The Rumor Mill - Archived Posts (3/2/01

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Rumor Mill
(Archived Posts 3/2/01 - 1/3/01)

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(LATE UPDATE - 3/2/01 - 3 PM PST)

We've gotten word about MGM's upcoming Hannibal DVD, which is quietly shaping up to be a very nice special edition for release later this year. There have been a number of rumors swirling around the Net based on recent comments in the trades having to do with a 3-hour "TV cut" of the film, that will eventually be shown on CBS (through a deal involving MGM, CBS and USA Networks). A number of people on the newsgroups have been suggesting that this should be included on the upcoming DVD. The problem is that this 3-hour cut hasn't even been done yet... and will not be done for quite a while. Keep in mind that any network TV broadcast is at LEAST a couple of years away. Ridley is currently in production on his latest film, Black Hawk Down, which will keep him busy for some time. MGM's DVD will include Ridley's preferred director's cut of the film, which is the final theatrical version. Although it isn't confirmed, given the recent DVD special editions of other Ridley Scott films, you can reasonably expect omitted and unused footage to be included in the supplements. Remember... there's a big difference between a "director's cut" and a "TV cut". Rest assured that you'll definitely be presented with the definitive version of the film, as Ridley wants you to see it, when MGM's DVD is released.

Stay tuned...

(EARLY UPDATE - 3/2/01 - 11 AM PST)

Yep... we've heard the rumors and we can confirm that there is some truth to them. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager could begin to find their way to DVD as early as the 4th Qtr of this year, about the same time that Star Trek: The Next Generation is being released. In fact, the two newer series may actually begin arriving earlier on the format, because of mastering issues with the first couple seasons of TNG. There are no details yet on what the discs might include (in terms of extras, number of episodes per disc and the like) but stay tuned...

We've heard from studio sources that Wim Wenders' classic Wings of Desire is also slated for DVD release in the 4th Qtr of this year (from MGM). Weren't we just talking about that? Ask and ye shall learn. Also, one of our readers sent in this report on Wenders (thanks David!):

"I had the good fortune to speak with Wim Wenders this past weekend (he was the keynote speaker at a conference my company held). While Wenders didn't give me any dates, he did say he had just spent a lot of time working on HD transfers of most of his films (he screened a newly printed 4 1/2 hour director's cut of Until The End Of The World which looked gorgeous) and that DVD's were forthcoming."

Very cool. We've confirmed from our sources a bit of information that recently appeared on the Home Theater Forum - specifically that director George P. Cosmatos is currently involved in a Tombstone: Special Edition (featuring a new anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film and remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 audio) that will be released later this year by Buena Vista. We've also managed to tentatively confirm that special editions are either planned or in the works for The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and possibly Jackie Brown (although nothing specific is set in terms of details).

Also today, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is again asking for your opinions on their upcoming DVD product. This time, they're asking about possible Angel DVDs. Click here to participate in the poll.

Stay tuned...

3/1/01

You fans of Tony and the Soprano clan will be happy to learn that HBO's The Sopranos: The Complete Second Season is on its way to DVD in May. The set will include all 2nd season episodes along with trailers and bonus material similar to the first season set.

We've also got a look at what to expect from MGM for June:

Woody Allen Collection, Set 2, Platoon: SE, Salvador: SE, Hope and Glory, The Madness of King George, Something Wild, Dr. Goldfoot & the Bikini Machine, Donovan's Brain, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes, The Thing with Two Heads, Village of the Giants, Beach Blanket Bingo, Barefoot Contessa, The Entertainer, The Apartment, Kiss Me Deadly, Moby Dick, Marty, Misfits, The Sweet Smell of Success, Tom Jones, Rembrandt, The Lion in Winter.

Sure wish they'd get around to releasing Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire on DVD...

2/26/01

Yes... it's true. Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind is on its way to DVD from Columbia TriStar as a 2-disc special edition. The title should feature all of the supplements found on the recent laserdisc version, and possibly a few additional items as well. The studio is tentatively shooting for a May 29th street date, although be aware that that could change. Speaking of Columbia, the studio's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is also on the way, although a street date will depend on how the film does at Oscar time. Look for it to be announced shortly after the Academy Awards. Also, the Region 1 version of this disc will feature a documentary produced by Bravo. And in other scheduling news, we've got word that those U2 DVDs we mentioned the other day have been delayed in the wake of the band's sweep of the Grammys. Look for the titles to be rescheduled to coincide with the start of the band's upcoming tour.

Fans of James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor's classic, Giant, will be surprised to know that a special edition, DVD-18 version of the film has been released in Canada by Warner. The disc includes the film in anamorphic widescreen, and features numerous documentaries, cast interviews and other supplemental material. However, it has NOT been released in the United States, and no release has been announced. We're talking with the studio to see exactly what's going on with Giant, but in the meantime, you can order the Canadian disc at ThunderDVD.com. I'm holding a copy in my hands, and I can tell you that it is a Region 1, NTSC disc, so it should work in all U.S. DVD players. You can see the cover art in the Upcoming DVD Art section (under TBD).

And here's some news we posted in the daily column last week that you might have missed: We've got word that MGM's Antitrust is slated for March 27th, along with Buena Vista's Duets and Paramount's What Women Want. Columbia TriStar's All the Pretty Horses is due on April 3rd, and their Vertical Limit will arrive on DVD on April 24th. Universal's Jaws 2 is due on April 17th. Buena Vista's Unbreakable is also tentatively slated for April release. ADV Film's Farscape, Volume 4 is set for June 12th. And Paramount's Ordinary People has been moved to July 17th.

2/22/01

Fans of music and live concert discs will be pleased to know that DVDs are on the way from lots of great bands and artists. U2's The Best of U2: 1980-1990 and Pop Mart are expected on March 27th from Universal Music/Island. Pearl Jam: Touring Band 2000 is currently slated for April 10th from Epic. Included will be 3 hours of concert and behind-the-scenes footage taken during the band's latest tour (some 28 songs in all). And word is that fans of Journey will be treated to a live concert DVD featuring the band's new lineup (Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, Deen Castronovo and singer Steve Augeri). The show was shot live on December 30th in Las Vegas for Direct TV broadcast in April. The DVD will be released shortly thereafter to coincide with the release of the band's new album, Arrival. Singer Bryan Adams is also working on a DVD release for later this year. We're still waiting for more details on Pink Floyd's Pulse, which is in production but has yet to be announced. And former Floyd member Roger Waters is also preparing a deluxe DVD version of In the Flesh, featuring live concert video (shot in hi-def), Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM stereo music mixes, a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, band biographies, still photographs, projected images, lyrics and more.

Also, in keeping with the recent trend to release classic epic films on DVD, Buena Vista will bow The Fall of the Roman Empire to the format on April 10th.

Stay tuned...

2/19/01

Okay... here's a bunch more upcoming DVD information. Most of this is official, but a few of these titles have yet to be announced (but our sources tell us this is when to expect then).

Best Film & Video Co (?) - El Cid (4/10)

Buena Vista - Backstreet Boys: Around the World and WOW: Gospel 2000 (3/20)

Columbia TriStar - 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T and The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (4/24), All the Pretty Horses (5/1), Finding Forrester (6/1)

Criterion - Mon Oncle, M. Hulot's Holiday, Spartacus, Scarlet Empress and Rififi (4/24)

DreamWorks - The Legend of Baggar Vance (4/3)

Image - Bongwater (6/5)

Paramount - Kill Shot (4/24), Ordinary People (8/28 - moved to give director Robert Redford time to record a commentary track)

Universal - Jaws 2 (5/22)

Warner - Space Cowboys (4/17), Miss Congeniality (5/1), Rio Bravo (5/8)

Stay tuned...

2/16/01

According to our sources, Paramount's got some great movies coming to DVD for the summer and second half of the year. Their spring Western push will including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Sons of Katie Elder, both classic John Wayne films. We've already talked about the release of Ghost (April), The Godfather Trilogy and Forrest Gump (Q4 2001) and everyone is aware that the studio is planning to release Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes on DVD in the 3rd or 4th quarter. But did you know that the studio is also prepping episodes of the classic TV series The Invaders for DVD? And Paramount also has plans to release Mommy Dearest, A Place in the Sun and Marathon Man this summer. Very cool...

2/14/01

According to Babylon 5 creator/producer J. Michael Straczynski, Warner is finally bowing the series to DVD this summer. In a post to Usenet, Straczynski confirmed that The Gathering and In the Beginning will be released in July, with the actual series following soon thereafter. There's no word yet on aspect ratios or extras (although we'll see what we can learn). I know a lot of you guys have been waiting to hear this news for a long time. So there you go - be happy!

In other news, look for Buena Vista to debut regular and special edition DVD versions of The Emperor's New Groove on May 1st. The same day, Warner will debut Miss Congeniality on the format. On May 15th, Warner will release another BBC series to DVD - Father Ted: Series One (we believe this will be a 2-disc set). And 20th Century Fox has officially announced the DVD releases of Big Trouble in Little China, Chain Reaction, Point Break and Unlawful Entry for May 22nd. Big Trouble will be a 2-disc special edition with Dolby Digital and DTS audio. Point Break and Chain Reaction are also expected to include dual Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Fans of the Japanese cartoon Battle of the Planets can expect it on DVD from Rhino in August. Also, look for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai from MGM in the 4th Qtr of 2001, possibly as a special edition.

Here are some more officially announced titles:

Artisan - Backtrack, Extreme Prejudice and Panic (all 4/24)

BMG - Backstreet Boys: Around the World and WOW Gospel 2000 (3/20)

Buena Vista - Remember the Titans (full frame & WS - 3/20), Legend 2 (5/8), Oliver and Company: Gold Collection and So Dear My Heart: Gold Collection (6/5)

Columbia TriStar - Just Looking, My Life, One Day in September and Princess Caraboo (4/24)

MGM - Apache, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Eight Men Out, The Horse Soldiers, The Kentuckian and A Family Thing, (all 5/8)

New Line - Bamboozled (4/17) and Little Nicky (4/24)

Paramount - Funny Face, Paris When it Sizzles, Sabrina (4/10) and Ladies Man (4/17)

20th Century Fox - Soul Food (4/3), Rangers and Tigerland (4/17)

Warner - Superman: SE, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV, Superman Collection (all 5/1), Blackadder, Blackadder Back and Forth, Blackadder Goes Forth, Blackadder II and Blackadder the Third (all 5/15)

2/2/01

The following titles have been officially announced (we're including them here for ease of updating - these dates ARE official):

Anchor Bay - Jake Speed, Jane and the Lost City, Michael Nesmith: Live at the Britt, Reform School Girls, Tuff Turf, The Unbelievable Truth (all 3/13), Lust in the Dust (3/27)

Artisan - If I Die Before I Wake, Substitute 4: Failure is Not an Option, Streets of Laredo (all 4/24)

Buena Vista - Immortality, Wisdom of Crocodiles (3/13), Playing Mona Lisa (4/17), Duets, The Miracle Worker (5/8), Bounty Hunters, Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball (5/15)

Columbia TriStar - Agent Red (4/10), Threesome (5/1)

Image Entertainment - Coffin Joe: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, Coffin Joe: Awakening of the Beast, Coffin Joe: This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, Beast That Killed Woman/Monster of Camp Sunshine, Fall of the House of Usher (silent 1928), Lost World (silent 1925), UK Celebrity Special: Adele Stevens (all 4/3), Beast Must Die, Carmen: Bizet: Maria Ewing, Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites, Lovemaster, MacBeth: Verdi: Deutshe Opera Berlin, Picasso, Scandal: Passion and Romance, Sergei Eisenstein: Mexican Fantasy, Smokey Robinson: Standing Room Only, Woman, Her Men and Her Futon (all 4/10), For Sale, Hardcase and Fist, I, Spy #8 & 9, Phenomenon: The Lost Archives #2, Return of the Ultra Vixens, Scandal: The Big Turn On, Sorrow and the Pity, Tower of Song (all 4/17), Back to God's Country (silent 1919), Born American, Eternal Love (silent 1929), Evangeline (silent 1929), Joan the Woman (silent 1915), La Belle Helene: Offenvack: Nikolaus Harmoncourt, Life Before This, Lohengrin: Wagner: Vienna State Opera, Mon Oncle Antonine, Sex Files: Digital Sex, Teenage Gang Debs/Teenage Strangler, Violent Years/Girl Gang (all 4/24)

MGM - City Slickers, Mississippi Burning, Pope of Greenwhich Village, Magnificent Seven, Return of the Magnificent Seven, Semi-Tough, Throw Mama from the Train, The Westerner (all 5/8), Amos and Andrew, Blame it on Rio, Canadian Bacon, Frankie and Johnny, Home of Our Own, Mean Season, Posse, Shag, Southern Comfort, Stargate SG-1: Season One, Winter People, Some Like it Hot (regular and SE), Young Blood (all 5/22)

Paramount - Coneheads, Ghost, Love Story, Stewart Saves His Family, Summer Rental, Star Trek: The Original Series, Volumes 21 & 22 (all 4/24)

Sony Music - Celine Dion: All the Way, Rage Against the Machine: Battle of Mexico City (2/20)

20th Century Fox - Men of Honor (4/10)

Universal - Billy Elliot, Loving Jezebel (4/17)

1/29/01

The following titles have been officially announced:

A&E - Jeeves & Wooster: The Complete First Season, Jeeves & Wooster: The Complete Second Season and The Prisoner, Volumes 3 & 4 (all 3/27)

Anchor Bay - Tapeheads (3/6), Creepshow 2 and Maximum Overdrive (3/27)

BMG - Yanni: Live at the Acropolis (2/20)

Buena Vista - Reindeer Games: Director's Cut (3/27), 102 Dalmatians (widescreen and full frame versions) (4/3), Bounce (4/10) and The Proposal (4/17)

Columbia TriStar - Krull, Circus, For Pete's Sake, The Natural, True Believer and Lawrence of Arabia (4/3)

Showtime - The Red Shoe Diaries: Swimming Naked and The Red Shoe Dairies: Strip Poker (4/24)

Sony - Barbara Streisand: Timeless - Live in Concert (2/20)

20th Century Fox - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (3/13), Cleopatra (4/3), 9 to 5, For the Boys, Nine Months, Norma Rae, The Truth About Cats and Dogs and Working Girl (4/17), Sand Pebbles, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Twelve O'Clock High and Von Ryan's Express (5/15)

Warner - CNN: Election 2000 (2/6) and Allosaurus (BBC - 4/10)

1/6/01

Okay... one last post before we go. We just got some last minute official DVD announcements, so we figured we'd post 'em before we left for VSDA. Some of these we've mentioned before, but once again, they're now official. Here goes...

Anchor Bay - Death on the Nile, Endless Night, Evil Under the Sun, Madman, Mirror Crack'd (2/13), The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Nightwatch (2/13)

Artisan - Frank Herbert's Dune, Second Skin, Requiem for a Dream (3/20)

Buena Vista - Backstage, Rhyme and Reason, Ride (2/13), Butterfly (2/20), The Crew, Legend of Drunken Master (3/13) The Crow: Salvation, Remember the Titans (3/20)

Columbia TriStar - Agent Red, Avalon, Roughnecks, Story of Jacob and Joseph, Tao of Steve (3/13), Passage to India (3/20), Charlie's Angles, Girlfight (3/27)

Image - Beethoven: Symphony No 9 - Kurt Masur, Best of the Best: Strange Tales of the Imagination, Carmen/The Cheat, Davey and Golaith #2, Francis Bacon, It's Raining on Santiago, Just for the Hell of it/Blast-off Girls, Mad Butcher, Phish: Bittersweet Motel, Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps, Traitor's Heart, U.K. Celebrity Special: Joanne Guest, World's Greatest Designers (3/6), British Invasion Returns, Cat Women of the Moon, Deadly Beauty: Snow's Secret Life, Ghost Chase, My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs, Origins of Film, Scandal: 15 Minutes of Fame, There's Something About McConkey (3/13), Gay Desperado, Gondoliers: Gilbert and Sullivan, Gumboots/Gumboot's Story, Hollywood Vice Squad, I, Spy #6-7, Jiri Kylian's Black and White Ballets, Lover's Prayer, Ray Charles in Concert, Tonight or Never, Wagner: Tristan Und Isolde (3/20), Alceste: Gluck - Theatre Musical de Paris, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra: 4 Bach Suites, BET on Jazz: Earl Klugh, Emerson, Lake and Palmer: Welcome Back, Khovanshcina: Mussorsky - Vienna State Opera, Lockdown, No Safe Haven, Oasis of the Zombies, Zombie Lake, Zubin Mehta in Concert (3/27)

New Concorde - Die! Die! Die!, The Intruder, Last Resort, Saturday the 14th, Saturday the 14th Strikes Back, Transylvania Twist (3/27)

New Line - Little Vampires (3/6)

Paramount - Lucky Numbers, Mach 2 (3/20)

Sony - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Blood Brothers (1/16)

Troma - Terror Firmer (R and Unrated versions), Angels Wild Women, Blood of Ghastly Horror, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, I Spit on Your Corpse, Satan's Sadists (1/23)

WinStar - The Bridge, The Lifestyle, Madadayo, On Cukor, Star's Caravan (3/20)

Now... this isn't official. But you may also be interested to know that Disney's corporate holiday card included a calender of major company "events" for 2001. Among the items listed were the video and DVD release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (slated for September) and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (for October). Can you say Platinum Edition?

And before we go, we figured some of you would enjoy more details about Artisan's Frank Herbert's Dune. The 2-disc set will street (as mentioned above) on March 20th. For an SRP of $24.98, you'll get the complete 6 hour Sci-Fi Channel miniseries (with footage not seen by American audiences) in anamorphic widescreen with English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. You'll also get some nifty supplemental materials, including a featurette, a photo gallery, cast & crew bios, the "theatrical" trailer, TV spots, production notes and DVD-ROM featurettes as well. We really enjoyed this miniseries here at the Bits, and we can't wait for it on DVD - very cool!

Frank Herbert's Dune: Special Edition (2-discs)

Frank Herbert's Dune: Special Edition (2-discs)

Stay tuned...

1/5/01

Before we head off to VSDA, we thought we'd give you one last Rumor Mill update to keep you going. This time, we've got a look at MGM's expected May DVD release slate. According to our sources, look for the following titles from the studio:

Bruno, City Slickers, Eight Men Out, A Family Thing, Mississippi Burning, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Semi-Tough, Throw Momma From the Train, Apache, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, The Horse Soldiers, The Kentuckian, The Magnificent Seven: Special Edition, Return of the Magnificent Seven, The Westerner (all 5/8), Holiday Heart (5/15), Stargate SG-1, Volumes 2-5, Stargate SG-1 Giftset (6 discs), Amos & Andrew, Blame it on Rio, Canadian Bacon, Frankie & Johnny, A Home of Our Own, The Mean Season, Posse, Shaq, Southern Comfort, The Winter People, Young Blood (all 5/22) and Bojangles (TBD)

You may also be happy to learn that MGM will include English subtitles on all future DVD releases (something they've omitted on occasion recently). Stay tuned...

(LATE UPDATE - 1/3/01 - Noon PST)

Here we go again - more upcoming DVD street dates. Some are new, but some have been posted in our daily column this week...

Nurse Betty (USA Entertainment - 2/27), The 6th Day (Columbia TriStar - 3/13), Absolutely Fabulous, Volumes 1-3 (Warner/BBC - 3/13), Absolutely Fabulous Boxed Set 4-discs (Warner/BBC - 3/13), Charlie's Angels: Special Edition (Columbia TriStar - 3/27), A Passage to India (Columbia TriStar - 3/20), Farscape, Volume 3 (ADV Films - 5/1)

Stay tuned...

(EARLY UPDATE - 1/3/01 - 2 AM PST)

We must be on a roll here... we've got more tentative street dates for you, this time for upcoming Fox DVD titles, as well as some other odds and ends. Let's start with the Fox stuff first...

Enemy Mine (3/20), Zardoz (3/20), Alien Nation (3/20), Cleopatra: 5-Star Edition (3-discs - 4/3), The X-Files: The Complete Third Season (5/8), Big Trouble in Little China: Special Edition (2-discs - DD & DTS - 5/22), Point Break (DD & DTS - 5/22), Chain Reaction (5/22), Die Hard: 5-Star Edition (2-discs - DD & DTS - 6/26), Die Hard 2: Die Harder - Special Edition (DD & DTS - 6/26) and Die Hard with a Vengeance: Special Edition (DD & DTS - 6/26)

And here are the rest of the goodies...

The Rutles: All You Need is Cash (Rhino - 2/13 - $19.99), Speed Racer: The Movie - Special Edition (Pioneer - 2/27 - $19.98), Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles (Columbia TriStar - 3/13 - $24.98), Madadayo (Kurosawa's last film - Fox Lorber - 3/13 - $24.98), Remember the Titans (Disney - 3/20 - $29.99), The Sword in the Stone (Disney - 3/20 - $29.99), Quadrophenia (Rhino 3/20 - $24.95), Reindeer Games: Director's Cut (Disney - 3/27 - $29.99), Saturday the 14th (New Concorde - 3/27 - $14.98) and Saturday the 14th Strikes Back (New Concorde - 3/27 - $14.98)

Some good titles in there. Anyone remember Saturday the 14th, with Richard Benjamin? Sting's part as "Ace the Face" in Quadrophenia? And those Fox titles should all be excellent. One last note - in addition to those Warner titles from yesterday, look for a 2001: A Space Odyssey - Special Edition from Warner in late 2001.

Stay tuned...

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