Thanks for this obviously very informative post. I will make careful note of the recommendations and use them.

Thanks to (almost) all posters in this thread. Overall I'm very pleased with the response. And thanks Wannabe for siding with me and chastising a mudslinger. My clothes are caked with mud but I've seldom been more staunchly defended. I've often thought that internet threads are often filled with pissing contests and personal attacks and usually needlessly and with no positive result. Be honorable and live positive. There's a great song title (band = The Chills): "Look For The Good In Others And They Will Look For The Good In You"

I've never seen Raising Arizona and am still hoping that when I do, it will be from an anamorphic DVD. If it doesn't exist, then I guess I'll just watch the DVD I have.

Edit: What are the best sites to go to in order to research the features of a specific release of a DVD (i.e. you have the UPC)?

All this over $5.51

It's more than about the money. There's a couple of questions on the table:

1. Is this particular disk (Raising Arizona, April 2006 release, UPC 024543044192) anamorphic or not (and does it have deleted scenes)?

2. Where can you find out reliable information concerning any particular DVD release?

1. It is not anamorphic (in R1). It has never been anamorphic (in R1). The infomation you were provided was simply W-R-O-N-G.

2. Go to multiple sources. Use DVD Basen (http://www.dvd-basen.dk/uk/home.php3) and read multiple reviews. If they all say the same thing (i.e., a disc is non-anamorphic), they're probably right.

3. I have no idea where they got that release date. Even Amazon (which changes the release date on price drops, even) only shows August 3, 1999.

4. Now you know better, and knowing is half the battle.

My distributor doesn't show 024543044192 as the UPC, they still have 086162123023 listed (since Feb 1, 2005). $16.98 SRP here in Canada, $14.98 in the USA. So you paid $5.51 for it (I assume it's brand-new). Sweet deal!

There has never been an anamorphic widescreen release of Raising Arizona. Just the same old release that's been available for many years now. No deleted scenes, just Original Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots.

There's PLENTY of DVD review sites online so always remember when buying online: CAVEAT EMPTOR. Do your research :)

Amen.

Does the case say "anamorphic"? And, if so, was it sealed in its original unopened shrinkwrap? If so, then they screwed up, but otherwise the business is between you and the ebay sellerr. If she was uneducated and you were willing to take the risk, this isn't the company's fault at all.

UPC # 024543044192 is the same old Fox Region 1 transfer first released in August 1999. The only reason the disc you purchased was given a different UPC is that it contains a Checkpoint security device instead of a Sensomatic security device.

It contains the same old non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer as every single Fox Region 1 DVD release to date.

UPCs are only helpful in making buying decisions when a company has released more than one version of a film on DVD. New versions are almost always indicated by an appendage to the title (e.g. Raising Arizona SE or Raising Arizona: Huggies Edition). When a company releases a new edition of a popular movie like Raising Arizona, you will find many online reviews. Using a DVD review database like DVD Basen is still your best bet in determining whether a film has been re-released or upgraded on DVD:

Review History for Raising Arizona (worldwide)

From this you can see that all of the reviews for the (US) Region 1 release are from 2000 and 2001. They all indicate a non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer.

Some distributors change UPCs more often than some people change their underwear. I agree that it makes things confusing when a single release has multiple UPCs, but that's the breaks.

See the linked photo of the case. Someone affixed the sticker for UPC 024543044192 onto the case that was for 02453020196. I don't know who or how but I interpreted this to mean that they were reusing the old cases but including the new DVD's. I didn't know how else to interpret this. This is all a riddle to me without (so far) an explanation.

What new DVD did you think they were going to include? No "new DVD" exists.

Studios re-release the same disc (even in the same packaging as this disc) all the time. That is all that happened here, despite your thinking new UPC = new disc. Who knows why they choose a new UPC, perhaps to get stores to stock the new UPC thinking it is new merchandise.

OK, thanks. What threw me off was the fact that DVD Profiler showed this "release" as anamorphic. Somehow they got the wrong information on that score. I think you are totally right in what you say, as far as I can tell. DVD Profiler also indicates that this disk contains deleted scenes, which it does not. I think it is indeed the same disk they've always sold, but with a different security system. I posted at the DVD Profiler Forums and apparently they are going to correct their data. However, it's been about 24 hours since the guy said he was going to change it and the data is still wrong (shows the disk as anamorphic, etc.). Here's the thread:

Thread at Intervocative's DVD Profiler Forums I posted

I didn't know there was no new DVD. I have been using DVD Profiler to look up a particular UPC and that's how I've determined whether or not a disk is anamorphic, which is the most important feature generally speaking. This is the first time that information has been incorrect.

"...and when there were no anamorphic copies of RAISING ARIZONA, we watched sand."

"You watched sand?!"

"We watched sand."

That isn't always reliable. Sony has been reissuing titles that had widescreen and fullscreen sides in fullscreen only, without changing the UPCs. MGM has been dropping the second sides of some of their DVD-14s (which drops special features and/or the fullscreen transfers) with the same UPCs.

OK, I take it you're not really aware how DVDProfiler works. It's a completely user maintained database. There is noone that can just go in and change something on a moments notice. The database is full of incorrect data.

Updates for Profiler only happens once someone uploads the info for a certain title, and it gets voted on and approved. This can take several days. Once that happens, the updated profile is put into the system, and will go out with other profile updates on the Tuesday after it's been approved. So if the problem was just pointed out, then the earliest that the change would be reflected is in next Tuesday's database update.

I'd never use Profiler as a source for something like this, and if this is the first time you've run into an error such as this, consider yourself lucky.

Thank you, King. The details of how DVD Profiler works are appreciated. Yes, I can consider myself lucky, clearly. I wish there were a quick and reliable way to find out if such and such UPC DVD had such and such features. DVD Profiler provides the info, but clearly sometimes it's just plain wrong. I'd appreciate it if you would explain how you would (and do) research the features of a particular UPC DVD.

TheKing gave you good advice and an excellent explanation.

I myself have submitted info for The Mind of Mencia: Season 1 but no one voted on it and so I have a valid DVD entry with no cover scans. Sigh.... :(