Universal: No More Dual Releases (1 Viewer)

[Dave Scarpa]

Note to Universal Re: The Mummy Returns. Do what you have to to keep both the P&S and Widescreen versions on the same discs. Retailers such as Costco , Walmart, etc are stocking only the P&S versions, and Rental Outfits Like Blockbuster are doing Likewise, giving Lovers of OAR such as myself, no recourse but not to buy nor rent the film. I'm sure Warner's release of Seperate versions of Cats and Dogs will be more of the same.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

AMEN to that; this goes for ALL studios, not just Universal! DVD was supposed to have BOTH widescreen AND pan-and-scan ON THE SAME DISC, since no matter how you try to explain it to some people, they just won't get widescreen. Since Widescreen is the only CORRECT way to show the film, however, if space does not allow for both versions than widescreen is of course the one that should be put on. Under NO circumstances should those wanting the CORRECT version of the movie be forced to check and make sure they're getting the right version of 2 or more different releases of the same movie!
More progress should be made with manufacturing of DVD-18 discs, though it looks like the few titles that have been released on DVD-18 haven't had too many problems. This would allow movies that require a dual-layer disc like "Mummy Returns" to STILL have BOTH formats ON THE SAME DISC! Use of the pan-and-scan on-the-fly feature should be done too whenever possible- I'm not sure if this was ever meant to work with 2.35 films though.
The same needs to be said for theatrical and "Unrated" releases- DVD was hyped as being able to have MULTIPLE VERSIONS of the same movie on ONE DISC, so I shouldn't have to buy 2 different discs to get both the theatrical and unrated versions of "American Pie".

 

[Chuck L]

This happened at my local Blockbuster with the latest release of The Silence of The Lambs. The ordered for rental the pan and scan only copies, and the only letterboxed version of the film that is available is the original release from years ago.
Requiem For A Dream...the only version for rental is the Edited Version. Yet they will sell you at MSRP the unedited version.
I too agree that there is really no reason for the multiple releases. Then again, thank God for them because otherwise the true lovers of films will be at the hands of the Beverly Hillbilly's that think something is wrong with their television set because there are black bars at the top and bottem of their screens. Imagine how things will be in a few short years, when more widescreen televisions are available to these same people...you can here the scene now..."Damn, first they were at the top and bottom, now on the sides! What the hell is the problem!"