Site created 12/15/97.		page updated: 4/4/00 Rumor Mill (Archived Posts 11/19/99 - 9/10/99) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 11/19/99 We've got a little more early word on upcoming DVD titles for early 2000 - this time for February and March (note that we're only going to mention titles that we haven't so far, so you may wish to look a week or two back in The Rumor Mill to get the complete list of titles for early 2000). Columbia TriStar In addition to the titles we mentioned on 11/11, look for the following in February from the studio: Blue Streak and Absence of Good (both officially announced for 2/8), and Grey Owl, Born Yesterday, Bats, Raisin in the Sun, and King of Masks (TBD). March titles should include Random Hearts, The Bear, Much Ado About Nothing: SE, Indochine, Jacob the Liar and Hook. Fox Again, in addition to the titles we mentioned on 11/11, look for the following from Fox in March: An Affair to Remember, Drive Me Crazy, How Green Was My Valley, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, and The Abyss: SE. Note that Fight Club, Independence Day: SE and The X-Files: Season One Gift Pack are due by the 2nd QTR. Paramount February DVD from Paramount should include The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. March will offer True Grit, El Dorado and Cheyenne. I'm told that the next Star Trek release will be Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, some time in April or May. And I'm also told that Braveheart has finally been given the green light for DVD, and should arrive in May or June (please, oh please... may it be anamorphic! See - we asked nicely.). And once again Paramount, may we put in a request for Once Upon a Time in the West? It's a spaghetti western of the likes of MGM's A Fistful of Dollars. It's even directed by the same guy - Sergio Leone. This is a truly great western, starring Charles Bronson has another man with no name (who plays a mean harmonica), and Henry Fonda as one of the meanest, most cold-hearted bad guys you'll ever see on film. Check out the film's IMDB listing for more. It's definitely a must-be-on-DVD title. Buena Vista Early word is the the studio's March line-up may include Miami Rhapsody, The Color of Money and Outrageous Fortune. 11/18/99 We've received some updated information on our Toy Story DVD post from yesterday. Our sources are now saying that the January 11th street date was tentative only, and that the release will likely take place sometime later in early 2000. The DVD is definitely on the production schedule, and some work IS underway, however more time would be required to finish the project. Given Buena Vista's new policy, you can expect Toy Story 2 to be released day-and-date on DVD when it eventually comes to video. And it would certainly make sense to release the original film on DVD sometime prior to that. We'll keep you up to date, so stay tuned... 11/17/99 I've just received word from our most reliable sources, that Buena Vista Home Entertainment is gearing up to release Disney and Pixar's original Toy Story on DVD, on January 11th, 2000! We don't have any word on features or pricing (anamorphic, please!), but this is solid information. I'm also told that the studio plans to release at least 1 or 2 animated titles a month, leading up to the Fall 2001 release of Snow White to DVD. As many of you know, the studio has recently committed itself to releasing some 26 non-moritorium animated titles on DVD, before the release of the first of its 10-year moritorium classics, which is expected to be Snow White in late 2001. So that means that we've got LOTS of Disney animation to look forward to on DVD in the coming months. Can't wait! Now if the Mouse would just figure out that $39 and $49 isn't family-friendly pricing by a LONG shot... 11/16/99 So you want a good rumor? Okay... can do. We've been able to confirm (via three separate sources of information that have been very reliable in the past), that Fox and Lucasfilm are currently talking about streeting Star Wars: Episode I on VHS on April 4th, 2000. And word is that there's a very good chance that a DVD version of the film could street day and date (likely a movie-only edition). Let me stress that this is VERY early information, and official announcements are a LONG way off. The date could and probably will change. But this is the date our sources say is currently being talked about internally. One important note - we're told that if the DVD is given a green light, we're only talking about Episode I. There are no plans at the moment of releasing the original Star Wars Trilogy to DVD (other than the 2005 or 2006 date Lucas has stated previously). See... told you it was a good rumor (and we expect you to treat it as such)! Also, two of the same sources have said that they're hearing that Paramount and Lucasfilm plan to debut the Indiana Jones Trilogy to DVD in March, 2000. Again, this is VERY early information, and nothing official is expected for some time. Finally, to update something we posted yesterday in the My Two Cents column, Kevin Smith's News Askew has revealed that Columbia TriStar has obtained the DVD release rights to Dogma, and it should be a packed special edition disc. Stay tuned... 11/11/99 Here's the scoop on some good titles in the works for February (keep in mind that this far ahead, schedules are subject to some change): MGM Stigmata, Stargate SG1 (2 hour pilot and 2 episodes), On the Beach, The Taking of Pelham 1, 2, 3, Meteor, Heaven's Gate, Bridge at Remagen, Betrayed, One Man's Hero, Hoosiers (re-release), Bound for Glory, and Storefront Hitchcock Fox Best Laid Plans and Brokedown Palace Columbia TriStar Love Stinks, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Belle Epoque, Persuasion, To Sir With Love, The Winslow Boy, and more Godzilla double feature discs: Godzilla vs. Destroyah/Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, and Rebirth of Mothra I & II Disney Tarzan, The Sixth Sense, When a Man Loves a Woman, I Love You, I Love You Not, and Georgia 11/5/99 We forgot about a few titles in yesterday's post. First of all, New Line is preparing a Platinum Series special edition DVD version of David Fincher's Seven, which is currently slated for March 2nd, 2000. Look for it to be packed, and thankfully, an RSDL dual-layered disc, to replace their earlier flipper version. Thanks to Spizz, Jonathan and the others who reminded me about this title. Also, David J. Skal, who has been hard at work on those Universal Monster DVDs, posted the following on AOL last night (thanks Gary!): "Just got the go-ahead today on the second Universal DVD series, which will consist of Creature from the Black Lagoon (May), The Invisible Man (June), Phantom of the Opera ('43 version, July), It Came from Outer Space (August) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (September). Each will include original documentaries, commentary tracks and all the trimmings. DJS" It was followed by a second post: "Universal called to tell me the dates posted here for the new DVD releases have not been finalized and may well be different. PLEASE do not call Universal asking for info--it's way too early. But thanks for all your input and enthusiasm. The second series should be be even more fun than the first! DJS" Finally, we've got word that Paramount is preparing The Addams Family, and Addams Family Values for February, and True Grit, El Dorado and Cheyenne for March. Hey Paramount - since you're doing westerns, how about Once Upon a Time in the West? Stay tuned... 11/4/99 So you wanna know what's coming from the studios to DVD for early next year? Okay... we got your upcoming title list right here, baby. Here's what's on the way, per studio, for January 2000. Street dates and features are still TBD. We'll give you an idea of titles in the works for later in the year as well: MGM January - The Thomas Crown Affair ('99), The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, Cooley High, Diggstown, Eye of the Needle, Jason's Lyric, The McKenzie Break, Night of the Hunter, Original Gangstas, The Package, Scorpio In the Works for 2000 - Stargate SG1, Force 10 from Navarone, Princess Bride: Special Edition, Showgirls (NC17), Spaceballs, Escape from New York, the remainder of the Bond films, Stigmata Fox January - Picture Perfect, One Fine Day, French Kiss, Great Expectations, Lake Placid, Ally McBeal, Volume 1 (6 episodes) In the Works for 2000 - The Abyss, Fight Club, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Independence Day: Special Edition, The X-Files: Season One gift pack (complete 1st season episodes on DVD) Columbia TriStar January - The Big Brass Ring, The Odessa File, Richard Prior: Live on the Sunset Strip, Twin Falls Idaho, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Solo, Jumanji: Collector's Edition, Mr. Jones, The Man from Laramie In the Works for 2000 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Much Ado About Nothing: Special Edition, The Bear, Hook, Blue Streak, Random Hearts, Crazy in Alabama Warner December - The Mosquito Coast, Young Guns II, Batman Beyond (film plus 3 episodes), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Babar: King Of The Elephants, Volunteers, South Park Volume 4, 5 and 6, Shawshank Redemption, Something To Talk About, The Exorcist III, Extreme Measures, Papillon, Dead Calm, Black Beauty ('94), Mickey Blue Eyes, Deep Blue Sea Coming in 2000 - Chill Factor (Feb), Eyes Wide Shut, Three Kings (March) Buena Vista (Disney) January - An Ideal Husband, The 13th Warrior, From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter, My Son the Fanatic, My Life So Far, Rushmore (Criterion), A Price Above Rubies, Sister Act II, Mad Love, Encino Man, Adventures in Babysitting, The House of Yes Coming in 2000 - Tarzan (movie only - Feb. 1, collector's edition - April), The Sixth Sense (Feb) Universal December - American Pie: Collector's Edition (R-rated), American Pie: Collector's Edition (Unrated), Campus Comedy Classics (3-pack), Dracula, Dudley Do-Right, Fast Times at Ridgemont High: Collector's Edition, K-911, The Red Violin Coming in 2000 - The Invisible Man, The Creature from the Black Lagoon (both TBD), Best Man, The Story of Us (both Feb.), For Love of the Game (March?) Paramount Runaway Bride (Jan), Double Jeopardy (March) New Line The Astronaut's Wife (Feb) Artisan Stir of Echoes (Feb) USA (Polygram) The Muse (Feb) DreamWorks American Beauty (March?) 10/27/99 Well, the reports of Tarzan coming to DVD on 2/1 have been officially confirmed today (with a $50 collector's edition DVD due a couple of months later), so how about a little more upcoming DVD information? Here's what our sources are telling us: January 4th - The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) January 11th - Lake Placid January 25th - Runaway Bride (could change to February) February - Eyes Wide Shut, Three Kings, Chill Factor, The Sixth Sense, Stigmata, Stir of Echoes, Blue Streak March - Double Jeopardy All dates are subject to change, but these should give you a pretty good idea of what's planned for just after the Holidays. 10/22/99 This is a repost from yesterday's My Two Cents column, just in case anyone missed it: Yesterday, we talked about the possible release of Disney's Tarzan on DVD next year. Word from a loyal Bits reader, is that the new Winnie the Pooh holiday video includes a trailer for Tarzan, and says, "Coming to video and DVD February 1, 2000." 10/20/99 Here's the latest we've heard on upcoming DVD titles through the end of 1999: A.D.V. Films - Queen Emeraldas (11/23) Artisan - The Boys from Brazil, Buena Vista Social Club and Illuminata (12/14) Artisan (Republic) - Scarefest: Witchboard III, John Carpenter Presents Body Bags and Rumpelstilskin (12/14) Elite Entertainment - Masterworks of German Horror (11/9) New Line - Drop Dead Gorgeous (12/14), Detroit Rock City, National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon, Pump Up the Volume and Surviving the Game (12/21) Image - Black Death, Desperate Crimes, Lightdance: Santana, Oasis: Tangerine Dream, Prince and the Surfer, Redline, Top of the World, and Web of Seduction (12/7), Black Sunday (Mario Bava version), Key to Sex, Killing Obsession, Kiss: The Second Coming, My Favorite: The Leading Ladies, Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky), Prince of Desire, Tess of the Storm Country (silent 1922), Verdi's Aida (Teatro Alla Scala - Pavarotti), and Village of Dreams (12/14), Carmen MacRae: Live, Evening with Placidio Domingo, Iron Maze and Scarred City (12/21), 90 Degrees South, Antonio Gaudi, Evening of Foreplay 1 & 2 (jazz), GRP All Stars: Live from the Record Plant, Lee Ritenour and Friends 1 & 2 (jazz), Night Tide and Sweepers (12/28) Image (Panasonic) - Twilight Zone # 14 & 15 (12/21) MTI - Hidden Agenda (11/2), G2: Mortal Conquest (11/9), Rogue Force (11/13), Vivid (12/7) and Airborne (12/14) Shanachie - Ladysmith Black Mambaso: Live (10/9) Sony Music - Will Smith: Video Compilation (11/16), Andy Kaufman: The Midnight Special and Family Values Tour (11/23), Mariah Carey: The #1s (12/14) Warner (Music) - Natalie Merchant: Live in Concert and Tom Petty: High Grass Dogs (11/9), Jimi Hendrix (11/30) Warner (HBO) - Babar: King of the Elephants (12/21) Warner - Black Beauty (1994 version - 11/30) and Mickey Blue Eyes (12/28) 10/12/99 I've received some word from select (and trusted) sources, that Fox is currently working on DVD versions of Independence Day and The Abyss for release sometime next year. There are very few details at this time, but ID4 will definitely be in anamorphic widescreen, and The Abyss may be released on 2 DVD-9 discs (one with dual versions of the film itself, and one with extras). Look for more support for anamorphic from the studio on at least their major titles. Superman is definitely being prepped for DVD over at Warner, but don't expect it to be released until as late as 3rd or 4th QTR 2000 - apparently there is a LOT of restoration work that needs to be done, and it isn't going to be easy. Finally today, working through a pair of sources, we've managed to confirm (but unofficially, of course) that the Indiana Jones Trilogy is being prepared for DVD release sometime next year. But all the work is being done in-house at Lucasfilm (as we can likely expect to happen with eventual Star Wars DVDs). Stay tuned, 'cause we will definitely keep you all up to date as work progresses on all these titles... 10/6/99 We've got still more word on upcoming DVD titles for you today. Here's the scoop: Warner Bros has Before Sunrise, Cry in the Dark, Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same, The Outsiders and Pacific Heights all tentatively set for release in the last week of November. Before Sunrise (a Miramax) comes via Castle Rock - let's hope it's better looking than The American President. Also, definitely look for Deep Blue Sea in mid-December. Other Warner titles coming: Meatballs, Last of the Dogmen and Black Cat Run (all November, via HBO), Bjork: All is Full of Love and two Metallica discs, Cliff'em All and Year and a Half of Metallica (all October, via Warner Music), and Anchors Aweigh and The Big Sleep (both November, via Turner). We've been told by very good sources, that Buena Vista is negotiating with Criterion to obtain the rights to all of the supplemental materials used for the Chasing Amy laserdisc. Buena Vista reportedly wants to release the title as a Miramax Collectors Edition DVD. Let's hope that they do a new anamorphic transfer while they're at it. Whatever disc gets released, you can expect Alliance's postponed Canadian version to be identical. Other titles and street dates: Artisan - Candyman 3: Day of the Dead, and Steven King Trio: Cujo, Langoliers and Thinner (via Republic, all 11/23) BMG Music - Windham Hill: George Winston/Seasons in Concert (10/12), VH1 Divas Live 99 (10/26), Backstreet Boys and N'Sync: No Strings Attached (11/9), Anthrax: Return of the Killer B's Video Anthology, Blondie, Britney Spears, Face to Face: The First Seven Years, Meat Loaf: VH1 Storytellers and Stone Country (all 11/23) Capitol-EMI - Maria Callas in Concert: Hamburg '59 and '62, Maria Callas: Live and Art, Paul McCarthy's Standing Stone and Sarah Brightman: One Night in Eden (all 10/5) Criterion - The Third Man (11/16) New Line - Dangerous Ground, Feeling Minnesota, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, and Trial and Error (11/16) 9/30/99 We've gotten word on more upcoming DVD titles. Here's the latest: DreamWorks - The Haunting & The Love Letter (11/23) Columbia TriStar - Carmen (12/7), Loves of Carmen (12/14), Desert Blue & It Happened One Night (12/28) VCI - The Lone Ranger: Hi-Ho Silver/The Legend of the Lone Ranger, Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, Room at the Top & To Build a Fire (11/30) Amazing Fantasy - Puppet Master & Subspecies (11/16) BMG Music - Windham Hill: Solace & Windham Hill: Winter Solstice on Ice (10/12) Central Park Media - Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (11/23) & Wild Cardz (12/14) Pioneer - Judy Garland Show: Christmas Special (11/23) Pioneer (Artisan) - Hiroshima & Voyage of the Damned (11/23) Trimark - Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special, Saturday Night Live: Best of Mike Myers, Saturday Night Live: Best of Adam Sandler & Shark Attack (11/9) Universal - Best Bits of Mr. Bean & Lord of the Dance (11/23) 9/23/99 Some of our top sources here at the Bits have clued us into many of the cool, upcoming DVD titles that are in the works for release in December and January. Here's a look at some of what's coming: Warner Deep Blue Sea, Mickey Blue Eyes, (both later in December), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Beyond (pilot episode), Something to Talk About, Love Affair, Splendor in the Grass, Ghosts of Mississippi, and Malcolm X Note that South Park, Volumes 4-6 have been tentatively delayed until December. New Line Drop Dead Gorgeous, Detroit Rock City (both December), and The Astronaut's Wife (January) Note that (currently) Detroit Rock City will have a 3 week exclusive period of availability on DVD, prior to its VHS release. Universal American Pie, Buffalo 66, Fast Times at Ridgemont High: CE, (December), Bowfinger, Mystery Men, Dudley Do-Right (January), Back to the Future Trilogy, Cape Fear (1962 & 1991 versions), Out of Africa: CE, and For Love of the Game (early 2000). 9/16/99 According to a brief report in a couple of the industry trades this week, Warner's Wild Wild West is expected to hit DVD on November 30th, with an SRP of $24.98. Look for the disc to include audio commentary with Barry Sonnenfeld, a 30-minute documentary, several shorter production featurettes, the theatrical trailer, and DVD-ROM features such as an interactive game, and a "virtual tour". We're also hearing whispers that the studio's nifty shark flick, Deep Blue Sea, will also street sometime in late November (no word yet on specific dates or features). Stay tuned... 9/15/99 Could Sony's upcoming new PlayStation 2 actually be a fully featured DVD player after all? A few days ago, we reported that someone involved in PlayStation game development had clued us in to the fact that, according to a his information, PS2's DVD-Video playback capabilities would be limited, so as not to compete with Sony's standard DVD player line. The info had reportedly come from an official PS2 developers conference. Now it's beginning to look as if Sony's changed their mind. Yesterday, Sony released more technical details on the system, including a statement that it would support "both the audio CD and DVD-Video formats". And a reader sent us a photograph taken at the actual system unveiling in Japan. The photo (as you can see here), shows a projected slide listing the PS2's DVD Format compatibility. Shown are the DVD, Dolby Digital and even DTS Digital Out logos. It certainly would make sense that the game system work as a fully-functioning DVD player. Just think of how quickly the DVD market will expand with game systems capable of playing DVD movies. Our friends over at DVD Future have an article with more details on the PS2 today worth looking at. Thanks David for the photo! In other news, a reader has reported that Star Wars: Episode I will soon be on DVD... bootleg DVD that is. Here's a bit of his e-mail: "Star Wars Episode #1 The Phantom Menace will be available on DVD within the next three days. It is a Chinese release and most probably is a bootleg done professionally. The word is that it will contain a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and that it will not be one of the current VCD bootlegs." He will try to send us a scan of the cover artwork as soon as he can. We at the Bits can't vouch for this story, but it certainly wouldn't surprise us to see a bootleg Hong Kong DVD of the film, given that the other three Star Wars films have already been bootlegged from laserdiscs. Stay tuned... 9/14/99 Could there be no more "special" Canadian Buena Vista DVDs? Our own Todd Doogan spoke yesterday with a representative of Alliance Atlantis, the distribution company which handles Buena Vista/Miramax and New Line DVD product in Canada. He was told that the company will no longer produce DVDs of Buena Vista films which differ in content from the U.S. versions. As many of you may know, Alliance has previouslly released such discs in the past. The Canadian version of Good Will Hunting, for example, is in anamorphic widescreen, and includes an additional deleted scene. The Canadian Pulp Fiction DVD also boasts deleted scenes, introduced by director Quentin Tarantino himself. These extra suppliments, unavailable in the States, have been the cause of great irritation among some U.S. DVD fans, and have resulted in many of these discs being imported into the U.S. via online retailers. This practice has, in turn, irritated Alliance, which now vows to release only identical DVDs in Canada. I suppose this would be a good thing... IF Buena Vista released better DVDs in the States in the first place. It seems that everyone, everywhere else in the world, gets better features from Buena Vista on DVD than we do (anamorphic is a regular feature in Europe, for example). We'll see... Some other upcoming DVD titles you should know about: Artisan has Body and Soul/Champion, Father Goose/That Touch of Mink, and The John Wayne Trilogy (In Old California, The Fighting Kentuckian and Dark Command) set for 11/23 release. The Sarah, Plain and Tall Trilogy (Sarah, Plain and Tall, Skylark and Winter's End) is also set for 11/30. Columbia TriStar has Black and White set for 11/9 DVD release. Buena Vista has added Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas to their DVD slate, with a scheduled 12/7 street date. MPI/Gorgon is releasing Faces of Death to DVD on 9/28. The disc will include the original Faces of Death, Part 1, plus the Faces of Death: Fact or Fiction documentary (more volumes will follow if this initial release is successful). Ryko is releasing Suck It and See, and Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense to DVD on 10/26. And Sony Music is debuting Black Sabbath: Last Supper, Donna Summers: VH-1, and Pink Floyd: The Wall on DVD on 10/19. Also, look for the Ricky Martin: Video Compilation on 10/26. Stay tuned... 9/10/99 Could it be? Saving Private Ryan on DVD? Well, according to several of our best sources, Steven Spielberg has finally given the green light, and the official word is expected to start going out next week, that Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and company will be marching their way onto DVD on the same day that the VHS tape goes sell-through - November 2nd. DreamWorks could not be reached for comment, but our sources assure us this is good information. Look for the disc to include at least some special extra material, and (as are all the studio's DVDs) to be of the highest caliber in terms of picture and sound quality. This is VERY cool if it all pans out. By no coincidence, Fox's platoon of WWII titles also arrives on DVD that day: The Thin Red Line, The Longest Day, Tora, Tora, Tora, and Patton (The Commitments and The Full Monty also street on November 2nd). So what else can we expect in the 4th quarter on DVD? Other than those Disney animated titles, here's a list of some of what you can look forward to: November Notting Hill (Universal), Life is Beautiful (Buena Vista/Miramax) and The Black Mask (Artisan) (all 11/9), Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me (New Line), Tea with Mussolini (MGM), Instinct (Buena Vista), and Anastasia (Fox) (all 11/16), The Haunting, The Love Letter (both DreamWorks), South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Paramount), Midsummer Night's Dream, The Last of the Mohicans and Entrapment (all three from Fox) (all on 11/23). Titles with dates TBD (but which we're hearing will be available on DVD in November) include The Iron Giant, Wild Wild West and Deep Blue Sea (all Warner). December Inspector Gadget (Buena Vista - 12/7), The General's Daughter (Paramount - 12/14), American Pie (Universal - 12/21). Titles with dates TBD in December, include Mickey Blue Eyes (Warner), Universal Soldier: The Return (Columbia TriStar) and Summer of Sam (Buena Vista). Also, two things to know: The Last of the Mohicans will be a director's cut on DVD, and Artisan is currently working hard on its DVD-18 Terminator 2: Special Edition. Word is that T2: SE may street as early as February. Stay tuned... More Archived Posts Back to Current Posts
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