WB's Police Academy 7-disc box-set: Press Release (1 Viewer)

20 years of mayhem, mishap and mismanagement celebrated at the...

Police Academy!

Landmark Comedy of Law and Disorder Debuts as 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD April 13

Six Sequels and Seven Title Giftset Also Get DVD Debuts

from Warner Home Video

Burbank, Calif., December 29, 2003 - Police Academy -- the astoundingly silly, yet hugely popular "tasteless" comedy classic -- cops all the fun with a 20th Anniversary Special Edition DVD release on April 13 from Warner Home Video. Considered one of the defining films of '80s comedy, the unforgettable flatfoot farce launched a movie franchise which spanned a full decade, grossed more than $240 million domestically and sold nearly two and a half million videos. Highlights of the Special Edition bonus features include commentaries, a squad reunion documentary and more. It will be available for $19.97 SRP.

The ultimate in motion picture law "enfarcement" follows a motley group of police academy recruits as they bumble their way through training. The six sequels -- Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege and Police Academy: Mission to Moscow -- continue to track the misfits as they start their careers in various situations with very funny consequences.

Each of the six sequels will be available for $14.97 SRP. For hard-core laughter, a Police Academy Giftset, featuring all seven titles, will be offered as well. It will sell for $59.92 SRP.

More on Police Academy Titles

Police Academy 20th Anniversary Special Edition - Building on a nightsticks-and-slapstick tradition going back to the Keystone Cops, Police Academy follows a class of recruits as they bumble their way through training. Now the popular debut film calls for backup, adding 20th anniversary DVD extras. Stars Steve Guttenberg. Kim Cattrall, G.W. Bailey, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow and George Gaynes are ready to uphold law and disorder and make the world a funnier place.

Available for the first time in widescreen, other special features include:

All-new digital transfer
Commentary by Steve Guttenberg, Michael Winslow, Leslie Easterbrook, G.W. Bailey, director Hugh Wilson and producer Paul Maslansky
Behind Academy Doors: Secret Files Revealed - all-new reunion documentary
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment - An anti-social mastermind and his leathered band of pranksters are on the prowl, spray-painting the town red and emptying the pockets of anyone sharing the sidewalk. The newly graduated Police Academy cadets tangle with these pinheaded punkers to save the day. The original cast returns to face Bobcat Goldthwait in the tailor-made role of the Ozzy Osbourne-like gang leader.

Special features include:

Accidental Heroes: The Best Of - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 3: Back in Training - A budget crisis has decreed that only one of the state's two cop schools can survive, so the race is on to see which academy can avoid the ax by turning out the superior force. The cadets return and "carry on with a lot of good, low humor" (Vincent Canby, The New York Times).

Special features include:

All Washed Up: Floating Memories - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol - The original cadets sign up for more misadventure as Cmdt. Lassard (George Gaynes) decides to toughen up neighborhood watch groups by training them to be Citizens on Patrol, or COPs. The film features rising stars Sharon Stone as a reporter who strikes sparks with Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg) and David Spade as a loopy skateboarder.

Special features include:

Remembering a Lofty Investigation - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach - The Police Academy team are in Miami for a convention honoring beloved Cmdt. Lassard. But they soon realize that crime doesn't take a vacation, even if they do, as Lassard is kidnapped and the team must save him.

Special features include:

Mistaken Identity: Case Reopened - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 6: City Under Siege - A crime spree called Operation Chaos is plaguing the city and the Police Academy alumni are called in to save the city, but Cmdt. Lassard is suspected when it becomes clear that a police department information leak is keeping the bad guys one step ahead.

Special features include:

Unholy Alliance: A Retrospective - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy: Mission to Moscow - The Police Academy squad goes global as they take on the Godfather of the Russian mob (Ron Perlman), whose computer program plays like a video game but can actually steal money and goods planet-wide without a trace.

Special features include:

Underneath the Mission - all-new making-of featurette
Theatrical trailer

Police Academy 20th Anniversary Special Edition

STREET DATE: April 13

$19.97 SRP DVD

Rating: R

Run Time: 96 minutes

The film is presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ration of its original theatrical exhibition and the DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

All 6 sequels will sell for $14.97 SRP


Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 87 minutes

The film is presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and the DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Police Academy 3: Back in Training

Rating: PG

Run Time: 83 minutes

The film is presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and the DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.


Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol

Rating: PG

Run Time: 88 minutes

The film has been modified from its original version and formatted to fit home screens. The DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach

Rating: PG

Run Time: 90 minutes

The film has been modified from its original version and formatted to fit home screens. The DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French (dubbed in Québécois) languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.


Police Academy 6: City Under Siege

Rating: PG

Run Time: 84 minutes

The film is presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and the DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French (dubbed in Québécois) languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Police Academy: Mission to Moscow

Rating: PG

Run Time: 83 minutes

The film is presented in a "matted" widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and the DVD includes Dolby Digital sound. It will also include English and French (dubbed in Québécois) languages and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.


Seven-Title Police Academy Giftset

$59.92 SRP

So it looks like Parts 4 and 5 will be P&S?

Weird.

I'll gladly buy the first one tho!

That makes zero sense.

I was going to buy parts 1-5, but now it looks like I'll only be buying parts 1-3.
By the way, "Mission To Moscow" was a direct-to-video release, and it even gets 16:9!

Well this is certainly weird. Why 4 and 5 are pan-and-scan (or unmatted) while the rest are widescreen. Makes no sense. And no deleted scenes? :frowning: Hopefully as easter eggs then... :frowning:

I'm gonna write WB and tell them that I was planning on purchasing the 7-disc set, and now I will not be buying anything, not even the SE of the first film. At teh very least they can offer us all seven films in widescreen. Putting two non-OAR discs while the rest are OAR makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Release a "full-frame" set then, if you wish, but don't mix. I'd still like deleted scenes too...

And Chuck, I believe the seventh film had a limited theatrical release. But it looks like all are matted anyway. That's why I don't like matting - it's confusing and makes widescreen look bad when trying to explain it to the non-initiated.

Dang it! That stinks. I thought the price for the whole set was pretty low, now we know why. Stupid P&S!

disappointing indeed.

I will just buy the First one

damn. that would be a very nice price for the 7-disc set if they were all OAR. I guess I'll buy 1-3 eventually, but not as quick as I would have bought the entire set.

Anyone have a link to contact Warner Home Video regarding this? Their site dvdwb.com seem to have no contact information...

WB, are you listening...? I just cancelled my pre-order with Amazon for the boxed set, and I won't be getting them piecemeal, so it looks like you lost out on more than "one" sale because of this MAR'd release...

No OAR = NO SALE, and that goes for ALL items in a BOXED SET!

Will they be anamorphic or not? I guess they "forgot" to mention it. :rolleyes

I originally only wanted the first film to replace the MAR DVD I've currently got. But when I saw that $59.92 list price, I figured it was worth getting the whole set. I actually liked the first four in the series.

Of course, that's before I saw that 4 & 5 are "open matte" releases. That makes absolutely no sense! Mission to Moscow I could understand. It was straight-to-video(at least in the US, I think). But how can they randomly select 2 films in the middle of the series like that?

Oh well, WB just lost a sale on the box set. I'll definitely get the first one(I can't believe it has a commentary with Mahoney, Jones, Callahan, and Lt. Harris!). And maybe 2 & 3 depending on the prices.

Yeah, everything sounded great until the whole "formatted for no apparent reason" on 4 and 5. No sale Warner. Go back to the drawing boards.

Warner STILL doesn't get it - even after thousands of signatures of the Wonka petition.

There definitely should be a petition made for this. This is truly baffling and totally a slap in the face. I've never made one so I don't know how to even begin, but perhaps someone will do it. I'm sure a lot of people will sign it, judging by the reaction in this thread in just a couple of hours. I'm not saying these are some timeless classics that deserve lavish treatment, but come on... throwing non-OAR disc in with OAR is just ridiculous!

I was going to get the box set as well. Now it looks like just 1-3 for me. Oh well, maybe one day they will learn.

What a rip. The only one I expected to be fullscreen was "Mission to Moscow" since as far as I knew, that was direct-to-video. But to have 4 & 5 in Pan & Scan???? What's the deal?

I was definitely going to buy this set. I'm a huge fan of the Police Academy films and would've loved to have them in their OAR's. Now I know that if I do get it, it'll still feel incomplete no matter what.

Just when I thought Warner was turning over a new leaf by re-releasing past P&S titles with OAR ones, they go ahead and pull this stunt. They just lost another sale.

This is poor judgement on the part of Warner that I would only expect from the piece of crap Universal! Very sad...

To Warner since original director Hugh Wilson and Police Academy alum G.W Bailey and Bobcat Goldthwait all decide to participate in a re-release DVD version of the film. Why not have these guys return for a Burglar re-release DVD with a new matted HD master and remixed Dolby 3.0 audio? Whoopi’s hot again with her tasteless NBC show and could certainly give a new interview or commentary.

Marcus, how do you know that Bobcat participated in the Police Academy DVDs? Is it mentioned anywhere?