Greetings! Savant's new reviews today are
Welcome news from Universal: In November, they'll be releasing a Preston Sturges box set with The Great McGinty, Christmas in July, The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Moment and Hail the Conquering Hero. Price is $45. These apparently aren't going to be available individually, so we can't just get the ones that haven't been released before, alas.
A site called DVD Review announced some news that may be too good to be true, that Universal's The Classic SciFi Ultimate Collection will be released on September 19. The DVD set is said to contain Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Monolith Monsters and Monster On The Campus. The 3 disc set is expected to have a $29.98 sticker price.
Hopefully this will be confirmed shortly. The announcement has caused a lot of confusion and speculation, since there has been no confirmation by other DVD websites, the title is not up for pre-order, and no information appears on Universal's own home entertainment site. Announcing a release only a month ahead goes against all the industry rules regarding allowing a window for retail pre-orders, etc.. Correspondent Gary Teetzel is cautious but hopeful, noting that the 'Ultimate' set does not include The Land Unknown, which would really benefit from 16 x 9 enhancement, nor The Deadly Mantis. The main cause of anxiety remains aspect ratios. All of the titles would be properly presented enhanced at 1:85 or 1:66 but have always been issued flat. The killer title is The Incredible Shrinking Man, a hard-matted film that has always been shown in a pan-scanned version and really needs presentation at 1:85 or a little wider. We hope Universal is as sensitive to aspect ratio here as they were on their wonderful Hammer Horror set from last fall. Thanks for reading -- Glenn Erickson
Special update, Saturday afternoon: The 'too soon' street date might be explained if the Classic Sci Fi Ultimate Collection is actually a Best Buy exclusive ... see This Link.
Posted by DVD Savant at August 18, 2006 11:47 AM