By Peter M. Bracke

Tom Hanks times two

Fox Home Video has just announced a trio of comedies due this June, including a couple of Tom Hanks favorites (hmmmm, a possible Cast Away tie-in?) On 6/5 watch for Hanks both new and old, with Bachelor Party and his directorial debut, That Thing You Do! Both are straightforward releases, with 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers, English and French 2.0 surround mixes on Bachelor Party and a 5.1 for That Thing You Do, along with trailers and cast filmographies. Also on 6/5 comes the James Toback comedy Two Girls And A Guy, also in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English and French 2.0 surround, and with the trailer. Retail is $22.95 each.

Also, Fox has just announced a special edition of the recent Philip Kaufman drama Quills for 5/8, which includes a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English and French 5.1 surround tracks and English and Spanish subtitles, an audio commentary with director Philip Kaufman and writer Doug Wright, a making-of featurette, still gallery, filmographies, trailers and TV spots. Retail is $29.95.

Two more from Buena Vista

Buena Vista has added two more titles to their may slate, for a couple of action flick sequels. On 5/8 comes the next in BV's "Jet Li Collection," The Legend 2. Despite the $32.95 price tag, the disc features an anamorphic transfer, English 5.1 surround track, English Closed Captions and nothing else, not even a trailer. Same specs for Bounty Hunter 2: Hardball, also due 5/8, though it only features a English 2.0 surround track...

Artisan May titles

Artisan Entertainment has also just announced some new titles due this May. Coming 5/22 are a few titles that are a bit disappointing, given the lackluster presentation they are receiving. Full frame only with English 2.0 surround tracks are The House Of The Spirits, with Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Winona Ryder, and the Charlie Sheen action flick Beyond The Law, both of which also feature cast and crew bios and production notes, and a retail price of $14.95. Faring a little better are The Lost Son and Brooklyn Babylon, which are presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen and 2.0 surround, and also with cast and crew biographies and production notes. Retail is $24.95 each. Finally, Artisan is also releasing a special edition of the made-for-cable thriller Tell Me No Lies, in full frame and 2.0 surround, and featuring an audio commentary with writer and director Sandor Stern, a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast interviews, production notes and a TV spot. Retail is $24.95.

Updated Columbia specs details

To finish off the week, here's a few updates on some various Columbia titles and questions many have asked on the specs for each disc. First off, a few additional details on the Close Encounters disc, due 5/29. The disc is also THX-certified (one of the few for Columbia), and the none of the still gallery material from any of the previous laserdisc incarnations will be included. Since there was a wealth of good material on those laserdiscs (such as concept art and production photos), this is a bit disappointing. Also, there has been some confusion over the running time of the documentary included on the DVD, which is the same 102-minute length that as on the laserdisc. However, the back of the laserdisc jacket lists a running time of 140-minutes. However this is for all the laserdisc supplements, and rest assured that the documentary has not been edited for the DVD.

Now on to the Muppets. Since the announcement earlier this week of The Muppet Movie, many of have asked "What are 'Muppetisms'"? Good question...these little features are actually a series of Muppet TV spots produced a few years back for television airings of the film, and feature muppet characters waxing philosophical on various topics. Also, the "Jim Frawley Camera Test" is actually a 15-minute reel of Jim Henson and Frank Oz ad libbing with Kermit and Fozzie for the camera, which certainly sounds amusing! Lastly, The Muppets Take Manhattan will also feature a little-seen Jim Henson interview.

Lastly, fans of Arnold Schwarznegger's The Sixth Day (all four of you), you may be interested to know that eh recent "downgrading" of the Region 1 DVD is not affecting the overseas edition of the film. In other words, the cool extra features being dropped form the U.S. release will still be on the Region 2 release. Don't ask us to explain it, but we'll try to get some sort of explanation from Columbia as to why only Region 1 viewers are missing out...

Close Encounters of the digital kind

Hmmm, what is it with these Spielberg/Amblin titles? Last year, you may recall that Men In Black, exec produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, became Columbia's first worldwide DVD release, meaning it was backed by a very large promo campaign and made quite a splash in DVD players all over the world. Now, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind will be Columbia's next worldwide release, and pending the press release next week, specs on the disc have leaked out to various worldwide news organizations (and of course we are going to spoil it for you right now.) As hoped for by many, there are a number of groovy features on the 2-disc set, and for me, it is pretty much everything I expected. See if you agree...

Due on 5/29, the two-disc set features a THX-certified 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of Spielberg's (so far) favored cut of the film (the third!), dubbed the "Collector's Edition" after its 1998 release on VHS and laserdisc, and runs 137 minutes. The anamorphic transfer is minted from a hi-def transfer created at Sony's DVD center in Culver City, California and cleaned up for this release. The disc features both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, the 102-minute "The Making Of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" documentary by Laurent Bouzereau created for the 1998 laserdisc, a collection of additional deleted scenes, a featurette on the film's enduring place in the sci-fi film pantheon entitled "Watch The Skies" (which, coincidentally, was the original working title for Spielberg's opus), talent files, and two theatrical trailers. Note that the still gallery on the laserdisc will not be carried over to the DVD. The set also comes packaged in Columbia's new "book-like" special edition casing with extensive production notes. Retail is $27.95. Can't wait!

And while I suppose it can't quite compare to Close Encounters, Columbia has just announced a 6/15 arrival date for the Chevy Chase family comedy Cops And Robbersons. The disc features anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese 2.0 surround and subtitle tracks, talent files and bonus trailers. Retail is $24.95.

And finally, though again it ain't Close Encounters, Universal has done up some new artwork for the Jaws 2 DVD coming, and I guess this is sorta-kinda Spielberg related? (Okay, I'm really reaching.) But, it looks kinda cool, even though it is a far cry from the original artwork...

USA price drops

The latest studio to announce price drops for their DVDs, USA is lowering the prices on a number of their most popular catalog titles. Dropping to $19.95 are most USA's DVD theatrical movie titles, including Being John Malkovich, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, What Dreams May Come, A Map Of The World and The Game, as well as Lord Stanley's Cup: Hockey's Ultimate Prize. The price drops go into effect on May 1.

MGM chats

Home Theater Forum held another of their great live chats last night, with representatives from MGM Home Entertainment. You can check out the full transcript here (thanks to the HTF), and MGM answered questions and discussed many of their upcoming releases. Since it is no secret MGM is one of the more criticized studios currently releasing DVDs, admittedly I found some of their answers a bit problematic. Judging by their responses, they seem likely to continue what I think is an inconsistent approach to DVD, and unlike some other studios, I wonder who is a true movie fan there and who isn't. But check out the transcript and decide for your self. (Also, check out two other recent HTF transcripts you might have missed, with Dreamworks Home Entertainment and Dolby Labs.)

Crouching Kermit, Hidden Piggy

Columbia has just added a few more titles to their June slate, including the long-awaited Region 1 debut of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Already the highest-grossing foreign film of all time, the disc arrives 6/5 and looks about the same as the Region 4 version (which makes sense, as Columbia made both of 'em). The disc features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Mandarin 5.1 surround and a English 5.1 surround dub, English Closed captions and subtitles, an audio commentary with director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus, "A Conversation With Michelle Yeoh" featurette, still gallery with costume designs and production photos, Coco Lee's "A Love Before Time" music video, production notes, talent files and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $27.95.

Also due on 6/5 is another Muppet adventure, The Muppets Take Manhattan. The disc includes a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English 5.1 surround mix along with English, French and Spanish 2.0 surround mixes and subtitles, as well as an interview with Jim Henson, production notes and bonus trailers. Retail is $24.95. Note that Columbia will be releasing more Muppet big-screen adventures, but not until a later date, and there will be no special Muppet box set with additional supplements.

Then on 6/12 comes two Cheech & Chong epics, Nice Dreams and Things Are Tough All Over. Both discs feature anamorphic widescreen and 4:3 full screen transfers, English 2.0 surround and French and Spanish 2.0 mono tracks, talent files, production notes and trailers. Retail is $24.95 each.

MGM's full June slate

Along with Antitrust and Woody Allen titles recently announced, MGM will be releasing another extensive wave of June titles. There is quite a bit here as usual, and a mix and match in terms of features and presentation. Due on 6/5, the following are all in anamorphic widescreen and English mono, with French and Spanish subtitles: Dr. Goldfoot And The Biking Machine, The Fall Of the House Of Usher and The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (both of which also include audio commentary with Roger Corman), Village Of The Giants and Beach Blanket Bingo. Retail for each is $19.95. Also on 6/5 is Donovan's Brain in 4:3 full frame and The Pit And The Pendulum, in non-anamorphic widescreen and with audio commentary from Roger Corman. All of the above also include trailers.

On 6/19 comes Billy Wilder's classic The Apartment and The Lion In Winter, both in anamorphic widescreen with English and French mono tracks, and trailers. Both are $19.95 each. The rest of MGM's 6/19 slate includes the classic Marty, along with Moby Dick, Barefoot Contessa and Rembrandt, all in full frame and English, French and Spanish mono and English, French and Spanish subtitles. Retail is $14.95 each. Finally, The Entertainer, Kiss Me Deadly and The Sweet Smell Of Success are all in non-anamorphic widescreen and feature trailers, except for The Entertainer which is featureless. Retail is $19.95 each.

Finally, we received more info from MGM on those five Woody Allen titles, and all will be anamorphic widescreen. In worse news, MGM recently revealed that the upcoming Rocky box set titles will NOT all be in anamrophic widescreen, only parts 1, III and V. Go figure...

Introducing the Muppets

After quite a long wait, Columbia has announced a 6/5 date for The Muppet Movie, which while not the first Muppet adventure to hit DVD, is the first in the film series and certainly highly anticipated. The disc includes 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and full frame transfers, a new English 5.1 surround mix along with English, French and Spanish 2.0 surround mixes and subtitles, as well as a few a couple of extras, including "Muppetisms" (aka TV spots with muppet thoughts , Jim Frawley's camera tests (a 15-minute reel of the Jim Henson and Frank Oz ad libbing as Kermit and Fozzie outdoors!), production notes and bonus trailers. Retail is $24.95.

Columbia has also announced additional features for The Celluloid Closet, debuting on 5/22. The disc will also include two audio commentaries, the first with filmmakers Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, along with Lily Tomlin, Producer Howard Rosenman and editor Arnold Glassman, and a second track with the late author Vito Russo. There will also be a collection of outtakes as well.

Finally, on 5/22 Columbia will release the 3-pack Altitude With Attitude, featuring Vertical Limit, Cliffhanger and another new 5/22 release, Into Thin Air. This last disc will also be available separately, and features an anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and English and French 2.0 surround tracks and subtitles, talent files, and trailers. Retail is $24.95, and $69.96 for the box set.

Sex and the single girl

After scoring strong sales with first season box set of their award-winning series Sex & The City, it is not surprising HBO wouldn't waste any time prepping the second season. HBO has just announced a 5/22 street date for Sex And The City: The Complete Second Season. The 3-disc set contains 18 episodes (up from the first season's 12), all in full frame with English 2.0 surround and English Closed Captions, and will be "fashionably packaged to match season one." Retail for the set is $49.95.

All the pretty DVDs

Due on 4/24, Columbia has finally issued the specs for Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester, starring Sean Connery and acclaimed newcomer Rob Brown.. In addition to the anamorphic widescreen transfer and English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, the disc includes the HBO First Look featurette "Finding Forrester" and an additional featurette "Found: Rob Brown, the deleted "Choir Scenes," talent files, production notes and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $24.95.

Columbia has also released the full specs for All The Pretty Horses, which is now due on 5/8, one week later than its VHS counterpart. The DVD features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, English Closed Captions, English and French subtitles, talent files, production notes and the trailer. Despite the director Billy Bob Thorton's direct involvement with the DVD, Columbia reps indicated the director declined to provide a commentary. Retail is $24.95.

Then on 5/22 comes Beautiful Joe, which despite starring Sharon Stone, didn't make much of a box office impression. The disc comes with an anamorphic widescreen and full frame transfers, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, English Closed Captions, English and French subtitles, talent files, production notes and the trailer. Retail is $24.95.

A couple of pieces of Pooh from Disney

Alright, alright, that was a cheap shot, but I just couldn't resist a good Pooh pun. Disney has dramatically improved their DVD output lately, so it is all in good fun. Anyway, Disney will be releasing their first two Winnie The Pooh DVDs on 7/17. Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin features an 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen, English 5.1 surround track, a "Pooh Skies" animated short and interactive games "for the whole family." The Book Of Pooh: Stories From The Heart also features a 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 surround track, and "The History of Winnie The Pooh: When Pooh Was Very, Very Young" featurette, a character biographies, and a "Connect-The-Dots" activity game. Retail for each is $29.95.

MARCH 5

Faster than a speedball

Hot on the heels of its multiple Oscar noms and its clear path to a U.S. $100 million box office gross, USA will be releasing Steven Soderbergh drug tapestry Traffic to DVD on 5/29. The disc features a 1.,85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, French and Spanish subtitles, English Closed Captions and a few extras, including the recent Showtime making-of special, the original theatrical EPK and trailers and TV spots. Mr. Soderbergh will not be contributing an audio commentary to the disc. Retail is $26.96.

Bill Gates v2.0

Lasting about three days in theaters and grossing $12 bucks, despite MGM's best marketing efforts last January's Antitrust just failed to find an audience. I thought it was enjoyably campy fun, especially Tim Robbins scene-chewing impersonation of Bill Gates, but then that is probably not what the filmmakers intended. Anyway, MGM is loading the DVD up with extra features, so perhaps that will attract potential viewers. Due on 5/8, the disc features a 1.85;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and French and Spanish 2.0 surround tracks, English Captions, French and Spanish subtitles, an audio commentary with director Peter Howitt and editor Zach Staenberg, the new documentary "Antitrust: Cracking The Code," deleted scenes and alternate opening and ending sequences all with optional director's commentary, the Everclear music video "When It All Goes Wrong" and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $24.95.

Also coming from MGM in June is the next wave of Woody Allen titles. MGM recently scooped up most of the Allen library, and will be releasing them in waves over the next year or so (the first set was released last summer). On 6/5 comes five more recent Allen titles, Alice, Shadows And Fog, Another Woman, September and a reissue of Crimes & Misdemeanors (which was previously released by Image Entertainment but is now discontinued.) Each disc is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen with English, French and Spanish 1.0 mono tracks, English Closed Captions, French and Spanish subtitles, the theatrical trailer and a collectible booklet. Each disc is $19.95, and available in a five-pack for the odd price of $83.95. (Note that MGM's announcements usually get distributed twice; once as a press release via their PR firm, then MGM produces full-color brochures for each month's wave of DVDs. Unfortunately, the press releases never indicate whether or not titles are anamorphic, so until the full-color brochure comes our way, we won't know the anamorphic status of these titles. Stay tuned.)

Also on 6/5 comes John Boorman's critically acclaimed Hope & Glory, in non-anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen, with English and French mono tracks, English Closed Captions, French and Spanish subtitles, and the trailer; The Madness Of King George in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with an English stereo track, English Closed Captions, French and Spanish subtitles, and the trailer; and Jonathan Demme's Something Wild in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, English stereo and Spanish mono tracks, English Closed Captions, French and Spanish subtitles, and the trailer. Retail is $19.95 each.

You can run but you can't hide

In another surprise reissue from Warner, they have just announced a 6/5 arrival date for a new special edition of the 1993 hit The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. The disc features a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 surround track and French 2.0 surround tracks, an audio commentary with director Andrew Davis, deleted scenes, two new making-of featurettes, cast and crew filmographies and trailers. Retail is $24.95, and the previous movie-only version is being discontinued...

Tripping the Trek fantastic

If you're a Star Trek fan, whether a casual viewer or totally rabid (I'm somewhere in between), you've probably been waiting along with most of us to see what Paramount is going to do next with "the franchise" on DVD. We've gotten a few of the movies (though lacking extras) and very nicely remastered episodes of The Original Series, but that is about it. As fans have voiced in forums and emails, where's The Next Generation? Where's Voyager? Where are the new special editions of the movies?

Over the past couple of years, I know I've heard many rumblings that more Trek series episodes and special editions of the theatrical features were imminent, but nothing ever really showed up. Since Trek is always a hot topic, we decided to go directly to the source and talked recently with Martin Blythe, the big cheese at Paramount Home Entertainment PR about just what is up with all these Star Trek releases. The prognosis? If you're a fan, you're going to have to wait a bit longer for more Trek...but not that long.

While Paramount will continue to release Star Trek: The Original Series episodes on DVD in their current fashion, Blythe did give an official confirmation that the next Trek series to surface on DVD won't be The Next Generation, which was what most were probably expecting. Instead, in 4Q 2001, Paramount will issue the complete first season of Star Trek: Voyager, to be followed by additional seasons in 2002. Other Trek series will also most likely follow in 2002 and beyond, though any concrete details are premature at best. (Hopefully Paramount will offer the first season as a complete box set, not just individual discs with a couple of episodes each.)

Along with long-awaited Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which should surface in the later part of the year amid much anticipation, it should be a Trek-ful holiday for fans. Stay tuned for more details on these and other Trek releases in the months ahead.

A note on Paramount's spring titles

Speaking of Paramount, we posted some announcements on Wednesday for their spring releases, including more John Wayne and "war-themed" titles. We've since learned there has been a bit of confusion over what aspect ratio these discs are going to be presented in, and fears that Paramount is cropping them. Usually, we receive a "grid" from Paramount that includes detailed info on the aspect ratios (actually, I wish more studios would use this approach, as these grids are very easy to read.) But so far, we've only received the press releases (you can check 'em out here for the May titles and here for the June titles). These releases don't have specific aspect ratio information, only indicating that the discs are "16x9 enhanced."

You may or may not recall that last year here at DVDFILE we decided to no longer use the term "16x9 enhanced" (aside from direct quotes or reprinting releases), and instead stick strictly with "anamorphic," despite the fact that 16x9 enhanced is still generally the standard industry term. The reason for this is because "16x9" is also an aspect ratio (most commonly used to describe the shape of digital TVs and programming originated for television), thus using it along with another aspect ratio to label discs can lead to confusion, especially for newcomers to the format. Many early DVD titles (such as MGM's first releases way back in 1997) did not specify any aspect ratio at all, instead just indicating that they were "16x9 enhanced." Thus, many wondered if a film (say, shot at 2.35:1) was cropped to 16x9 dimensions, which is certainly understandable. We find that trying to label a disc "16x9 2.35:1 widescreen" or something similar is very confusing. So, we prefer to use the more simple term "anamorphic" since it refers to an encoding process, not an aspect ratio. (For example, "2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen" or "presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and anamorphically encoded.")

Anyway, since the press release for these Paramount titles does not actually specify aspect ratio, somewhere along the way "16x9"gets translated into "1.85:1" (a common occurrence, as the 16x9 aspect ratio is close to 1.85:1). The retail specs we've received and that are appearing at retail sites for these titles indicates 1.85:1 aspect ratios, but since Paramount has never, to my knowledge, cropped a 2.35:1 film down to 16x9 dimensions, I'd be very hard pressed to believe they are altering any of these titles. I'm sure we'll get an updated grid for these titles soon, with the exact aspect ratios the discs are presented in (not just the theatrical aspect ratio, which doesn't guarantee anything). Until then, at least we know they'll all be anamorphic! Stay tuned...

Buena Vista goes multi-angle

Buena Vista has announced the 5/8 DVD release of Duets, the recent Gwenyth Paltrow comedy, and are again proving that they are actually trying to better utilize the interactive capabilities of the DVD format. The disc includes a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, an audio commentary with Director Bruce Paltrow and Producer Kevin Jones, deleted scenes with commentary, the trailer, and in a somewhat unique feature, a multi-angle version of "Crusin" music video with Paltrow and Huey Lewis. Nice to see someone play around with this little-used feature of DVD (outside of porn titles!), and retail for the disc is $29.95.

MARCH 1

Hold your breath!

Columbia has just announced a 5/22 arrival date for the thriller Vertical Limit. The DVD will include a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English 5.1 and English and French 2.0 surround tracks, English and French subtitles, an audio commentary with director Martin Campbell and producer Lloyd Philips, the HBO First Look featurette, additional "Search and Rescue Tales" and National Geographic Channel's "Quest For K2" featurettes, talent files, production notes and theatrical trailers. Retail is $27.95.

Columbia has also just announced two new titles for 5/15, including the thriller Hangman starring Poo Diamond Philips and Madchen Amick, featuring anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen transfers, English 5.1 surround and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese 2.0 and subtitle tracks, talent files and trailers. Also coming is Ice-T in Kept, also featuring anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen transfers, English 5.1 surround and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese 2.0 and subtitle tracks, talent files and trailers. Retail is $24.95 each.

Paramount's May slate

Guess you can call it "war month" or something, because in addition to the Fox military-themed titles (Tigerland, Men Of Honor) and MGM's Stone releases below, Paramount has a full slate of war titles on the way in May as well. Yesterday brought some news on The Bridges At Toko-Ri, and now the full May and early June catalog slates have been announced.

Due on 5/22 is the classic Catch-22, in anamorphic widescreen, with a new 5.1 Dolby surround track and the original on track in English and French, an audio commentary by director Mike Nichols and filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (this I gotta hear!), a still gallery and the trailer. Up next is Hell Is For Heroes in anamorphic widescreen and English and French mono, and including the trailer; In Harm's Way, in anamorphic widescreen and English 5.1 and English and French mono, along with the original 1965 making-of and three theatrical trailers narrated by Otto Preminger; and Uncommon Valor, also in anamorphic widescreen with a new English 5.1 surround mix, an additional 2.0 surround mix, a French mono track and the trailer. Retail is $29.95 each.

On 6/5, Paramount will also be releasing some more John Wayne titles, including Donovan's Reef, in anamorphic widescreen and with English and French mono tracks and the trailer; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, in anamorphic widescreen, a new English 5.1 surround track, and the original English and French mono tracks, and the trailer; and finally The Sons Of Katie Elder, in anamorphic widescreen, English and French mono and the trailer. Retail for the above are all $29.95 each.

Then, last but not least, we have two more volumes of Star Trek: The Original Series (Volumes 24 and 25), in full frame with new English 5.1 surround tracks. Retail is $19.95 each. And finally the acclaimed import Sunshine on 5/8, in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English 5.1 and 2.0 surround tracks, and no supplements. Retail is $29.95.