As mentioned before, this is one of the most important days in the history of DVD, taking us to the next level of home video entertainment. After a long time of speculation and secrecy, we have just received Paramounts official press release this morning, announcing their first line-up of titles, ready for release on DVD in October. The list, fresh from the desk of Paramount’s President of Worldwide Home Video, Eric Doctorow, contains ten titles, priced at US$ 29.99/C$39.99, shipped in an Amaray style DVD-SAFE keepcase. It was a nice touch, by the way, that Paramount sent out this press release in a cool dedicated Amaray keep case.
On October 6, the first wave will hit the streets, consisting of Star Trek: First Contact, John Woo’s box office smash hit Face/Off, the action thriller The Saint, including a commentary track by director Phillip Noyce, Kiss The Girl and the seductive thriller Twilight, starring high caliber cast members Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman and Gene Hackman.
The second wave of title will street on October 20, including Paramount’s top five selling titles of all time. Tom Cruise’s break through film, Top Gun is on the list and so is Clear And Present Danger, starring Harrison Ford. Also hitting the shelves on October 20, are Primal Fear, In & Out and Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple II, starring Hollywood legends Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.
All titles will be presented in widescreen, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Surround soundtracks. All discs will also be closed captioned for the hearing impaired. Top Gun will contain both, a widescreen and pan & scan presentation on one disc.
Paramount are currently preparing fifteen more titles for November and December release, which will be announced shortly and will include more top action and comedy hits from Paramount’s film library and an additional Star Trek DVD line-up.