From some of this year’s biggest box-office hits to box-set collections and episodes of popular TV series, this holiday season boasts a formidable roster of gift contenders fighting it out in the home video arena.
Home video is a hit-driven business, but retailers thrive on must-own event titles that bring customers into the store. Last summer’s top four box office hits — “Mission: Impossible 2,” “Gladiator,” “The Perfect Storm” and “The X-Men” are priced to own on VHS and DVD. Also available from the summer’s Top 10 list for less than $25 is “The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps,” while the rental titles “Big Momma’s House,” “Scary Movie” and “The Patriot” are each priced for less than $30 on DVD.
Several recently released music and concert videos will help set the holiday mood, including “Dream a Dream: Charlotte Church in the Holy Land,” “The Three Tenors Christmas” (which offers a sneak preview of what Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti will be performing at their concert Dec. 17 at the United Center) and “Christmas Glory From Westminster” with Andrea Bocelli. Each is priced for less than $20 on VHS. All except “Christmas Glory” are also available on DVD.
Box sets, the video equivalent of lavish coffee-table books, offer film buffs and collectors an instant library of favorite movies, stars and series.
Something to sing about is Warner Home Video’s “The Musical Americana Box.” ($90) It contains “On the Town,” “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers,’ “The Music Man,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Showboat” and “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
Something to dance about is Warner’s “Astaire and Rogers” gift sets ($75 each). Set one contains “Flying Down to Rio,” “Follow the Fleet,” “The Gay Divorcee,” “Roberta” and “Top Hat.” Set two contains “The Barkleys of Broadway,” “Carefree,” “Shall We Dance,” “Swingtime” and “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.”
MGM/UA Home Video completes its “James Bond Collection” with a box set containing the six remaining Bond films, including “Diamonds Are Forever,” “From Russia With Love,” “The Living Daylights,” “Octopussy,’ “A View To a Kill” and “You Only Live Twice.” It retails for $50. All 19 films in the Bond franchise are now available on VHS and special edition DVD.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has just released yet another edition of its much re-packaged “Star Wars Trilogy” ($40) hooking collectors this time with exclusive advance footage of “Episode 2.”
For devotees as well as the cable-impaired, HBO has released VHS and DVD box sets containing the complete first season episodes of its phenomenally popular series “Sex and the City” ($40 on VHS, $40 on DVD) and “The Sopranos” ($100 on VHS and DVD)
A&E Home Video has freed the first seven episodes of the mind-bending British TV series “The Prisoner,” available in three-tape ($30) or two-disc ($40) sets.
Fans of “Friends,” Warner Home Video is there for you with two volumes of “The Best of ‘Friends,’ available on VHS and DVD separately (for less than $20). The two-tape set retails for $25, and the two-disc set for $35.
Each contains five episodes. Volume one contains the pilot episode and the two-parter with appearances by Helen Hunt and George Clooney. Volume Two contains Ross’s ill-fated wedding to Emily.
DVD is already an unprecedented success, but this season might be DVD’s coming-out party. Players are more affordable, and new hardware, such as Sony’s PlayStation 2, has made it even more accessible to a wider demographic.
It is estimated that, this year, DVD will achieve 10 percent penetration in American households. “It is unprecedented for any product to hit that level and not become a mass market acceptance item,” said Steve Nickerson, vice president/DVD marketing for Warner Home Video. “Dumpsters are filled with technologies that got to 2 or 3 percent penetration and then got replaced. When DVD gets to 10 percent, that will be the next milestone. If you look historically at other products, 20 percent penetration quickly follows. Which means as strong as the last two Christmas holiday selling seasons have been, this one could make them look minuscule by comparison. Those who don’t have it are going to see it in people’s homes and say, ‘Maybe this Christmas, it’s time.”
Studios and distributors have readied a slate of releases that take fuller advantage of DVD’s capabilities, and attract new viewers with value-added features and a greater breadth of programming.
Disney’s DVD-only “Fantasia Anthology” ($70) is a classical gas. It includes “Fantasia 2000,” the original “Fantasia” and a bonus disc containing a symphony of supplemental features, such as commentary by Walt Disney (compiled from archival interviews) and deleted sequences.
DVD is not just for recent theatrical releases anymore. Paramount Home Video debuts on disc a stellar slate of vintage classics and contemporary favorites, including “White Christmas,” featuring commentary by Rosemary Clooney, the original “The Odd Couple,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” and “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Each retails for less than $30.
Columbia TriStar Home Video’s limited edition “The Bridge on the River Kwai” ($25) is a two-disc set. Bonus features include a documentary about the making of David Lean’s Oscar-winning adventure, and an appreciation by director John Milius.
“Planet of the Apes” fans will — sorry — go bananas for Fox’s six-disc box set that includes all five “Apes” films as well as a bonus disc that contains a two-hour documentary, “Behind the Planet of the Apes.” It retails for $100.
Fox has also unleashed a DVD-only collection, “The X-Files: Season 2” ($150), which contains all 25 episodes, exclusive interviews with series creator Chris Carter and deleted scenes.
USA Home Entertainment scores with “Major League Baseball All-Century Team,” “The Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History,” “The Greatest NBA Finals Moments” and “Lord Stanley’s Cup: Hockey’s Ultimate Prize.” Each retails for $25 and boasts features ranging from multiple camera angles and team breakdowns to exclusive game and interview footage.
All of the above videos and DVDs are available at retail or can be ordered by calling Movies Unlimited (800-4-MOVIES) or from Amazon.com.
