Tips on finding those "OOP" widescreen Columbia discs?
 

I've been trying to find the original Columbia DVD of the Alicia Silverstone/Jeff Goldblum movie <b>Hideaway</b> since it had the 2:35 widescreen version before Sony decided to drop if for full-screen only. I've tried Ebay and Half with many emails trying to verify if the ones being sold are indeed the widescreen version, and no luck. Any tips on finding these older discs?

Luck. And lots of it.

= J

keep looking on Ebay. sooner or later you'll run across a seller that knows that the flipper disc is different than the other foolscreen discs and will put a picture up of his flipper disc. this worked for me in acquiring a No Mercy flipper and a Body Double flipper. you can always try used DVD stores such as wherehouse as well. good luck.

Yep, I've been scouring the descriptions praying someone will list the word "widescreen". I've learned the hard way with several returns to DVD Empire (Revenge, Blue Thunder) to check these damn Columbia catalog title specs first. :mad:

Be sure to do the same thing at half.com; that's how I got a few of mine.

Amen! :toast:

seconded! :) I've been searching for Last Action Hero for quite some time.

You should have bid on my eBay auction about 6 months ago. ;) I put this up, even making it very clear that it was the OOP edition with the widescreen version. Opening bid was 1 penny. It stayed up for a full 7 days, with zero bids. I ended up giving it to a friend...


Yeah, it must suck trying to track down a legit widescreen edition of some of these. The fact that Sony left the UPCs the same (and, in a few cases, still indicated widescreen on the case although it was P&S only) makes it just that much more difficult. Fuckin' Sony. :)

I found "Wild Things" flipper at a pawn shop (as WM only has the foolscreen version). Already owned the unrated edition, but they didn't carry over the commentary or the deleted scene (plus for less than $5, figured it was worth it).

I'm still looking for Bite the Bullet and Sheena. Recently found a Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I only buy them if they have been opened and I can verify they are double sided.

Sellers are catching on to how hard these disc are to find. Found a Sheena on ebay with 49.99 minimum bid.

Does anyone have a complete list of these OOP widescreen titles?

Thanks

Here's a Sony letter that Alan Smithee posted last May about the changes. They've probably added more since then :mad::

Here's a note they sent to retailers, essentially saying "Fuck You" to their customers:

April 8, 2005
Dear Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Customer:
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is currently in the process of reworking the Aspect Ratios on select
DVDs. These particular DVDs, which in the past have included both Widescreen and Full screen
presentations on a single disc, are now being reworked to include only one presentation, Wide OR Full
screen. A number of these have been completed and repackaged to reflect this change, and are listed in the
table below.
Catalog numbers and UPC Codes remain the same. Please update your systems as necessary to reflect
these changes.
We will continue to update you regularly as more DVDs are converted. Please contact your Sales
Representative or Client Operations Associate with any questions.
Sincerely,
Client Operations
Title Catalog # New Aspect Ratio
3 Ninjas Knuckle Up - DVD 05984 Full Screen
About Last Night - DVD 07359 Full Screen
Adventures of Milo and Otis, The - DVD 50149 Full Screen
Air Force One - DVD 71889 Full Screen
All About My Mother - DVD 04719 Widescreen
And Justice For All - DVD 05819 Full Screen
As Good As It Gets - DVD 21709 Widescreen
Assignment, The - DVD 28359 Widescreen
Bear, The - DVD 03994 Full Screen
Beast, The - DVD 06200 Full Screen
Big Daddy - DVD 03922 Widescreen
Bite the Bullet - DVD 07761 Full Screen
Black Dragon - DVD 01685 Widescreen
Body Double - DVD 04119 Full Screen
Body, The - DVD 06595 Full Screen
Breed, The - DVD 06783 Widescreen
Buddy - DVD 05617 Full Screen
Buddy Holly Story, The - DVD 08019 Full Screen
Chances Are - DVD 70159 Full Screen
Cheap Detective, The - DVD 90399 Full Screen
Title Catalog # New Aspect Ratio
Cruel Intentions 2 - DVD 05841 Full Screen
Dance With Me - DVD 23949 Full Screen
Deep End of the Ocean - DVD 02851 Full Screen
Desert Heat - DVD 04226 Full Screen
Desperate Measures - DVD 21759 Full Screen
Dick - DVD 04001 Widescreen
Excess Baggage - DVD 82309 Full Screen
Eye of the Beholder - DVD 05052 Full Screen
Fan, The - DVD 82479 Full Screen
Forsaken, The - DVD 06453 Widescreen
Futuresport - DVD 03302 Full Screen
Gattaca - DVD 82649 Full Screen
Geronimo: An American Legend - DVD 58709 Full Screen
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - Restored - DVD 05419 Full Screen
Hard Times - DVD 03063 Full Screen
Hero - DVD 51569 Full Screen
Hideaway - DVD 05273 Full Screen
High School High - DVD 82489 Full Screen
Hollywood Knights - DVD 21894 Widescreen
Homegrown - DVD 25329 Widescreen
Hush - DVD 02356 Full Screen
I Dreamed of Africa - DVD 04606 Full Screen
Idle Hands - DVD 03931 Full Screen
Iron Eagle - DVD 83969 Full Screen
It Could Happen To You - DVD 72819 Widescreen
Jackie Chan's Who Am I? - DVD 02717 Full Screen
Jawbreaker - DVD 03615 Full Screen
Juror, The - DVD 11609 Full Screen
Knock Off - DVD 25889 Full Screen
Last Action Hero, The - DVD 27939 Full Screen
Last Dragon, The - DVD 05985 Widescreen
Lords of Flatbush - DVD 04540 Widescreen
MacKenna's Gold - DVD 03709 Full Screen
Madeline - DVD 02718 Full Screen
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - DVD 78719 Full Screen
Mercy - DVD 05080 Full Screen
Mirror Has Two Faces, The - DVD 82529 Full Screen
Mixed Nuts - DVD 06534 Full Screen
Mortal Thoughts - DVD 50749 Full Screen
Moscow on the Hudson - DVD 06536 Full Screen
Mrs. Winterbourne - DVD 07742 Full Screen
My Life - DVD 05853 Full Screen
My Stepmother Is An Alien - DVD 61029 Full Screen
No Mercy - DVD 83759 Full Screen
No Way Back - DVD 05818 Full Screen
Nowhere to Run - DVD 52379 Full Screen
Odessa File, The - DVD 03299 Full Screen
Order, The - DVD 08426 Full Screen
Peggy Sue Got Married - DVD 81849 Full Screen
Revenge - DVD 50219 Full Screen
Title Catalog # New Aspect Ratio
River Runs Through It, A - DVD 03933 Widescreen
Roxanne - DVD 08539 Full Screen
Rudyard Kipling's The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo - DVD 05988 Full Screen
School Daze - DVD 05834 Full Screen
Screamers - DVD 11869 Full Screen
Sheena - DVD 06535 Full Screen
Silent Rage - DVD 05277 Full Screen
Sniper - DVD 70759 Widescreen
So I Married An Axe Murderer - DVD 52429 Widescreen
Spice World - DVD 01770 Full Screen
Starman - DVD 04129 Full Screen
Stepmom - DVD 02852 Full Screen
Suspect - DVD 05857 Full Screen
Sweet and Lowdown - DVD 04757 Full Screen
Thirteenth Floor, The (Special Edition) - DVD 02848 Full Screen
Toy, The - DVD 06542 Full Screen
Two Moon Junction - DVD 09669 Full Screen
Universal Soldier: The Return - DVD 03934 Full Screen
Whatever It Takes - DVD 05285 Full Screen
Whipped - DVD 05500 Full Screen
Wild Things (Rated) - DVD 02411 Full Screen

What bullshit. Keeping the same UPC and all, thanks a lot Sony!

This is going to be your best bet. Also try places that sell used music CDs as they almost always have DVDs too. Also places like EBGames and Gamestop both sell used DVDs. Just ask to see the disc at the counter.

Bite the Bullet has recently been re-issued in a two-disc set with The Quick and the Dead. Does anyone know if BtB is 2.35:1 or if it's the 1.33:1 transfer?

The one I'm looking for is Still Crazy (now only available as 1.33:1) :( For those who don't know, it's kind of like This is Spinal Tap as a non-documentary. Bill Nighy is great as an addled aging rock star reminiscent of Ozzy Osbourne, among others (the movie predated the Osbournes show by a few years).

What's the big deal about Blue Thunder? It's been released in widescreen as a Special Edition already.

Luckily, there's only about one title on the list that I'd be interested in, so there's a bullet dodged there. Still, Sony is pissing me off with their practices. Go ahead and cancel stuff you're planning and haven't announced yet, but to cancel announced releases pisses me off, not to mention messing with catalog titles. Still, as long as they're not recalling the copies that are already out there, why would they become so rare so quickly?

Also, check the Amazon marketplace and email the sellers before you make a purchase.

Absolutely astounding.

What is the criteria for them picking WS or FS?

Hollywood Knights is WS, but a beautiful Super 35 film like Gattaca is FS?

FYI, the Best Buys around me - metro NYC- are selling (selling off?) their Superbits for 9.99, so I just ran out and got my 2.35:1 Gattaca.



From here on in, I'll just assume that every Sony title with new cover art is FS....

Yep, been doing that with no luck unfortunately. All of those BRAND NEW SEALED and used ones are the new discs. Still waiting for a few email replies but I'm not holding too much hope.

This was before the SE came out, which I actually made out since I got the SE now.

Wasn't this one a one-sided anamorphic DVD to begin with? Why would they switch to fullscreen all of a sudden? I can see that with 2-sided discs they have to choose, but when a disc only has widescreen to begin with, why switch to fullscreen?

Maybe I'm mistaken, but a Google search for "DVD 51569" turns up the Dustin Hoffman/Geena Davis/Andy Garcia movie, which Amazon says is 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I couldn't seem to find the actual UPC listed, though, and I'm not at home so I can't check my disc, but I seem to recall it is in fact widescreen.

Oh, I didn't realize (guess I could have checked the date, though).

Anyway, I actually don't have a problem with it when they switch to widescreen, since I'd much prefer a single-sided sided disc with artwork than a plain old flippy disc. I was on the hunt for the new "As Good As It Gets" DVD for a long time, after having been teased with it at BEST BUY months ago, and then it seemed to disappear completely. I eventually found one at TARGET after pretty much losing hope, but as often happens right after I pony up the cash to buy a supposedly hard-to-find disc, I've seen quite a few of them since then.

I'm sure I'll never get rid of all my flippy discs (especially when it comes to TV on DVD), and I don't mind when one side is widescreen and the other is bonus material, but I really want to get rid of anything in my collection that's been "modified to fit your TV", especially when they have the audacity to call it "Standard". :mad:

I bought Mixed Nuts at Big-Lots for $5 . On the back it stated that it was both FS and WS. When i opened it, it was FS only.
I thought i had gotten lucky but i got ripped off instead.

I got the only two I wanted by luck
Last Action Hero at a Best Buy about a year ago, just looked at every case about 7 of them, and one said widescreen
And Justice For All about a year and a half ago, at Circuit City same deal.

both were in line with a bunch of Fullframe only copies, I just always checked everyone no matter where I went. took me a few years, but you'll find what you want.

my advice.

don't give up :p some stores bring old stuff out. and you will get lucky eventually
try a place that has generally higher prices, like a blockbuster. blockbuster has good OOP slipcovers too on their "New" movies
also try used like gamestops and pawn shops

If it's not available in the store, your only hope might be eBay or Half. I can't believing I'm going to admit this, but here we go...

Spice World happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine, but I never decided to buy the DVD until Sony made the original DVD with the widescreen transfer OOP. Everytime I went to Tower, Best Buy, Fry's, Circuit City, and you name it; I went through all the copies, but could only find the full frame transfer edition.

Most of the folks selling the DVD on eBay were either selling bootlegs (that they said were full frame) or the brand new DVD that contained just the full frame transfer only. Luckilly, just the other week, I finally saw an auction of the original DVD on eBay $6. Granted, it was a used copy, but it's still in damn good condition.

Fuckin' Sony.

I bought one like this about a year ago from Walmart in the 5.50 bin and I have heard of others being this way. Just checking to see if it says widescreen and fullscreen is no guarntee it has widescreen. I felt ripped off to but I hate returning things and I doubt the people in the CS area know much about widescreen. I have not shopped the bargain bin much like I used to in the past year.

I found a WS Bite The Bullet flipper at a Wal-Mart about a month ago. It was a Wal-Mart I rarely visit so I don't know if it had just been hiding for 2 years or what. It was one of those nice stores that has a big, black 4 sided shelf display instead of a dump bin.

I lucked into an And Justice For All just like chileorgullo - a long time ago at a Circuit City among a bunch of FS. Never cound find a WS Sweet & Lowdown...

By the way, for those who care, THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD has been similarly revised, but in this one rare case, it's actually for the better; the full screen side has been dropped instead of the widescreen one (though the copy I bought actually still included the original double-sided disc with both formats) and the cover art has been redone in a much classier, more detailed and sophisticated manner.

That alone takes the cake right there. Sony has screwed these catalog titles up so f**kin bad you can't even buy one of their old dvd's and get the right thing in the apparently correct case. I am sorry you got ripped off by Sony davey_4964.

I went to Duluth for a 2 day camping/junkyarding excursion and actually came across not one, but TWO FS/WS "Last Action Hero" discs at Pawn America and The Elctric Fetus respectively. Amazon merchants are asking $50+ which is silly, and eBay, obviously nobody knows the difference or status.

Well, I gave up searching for the WS Hideaway on Half/Ebay/Amazon Auctions. By chance it seems that the Canadian versions all list widescreen still, so I will risk my $10 and order from up there. If it's still fullscreen only, I'll give it away and stick with my laserdisc :(

Hmmm... Might be a good idea to keep this list in my wallet...

I need <s>Spice World</s> Mixed Nuts in ws!

matome,
Do you have any f.y.e. stores in your area? If you do, you might want to check to see if you can find a used copy (I think it's going to be hard to find a new copy) of the WS version of Hideaway. A f.y.e. superstore recently opened in my area and they have a huge selection of used DVD's in very good conditon (and 100% gauranteed). The had 3 of this title of which 2 were Full Screen only but one was the version with both Widescreen and Fullscreen. It was $5.99 with an additional 20% off on all used DVD's.

Sweet and Lowdown? Doesn't Woody Allen have to sign off on this sort of tampering with his movies?