Black to the Movies by Michael Stradford

'And if they know in advance so they can say, `O.K., do I buy it now or do I wait?' ' Should consumers be asked to purchase one DVD when a vastly more elaborate one is on the way? 'We found that people don't mind two releases if enough time is between them and if the content really justifies a special edition,' Mr. Scott wanted a comprehensive DVD, but the time between theater and video was too short to put together all the features. Michael Stradford, Columbia TriStar's vice president of DVD programming and content, said Mr. Last June, about six months after 'Black Hawk Down' opened in theaters, another DVD with very few extras was released along with the videocassette. In this case, such supplementary extravagance points out two things about some DVD special editions: they take a long time to put together and they can add some dimension to the movie. Two documentaries, from the History Channel and the PBS 'Frontline' series, examine the real battle of Mogadishu. A documentary about the making of the film runs 150 minutes, seven minutes longer than the movie. Scott and many others contribute to three separate audio commentaries. Extra features are at battalion strength for Ridley Scott's film about the ambush of American troops in Mogadishu, Somalia, in October 1993. Like a wave of the title helicopters, 'Black Hawk Down' has landed this week in a three-disc DVD special edition ($39.95) from Columbia TriStar.

Black to the Movies by Michael Stradford