The R1 DVD is now out, as of May 4th, 2005. It comes separately for a SRP of $19.97, or get it as part of the World War II Collection - Battefront Europe box set (along with the The Big Red One - 2004 Reconstruction 2-disc SE) for a SRP of $59.92.
The DVD comes in a beautifully restored 2.73:1 cinerama anamorphic transfer. You may think, "WOW, on a 4:3 TV, that's really wide (and therefore thin and narrow vertically)". Well, it is, but not really all that bad. I've got a 32" Sony flatscreen with 16:9 enhanced mode and honestly, it's not much thinner than a 2.40:1 transfer. If you have no problem with watching 2.40 transfers on a 4:3 TV (ie. the black bars), then you shouldn't have a problem watching this transfer. As Roger Ebert once said, "If the black bars bother, take the disc back, because obviously the movie isn't that good....if you're watching the black bars."
This disc, however, is actually meant to be viewed on a 16:9 TV. In which case the 2.73:1 transfer will look much better with less black bar'ig. I assume it'll be equivalent to about a 1.85 transfer on a 4:3 TV.
The soundtrack has been remastered in 5.1 and makes great use of the .1 LFE channel for tank tread/engine rumble and some other sound effects like the train scene through the tunnel. Where it lacks is in the old 1960's era gun sound effects. Pretty cheesey, and tinny sounding gun shot sounds. If this effects could have been remixed using today's effects, it would have been an awesome DVD.
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