August 9, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

There's good news & bad news in the world of PTA DVD today. Let's start with the good. DVD File has the first review of the new Boogie Nights DVD & it includes all the features that were previously mentioned here. I have also added some screenshots of the menu (courtesy of DVD Angle & New Line). Since this early check disc was released to a few select sites, New Line has opted to remove the excerpts of the John Holmes Exhausted documentary. This was done a deal. What happened? Well, this is not gospel, but it's my best guess.

Julia St. Vincent, director of Exhausted, was not happy with the use of Exhausted on the Criterion LaserDisc. The use of the footage supposedly fell into a gray area & she was unable to stop it. Since DVD is much more mainstream than LaserDisc was, Julia threatened New Line with a lawsuit unless they could settle on a fee for the documentary. The last I heard, the deal was settled & the documentary would be included. Now, New Line is saying that it won't happen. It's too bad something couldn't be worked out. It's great to see some of the inspiration for Boogie & hear PTA speak about it on the alternate commentary track. It looks like the Criterion LaserDisc's will still have some value. 

Click here to view the menu screens for the double disc Boogie Nights DVD

I've been busy digging through the great new Magnolia DVD. Just some quick thoughts. The packaging is great, the outtakes are a treat & the documentary is very insightful (I only wish it was longer & a tad louder....). You won't be disappointed & I don't want to spoil it for you. Trust me, it's been worth the wait.

June 21, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

I had a chance to ask PTA about some Frequently Asked Questions that I receive on email. His comments were brief & not what you want to hear, but it's nice to know where things currently stand.

Hard Eight/Boogie Nights Score: 
Many of you would love a compilation of the Michael Penn scores, but there are no plans to release one at this time. 

Hard Eight Script
: There are currently no plans to release the script in similar fashion to the Boogie Nights & Magnolia script/companion books. 

DTS Track on Magnolia DVD: 
This will not be included on the upcoming release, although there's a possibility that a DTS version could be released in the future. For those that are unaware, DTS is a competing digital audio system to Dolby Digital which many feel sounds superior.

As I said, these things may revisited in the future, so don't give up hope. If anything changes, you will hear it here first.

There's an interesting documentary currently showing on E! this month. John Holmes and the Wonderland Murders: The E! True Hollywood Story spans 2 hours & primarily focuses on John's involvement with the Wonderland Murders. It airs again tomorrow, June 22nd at 9:00 p.m. & Friday, June 23rd at 10:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m. For a program description go here.

June 5, 2000

Archived update from Cigarettes & Coffee, run by Greg Mariotti & CJ Wallis from 1999-2005

According to the excellent DVD File site, the new Boogie Nights DVD will also include the edited John C. Holmes documentary Exhausted which was on the old Criterion LaserDisc. This is the wonderful 30 minute documentary (minus most of the nudity), that "inspired" many of the "artistic" choices for the Brock Landers scenes in Boogie Nights. PTA gives a hilarious commentary on the documentary as well. DVD File is also reporting that there will be a total of 13 deleted scenes included. The previous 9 scenes plus 4 new ones. 

The licensing of Criterion supplements is typically a "no win proposition" but DVD file learned from PTA's publicist that PTA produced & owns the commentary track & artwork so this allowed for easy inclusion on this release.