DVD MANUFACTURERS STEP UP PRODUCTION
JOHN HARTL
01/15/98
The Seattle Times
FINAL
Page E6
(Copyright 1998)
During the holiday shopping season, videophiles found a new toy to play with: the digital video disc (DVD), which places an entire feature-length movie on a disc the size of a CD. The quality of the image surpasses videotape by a considerable margin.
By year's end, sales of DVD players, which begin at around $500 per player, had passed the 150,000 mark (they were introduced just last March). Sales of the discs, which are priced between $20 and $35, moved from a high of 50,000 a week last fall to about 90,000 a week last month.
The best-selling DVDs over the holidays were "Twister," "The Rock" and "Scream," all of them available in wide-screen versions that emphasize the crisp, colorful visual quality of DVD.
Although this is still a small percentage of the video market, the DVD is making faster inroads than VCRs and CD players, which sold fewer than 40,000 players during their first years. In a year or two, if DVDs keep selling at this rate, they could eclipse laser disc players, which have been installed in about 2 million homes.
DVDs could also stall out. In Japan, Billboard reports, "DVD is running at half speed . . . three key chains with an October-December goal of 30,000 players managed to move just 5,000 in the first month." Industry estimates that 500,000 to 600,000 players would be sold during the first year in Japan will have to be curtailed at least by half.
None of this has stopped software manufacturers from announcing a flood of new DVD releases, ranging from major-studio biggies ("The English Patient," "Con Air," "Evita") to foreign-language prize-winners to some of the most obscure movies ever released to the video market.
Anyone remember "To Cross the Rubicon," the 1991 talkathon about two yapping, whining Seattle yuppies who get stalked by a Roman soldier in full costume? Simitar is releasing it on DVD, along with such unasked-for titles as "Fearless 2 Hyena," "Secret 3 Games" and "Dreams of Gold."
Fox Lorber is plunging into DVD with this week's releases of Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's," Fellini's "Orchestra Rehearsal," Daniel Vigne's "The Return of Martin Guerre" and Andre Techine's most acclaimed film, "Wild Reeds," which made a clean sweep of the 1995 critics' award for best foreign film. Like several of the new titles, it was never released on laser disc.
Polygram Video is bringing out its second edition of "Short Cinema Journal," a video magazine made up of "10 award-winning short films that don't suck." The new disc includes Chris Marker's 1962 time-travel masterpiece, "La Jetee," which later became the basis for the Bruce Willis/Brad Pitt movie, "12 Monkeys"; Jane Campion's breakthrough movie, "A Girl's Own Story"; Mark Gustafson's delirious stop-motion classic, "Bride of Resistor"; Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's wonderfully weird "Eye Like a Strange Balloon"; and an excerpt from George Hickenlooper's upcoming feature, "The Big Brass Ring," which stars Malcolm McDowell and is based on a story by Orson Welles.
Buena Vista has announced that it will soon release DVDs of "Mary Poppins" and "Trainspotting." Universal is bringing out "High Plains Drifter" and "National Lampoon's Animal House," Columbia TriStar is releasing "The Devil's Own" and "Excess Baggage," Criterion is reissuing many of its laser disc classics on DVD, while MGM/UA is promising "The Manchurian Candidate," "West Side Story" and a director's cut of "Leaving Las Vegas."
There's also a thriving market in "adult" DVDs, with titles ranging from "Malibu Madam" to "Ancient Asian Sex Secrets" to "Pam Anderson & Tommy Lee Hardcore & Uncensored."
Several companies are offering special features: an audio commentary from director Stuart Gordon for Elite Entertainment's "director's cut" of "Re-Animator," a making-of featurette that accompanies Warner's release of "The Man Who Would Be King," and theatrical trailers for Live Entertainment's version of "The Doors." New Line Home Video's "Austin Powers" features six deleted scenes, two alternate endings, an animated sequence ("Music to Shag By") and audio commentary from Mike Myers and director Jay Roach.
Although DVD can't always be counted on to deliver the excellent sound quality of laser discs, many of the new DVDs are concert discs: "Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival" (Sony), "Oasis . . . There and Then" (Epic), "R.E.M. Road Movie" (Warner Reprise), "Bruce Springsteen" (Sony) and "U2 Live From Sydney" (PolyGram).
There's been no official explanation why Steven Spielberg, Paramount and Fox have not joined the DVD revolution. Conspicuous by their absence on DVD are such currently hot titles as Spielberg's "Men in Black" and "Lost World: Jurassic Park."
Paramount and Fox do, however, appear to be interested in DIVX, a rival pay-per-view DVD system that will be introduced later this year.
Video Watch by John Hartl appears Thursdays in Scene. For more information call the Video Hotline on InfoLine, a telephone information service of The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-2000 from a touch-tone phone and enter category 7369. It's a free local call. |
