©1980 Universal City Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.
| Mono |
| Pressing Location |
DiscoVision Carson |
| Label Color |
Red |
| Retail Price |
$29.95 |
| Year Issued |
1981 |
|
| Side |
Chapters |
Running Time |
|
| 1 |
1 |
46min |
| 2 |
5 |
48min |
|
|
6 |
95min |
|
| Ratings |
|
| Video Transfer |
  |
| Audio Transfer |
|
| Replication |
 |
|
| Packaging |
|
| Large Open-Top |
| Open-Top |
| Side-Open Sticker |
| Printed |
 |
|
Pressing Notes
Melvin and Howard is one of the last discs to be mastered and pressed by the DiscoVision Carson facility.
Most of the other DiscoVision titles of the period were manufactured by Universal Pioneer facility in Kofu Japan.
The video transfer is typical DiscoVision, with too much contrast and too much brightness which creates a washed
out image which can't be seen in the dark. The audio transfer isn't much better and is generally flat. The disc
includes the MCA Videodisc standard "shrinking numbers" bumpers.
Disc replication is very spotty. While many copies do not suffer from the excessive speckling problems exhibited
on Prom Night, the disc is far from perfect in most other respects. Side
2 has what appears to be missing tracks which cause the picture to jump, creating a huge white blip while the
player regains synchronization. This trouble is seen throughout the entire side, but is at its worst in the first
10 minutes. Side 1 doesn't suffer from any of these troubles. While these could be considered disc specific
defects, it has been seen on far too many copies of Melvin and Howard to be anything but a mastering error.
Melvin and Howard was never seen again on LaserDisc. Anchor Bay Entertainment managed to resurrect the title
through a license with Universal Studios and issued a relatively deluxe edition of the film on DVD in October 1999.
This new edition is widescreen, 16x9 enhanced and includes an audio commentary by director Jonathan Demme and
production designer Toby Rafelson.
Return to MCA DiscoVision Catalog
MCA DiscoVision Home Page
Updated: April 16, 2000
Copyright ©2000 Blam Entertainment Group
