I've just been reviewing the up-coming pre-releases over at Amazon, and they're listing Princess Bride as having the following specs:

Aspect Ratio(s):
Widescreen Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Full Screen (Standard) - 1.33:1

Discographic Information:
DVD Encoding: Region 1
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Available subtitles: Spanish, French

This stupifies me. MGM/UA releases the film in widescreen anamorphic, but doesn't even consider stereo let alone Dolby 5.1?! Cripes, even Warner Bros. with Ladyhawke did a pretty nifty Dolby 5.1 soundtrack with (plain) widescreen, and that movie was released 2 years prior to Princess Bride!

What is the problem here? These studios have a chance to do films up right--especially films that are watched repeatedly due to their high entertainment factor--and they absolutely blow it.

As far as I'm concerned, George Lucas' reluctance to release the Star Wars films in DVD is nothing compared to this problem. And I think the worst part of this is that the studios still expect us to buy this crap with a smile.

I, for one, am not amused. Show me the nearest MGM/UA executive's shoe so I can deposit a hairball upon its shiny surface.


------------------
D. K. "Cat" Kraft
cat@eskimo.com