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Friday, March 5, 1999
11:43pst - Todd Leafgreen wanted to let you know that ROLLING STONE has an article in their latest issue on page 71 called "The Real Deal With Divx" - half page article that essentially says the same thing most have been saying all along: It's confusing to consumers and probably will not succeed.

11:36pm PST - CORRECTION: We'd like to apologize for our error in reporting the PLATOON / e-Bay story (below). We were under the impression that the seller had set the price of $155, when in fact, the Artisan/Live disc (not Polygram) had been entered (by its owner, who happens to be a regular reader of The BIG Picture) at a very modest price of $9.95 and the bidding process took it to those astronomical heights. Viva la e-Bay!!

11:29am PST - It's only rock 'n roll but I like it...Time for some more STONE POWER with our first peek at Image's new ROLLING STONES: LIVE AT THE MAX DVD.

9:55am PST - FREE DVD ALERT: We've got two copies of John Water's offbeat comedy PECKER to give away... One will be given away via our special contest banner on one of our review pages this coming Monday. If you're a registered subscriber we'll tell you exactly which page the contest banner will appear on, and what time frame it will appear in a private email that we'll send to you at approximately 1pm PST today. If you've already subscribed, you're all set and there's no need to register again... The other copy will simply appear randomly, somewhere on The BIG Picture site at anytime, beginning at 10:30am PST today. If you spot our bright yellow contest banner, be sure to follow the printed instructions that appear on it carefully to claim your prize! Good luck!

9:44am PST - As P.T. Barnum once said... One of our readers spotted this ad on e-Bay yesterday -- someone trying to sell their Polygram copy of PLATOON: SE for $155!! And someone has offered $152.50 so far! Granted, it's out of print (for the time being) and a great movie and all (despite the numerous audio dropouts), but $155?

1:18pm PST - Here's an interesting contribution to todays news courtesy of our very own Senior Review Editor Bob Banka (thanks, Bob!):

What are the Best-shot films in cinematic history? This question was posed to readers of American Cinematographer Magazine (http://www.cinematographer.com/magazine/index.htm). The results appear in their March '99 issue, which is currently available. Here's a sampling of the winners that are already on DVD:

GONE WITH THE WIND
METROPOLIS
THE WIZARD OF OZ
CASABLANCA
POTEMKIN
THE BIRTH OF A NATION
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
RAGING BULL
BLADE RUNNER

Sorely missing from DVD are the following, top ranking, masterpieces of cinematography:

CITIZEN KANE
THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSON'S
THE THIRD MAN
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
THE GODFATHER
DAYS OF HEAVEN
SCHINDLER'S LIST
APOCALYPSE NOW
TOUCH OF EVIL

Hopefully, when we finally DO see these titles on the shelves, the letterboxed films will be anamorphic. How else can justice been done to the beautiful images created by artists like Freddie Young, Gordon Willis, Nestor Almendros, Janusz Kaminski, and Vittorio Storaro?

1:13pm PST - We just heard from one of our regular readers via email that he has (with great dificulty) given up DVD for lent. Now that's what we call devout. Regarding YOU'VE GOT MAIL (see below) he says: Spawn: Platinum Series also has a connection between concept "storyboard" shots to transformation scenes from the film. However, if I remember correctly this is not on the film side but on the special features side of the disc. So while not a direct connection to the scene, it is the same footage.

1:07pm PST - A BIG thanks to Jeremy Freeman and others that corrected our comments regarding the next generation Sony Playstation (with DVD) in yesterday's news... Jeremy says: "Sony sent out a press release yesterday saying that their new system will be capable of outputing Dolby Digital and DTS, although Dolby Digital will be the only sound format actually used for the games, the system will be able to play DTS encoded DVD movies as well as Dolby Digital ones Another side note on next-generation game systems, Nintendo has officially announced that their next system WILL utilize Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and quite possibly will be a DVD based system(with their commitment to DD5.1, it would be foolish not to go with DVD)" We agree - and also need to point out that the new Playstation, while perhaps being released in Japan by the end of the millenium, won't reach U.S. shores until late 2000.

1:03pm PST - The BIG Picture's DVD sPy goes mainstream...Nice to see that E-0nline is paying attention to The BIG Picture -- but it would have been even nicer if they had included a link back to our site. Oh well, that's Hollywood for you!

12:26pm PST - Here's looking at you, doll-face... We've been waiting to get our hands on this one for a long time. Jeff reviews Steve Martin and Carl Reiner's DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID, a comedy of classic proportions.

9:09 a.m. PST - Warner Home Video pushes the technology envelope one step further, and has announced the day and date DVD release of the romantic comedy YOU'VE GOT MAIL for purchase and rental on May 4, 1999 at the MSRP of $24.99. YOU'VE GOT MAIL features more than 70 pages of Cast interviews, commentary and special features. Those with DVD-ROM enabled computers and Internet connections (like you) will be able to take advantage of one-click access to a community of YOU'VE GOT MAIL fans. Once online, users can interact with others in movie-related chat rooms, post messages about the stars or the film on bulletin boards, send "You've Got Mail" Web greeting cards, access tools to build their own Web sites, or search for their own online romances. We'll pass on that last feature, thank you. Warner Home Video senior vice president of worldwide marketing Thomas F. Lesinski hails YOU'VE GOT MAIL as "one of the most advanced, feature rich DVD titles ever created". The title will be the first DVD to include film production call sheets, enabling users to learn how specific scenes were arranged before taking them directly to scenes in the movie, to see how the same shots appeared in the final cut. (Trimark's CUBE, as we recall, had a similar feature that showed us the story board concept drawings, which then connected to the actual scene in the film.) A feature called "The Buzz" enables scene selection via the accompanying music on the sound track. There's also a $5.00 mail-in rebate for those wishing to purchase both the DVD and the soundtrack. Another perk for DVD-ROM users will be in their ability to read correspondence between the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan characters in the film, view video interviews of cast members, read about the films production and even take a tour of New York's Upper West Side. As if that wasn't enough, YOU'VE GOT MAIL desktop patterns, icons, screen saver and movie poster will allow even the most insatiable fans to customize their PCs with official YOU'VE GOT MAIL images and memorabilia. All this hoopla almost makes us embarrassed that we haven't seen the movie -- then again, these days... we prefer to wait for it on DVD...

12:13am PST - Here's details on Sony's next-generation Playstation -- complete with DVD-ROM. Look for it on the shelves this fall. Be sure and remind Santa well in advance...

12:08am PST - We just watched DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID last evening. Be looking for our full report later today...

12:05am PST - So many movies so little time... Sony has announced the arrival of a 200-disc DVD changer, so you can load your entire collection into one unit and make DVD packaging a total non-issue in your household.

12:01am PST - No more weekends at Bernies? The SAY NO TO DIVX page has told us that another small New England retailer, Bernie's, is carrying at least one Divx model, the the chagrin of at least one customer who has declared a personal boycott.

4:00pm PST - If Morgan Freeman ran for President in 2000, he'd have our vote -- and if Tea Leoni dropped by for an "exclusive" interview, why, that would be fine, too. Elijah Wood could even come over and mow the lawn! Just hold the asteroids, please. Bob reviews DEEP IMPACT for your edification.

3:24pm PST - Inspired by that "do-it-yourself" story we read in Audio Video Interiors this month (see below) we thought you might like to see the new home theater we're in the process of building in our basement, with construction remnants left over from some local job sites. Oh, it isn't much, but we're relatively pleased with how well it's turning out... It's amazing how much money we saved by using "scrap" material, "sale" paint and "gently used" theater seats!

9:44am PST - Not content to rest on their "RONIN" laurels, MGM has announced the release of GIGI in a dual aspect ratio disc, along with HAIR (remixed in DD 5.1) on April 20, 1999. That same day, they'll release AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (speaking of "seven", where's the Magificent Seven?) The studio is also repackaging Brigadoon, Showboat, Singin' In The Rain, West Side Story and Fiddler On The Roof in keepcases. Good-bye snappers!

9:07am PST - Althouh this has nothing to do with DVD, we were saddened to hear the news of Dusty Springfields' passing in London last evening at the age of 59 from breast cancer. Springfield was to Britain what Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight was to the U.S. in the 1960's. She had a lot of soul in her voice. The only place I could find her greatest hits compilation CD was in HMV on Oxford Street in London about 10 years ago. That CD will provide my background music today. Rock 'n Roll Heaven just received another angel. Our special condolences to our friends across the pond.

8:55am PST - Is the giant NYC electronics retailer "The Wiz" getting ready to figuratively whiz on the heads of their consumers by carrying the Proscan DIVX players for sale? That's what Dan at the SAY NO TO DIVX page has been told. His source tells him that The Wiz has placed an order for 1,000 of the DIVX-hampered DVD units. Anyone within The Wiz' market area care to run a little reconnaissance mission? By the way, Dan, we like the little midi music file that plays on your site. It starts out like a funeral durge, but actually turns into something snapppy, jazzy and cool, baby!

7:47am PST CNN reports that MGM "ups the ante" with its' upcoming RONIN Online Event. Despite all the hoopla surrounding this multimedia extraviganza, there's still a lot of buzz on the street (Internet) from people who bought RONIN and are upset by the lack of a theatrical trailer. Moral of the story?

a) You can't please all the people, all of the time.
b) Don't invest thousands in supplemental material and not include a trailer.
c) Both of the above.

Special thanks to SFO (Special Field Operative) Dana and Walter Warren for the link!

1:56pm PST - Here's that second review we promised you. Jeff McNeal reviews Jackie Chan's FIRST STRIKE -- with another review of RUSH HOUR in the works! Also on the front burner, TWILIGHT ZONE Vols 6-8, THE ROLLING STONES AT THE IMAX and more!

1:50pm PST - The DVD sPy says that: "20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will release James Cameron's"True Lies" on May 25, priced at $29.98. Arnie and Jamie Lee Curtis will save the world in a 2;35:1 widescreen transfer in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. The action-thriller will arrive on an RSDL disc for uninterrupted viewing. On the same day, Fox will also release "Romancing the Stone" to compliment the previously announced "Jewel of the Nile." Plus, Artisan Entertainment has picked September 1 as the release date for "Stephen King's The Stand," making it the first DVD-18 release. Hmmm. Sounds like the DVD sPy has been talking to our friend John Larsen over at the DVD Dish!

1:42pm PST - Here's the first of two new reviews today for your reading pleasure... Bob Banka casts off a few well chosen comments about THE FISHER KING.

In another development that appears to be a "divide and conquer" approach, Divx is uing the Internet to try and develop new online partners with a "wholesale Divx" program.

10:52am PST - Ever wonder how a full-length Disney animated classic might look like on DVD? Andy Cobley, webmaster of the Region 2 DVD Database Project in the U.K. provides a glimpse at the R2 release of DUMBO.

10:43am PST - Ten HUT!! Bob takes a look at SOLDIER and let's us know whether this movie is loaded for bear -- or is just firing blanks.

Though usually reserved for the display of very high-end (and pricey) home theaters that most of us can only dream about (and drool over), this month's issue of Audio Video Interiors features an inspiring story about a "regular guy", who took the Tim Allen approach and built his own, impressive "dream theater" in the basement of his modest, 1,400 square foot home for under $20,000. Be sure to check it out!

It's been some time since we've used search engines to cruise the net looking for DVD-related information to gather for you, so imagine our surprise to discover that thanks to YOU, The BIG Picture is ranked as the number one choice on the Internet for DVD Ratings and News (using those as keywords) by ALTA VISTA, YAHOO, GO-TO, INFOSEEK, HOTBOT, LOOKSMART and Netscape's OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT.
Arf! ARF! Come see the softer side of The BIG Picture with our warm and tender review of BENJI. Put another log on the fire, put on some "Love American Style" early 70's music and let us warm the cockles of your heart with our tail-wagging review of Benji -- that loveable pound-puppy of a mutt who snagged a high-falutin' chi-chi girlfriend with a bone, while battling brutal kidnappers who are mean to small children and cruel to animals!!

The DVD File is giving Pheran's DVD Review index (and several others that are popping up) a run for their money with a new Review Database section. Nice job, Peter. I particularly like the way he's listing all The BIG Picture reviews as being written by "Bob Banka and Jeff McNeal", even though Bob and I write our reviews independently (with one notable exception so far). Since Bob writes more reviews than I do, Peter Bracke's method of listing our names together implies that I actually do more work around here than I really do. We're not sure how Bob will feel about this (chortle, snicker, wheez).

She loves you, yeh, yeh, yeh... TBP Special Field Operative (sounds so much cooler than "correspondent") DANA has provided you this link to a comprehensive DVD vs. DIVX article produced by KRON-TV in San Francisco, CA and written by Emerald Yeh (pronounced Yee). Speaking of last names, does anybody know what DANAS' is? Could it be Andrews? Carvey? Hill? How about it Dana? Reveal yourself, man! And send us a photo to post while you're at it so our tens of hundreds of thousands of millions (and soon billions) of readers can see who's been helping to serve the soup around here for all these months! Come on! Take a bow...