J<I>imi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox. Directed by Chuck Wein. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital stereo. 137 minutes. 1971. Rhino Home Video R2 4461. Rated R. $24.95.</I>
In a joint statement by Steve Jobs, chairman and CEO of <A HREF="http://www.pixar.com">Pixar</A>, and Thomas Schumacher, president of <A HREF="http://disney.go.com/">Walt Disney Feature Animation</A>, it was announced that <I>A Bug's Life</I> will be the first feature-film video release on DVD to be created entirely from digital data. Video releases of previous "completely digital" films, such as <I>Toy Story</I>, were created through an analog film-to-videotape process. The DVD for <I>A Bug's Life</I> is the first to be created using the original digital computer data and an all-digital process. The DVD release presents the film in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is due for release on April 20, 1999.
High-speed access is almost universally acknowledged as the most important next step in the development of the Internet. Interactive capabilities, transaction time, and the ultimate resolution of digitally transmitted audio and video are all limited by the speed with which data can be sent.
Not exactly April Fools' Day, but close: <A HREF="http://www.whv.com/">Warner Home Video</A> announced last Tuesday that it will celebrate the annual Masters Golf Tournament with a reissue of the 1980 film <I>Caddyshack</I> on April 6. The Special Edition reissue package will include the original comedy starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, and Cindy Morgan, as well as <I>Caddyshack: The 19th Hole</I>, a new documentary including outtakes, rare footage, and interviews with the film's stars, producers Jon Peters and Mark Canton, and director Harold Ramis. Fans will also learn more than they ever wanted to know about Bill Murray's nemesis in the film, the indestructible gopher.
Last week, <A HREF="http://www.image-entertainment.com">Image Entertainment</A> signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Eagle Rock Entertainment that paves the way for 28 music titles to be released on DVD in the coming months. According to Martin Greenwald of Image, "Music DVD is a relatively untapped genre in comparison to the number of motion pictures being released on DVD. Image has recognized a real opportunity and taken the lead in this category of DVD programming. To date, Image has released dozens of music-related DVDs, and we will continue to aggressively explore other licensing opportunities for all types of music programming: pop, rock, jazz, and classical."
Last week, <A HREF="http://abc.go.com/">ABC Internet Group</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.oscars.org/">Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</A> launched <A HREF="http://www.oscar.com">Oscar.com</A>, the "official website of the Academy Awards." Beginning on February 9, the day Oscar nominees are to be announced, Oscar.com will present a live video stream of the Academy Awards nominations announcement and the full list of nominees, as well as a history of the Academy Awards, photos, and a synopsis of each nominated film.
Michael Nesmith could soon be back in the business: The former Monkee has been awarded $47 million by a jury in a Los Angeles Federal-court case. The judgment came Tuesday, February 2, after the jury found the <A HREF="http://www.pbs.org">Public Broadcasting Service</A> guilty of fraud, breach of contract, and contract interference over a video-distribution deal it signed with Nesmith's now-defunct Pacific Arts Corporation in 1990. Malfeasance by PBS caused the demise of Pacific Arts, jurors decided.
Even before you listen, you can see that the Linn AV 51 has an attitude. It stares back at you with a smirk. It's not a defiant Robert DeNiro "You talkin' to <I>me</I>?" but more of a Jack Nicholson "Wait'll you get a load of this."
I felt as stupid as Dorothy must have felt near the end of The Wizard of Oz when Glinda, the Witch of the North, tells her that she always had the power to get back to Kansas.