Dreamgirls Dazzles On DVD

Frequently, many of those wonderful Oscar-nominated titles get rushed out onto DVD to celebrate the movie’s nomination or win. Consequently, the discs are light on bonus material, hoping the buzz surrounding the movie itself will be enough to sell copies. The farther we get from the Oscar ceremony, the higher quality release we get for movies.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at last week’s Good Shepherd DVD which featured only a few deleted scenes. Now look at the announced release for the upcoming May 1st Dreamgirls DVD release.

The Bill Condon original musical, starring Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Hudson in her debut role, is being made available in quite a variety of options. A single disc DVD version will be available, but the really impressive material will be on the two disc “Showstopper” Edition. In fact, the “Showstopper” edition is so impressive, it’s being made available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD.

Take a look at the announced material for the releases:

Disc One:

Extended and Alternate Scenes:

• Effie, Sing My Song —Never-before-seen performance by Jennifer Hudson
• I’m Looking For Something
• Goin’ Down
• Takin’ The Long Way Home
• Fake Your Way To The Top
• Steppin’ To The Bad Side
• Heavy
• I’m Somebody
• I Am Changing
• Perfect World
• One Night Only
• One Night Only – Disco Version
  Music Video “Listen” by Beyoncé Knowles
  
  Disc Two:
  Building The Dream—Feature-length documentary in nine chapters:
• On Broadway
• The Dream Is Alive
• I’m Lookin’ For Something
• Feel So Real
• You Better Move, Move…
• The Sound Of Tomorrow
• Gonna Take A Mean Ride: A Side
• Gonna Take A Mean Ride: B Side
• One Night Only
  Dream Logic: Film Editing
  Dressing The Dreams: Costume Design
  Center Stage: Theatrical Lighting
  Auditions and Screen Tests
• Dreamgirls – Beyoncé Knowles screen test (HD)
• Ain’t No Party – Anika Noni Rose audition
• Steppin’ To The Bad Side – Fatima Robinson choreography audition
  Previsualization Sequences:
• The Talent Show
• Fake Your Way To The Top
• Cadillac Car
• Steppin’ To The Bad Side
• I Want You Baby
• Heavy
• Hard To Say Goodbye
  Image Gallery with over 1,100 images (Showstopper Edition DVD only):
• Storyboards
• Costume Designs
• Production Designs
• Art Department Archive

The single disc edition won’t be completely bare bones. It will just be Disc One as listed above – the movie and alternate/extended scenes. I suggest this is one of those cases where the two-disc edition is the “must have” version of the film. It’s definitely where my attention lies.

Dreamgirls single-disc DVD, and two disc “Showstopper Edition” DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD releases come out on May 1st.