Home video laserdiscs, which had their best-ever year in sales in 1994, are heading into 1995 with two predominant release patterns: quick and reasonably priced issues of recent theater hits, such as “Speed” and “The Crow,” which have been transferred to disc with outstanding sound and picture; and elaborately produced, higher-priced special, commemorative or collectors’ editions of classic films, replete with supplemental materials of interest to the dedicated movie buff.
For example, the top-selling laserdisc offering in 1994, according to Billboard magazine, was the three-disc boxed set of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day-Special Edition,” which, at $119.95, included, besides a pristine widescreen transfer of the science-fiction thriller, extensive outtakes and a detailed documentary on the making of the movie’s eye-popping special effects.
One of the first big packages of 1995 in this special mode is the 30th anniversary edition boxed set of “The Sound of Music” (Fox Video/Image Entertainment 4267-85, three discs, $199.98), the last musical of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II.
In addition to the movie, reproduced through the high-quality THX process in its original Todd-AO widescreen dimensions, the package provides a gold compact disc of the movie soundtrack; an original soft-cover chronicle of the evolution of Ernest Lehman’s screenplay; a promotional featurette on Salzburg, Austria, where much of the movie was filmed; a gallery of text and still photos tracing the movie’s history; a slick, eight-page brochure guiding the viewer through the special features; and an engaging, 86-minute “making of” documentary, narrated by Claire Bloom, featuring contemporary interviews with Lehman, the players (Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Anna Lee, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, et al.), the associate producer (Saul Chaplin) and producer-director Robert Wise.
On alternate soundtracks of the discs are Wise’s running commentary on the making of the movie; radio interviews, previews and promotional spots made at the time of filming; an expanded audio interview with Lehman, and the stereo orchestral music isolated on a separate track.
As a tribute to one of the great box-office hits of Hollywood and to the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, this is an outstanding example of laserdisc technology at work in preserving and promoting the history of filmmaking.
Special indeed is another quite different tribute to popular music, “Swing, Swing, Swing” (MGM/UA Home Video ML109328, five discs, $99.98), a treasure trove of rarely seen black-and-white movie shorts from the ’30s and ’40s featuring the bands of Artie Shaw, Louis Prima, Ozzie Nelson, Jimmie Lunceford, Woody Herman, Cab Calloway, Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Desi Arnaz, Eddie Duchin and others.
Some shorts are straight bandstand presentations, others feature story lines, vaudeville inserts and special effects photography. All are fascinating, filled with revelations. In a short featuring singer-actress Ethel Waters, for instance, the tot nestled on her lap for a lullaby is unmistakably a very young, very tiny Sammy Davis.
The supplemental features of “This Is Spinal Tap” (Criterion Collection CC1390L, two discs, $99.95), the amusing 1984 spoof of rock-documentaries, include alternate track commentary by the film’s creators; a 20-minute demo reel that preceded the feature-length film; trailers, promotional shorts, photo stills and some wonderful outtakes featuring Billy Crystal as a malcontent mime. All this, plus terrific stereo for the rock music.
In brief and of note:
“Hans Christian Andersen” (Pioneer Special Edition PSE 34278, $49.95), starring Danny Kaye in the 1952 musical about the great storyteller, with nicely restored Technicolor, an alternate track isolating music and special effects, and an enchanting score by composer Frank Loesser.
“The Private Life of Henry VIII” (HBO Video LD90661, $34.95), a crisp new edition of the black-and-white history drama, with Charles Laughton burping and chawing away at his banquet table food in the performance that earned him the 1933 Oscar for best actor.
“Hud” (Paramount Home Video LV 6630-WS, $39.95), the 1963 melodrama with Paul Newman, presented for the first time in wide screen, fully capturing James Wong Howe’s Oscar-winning black-and-white cinematography.
