Companies Testing the DVD Waters

So you’ve plunked down the $500 or more for a digital video disc player. Now, you’re asking, where are the movies?

Warner Home Video has taken the biggest plunge, releasing 32 movies in March and an additional nine in April. This month, other distributors are dipping a toe in the DVD waters, with new and upcoming releases--priced at $25 or less--ranging from classic and current films to concerts and adult-oriented fare.

Following Warner’s lead, Columbia TriStar has put out its inaugural DVD slate, which includes the films “Legends of the Fall” and “In the Line of Fire.” And while LIVE Entertainment, Playboy and Polygram have announced upcoming release schedules, so far there have been no product announcements from the home video units of Disney, Paramount, Universal or 20th Century Fox.

“We are totally in support of the format and we will continue to move forward,” a Universal Studios Home Video spokesperson said Thursday.

Among the new or upcoming releases are “The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage,” a documentary that will share disc space with “The Wild Bunch: Director’s Cut” (this month, from Warner); “Reservoir Dogs” and “Total Recall” (June, LIVE); “Fargo” and “Lord of the Dance” (June, Polygram); and “The Best of Jenny McCarthy” (July, Playboy).

While it is too soon to tell if DVD will become a niche market or, in the words of Barry Leshtz, senior vice president and general manager of Playboy Home Video, “the industry standard for the new millennium,” initial sales are encouraging.

According to VideoScan, which tracks retail sales for video and music, 47,000 DVD titles had been purchased through April 20.

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“Twister,” “Eraser,” “GoldenEye,” “The Fugitive” and “Blade Runner” top the bestseller list, suggesting that early adopters of DVD want movies that will give the new format, with its vaunted superior sound and picture quality, a good workout.

Warren Lieberfarb, president of Warner Home Video, said that he christened his new DVD player with Warner’s Oscar-winning documentary “Woodstock.”

“I’m delighted at the [sales] performance of ‘Blade Runner,’ which bodes well as to how classics are going to do in this business,” he said. “The same is true of ‘The Fugitive.’ If we can encourage [DVD adopters] to become buyers and collectors of these perennial favorites and the golden oldies, the economic reward to the studios will be formidable.”

If you want your DVD, your best bet is to check out the major video chains, such as Tower Records, Wherehouse, Suncoast Motion Picture Co. and Sam Goody, and mass merchants, such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Sears.

This month, Blockbuster will sell DVD product at kiosks in its stores at 625 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica and 2200 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach. Other area Blockbusters will carry DVD for rental only.

Some independent video retailers, such as Vidiots in Santa Monica, will special-order DVD titles. Others said that they recognize DVD’s potential but are taking a more cautious approach, citing lack of current support from most major studios.

“Since the announcement [of DVD], I’ve had only one customer say he was thinking about buying a machine,” said Ken Dorrance, owner of Video Station in Alameda. “I carry computer software and I carry CD-ROM. The market dictated it. DVD is exciting for the industry. It’s something new, a spark that gives customers another reason to come into your store.

“But I’m waiting for the fall to see if more studios jump on the bandwagon. Now there is a limited supply and limited distribution, and until that opens up, it’s a wait-and-see type of thing.”

One early indicator of DVD’s future, Lieberfarb said, will be the holiday selling season. Video’s sell-through, or consumer, market--the fastest-growing segment in the industry--has “paved the way” for DVD, he said.

“If other studios are on board, I have no doubt DVD will exceed people’s expectations and in three years will find its way into at least 10% of U.S. households.”