Covering subjects from adventure and art to Zaire and zoology, documentaries span the widest range of special-interest video. As most titles target specific audiences, the documentary offers a unique challenge to supermarket video merchandisers looking for popular product.
duces the "Biography" line.
It's no surprise, then, that several recent popular titles are Titanic-related. A&E's four-volume Titanic boxed set is the company's biggest seller to date, according to Bushnell, even though it retails for a relatively high $39.95.
Brentwood Home Video, Westlake Village, Calif., and Simitar Entertainment, Plymouth, Minn., each have two-tape sets at $9.98, along with Troy, Mich.-based Anchor Bay Entertainment's "Unsinkable RMS Titanic," and "Titanic: Treasure of the Deep," from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment, Culver City, Calif. Buena Vista Home Entertainment carries the IMAX documentary "Titanica" at $19.98.
Another movie tie-in from Real Entertainment, Woodland Hills, Calif., is "Hanging With Leo," an unauthorized biography of Leonardo DiCaprio. "Lots of retailers are positioning this with 'Titanic,"'said company spokesman Darren Howell. The tape features paparazzi footage from the last seven years.
Other new documentaries from Real include "Breaking the Magician's Code," which aired originally on the Fox network, and the nine-volume boxed set "Bob Hope Entertaining the Troops," which documents his USO tours from 1964 through 1972.
With "Titanic" cresting, suppliers and retailers alike are looking for the next wave. "World War II material is already gathering interest because of 'Saving Private Ryan,"' said Bushnell. While the film's video release is still months away, retailers are beginning to prepare for the event.
"We have department managers who are already planning their displays," said one video specialist, "although we haven't yet received much information on auxiliary product. That will change, I'm sure, after a street date is announced."
Meanwhile, Warner Home Video, Burbank, Calif., has released an eight-volume set on the Cold War that features archival footage from CNN. Scheduled to tie in with a series of 24 one-hour CNN specials airing through April 1999, the 19-hour Warner compilation streeted just after the premiere.
