What was the first-ever movie to be released on DVD?
There are certain blockbuster movies that come along at precisely the right time to make the most of the tools they have at their disposal, and while it doesn’t seem immediately obvious, Twister is one that fits the bill.
Director Jan de Bont’s second feature was carrying buzz from the beginning after the veteran cinematographer had debuted in spectacular style through action classic Speed, with the disaster epic coming together at the perfect moment to straddle a game-changing divide that changed Hollywood forever.
Releasing just two years after Jurassic Park, Twister enlisted George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic for its boundary-pushing visual effects, but there was also a heavy – and most welcome – reliance on practical and tangible set pieces. Had it released any earlier, then the visuals may not have convinced to the fullest extent, but had it released much later then use of CGI would have been a great deal more widespread. With that, the movie cemented its position in history by becoming the first-ever DVD release, signifying a change of technological advancements for viewers.
It’s an old-fashioned film painted in a coat of modernity, with Bill Paxton on top form as the affable and charming storm chaser reuniting with Helen Hunt’s estranged wife to stare down the face of a tornado and test out their cutting-edge technology before their smarmy rivals beat them to the punch.
Throw in a top-notch supporting cast that numbers Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Alan Ruck, appropriate amount of cheese, and several staggering sequences of wanton destruction, and it’s no surprise Twister came within a whisker of clearing half a billion dollars at the box office, and it comfortably would have been the biggest hit of the year and won the Academy Award for ‘Best Visual Effects’ were it not for Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day.
Twister holds a special place in the heart of a generation, which heaps the expectations upon Lee Isaac Chung’s long-awaited Twisters as a result. No matter how good it turns out to be, though, it won’t be able to replicate the history-making success of its predecessor, which ended up securing a unique spot in the annals of home video and Hollywood at large.
Although it wouldn’t launch commercially in the United States until March 1997 with a day-one unveiling of 32 titles including Tim Burton’s Batman, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, George Miller’s Mad Max sequel The Road Warrior, classic buddy caper Lethal Weapon, and Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, DVDs had hit the shelves in Japan in November 1996.
There were only four launch day titles available on the other side of the world, and Twister was one of them. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Eraser, Harrison Ford’s The Fugitive, and John Badham’s Point of No Return – the remake of Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita – were the other three, giving de Bont’s tornado-tastic spectacular its fascinating place in the history books.
