AIRPLANE! vs ZERO HOUR!

One of my all time favorite movies is the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker disaster spoof Airplane!. If you by chance haven't seen the film, there's no real way to describe the film's offbeat, random, out-of-left field sense of humor. It's something you'll just have to experience for yourself.

I first saw the movie sometime in the early 1980s, at my friend's house on HBO. It was a comic revelation to us and for months afterwards we would set each other up with lines like "Surely you don't mean it," and getting the expected "Yes I do. And don't call me Shirley!" in response.

It wasn't until around the time I was in high school or college that I learned that the movie was actually patterened after a 1957 b-movie called Zero Hour!, scripted by none other than Alex Roots Hailey! Finding it on television proved impossible and it never got a release on VHS.

Last week though, Zero Hour! finally got a home video release as part of Warner Brothers "Cult Camp Classics" series. And the similarities between Zero Hour! and Airplane! are amazing! Where the original film reached for dramatic tension, Airplane! grabs laughs using the exact same lines. The Zucker-Abrams-Zucker team knew that the original was pure soapy melodrama, and they played it as straight as possible, knowing that's where the laughs were.

Don't take my word for it though. Check out these two scene-by-scene comparisons that recently showed up on YouTube.

SONG OF THE SOUTH- Finally?!

It's been a question that seems to have been on Disney fans' lips since the first DVD players rolled off the assembly lines and into retail outlets over 10 years ago- “When is Disney going to release Song Of The South on DVD?”

Well, it looks like they just might have an answer soon enough.

Over at the eponymous JimHillMedia.com, Jim Hill addresses just such a possibility in his weekly “Why For?” column. It seems that since John Lasseter has put a stop to all the direct-to-home video sequels that were being produced, the studio’s home video division is looking for product to replace their cancelled titles and Song Of The South is a guaranteed seller.

For those who don’t know, Jim Hill is perhaps the internet’s best resource for behind-the-scenes information on the House of Mouse. While Hill is definitely in the realm of speculation, his is probably the best educated guess available. It’s one I would certainly put some stock into.

You may recall this past April, we reported that during an appearance at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Walt Disney’s nephew Roy E. Disney had stated he was pushing for a release of the film on DVD.

FLASH GORDON on DVD- FINALLY!

I've already talked about my love for the 1980 Flash Gordon.

Well, earlier today, Universal has announced that a new DVD release of the movie will be hitting store shelves on August 7. Titled "Saviour Of The Universe Edition" (though I have no idea why they went with the British spelling), no details have been announced as to what this edition will contain.

We do, however, know that the cover will feature some beautiful artwork by comic book painter Alex Ross.

Feast your eyes on this-

DVD’s Vanishing Variety

Recent walks through various local chain stores have led me to wonder if I wasn’t seeing quite the variety of DVD titles that I’ve been used to seeing. More and more shelf space seemed to have been taken up with multiple copies of the most popular current releases while older catalog titles, more obscure titles and anything released longer than six months previously were becoming a rapidly vanishing breed.

It turns out this trend was not just my imagination. This past Sunday, The New York Times ran a piece looking at the number of DVD releases annually on the market and how that affects how much shelf space older titles and discs from smaller distributors are affected. It’s interesting reading and gives a look at some of the business forces at work as to why you may not be able to find a copy of James Cagney in 13 Rue Madeleine (1947) at the local Blockbuster but three displays of Let’s Go To Prison (2007).

You can read the article here.

SUPER Correction

Warner Brothers have announced a disc replacement program for the defective discs in their new Superman Ultimate Collectors Edition which we mentioned yesterday.

Here's a statement from Warners Home Video via The Digital Bits-

Bonus content was omitted from the Superman III Deluxe Edition in the 14-disc Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition. Furthermore, disc one of Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition did not include the Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. Neither disc is known to be physically defective in any way.

Warner Home Video wants to extend apologies to all of our loyal Superman fans who've waited so patiently for these great collections and has taken immediate steps to correct these errors with the intention of standing behind our product 100%.

Replacement discs can be obtained by calling: 800-553-6937. The exchange program applies only to purchases of the Superman III Deluxe Edition in the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition and to disc one of Superman: The Movie Four Disc Special Edition, available as a single title, as well as in The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection and in the Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition.

The info has not yet been posted at the WHV website.

SUPER Mistake: Warner Brothers Fumbles SUPERMAN DVD Set

Fans of the Superman films who are looking to run out to their favorite DVD retailer tomorrow to pick up Warner Brothers’ “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” box set may want to wait a few days.
Sure, the 14-disc is loaded to the gills with everything any fan could want- special editions of all four films starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, the new alternate Richard Donner cut of Superman II, this summer’s Superman Returns, all 16 of the Fleischer Studios classic Superman cartoons, the George Reeves 1951 feature Superman And The Mole-Men and loads of extras all packed into a shiny metal box. Just the thing any self-respecting Superman fan, myself included, would want on their shelf.

Unfortunately, the folks at Warner Brothers have let slip not one but two major mistakes in the set through their quality control system. First, left off of the Superman: The Movie disc is the film’s original 1978 Dolby stereo track. Currently, the disc only contains the remixed soundtrack from the film’s original 2001 DVD release, which many fans were not happy with. The second flub concerns the version of Superman III included in the set. Although the set was advertised as containing the new Deluxe Edition of the film which includes a commentary track, deleted scenes and more, the set is actually showing up containing only the bare-bones DVD release from 2001.

Fortunately, these two mistakes have been contained to the “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” only. The smaller “Christopher Reeve Collection” which only contains the four Superman films he starred in, is unaffected.

I have to admit that I’m shocked that not one but two major blunders to make their way out onto the shelves in this set, especially with this being a high profile holiday release. Although they have not stated so yet, I would expect Warners to set up some sort of disc exchange relatively quickly to rectify the problem for consumers. Still, this kind of screw-up is going to give some DVD consumers pause before they plunk out their hard-earned cash.