know this stuff was on the laserdisc, so if you hide it, it won't impress us more.

Rental pricing

Last year, I'll admit, I was probably an alarmist about this one. This year, and I'm probably being premature, but I'm feeling better about it. Looking at sales figures for titles like X-Men, Gladiator and the ever-popular The Matrix, if the studios wait any longer to introduce rental pricing, they'll be selling so many DVD hotcakes it may not matter. If, with only 13 million or so players in homes, Dreamworks can sell millions of copies of Gladiator, in a year or two, they'll be selling so many who cares if everyone buys it rather than rents it?

And since the only way rental pricing is going to fly is with a concentrated effort on behalf of all the studios, and a model that retailers will accept, the threat of rental pricing could just evaporate before it gains up enough steam to fly. Seeing as how it takes them forever to finish anything that requires teamwork (copy protection, anyone?) perhaps they'll be fighting over that last piece of holiday cake so long they'll exhaust themselves until it is too late. Hey, let me have my fantasies of a future without DVD rental pricing, okay?

Bad menu design

Ugh. Okay, nifty animated menus can rock. But they call also suck. I just have one tip for our friends of misery, the menu designer. Please don't make me have to read a manual to understand how to navigate your menus. Make subsection headings understandable and that clearly describe what they contain. The Cast & Crew section doesn't have to be "Personnel Cell Block D-6," okay? And those cool transitions? Yeah, there sweet, but only the first time or two. Trust, me, after the tenth run-through, they are pretty damn annoying! I hear from some authoring friends that the DVD spec supports hardware-based control that can allow users to set up their players to disengage transitions, and even allow the menu to start up before the main feature or not. Hey, hardware manufacturers, give it a try!

But, lest I sound too bitchy, let me say the majority of menus out there are pretty nice, well organized and easy to use. But those guilty parties who like menus more fancy than the movie, you know who you are.

The DVD-18

Okay, here is a bold prediction. The DVD-18 will be dead by 2002. It seems that most, myself included, are starting to just like 2-disc sets better. Same amount of content, you can get a cool label on each disc, less likely to scratch and as of now they are cheaper to replicate. And, right or wrong, a 2-disc set just feels like more even if it isn't. With consumers seemingly indifferent to the DVD-18, why should studios pay the increased replication premiums and deal with high error rates? My guess? They won't.

Licensing turns passion into profit

Another bold, perhaps foolish prediction. The issue of licensing will become the major roadblock for DVD in 2001 and beyond. Make no mistake...all these companies that produced laser supplements know how big DVD is getting. Do you think they're going to give up their stuff cheap now to the studios, especially since the studios are producing DVDs now all by themselves and keeping all the profits? If you created some cool supplement for some cheesy old Universal B-title, would you just give it up cheap? I wouldn't. So will tons of laserdisc treasures disappear in the mists of licensing hell? I'm afraid I think so. Greed usually wins, not the consumer.

And talent! With DVD raking in millions for the studios, I think actors, directors and artists are gonna want a cut of it. In the innocent days of laserdisc, talent usually contributed because they loved film. And, certainly, many still do with DVD. But trust me, those snarky agents in Hollywood aren't gonna ignore the DVD gravy train for very long. Why shouldn't Mr. Big Megastar get a cut of the profits on a DVD if he did a commentary or documentary? Perhaps the pending strike will be the nail in the coffin...and if expenses go up, so will our prices. So, can I blame it all on Tom Cruise yet?

User-friendly DVD production

With authoring software coming close to consumer affordability (but not quite there), it is only a matter of time before do-it-yourself DVD production becomes accessible for more "average joes." Home movies on DVD? Not inconceivable. While I think the general consumer won't want to bother with authoring, it could be a real boon to angry collectors miffed they can't get those cool laserdisc features on their DVDs. Hey, grab DeCSS, digitize that Escape From New York laserdisc commentary, and reauthor your lame-ass MGM DVD. Sound farfetched? In this age of Napster and "dimpled chad" becoming a household word, anything can happen...

George Lucas will spontaneously combust

Okay, just kidding...

Dan L's 2000 DVD in Review

Since I just started writing reviews for DVDFILE back in September, I have not been with them very long. One might think I have very little to say. Well, at least everyone but Pete and Cliff. It's now time for me to let loose with my feelings about the year that was 2000.

Best Studios

New Line - While New Line doesn't release truckloads of titles, they have put the most effort into them. New Line's SE's are reference quality, and I have yet to question their choices. I'm eagerly awaiting their final SE of the year, Seven. Even when New Line doesn't create a SE, their standard releases are top notch. They're always widescreen and normally presented with new Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes. My only peeves? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II & III, where are they?

Dreamworks - Yes, there have been issues with their release patterns. They pulled a Saving Private Ryan again this year by delaying American Beauty about six months behind the tape. But was anyone truly disappointed in the results? Every disc they have produced has contained some form of supplements, plus they don't bog down their releases with P/S (a.k.a. Pan & Scan, or in my book, Piece o' shit) transfers. Their discs have been at the leading edge for both picture and sound quality. Also, aside from Galaxy Quest, all of Dreamworks' released DD/DTS releases have been on the same disc this year.

Fox - From goat to hero in less than 12 months, Fox Video has done almost everything right this year. Excluding their minor stumble of not providing the Planet of the Apes box set in anamorphic (Yes, I know the cost issue), almost every other disc released this year has delivered exceptional quality. Even, as much as I hate to admit it, Independence Day. Fox created one of the best SE this year with Fight Club. Considering how much stuff was packed into the disc, I can understand why this title was a few months behind the tape. An added bonus? Fox is going back and reissuing some of their early product with new anamorphic transfers and DTS audio. Finally, they understand how to release TV shows on DVD, excluding Ally McBeal.

Columbia/TriStar - How do I sum up Columbia? Consistent since day one. Top notch transfers, delivering most of the features people want. Their only bad move? Not admitting when they screwed up transfers. Silverado and Leon, The Professional were never recalled. But, I guess this is typical of any studio. Best Independent Studio A & E - Making incredible efforts with television programming. The Monty Python Flying Circus episodes look great, for a thirty-year-old show. When they released Life of Python, they wisely released the unedited BBC version. While I haven't bought them, I've heard nothing but praise for A & E's releases of The Prisoner and Avengers. Next year looks even better with Space 1999 and Thunderbirds scheduled.

Most Improved Studio

Fox Video - Duh, was there really any question about which company improved the most? Just think, in 1999 the Alien Legacy was a stunning development; it was the first major anamorphic release from Fox. People were bitching about their over priced discs, such as Ever After and Home Alone for $34.98. Now it's news if a title isn't anamorphic. It's news if their title doesn't any form of supplement now. Plus their prices have dropped. Still, their biggest stumbling block is delaying their releases a few weeks, to "Give VHS is moment in the sun.” Folks, the store where I'm currently employed had Big Momma's House before the VHS street date of November 14th, so why was it slated for November 28th? Only Fox and one major rental chain knows.

Honorable Mention - Disney I'll admit it; I buy a ton of Disney's product, so I'm a tad bias towards them. But you have to admit, they've improved since last year. Most of their new titles are presented in anamorphic. Hell, even Lady & The Tramp II will be anamorphic. When the heads of the mouse house get together and decided they're going to create a special edition, it usually delivers. Will anyone question the efforts they put into Tarzan, Toy Story and Fantasia? Not to mention their basic SE's for their live action films. OK, it is BS that they didn't reissue Scream in its director's cut, with an anamorphic transfer. Plus, their stupid political correctness paranoia when it comes to their animated fare is frustrating. In addition, where the hell are all of their awesome LD SE's? If you make it, people will buy it. If it weren't for these toe stubs, Disney would be more than an honorable mention.

Holding Pattern

Paramount - While their beginning to show improvement, by releasing everything anamorphic, they're still lacking in the special features department. Aside from the recently released Mission Impossible II, most of their special edition have only included basic documentaries or a commentary, rarely both. Admit it, you wanted more out of that Braveheart SE. One major stumbling block, Paramount seems to be damned by owning a ton of films we want that are stuck in musical rights limbo. Universal - Generally a very good studio, excluding their need to appease Blockwhore by releasing dual R and Un-Rated releases. I wish they would start releasing some TV programs (Say it with me... M-I-A-M-I V-I-C-E). This year's major blunder had to do with a shark, more on that later.

Columbia/TriStar - The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it” comes to mind.

Two Steps Backwards

Warner - Let's see where do I start. Tom & Jerry Classics, edited for content. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, edited for content. Eyes Wide Shut rated R, because that's what we saw here in the states, plus a full frame transfer as "Kubrick intended." (My ass.) South Park's last two volumes, out of order. I'm just dreading their pending releases of the classic Looney Tunes, they all run 4 minutes long because the violence is politically incorrect.

If The Were A Horse, They Be Put Through A Glue Factory While Alive

MGM/UA- Apparently one franchise can keep a studio alive. If it weren't for their James Bond releases, MGM/UA would have had no redeeming values. Hell, they couldn't even get those right. They forgot the subtitles on Octopussy, Living Daylights, plus left out four minutes of footage on Never Say Never Again. Not to mention This is Spinal Tap and their incredible lack of consistency when transferring films. Their attitude seems to be quantity over quality. At least their prices are cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Best Special Editions

The common thread for each of these picks is the ability to teach the viewer the most about each film. These are like film schools in a can. Fight Club - In thirty to forty years, I'm looking forward to retirement. It will mean I've made it, and I'll finally have the time to finish digging through this elaborate special edition. In my opinion this was the first disc that truly distances DVD from the limitations of laser disc. You could always cram documentaries on a LD, and even the multi-angle feature could have been used, in a linear form. But, the added feature of multiple audio tracks on DVD is a major bonus. Four commentaries, DD 5.1 EX and Dolby Surround? No chance of fitting that on a LD.

Gladiator - Dreamworks once again raised the bar with one of their titles. DD 5.1 EX, DTS 6.1 ES, Dolby Surround and an audio commentary from Ridley Scott, that's just the first disc. Disc two had over two hours of documentaries, plus storyboards, animatics and everything else you could imagine. I've almost finished this disc, and it seems to be one of the few disc I've ever seen rented where everyone want to go through the special features.

Fantasia Anthology / Tarzan / Toy Story: The Ultimate Box Set This is what Disney DVD should be. These blow out special edition DVD's harken back to the glory days of Disney animation on laser disc. Everything is packed onto these discs, the storyboards, commentaries, isolated sound effects, marketing materials, deleted scenes, archival footage and more. These are all true collectors editions, which only the truly psychotic film nut will probably appreciate.

Most Admirable Special Edition

Supergirl - Did this title deserve a double disc special edition? No, but Anchor Bay did it anyway. For this effort alone, I will consider more Anchor Bay product.

Most Disappointing SE's / Most Over-Hyped Arrival

For all of the hype that surrounded these four Spielberg/Amblin releases, you would have though it was the second coming of David Lean. With an amazing thump these titles either bombed in sales or the special features department.

Jaws - The 5.1 mix was decent, but where was the original mono soundtrack? Universal, in an effort to make the release more consumer-friendly, limited the supplements to 75 minutes. Good thing I kept my special edition laser disc.

Jurassic Park / The Lost World - Two more major disappointments in the supplement departments, why? Totally rehashed LD's. I not against this, if they're good like the Abyss. But these supplements have been in the can for three years, an effort to update these would have been appreciated. Jurassic Park is just the movie, with the "Making of Jurassic Park" LD rearranged on the disc. And don't fool yourself, Lost World is the same SE that was never released on laser disc. Just take a look at the copyright on the documentary, it's dated 1997.

Men in Black (Limited Edition) - Can you say too little, too late? At least Columbia created new commentaries and documentary footage for this disc. I'll admit, I was pretty happy to get this disc, then again I'm easily amused at times. But the general public, whose attention span is approximately 5 minutes to 3 months, depending on the product, stayed away from this disc in droves. How bad were the sales of the limited edition? It's now package with Sony's new SACD/DVD/Progressive Scan player. (And I though Titanic would be this year's major freebie.)

Most Over-Hyped Non-Arrival

George Lucas - Let's face it, everyone's still fairly pissed that he's actually sticking to his statement of no Star Wars until 2006. You've got to admire him; he's sticking to his guns. I guess I'm not missing the trilogy because I still own the LD's of Star Wars. To play the devil's advocate, considering the general failure of Spielberg's titles (believe me, shipping only 1-million units of each of the above-mentioned titles was below expectations), maybe Lucas isn't so dumb. Then again, WTF is up with the seventh video re-release? Then there's the Indiana Jones debacle...

Arrgh! / Better Keep The LD

Entrapment (SE) - I knew better, and still got burned. Goofy Movie, A - Nice effort on the supplements, but where the hell is the widescreen print? Good thing I found that used LD copy at Dave's Video's Studio Day.

Alice In Wonderland / Three Caballeros / Saludos Amigos - These fall under the missed opportunities from Disney. While a basic effort was put into the releases, and I'm using that term very loosely, the deluxe laserdisc counterparts are stunning and deserve to be released on DVD.

Jaws - See: Most Disappointing SE's / Most Over-Hyped Arrival.

To TV Or Not TV, That Is The Question...

Television programming seems to be the trickiest product to release on DVD. Here are some examples. The Good Fox's effort by releasing The X-Files in broadcast order, with all of the promotional materials included. This is what the fans want. HBO's recent release of The Sopranos: Season 1 with anamorphic transfers, DD 5.1 (somewhat) and extra features. Warner distributes this company? The previously mentioned efforts from A&E with Monty Python, The Prisoner and The Avengers. Although I feel a bit screwed on Python after they release the 14-disc box set for $200. Scooby Doo's Original Mysteries, the last decent television series release from Warner. The first five episodes were in order. It's been all downhill from here...

The Bad

Anything currently released by Warner Brothers. What the heck is up with the best of set for South Park and Friends? With reservations I bought the most recent South Park's, because I love the show. There's no way in hell I'm buying Friends in "Best of" sets. Plus, I still bitter over the Babylon 5 screw job they pulled on laserdisc. All of Season 1 & 5, half of Season 2 and one-quarter of Season 4, what's up with that? You could have at least released them chronological order. More Batman Beyond product would be appreciated as well. The slow as molasses process of Paramount releasing Star Trek: The Original Series on DVD. Admittedly at this point I hope they continue with this pattern, since I'm used to it. Just do seasons box sets when you get around to Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager please.

Looking Forward Most Anticipated DVD's For 2001

Big Trouble In Little China (SE) - It's about frigging time... Fox Video missed an opportunity three to four years ago when they were promising the special edition LD. I would have bought this on LD and DVD. Point Break - All right, I'll admit it, guilty pleasure. Hopefully this DVD will be the correct 2.35 aspect ratio, unlike the now ancient laserdisc.

Die Hard Trilogy (SE) - This will be the fourth time around buying Die Hard & Die Hard II (LD, DD LD, DVD, and SE DVD), only my third for part three. Sigh, same shit, different format. Then again no one's forcing me to buy these multiple times.

Hitchcock Collection - Drool... All of his remaining Universal films restored!

Lawrence of Arabia - It's about time, now where's Ishtar? Just kidding. (What do you mean it's coming?)

Most Anticipated, But Not Likely

Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back To the Future, Beverly Hills Cop

The Big Questions

Rental Pricing - The question is no longer if it will happen. The question is now when, who and how will it be executed? A telling sign, Netfilx just inked a revenue sharing deal with Warner Brother and Columbia/TriStar. Plus, Tower Records abruptly quit DVD rental the last week of November. Best Buy, Circuit City and many will cry foul, but the studios will try to execute rental pricing on DVD. And Then There Was One - Speaking of rental pricing, what's the point if it only benefit one chain and the studios? Hollywood Video's in financial doo doo. Owner Mark Wattles has reduced his majority stake in the company from 21% to just over 5%. In November, Hollywood Video filed their "Golden Parachute” clause with the FTC. Basically if Hollywood Video is bought, Mark Wattles is absolved of a $15 million loan.

DVD-Audio vs. SACD - The fight shall begin in earnest next year, but this format war will not be resolved very quickly.

Parting Thoughts

Tons of great things happened to DVD over the past year. Millions more players sold, giving the format an unprecedented 10% household penetration in the US in less than four years. Most studios improved their release output, by finally releasing discs with the features we want. But, with explosive growth, new growing pains are likely to arrive. Can the pressing plants keep up with demand? Considering Gladiator shipped 3.5 million units this Christmas, can the first 5 million unit shipment be achieved next Christmas? Will the potential of DVD hurting current VHS rentals prematurely force DVD pricing higher? Will George Lucas ever release his films? Will studios try to cut corners in order to release a title within two months after it's theatrical release? Will studios finally release more of their classics? With all of these potential questions, 2001 should be a fascinating year for DVD.

CLIFF'S HITS FROM THE BONG 2000

2000 was a landmark year for DVD. More than anything else, I think DVD's greatest achievement in the new millennium was the huge steps it took into the mainstream. This was really the first year that saw DVD become a serious competitor against VHS with strong sales numbers for The Sixth Sense, X-Men , Gladiator and others. These sales numbers are now going into the millions and that was territory previously only explored by VHS. I think we are definitely on the verge of seeing DVD and VHS compete side by side, equal in the studios' eyes.

Best Looking Disc

With this year's big emergence of digital to digital animated transfers, I think this category has to broken into separate selections for live action and animated. For animated, it was a close race between the Toy Story films, the Fantasia Anthology, Titan AE and Road to El Dorado all coming up aces, but I decided to cast my vote for Disney's Tarzan. This was the first of Disney's true animated classics that they gave the proper technical attention to visually. It was awe-inspiring the first time I looked at it and remains so. For live action, I'm having a hard time deciding between Columbia/TriStar's Stuart Little and Dreamworks Chicken Run. Even though both are kind of a cheat, with a bit of CGI in Stuart Little and claymation in Chicken Run, they were still mesmerizing to look at. Bold, colorful and detailed, these pictures were reference all the way.

Best Sounding Disc

Hands down, the DTS-ES discrete version of The Haunting put more stress on my system than I am usually comfortable with. It also sounded perfect. It was exemplary of how much improvement a discrete center surround channel can offer over a matrixed one. If only the movie wasn't so bad. BEST SPECIAL EDITION- Oddly, for a year that saw The Ultimate Toy Box, Fight Club, The Fantasia Anthology, ID4, Se7en, two more waves of Bond discs and so many other great SEs released, this was a fairly easy one for me. T2- The Ultimate Edition worked to not simply recycle what had been done before, but make it fresher and better than it had been done before. A benchmark on laserdisc, this DVD special edition proves it still hasn't been topped. Adding little benefits like the subtitling identification on the audio commentary is just one of the ways that the T2 Ultimate Edition used DVD the way it can be.

Best New Technological Feature

Last year, I voted for the video commentary on the Ghostbusters DVD. This year, I'm voting for it again because Columbia/TriStar upped the ante with their Men In Black special editions. Not only could you see the director and actor, but the director could now draw on the screen to illustrate his points. Columbia/TriStar must have a lock on this technology, because I don't see anyone else rushing out to use this as much as it should be.

Biggest Improvement Over A Previously-Released Special Edition

The new platinum edition release of Se7en from New Line gave us all the supplements we were missing before. If that weren't enough, they also provided picture and sound that was better than even the theatrical presentation could be. Yet another feather in the New Line cap.

Biggest Studio Turnaround In The History Of The Format

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment deserves serious acclaim for not only claiming to want to do DVD better, but actually going out there and doing it. After over a year of releasing overpriced, visually deficient, feature lacking discs, the great folks at Fox made a mad dash to the head of the studio line. Not only am I finally happy about Fox releases, I actually get really excited about them now.

Best Overall Studio

I'm giving it to Fox this year for that dramatic turn of events. Their transfers are always A-caliber. They seem much more interested in producing spectacular discs with creative and valuable supplemental material and with their upcoming DTS/anamorphic remasters, they seem legitimately interested in fixing some of their past mistakes. This is a big accomplishment for me, as just 12 months ago I hated Fox. Congrats!

Best Gift Just For Us

DVDers got a sweet bundle of joy this year with the debut of Total Movie magazine. Sure, the magazine was cool, but it was the awesome accompanying DVD that hoisted it up above the rest. Entertaining shorts, interesting DVD coverage and a bounty of theatrical trailers quickly made this mag/DVD combo a must own.

Best Commentary

This was a particularly great year for commentary tracks. We just had so many that there would inevitably be a bunch of good ones. For pure entertainment, I couldn't think of one better than the laugh-out-loud-funny commentary on the original Naked Gun disc. This is a case where I might actually end up listening to the commentary more than the film soundtrack. For a more traditional approach, I'm going for the pair of tracks on the Ultimate Toy Box. Not only does the gang at Pixar parlay a ton of interesting info, they do it with an energy and enthusiasm that makes it just as entertaining as it is informative.

Best Disc Nobody Actually Saw

Fox's 25th anniversary special edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show was exactly the kind of release that people are clamoring for, until they actually have to buy it that is. With three different versions of the film, an improved audience participation track and more extras than even the hefty laserdisc box contained, this was a set to be impressed by. I guess people were still too busy buying The Matrix or something.

WORST OF THE YEAR

Worst Bond Disc

Now that all of the James Bond films have been released, it's probably only fair to give out this accolade. Of all 19 official Bond special editions now in release, the worst of the bunch has got to be the newest of them all, The World is Not Enough. Even though the film wasn't up to snuff, that didn't mean they had to also scrimp on the treatment of the disc. All of the other discs contained great documentaries and other wonderful features, while TWINE seems to rest on its status as the newest title with just the bare minimum available. When you look at your collection, which one stands out? I thought so.

The "When You Wish Upon A Star" Award

To Disney for going the extra step to make sure that such a trivial issue like picture quality gets the shaft. In 2000, they re-released new special editions of titles like The Nightmare Before Christmas and From Dusk Til Dawn and couldn't be bothered with up to date anamorphic transfers. On the abysmal Scream Trilogy box set, they even went so far as to redo the second disc while completely ignoring the original film. When are they going to get it together? I wished for a serious commitment in 1998. I wished again for a serious commitment from them in 1999. I again wish for the impossible in 2000 and was ultimately disappointed. If you discount their day-and-date titles and the releases of Fantasia and the Toy Story films, their catalog output is terrible. This year we got bad releases of the previously mentioned Color of Money and The Black Cauldron, in addition to What About Bob?, Pocahontas and several others.

Worst Studio Trend

Carrying over a bit from 1999, it's the 'if it's broke, don't recall it' mentality. We got a defective audio track on Tarzan. The response: go ahead and leave it out there for people to actually buy. Several Bond discs get released without the appropriate burned in subtitles. The response: go ahead and leave it out there for people to actually buy. If something's not right, be responsible and do something about it.

Worst Special Edition

James and the Giant Peach from Disney contains an old non-anamorphic transfer, a short Disney Channel featurette, a music video, a handful of stills and a trailer. Maybe that Princess Bride release from MGM really was the promised special edition release if that's all it takes. Don't overuse the name guys, you'll just devalue it.

Worst Overall Studio

It takes a mighty creature to take this distinction away from Disney, but Leo the Lion is just such a creature. MGM went to shit this year with an abominable record for DVD. If it didn't say 007, it just wasn't worth the effort. Starting the year strong with a quasi-special edition of The Thomas Crown Affair, MGM quickly retreated into a hole where such bastardizations of high-profile titles like Hoosiers, Spaceballs, Showgirls and The Princess Bride eventually emerged. There was some hope with the releases of This is Spinal Tap and at least an anamorphic version of Escape from New York, but the heightened release schedule from 5 or 6 titles each month up to 418 monthly doesn't bode well, proving what you can't do once, you won't do a ton of times.

Most Overrated DVD

Fox took a mediocre movie, made it into an only slightly better than average DVD and had a retail bonanza with the November release of X-Men. Putting on my Professor Xavier helmet, I foresee a lot of used copies after the holidays. If you haven't bought it yet, I'd say just wait. ª

Ahead to 2001- Rental pricing was something I made mention of last year at this time, telling people that it was an overrated concern. In 2001, rental pricing will get closer, but balancing the scales will be the absolutely fantastic sales numbers of carryovers like Gladiator, X-Men and The Matrix. The stronger these numbers get, the more the studios won't be as interested in disturbing that. I also think that the major retailers across the country, like Best Buy, Tower, Media Play and Circuit City, are all going to have something to say about it as well after DVD sales have been so good to them. As for the increase in DVD's profile in the New Year, after 2000's strong showing, I see no reason that the DVD gravy train won't keep rolling on throughout 2001 and beyond. I know we've all said this time and time again, but anyone still doubting the viability of DVD as a major format of choice is sorely mistaken.

Final Thought

And remember, if you have to pass the dutchie, do it from the left-hand side...

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