Audio Video News

J<I>ennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano. Directed by The Wachowski Brothers. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1. Dolby Digital. Two sides. 109 minutes. 1996. Republic ID4628DSDVD. Rated R. $29.95</I>

H<I>illary Swank, Chlo&euml; Sevigny, Peter Scarsgard. Directed by Kimberly Pierce. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1. 116 minutes. 1999. 20th Century Fox 2000173. R. $34.98.</I>

<I>Directed by Chris Hilson. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround, PCM 16-bit/48kHz. Two DVDs. 180 minutes. 2001. Columbia Music Video C2D 54071. NR. $29.98.</I>

Not exactly April Fools' Day, but close: <A HREF="http://www.whv.com/">Warner Home Video</A> announced last Tuesday that it will celebrate the annual Masters Golf Tournament with a reissue of the 1980 film <I>Caddyshack</I> on April 6. The Special Edition reissue package will include the original comedy starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight, and Cindy Morgan, as well as <I>Caddyshack: The 19th Hole</I>, a new documentary including outtakes, rare footage, and interviews with the film's stars, producers Jon Peters and Mark Canton, and director Harold Ramis. Fans will also learn more than they ever wanted to know about Bill Murray's nemesis in the film, the indestructible gopher.

Media giant <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com/">CBS</A> continues to push the high-definition envelope with the first-ever broadcast of a prime-time dramatic series in HDTV. "The Other Cheek," the episode of <I>Chicago Hope</I> that aired last Wednesday, November 18, was produced by 20th Century Fox Television in cooperation with <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Electronics</A>' Broadcast and Professional Company using an extensive array of Sony's new HD equipment. It was relayed to 11 CBS affiliates, and it was available on the DirecTV satellite service. The program was broadcast in 1920x1080i, the highest-resolution version of HDTV.

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.afionline.org/">American Film Institute</A> (AFI) commemorated the first 100 years of American movies by officially announcing their prestigious list of the 100 greatest films of this century, as determined by a "blue-ribbon" panel of more than 1500 members of the American film community. In a nationally televised broadcast, "AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Movies," Orson Welles' classic <I>Citizen Kane</I> claimed the No.1 position.