im happy you have received your copy of the dvd man. Me i kinda freaked out cuz the release date was postponed initially from late decemeber 2004 to jan. 4 and now to jan.25 and i really dont feel like waiting 3 more weeks until it ships. But if u have already received yours, i might be getting mine sooner as well.
The DVD by the way ranks number 3 right now on amazon.ca

kdavis said:

I have the SOTT font on my computer, I'll e-mail it to 'em for a damn quarter.

And is that pic on the far left of the back cover even a picture from the movie? It looks like a picture from the Lovesexy tour!

I've already watched this twice & I'm extemely happy with it.I've seen 5 previous versions including one sourced from the Laserdisc & this beats them all.Who cares what the font is etc? It's the contents that's important to me.Now I wish I have a widescreen TV to fully enjoy this.Oh thanks kdavis for posting the pics..
[Edited 1/4/05 8:43am]

the content should be top quality, based on the viewings on cable recently... but that packaging is pure bootleg quality. This is an official release with professional quality based on the reports and the fact that this transfer and soundtrack are being broadcast all over the Starz channels on cable (watch it!)

I think people won't be convinced till it's actually in their DVD players

PhilG said:

Anxiety said:

Watch the "U Got The Look" vid...

Neversin.

Well, the packaging is FAR from "pure bootleg quality"...it looks very nice in person. At least they had the decency to use the real film poster image on the cover.
I, too, would love to have the original typography used in the art but, hey, things get changed. Is the DVD art for Finding Nemo "pure bootleg quality" because they didn't use the original poster art on it? Companies revise packaging art all the time, whether it's for a film, book or box of cereal. I'm all for maintaining the original artwork but, hey, good or bad, they changed it...oh well.

PhilG said:

I guess you and I will enjoy our copies until they all get their "revised font" edition some time in the next few years

kdavis said:

okay, guys. har de har. i'm not so shallow as to refuse a good quality copy of SOTT because i don't like the font. if it seems that it's being distributed widely like any other "normal" DVD, i'll most likely pick it up. if it's considerably more difficult to find - like the brazilian 'bootleg' version of the DVD - then that factor, and the fact that the packaging is dodgy, is going to make me want to hold out until something more definitive is released. make sense?

Anxiety said:

Since it's a Canadian import, I won't expect to find it very easily in U.S. stores. What about in Canada? If I were to walk into HMV in Toronto, would I find it on the shelf there? I got relatives up there who could hook me up.

Aw hell, I'll just order it online.

sextonseven said:

oh, good grief. i'll wait.

sextonseven said:

keep in mind HMV is teamed with Amazon.ca

the brazilian bootleg isnt that hard to find, i saw it in bestbuy one time. i'd try to get some type of verification from alliance if youre not convinced.
[Edited 1/4/05 11:15am]

Scrapluv said:

but i think this DVD is capable of some kind of mainstream distribution, isn't it?

Anxiety said:

Maybe this is where your screen name came from?

I guess my point is that the artwork isn't "dodgy" on this release. Blame my cruddy scan if you will, but, graphic design wise, it's as good (or bad) as either the Live at the Aladdin or Rave DVDs. The thing that seems to be giving people the willies about this is that it doesn't use the "official" SOTT typeface. The cover image is the original poster (and video) art, the photos on the back are all from the film. It has all of the copyright and other "official" markings on it. What's dodgy about it? It's not like the insert is printed off of a color photocopier or something.

Two reasons why it's not "readily available"...

1. It's a Canadian release. Canadian DVDs rarely, if ever, get widely distributed here in the US. Like my other Canada-only DVDs (older versions of Pulp Fiction and Trainspotting - also from Alliance, btw), I, in the US, had to mail order it. You can find it on other canadian video dealer websites - it's not just on Amazon.ca. I got it from Amazon.ca because I usually do business with them.

2. Something IS wierd with the release date. I don't know if this is how Amazon.ca usually operates, but they STILL say it is yet to be released, though they shipped it to me a week ago. If January 25 is, indeed, the real release date, it'll likely be on store shelves - in Canada - at that time. It's also possible that, though the DVD has been manufactured, perhaps they DID run into rights issues and are not formally issuing it, but copies have made it to distribution channels. This has happened with DVDs in the past (twice for Ed Wood in the US) where a title is actually recalled, but a few manage to get shipped out to buyers.

Maybe Universal will get their act together and do their own US version at some point but, for now, this is it as far as legit region 1 DVDs go, and it's well worth having.

i'll give you this - at best, it looks like it has the makings of a potentially valuable collectible over time, especially if a more polished edition of the DVD is released. i don't think your scan was cruddy at all. i've just seen lots of cheezy unauthorized/"unofficial" releases over the years, and i'll be danged if this doesn't look just like one of 'em. and i'm sure the picture is lovely. i've heard bootleg remasters of prince albums that sound better than what's in the wrecka stows. maybe it's just my personal quirk, but it means a lot to me to have a definitive edition of this movie - it's a nostalgia thing more than anything else. if it were a cheezy/dodgy DVD release of 3 Chains O Gold, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Anxiety said:

Sign O the Times was really not a major movie. It about as close to an independent film as Prince got since no major in the US wanted to touch it at the time. It was only shown in 250 theatres in 30 major cities. Wasn't the film only shown in Loews Theatres (they fall somewhere in the Cineplex Odeon umbrella) during its time in the theatres? I'm sure any release it gets on dvd won't be on the same scale as Purple Rain, Under the Cherry Moon nor *gulp* Graffiti Bridge. Even though its a cult favorite among Prince fans, I don't see anyone knocking doors down for mainstream distribution and fancy promotion.

StinkyWeaselTeats said:

well, shit.

it's a shame that graffiti bridge got the schmancy DVD release treatment by WB last year when a really decent flick like SOTT gets tossed out like an afterthought. with the success prince had last year, you'd think this company put more quality control into a product that could potentially make 'em a few bucks.

Anxiety said:

Anx, you need to embrace the fact that Canada is a real country (I hear they may get telephone service next year!) and has companies of its own that are not always beholden to US interests! MOST films have "North American" video rights and what goes for the US goes for Canada. SOTT is split - Universal has US rights and Alliance has Canadian. Universal may very well do a US edition at some point (and lets hope they're paying attention here so they know how many sales they could lose from using the wrong font on the cover!) but they have not yet announced that they have plans for one. If and when a US edition comes, I'm sure I'll add that to my collection, right alongside this one and the Brazilian edition from last year.

kdavis said:

once canada removes the giant mechanical hanna-barbera cartoon characters from its borders, then i'll treat it like a real country.

i don't care if the dang thing originates from bosnia or if it rained down from the sky like manna from heaven over paisley park itself. it doesn't look legit. and if it is legit, it looks like a piss-poor effort. just my opinion. it has nothing to do with canada or the giant waving scrappy doo statue at its border.

Anxiety said:

there are region 1 import dvds not available for us distribution. for example, there is a Jamiroquai - Live in Verona dvd available only in japan. also, saul williams forst cd amethyst rockstar was only available internationally for a few years before it received us distribution. it seems like more of a international distribution than a mainstream issue

Anxiety said:

Wow, anxious AND stubborn. Indulge yourself, I beseech you, you won't be disappointed.

(why in the hell have I made it my mission to make sure you have this...)

I should send you a cheesy/dodgy homemade DVD of 3 Chains O Gold...that'll learn you to appreciate what you've got...
[Edited 1/4/05 12:02pm]

kdavis said:

yeah, but the original WB copy was cheesy and dodgy...but that's another story.

Anxiety said:

My Undertaker CD doesn't "look" legit either (no album art whatsoever!), but it sure sounds great.

sextonseven said:

same with my copy, but i pretty much felt at the time i bought it that it wasn't gonna get any better than that. with the SOTT thing, i don't feel that way. maybe if it were the syracuse purple rain show on a funky lookin' DVD i'd get it, cuz i think chances are slim we'll ever see that on any kinda DVD.

kdavis said:

hey, I just ordered this yesterday! but it said on the site that its release date is January 25. So, u got ur copy already?

bootleg.

wallysafford said:

Your insight on this topic was ever so enlightening last week as well.

Anxiety said:

Considering the fact that there's not a WB logo anywhere to be seen. I'd think NOT!!!

SexyBeautifulOne said:

SOTT (the film) is not and has never been a WB property, thus, no WB logo. It's Universal here in the US, Alliance/Atlantis in Canada.
[Edited 1/4/05 13:59pm]