Home Media Magazine - May 4-10, 2008 - (Page 7)

www.homemediamagazine.com NEWS IMAGE GETS MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TITLES By Erik Gruenwedel ‘How the West Was Won’ Restored for DVD, Blu-ray Film formerly plagued by artifacts of Cinerama process By Thomas K. Arnold PRODUCT Warner Home Video is gearing up for one of its most ambitious catalog releases ever. How the West Was Won, the 1962 MGM Western epic boasting an ensemble cast that includes Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Gregory Peck and James Stewart, will be released to the home entertainment market in three newly restored and remastered versions Aug. 26, two of them on DVD and one on Blu-ray Disc. What made the project cumbersome is that the film is one of two feature films produced in the Cinerama three-panel widescreen process, a costly proposition that was abandoned after The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. During its initial theatrical run, How the West Was Won — winner of three Oscars — was shown in theaters equipped with three synchronized projectors, and shown on extra-wide, slightly curved screens. Later, it was presented on traditional theater screens with the three separate panels optically joined to form a standard widescreen image, leaving two vertical “join lines” clearly visible on the screen. These join lines are noticeable as well on the original DVD edition of the film, which was released by Warner in 1998. The film has been a consistent seller for Warner, and George Feltenstein, the division’s SVP of classic catalog marketing, has long wanted to produce a special edition. But he didn’t want one with those nasty join lines, he said, so he went to Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging. That was about five years ago. Technicians developed a complicated software program to eliminate the join lines, and about 18 months ago, they began an exhaustive frame-by-frame restoration that’s “just being finished as we speak,” Feltenstein said. “The film has always been extraordinarily successful and popular, with the cast being what it is and the story being so inspiring,” he said. “But we always felt that to really do it justice we had to find a way to bring the panels together and eliminate those join lines so it looks gorgeous.” Feltenstein said that in all showings subsequent to the film’s original theatrical run, be it in theaters, on TV or home video, “people have had to put up with those awful join lines.” The new and improved How the West Was Won will be presented as a special-edition DVD, an “ultimate collectors edition” DVD and a Blu-ray Disc edition. The Blu-ray Disc edition also will come with a second version of the film that replicates the original Cinerama experience. “Dave Strohmaier, considered the world’s foremost expert on all things Cinerama, calls it the SmileBox version because it uses the shape of the original Cinerama screen and expands out with a curve so it looks like a frown on the bottom and a smile on the top,” Feltenstein said. “It’s almost 3-D, and it allows anyone who has a home theater system to re-create the Cinerama experience.” All three releases include Strohmaier’s 90-minute documentary “Cinerama Adventure,” a film historian commentary, a vintage making-of feature and the original theatrical trailer. The collectors edition comes with a theatrical press book reproduction, behind-the-scenes photos and postcards. The Blu-ray edition is packaged in a “Digi-book” that resembles a small hardcover book and includes press materials and behind-the-scenes photos. Hoping to seize a piece of the lucrative mixed martial arts pie, Image Entertainment has inked a North American DVD and electronic distribution deal with ProElite Inc., producer of EliteXC and ShoXC-branded mixed martial arts events. Financial terms of the multiyear deal, which is expected to produce four EliteXC titles and eight ShoXC titles, annually, were not disclosed. Initial releases May 13 include Destiny, featuring Frank Shamrock against Renzo Gracie, and Renegade, featuring the MMA debut of Miamibased Kimbo Slice, in addition to a lightweight title fight between Nick Diaz and KJ Noons. Subsequent release Huntington Beach Bad Ass (July 22) features Huntington Beach, Calif.based David “Tank” Abbott against Slice. Retail DVD prices were not disclosed. “There is a growing market for high-quality arena-based mixed martial arts content,” said Steven DeMille, SVP of marketing for Image. “We are pleased to add ProElite to our roster of content suppliers as we continue to grow both our distribution channels and scope of programming.” Mixed martial arts competitions emerged nationally in the 1990s and have now supplanted professional boxing in popularity via events such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighter, Pride FC and EliteXC. Heretofore relegated to cable TV and DVD, ProElite and CBS recently announced beginning May 31 the first of four nationally televised prime-time mixed martial arts specials. PRODUCT MERCHANDISING Shelf Space Crunch Time By John Latchem ith a saturated DVD market, and Blu-ray Disc adding to the fray, retailers are increasingly facing the age-old question of how to clear shelf space for new products, especially when home video isn’t the only thing they sell. The Best Buy in Costa Mesa, Calif., recently added a huge center-store section devoted to selling mobile phones, causing a radical reconfiguration of the surrounding displays. All the Blu-ray Discs, for example, now occupy a single side of an entire aisle, with pricey DVD boxed sets and TV DVD collections on the other side. New releases were moved to a completely different section closer to the front of the store. Some retailers also used the April 29 release of 27 Dresses as an excuse to clear catalog titles through themed promotional offers. Circuit City offered 27 Dresses and two other DVDs for $27, while Best Buy offered four chick flicks for $27 and included a nifty gift box. W Best Buy The Golden Compass New Line; SRP $28.98, $34.99, $39.98 BD Target $16.99 $22.99 two-disc w/ storybook; $29.99 Blu-ray Wal-Mart $16.97 $19.96 w/Beanie Baby Polar Bear; $21.87 twodisc; $27.87 Blu-ray Circuit City $14.99 $22.99 two-disc $29.99 Blu-ray Amazon.com $16.99 $22.99 two-disc $27.95 Blu-ray $16.99 $22.99 two-disc w/bonus disc; $29.99 Blu-ray 27 Dresses Fox SRP $29.99, $39.98 BD $15.99 $29.99 Blu-ray; 27% off Liz Claiborne accessories $16.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $15.97 $19.96 w/music CD $29.96 Blu-ray $14.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $15.99 $17.99 full-screen $27.95 Blu-ray The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Disney/Miramax SRP $29.99 Paramount SRP $29.99 $19.99 $19.99 $18.87* $19.99 $19.99 $18.99 How She Move $16.99 $19.99 $19.96 $5 off Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is $16.99 * Online Only May 4–10, 2008 Home Media Magazine 7 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Amazon.com

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Home Media Magazine - May 4-10, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - May 4-10, 2008

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