Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment plans on releasing a 2-disk DVD edition of Pearl Harbor in time for the 60th anniversary of the attack, which occurred on December 7, 1941.  This version will be identical to the PG-13 theatrical release.  But six weeks later on January 15, Buena Vista will release a 3-disk 'Director's Cut' of the film, which will be about five minutes longer than the 188-minute theatrical release.  The Director's Cut has received an 'R' rating because of more graphic footage in the in the attack scenes and in the hospital as well as the use of more racial slurs.  The 'Director's Cut' will include 12 hours of extra material and will have an SRP of $39.99, some $10 more than the PG-13 DVD.

 

Pearl Harbor is hardly the first film to be released on DVD with deleted scenes included, but it may be the first film to come out on DVD in two versions that carry different ratings.  Since Disney is announcing in advance that a more complete version of the film will be available shortly after the release of the first DVD version, the studio can't be blamed for manipulating collectors into buying one version and then coming back with a more elaborate version six months to a year later. 

 

While Pearl Harbor's $193 million domestic box office take was seen as something of a disappointment given the film's mega budget and massive hype, few critics realize that Pearl Harbor, which has already earned over $200 million outside the U.S. is likely to be the foreign box office champ among this summer's many hit films.  The film did well theatrically (see 'Pearl Harbor Overwhelms Holiday Box Office'), and has considerable potential on DVD thanks to its renown among older Americans, who are much more likely to rent (or buy) a video or DVD than to journey down to the local multiplex.  Surveys taken before Pearl Harbor opened showed a higher percentage of Americans wanted to see Pearl Harbor than had ever expressed an interest in seeing any individual film before.  Now, obviously all those folks didn't go to the theaters, but Disney is counting on many of them either renting or buying Pearl Harbor and watching it at home.

 

The double cassette VHS and double disk DVD 60th Anniversary Commemorative Editions, which are being released on Dec. 4 have SRPs of $24.95 and $29.99 respectively.  These initial editions will include the entire 188-minute film plus a documentary on the attack and the Faith Hill music video of 'There You'll Be.'  The DVD will also include a documentary on veterans of the attack who returned to Pearl Harbor for the premiere of the film as well as an introduction by film director Michael Bay.  These initial 60th Anniversary Editions will also be available in 'gift set' versions, which will include a National Geographic Documentary on the Pearl Harbor attack.  The VHS gift set will sell for $39.99, with the DVD gift set going for $49.99.

 

The Director's Cut 3-disk DVD, which bows on Jan. 15, includes the five minutes of extra footage, plus a 2-minute introduction by Michael Bay, and an intermission sequence, plus a 30-minute breakdown of the attack sequence with a video introduction by Bay.  In addition the disks will include audio commentaries from Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the actors, and movie technicians, along with a featurette on the boot camp that the actors attended and a 30-minute historic timeline.  The Director's Cut DVD does not include the National Geographic Documentary.