Which DVD got it right first time out of the gate.
 

For me i have to say that Fight Club did a great job with the 2 disc set that came out the first time around. I know they released a single disc version at the same time...but a great example of doing a bang up job on the DVD and not needing to release collectors/anniversary/special editions to try and make more money off the buying public. I would also say T2...but they did release a shitty single disc until the excellent special edition came out. What do you guys think?

To clarify waht i was asking....i wanted to see what DVDs people thought were excellently produced (picture, sound, extras and packaging) the first time they were ever released on DVD. I am not talking about second, third or subsequent generations.....just the first release only. Thought it was clear enough, but seems some people have not fully understood what i was asking.

Any that had great picture and great sound.

Columbia/Tri-Star used to be very good at this in the early going. Their first releases of Ghostbusters and Men In Black still hold up very well for singular discs, but then came double-dip madness.

I think you have to go with the original Matrix DVD.

I know that got me hooked on DVD collecting.

Same here. I'm pretty sure that was the first DVD I ever bought.

A Bug's Life - I am pretty sure the 2 disk SE was the first release and a single disk came after (if not, it was the same time). Picture and sound was stunning and it came loaded with special features.

The original Matrix was pretty outstanding and agree on Fight Club. Magnolia was pretty thorough too. The original 2-disc Supergirl was pretty great as well.

Fight Club, The Matrix, LA Confidential, Snow White, Moulin Rouge, many Criterions.

x-men 1.5 when it was released was pretty solid. as well as magnolia, and the 2-disc raging bull

Fight Club, Dark City, Moulin Rouge

unless i'm misunderstanding the thread, i don't think x-men 1.5 and the 2-disc raging bull would apply as those were not the first release of the movies on DVD.

Contact - A damn near perfect release that still holds up today. Even more impressive when one considers it came out within the first 18 months of the format.

x2

It would still hold up great if it weren't for the snapper.

The Terminator (Special Edition)

Once Upon A Time in the West

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Vista Series

This movie looked good, sounded great and to appease collectors and regulars had both versions (meaning wide and full screen..though who needs the full?) of the film, all of the cartoons and tons of special features,

EDIT: Whoops....so it has to be the first release huh?

Well in that case, Id have to say the Back to the Future trilogy. I know they had some widescreen fiasco but besides that, it was a solid release. Tons of special features and the movie looked great.

Toy Story's Toy Box Set

But it came in a snapper case......

Jackie Brown
Magnolia
Punch-Drunk Love

The very first "Apocalypse Now" - it had everything. It was also the very first DVD I purchased way back in 19forgotten.

MONSTER SQUAD.
Now if we could just get Night Of The Creeps...

Nope, 1st release was a non-anamorphic practically bare-bones release followed 3-4 years later by the 2 disc.

Gladiator, DTS track and a two disc set at one disc price, WOW.

Fight Club, completely loaded two disc set, still one of the benchmark editions.

Forrest Gump & Cast Away, both Tom Hanks masterpieces and both two disc sets that have hours and hours of entertainment.

Donnie Darko-underrated indie that had more special features and commentaries than most blockbusters these days.

Dick

I've never cared about snapper cases. It was the "DVD rot" that bummed me out about this title. I've purchased it three times, and each disc died on me.

Brings me back to the old days before studios caught on that people will buy the same movies over and over again.

I would say Universal's releases of 12 Monkeys and Out of Sight were both top notch.

He said "first time out of the gate"...

That shouldn't count. Both Toy Story 1 & 2 had been previously released.



VVVVV
Se7en definitely doesn't fit this thread. The 2-disc set was not the original release. The first release was letterboxed, extra-free and a flipper.

"Donnie Darko" for sure! It's now at bargain-bin prices, but is packed with great features.

I was going to say "Moulin Rouge" but the sound is messed up on a few songs.

The original release "Se7en" sucked, but the secondly-released SE was good, which doesn't have anything to do with this thread.

"Fight Club" rocked, like others had mentioned.

I would say the "Rocky Horror Picture Show", but some of the audience participation tracks are a mess.

I don't think people are understanding the topic at hand :lol:

I would throw in most of Universals early collectors edition output. I remember buying a couple of these disc, that had no extras listed on the back, only to discover 2 hour documentaries, deleted scenes, scripts and so on. I was not expecting a full blown documentary on The Flintstones and Field of Dreams.

The Godfather Trilogy

Aside from the omission of the Tracey Ullman shorts and maybe some deleted material from earlier seasons, the first ten seasons of The Simpsons on DVD are everything I could've hoped for.

Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series - Now THAT's how you do a TV show on DVD folks. And they spent the time and care to keep all of the music cues intact, that rocks.

Also pretty much any Criterion DVD applies here (aside from Seven Samurai and some of the earlier non-anamorphic efforts).

They definitely arent.
This is evidenced by several people claiming that the original release of "Seven" was a great disc. It wasn't. First of all, it was a single dual sided flipper. Second of all there were not many, if any, extras to speak of. Third, I don't remember the audio and video quality being that good, but it has been a while.

ooops... I didn't realize there was a "Se7en" version 1.0.
I've edited my post.

'The Grand Illusion'...

'Finding Nemo'...

'Monsters Inc.'...

'Bob Le Flambeur'...

'The Good Thief'...

'Army Of Shadows'...

'Open Range'...

'Le Samourai'...

'Wyatt Earp'...

'Rififi'...

'Ugetsu'...

'Hara Kiri'...

there's a few...

Cleopatra
The French Connection
Citizen Kane
Doctor Zhivago
The Bridge on the River Kwai
American Graffiti
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
North by Northwest
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Rashomon
Valley Girl
Unbreakable
Superman
The Perfect Storm
Jackie Brown
Beverly Hills Cop
The Hills Have Eyes
E.T.
Enter the Dragon
Dracula
Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein
The Wolf Man
The Mummy
The Invisible Man
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Big Trouble in Little China

You can't be serious. All it had was a trailer, excerpts from the original theatrical program and the Destruction of the Kurtz Compound segment with optional commentary. No Hearts of Darkness, no Redux cut, no featurettes, no commentary, no other deleted footage, no other proper making-of docs...plus the transfer was a bit soft. I'd hardly call that "getting it right."

It was put to shame by the 30th Anniversary Edition.

From what I remember, any Pixar flick before Cars. Also, Fight Club, Terminator 2, Men in Black...