What was the 1st movie released on DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Wadkins]

i was at school when i got my laser it took aaaagggggeeesss to save up and lothed dvd until the mpeg mastering got better.
I loved being the only laser/dvd owner i knew and hate when the mainstream catches up lol

 

[Kelly Grannell]

My first DVD player was the Panny DVD-A100 way back when in March 1997 with IMAX: Antartica as the first disc I've ever bought. Boy the picture quality was horrendous. Some of my studio-released VCDs actually looked better than the Antartica disc. Africa is not nearly as bad. I even remembered Toshiba used Africa DVD quite extensively to promo their DVD players in 1997.

I remembered writing to the company and they exchanged the Antartica and Africa DVD for me at no cost.

 

[John Alderson]

I got into DVD via the Creative Labs Encore DXR2 back in May of 1998. I bought it because I thought DVD-ROM games had a future, and it came with Wing Commander IV on DVD. I hooked it up to my TV for fun and goggled at the crisp image of Mark Hammil and Malcom McDowell. I decided to try "Contact" (cheap at $20 at Sam Goody) and was instantly sold on the future of home video. I don't think I ever got another PC game on DVD.

In January of 1998 I got the Pioneer DV-414 which is still in service as my main player. "Blade Runner" is the earliest DVD I own from that original group of WB's.

 

[Brian O]

I first was introduced to DVD by a buddy who was an early adopter in '97 with his DD(no DTS) 5.1 surround sound setup. He had it hooked to a 35" TV and I thought it was incredible. The sound really sold me at that time.

Anyways, at the end of '98 I put together a new computer that included a DVD player as an afterthought. Picked up Top Gun, Contact, Eagles WHFO, Fleetwood Mac The Dance, and John Fogarty.

I really enjoyed the clarity/resolution of the picture on the computer screen but it was the extra clean audio that got me upgrading my whole home sound system starting with a Yamaha DD and DTS 5.1 receiver and Infinity 5.1 setup.

I was playing this on my JVC 35" TV and enjoying OAR in higher res on a bigger screen for the first time.

However, it was the incredible 5.1 music that really sold me from the concert disks I listed above and also the fact that a movie on a 35" screen seemed soooo much bigger with a 5.1 setup!

 

[John Green]

The 1st DVD's released in the UK were Warner titles. There were only about 8 or 10 and they included Contact, Fallen (Denzel Washington) and Sphere (Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone)

 

[Mike Wadkins]

dont forget the sony mpeg II multi channel discs al la Jerry Maguire.
they were on or about the same time

 

[Mark Lucas]

I got into dvd a few years after it was apparent there was not going to be any more laserdiscs released and no super campacity LD/DVD hybrid format. I was one of the few that really resented DVD when it came out. Overly negative articles I had read in WSR regarding poor audio and crummy mpeg2 compression kept me far away. The ugly cases also didn't help much either.

Eventually most of my concerns were answered with better mastering, better hardware, and software dvd players which made building a HTPC possible.

 

[Bradley-E]

It was a batch of Warner/MGM titles. I bought my first player a couple weeks before the movies ever came out. On the day the first titles were released I bought GOODFELLAS, BLADE RUNNER-DIR CUT, THE EXORCIST, GET SHORTY, THE FUGITIVE, THE ROAD WARRIOR and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Amongst the other first day titles released:

A TIME TO KILL
THE GLIMMER MAN
THE BIRDCAGE
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE
BATMAN (1989)
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
UNFORGIVEN
TWISTER
THE COLOR PURPLE
RAGING BULL
GOLDENEYE
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

I'm not sure but I think THE MASK, SEVEN were out the same day. All in all I think there were about 30 titles initially.

About a month later, SONY released BAD BOYS, THE CRAFT, and DESPERADO (I Think) They were slower with titles and released about 3 at a time. Also released early on was JERRY MAGUIRE (Day and date with VHS), IN THE LINE OF FIRE, LITTLE WOMEN, FLY AWAY HOME (FULL FRAME, later remastered Widescreen), LEGENDS OF THE FALL, MATILDA (FULL FRAMEand still FULL FRAME)

 

[Bradley-E]

Warner Home Video Announces First DVD Titles at Consumer Electronics Show


LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Warner Home Video (WHV), a Time Warner
Entertainment Company, will release the first DVD titles beginning in spring
1997. Released simultaneously with VHS, movies on DVD will be offered at
affordable sell-through prices which should prove instrumental in popularizing
the DVD format. Titles scheduled for March include "Space Jam" and "Twister"
with future releases such as "Sleepers," "Michael Collins," "Mars Attacks!"
and "Michael" to be available concurrent with their VHS counterparts.
"We are confident that consumers will be impressed by DVD's superior
quality and features," said Warren Lieberfarb, WHV President. "We are proud
that Warner Bros. is among the first major studios to announce titles for this
next-generation format."
Stored on a disc the same size as a music CD, DVD's enormous digital
storage provides an exceptional picture and theater-quality Dolby Digital(TM)
surround sound. DVD offers the experience of watching movies in multiple
screen formats including the original theatrical widescreen version. An
interactive, on-screen menu system allows DVD users to switch between multiple
language tracks and/or subtitles. Viewers can also choose to watch the
original theatrical trailer, as well as explore material about the cast,
director and making of the film.
Upcoming disc content may carry other additional features including:
running director commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, storyboards, internet
browser capability, director's cut versions, screen tests and interviews with
cast and crew.

DVD Launch Titles (in alphabetical order):

"Batman"
"Blade Runner: The Director's Cut"
"The Bodyguard"
"The Bridges of Madison County"
"Bonnie and Clyde"
"Casablanca"
"The Color Purple"
"Doctor Zhivago"
"Eraser"
"The Exorcist"
"The Fugitive"
"The Glimmer Man"
"Gone with the Wind"
"GoodFellas"
"Interview with the Vampire"
"JFK: Special Edition Director's Cut"
"Lethal Weapon"
"The Road Warrior"
"Singin' in the Rain"
"Space Jam"
"A Streetcar Named Desire: The Director's Cut"
"A Time to Kill"
"Twister"
"Unforgiven"
"Woodstock: The Director's Cut"


Future Releases (simultaneous with VHS):

"Mars Attacks!"
"Michael"
"Michael Collins"
"My Fellow Americans"
"Sleepers"


NOTE: DR. ZHIVAGO and GONE WITH THE WIND were delayed until a later date and along with CASABLANCA, And all were then still released by MGM. GET SHORTY, RAGING BULL, WIZARD OF OZ, GOLDENEYE and THE BIRDCAGE were on the intitial launch list from MGM. Back then Warner distributed MGM product.

This list pretty much is what was released first on DVD.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

The first two titles I remember seeing on a shelf were Batman and the Outlaw Josey Wales. I think it was fall 1997.

The first title I ever got was Austin Powers xmas 1998.

 

[mattCR]

First DVD I received was "Twister" I don't know if it was first, but had to be close.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Bradley, perfect. Thanks!

Oh, one of the 1996 Japanese releases was Papillion. I got that soon after modding a player to be multi-region.

- Steve

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Sorry I am late. I don't know how accurate this is, but for all DVD infor I go here

http://hometheaterinfo.com/dvdlist.htm

I did some cutting, but this is what they have listed for the first 30.

Return Of Boogeyman (Boogeyman 3)Simitar2/1/1997
Red Heat (Movie-Only Edtion/ Canadian)Artisan3/2/1997
Poltergeist (MGM/UA)MGM/UA3/10/1997
Tropical Rainforest: IMAX (Lumivision)Lumivision3/19/1997
Wizard Of Oz (1939/ MGM/UA)MGM/UA3/25/1997
Twister (1996Warner Brothers3/25/1997
Young Duke: The Fugitive / On The Run
/ Next Of KinUnited American4/1/1997
Last Game (1995)Simitar4/16/1997
Sports Bloopers EncyclopediaSimitar4/16/1997
Tale Of Two KittiesSimitar4/16/1997
This Metal MindSimitar4/16/1997
Titanic (1996/ Simitar/ Documentary)Simitar4/16/1997
Legends Of The Fall Columbia/Tri-Star4/29/1997
Tornado RunSimitar4/30/1997
Princess And The Pirate (1995)Simitar5/27/1997
Ring Of Fire: IMAX Lumivision6/4/1997
Rock 'N' Roll High SchoolLumivision6/4/1997
Magnificent SevenMGM/UA6/10/1997
Long Knives: True Stories Of The U.S.
Cavalry's Fight To Win The Old WestSimitar6/10/1997
National ParksSimitar6/10/1997
Thinking BigSimitar6/10/1997
Reservoir Dogs (Movie-Only Edition)Artisan6/17/1997
Stargate (Movie-Only Edition)Artisan6/17/1997
SubstituteArtisan6/17/1997
Total RecallArtisan6/17/1997
Mars Attacks!Warner Brothers6/17/1997
My Fellow AmericansWarner Brothers6/17/1997
Short Cinema Journal #1:1PolyGram6/24/1997

I hope it helps!

Glenn

 

[nolesrule]

That's not very accurate considering Warner released quite a few DVDs on 3/25/1997 that aren't on your list. I don't remember the exact count, but it was at least 12 just from WB on 3/25.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Count me as another who finally succumbed courtesy of The Matrix. When DVD first came out, I had one LD title (take a wild guess what it was!), and didn't even have an LD player, but I acquired one shortly thereafter on the cheap as they were being phased out. By the time The Matrix movie came out, I knew that once it was available on DVD, I would jump. Sure enough, one day I saw The Matrix in a DVD shop, bought it, then went to a computer shop and bought the Creative kit, and installed it that night and watched. The beginning of what has turned out to be a very long and very slippery slope...

 

[DavidofLondon]

I was a very late starter not getting DVDs until Oct 99. I'd got a DVD ROM drive on my PC. I worked out later that the cost of that drive was around £5,000 ($8,000).

My first film DVD was The Rock and my first TV DVD was one of the A&E Avengers Boxes (can't remember which).

But that DVD ROM drive cost a fortune. The actual drive cost about £200. But first I buy a couple of DVDs to watch on the PC. Then come Xmas I'm thinking "Why haven't I got a DVD Player for my TV?". So I buy a DVD Player (Toshiba) for £500.

A few months later there's the problem of needing a Widescreen TV (£2,000) and a 5.1 Sound System (£2,500).

And that's not counting the odd few quid that has been spent on DVDs!!!!

 

[Jason Roer]

Ah the glory days when DVD was a revelation! Ron, I remember meeting you at an early Home Theater Forum meet in NYC when I was a mere college student (I believe I was getting over Mononucleosis at the time). My first DVD player was the JVC model (couldn't drop the 1K for the Sony. I spent $650 and thought it was too much!). My first 5 discs were Batman, Lethal Weapon2, The Fugitive, Conspiracy Theory, and when Live Entertainment got into the mix, Dirty Dancing.

Wow - the 3 for $1 deal from 800.com. I remember getting all my friends to help me get as many as I could off that deal. Hell, I was the only one with a DVD player at that point in my circle, so they all obliged and I think I ended up with 30 or more - all for like $10 (plus shipping, of course!) Yeah the deals back in the good old days were simply fantastic. They really wanted to develop the market and boy did they ever.

And like someone else mentioned, I used to visit Steve and Bill's sites every day, sometimes a few times a day to get my fix. And of course, I would come here. Oh sweet nostalgia, how you set in so easily. It was such an exciting time.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

The first feature films available on DVD were Columbia titles, since Warner's releases don't count as they were limited in distribution. They were Legends of the Fall, In the Line of Fire and Jumanji. These were available in both jewel and Amaray cases. I bought the first two on the day of release - in jewel cases.

1) What was the first movie released in RSDL (dual-layered) format?

T2.

2) What was Warner's first RSDL movie?

Contact. There was a delay in the release due to the limited replication capacity at the time. most of these discs ended up rotting.

3) What was Warner's last "flipper" title (where "flipper" means movie split artifically across two sides because dual layering was not available.)

Can't recall, since I avoided buying them.

4) What was the first DVD recall that we were aware of?

Little Shop of Horrors

5) Name at least four types of cases that were used for DVD in 1997 alone, and the companies that used them. Bonus: what company released discs in two different case types at the same time?

Amaray (Columbia), Snapper (all Warner distributed product), jewel case (Columbia, Universal) and the Scratch-O-Matic (aka guilotine) (Pioneer, then Image and Elite).

6) What format got the first Disney animated feature? DIVX or DVD? What was the movie?

DIVX, Alice in Wonderland

7) How long did it take Titanic to appear on DVD after the VHS release?

A year less a day (VHS Sept 1, 1998, DVD August 31 1999).

8) What was Criterion's first anamorphic title?

Insomnia

9) What DVD title sold more DVD players than any title up to that date? (I believe it was the first million seller...)

The Matrix