Before “Battlestar Galactica” began its first season run on the ABC TV network in 1978, a feature film, edited primarily from the first and fifth episodes of the series, was released in May, perfectly timed for the summer blockbuster season.

Outstanding TV movies, like Steven Spielberg's “Duel,” were occasionally given foreign theatrical releases, with variations in footage. Rejected productions, like Don Siegel's “The Killers” teleplay, were sometimes given a quick theatrical run to make some measure of lost profit. Whereas failed series, like the Swedish cult show “#13 Demon Street,” were occasionally re-edited into a B-movies, when networks weren't interested in a full season commitment. “Battlestar Galactica” – the movie – was a new ploy that ultimately paid off by creating a built-in audience ready for the TV series. (The same approach, ironically, was repeated the following year for Larson's updated version of “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” sending the pilot into theatres before the series premiere.)

The feature film version has had a rather interesting history on home video, being one of the first titles released by Universal in DiscoVision – the early moniker for the laserdisc format, that the studio and Pioneer had co-created in the 1970s. Plagued by chapter coding boo-boos and missing sides, that 3-sided full screen “Galactica” edition was eventually re-released by MCA in a properly mastered disc; though to fit on 2 sides, the film was time-compressed, making the videotape and old laserdisc rather unique.

Universal's new DVD replicates the matted 1.85:1 frame of the previous DVD release, and uses an adequate print with some minor dirt but decent colour reproduction and standard blacks and dark blue levels. Details are sharp, and the large swathes of red, during interior battleship scenes, are clear and refined. Black and dark blue levels are equally acceptable for the low-light, glittering Cylon enclaves and fighter ships.

Released in some theatrical venues in Sensurround – basically a subwoofer track that was used in some prints of Universal's “Rollercoaster” and “Midway” films – the DVD also contains a Dolby 1.1 track, and while not a particularly dynamic sound mix, the subwoofer material should kick in whenever an effects sequence reaches its climax.

The DVD's B-side adds a featurette/promo for the new Play Station 2 and X-Box video game, with comparative game and film clips, plus snapshots of actors Richard Hatch & Dirk Benedict; and a teaser trailer for the new “Battlestar Galactica” TV series premiering in December of 2003.

© 2003 Mark R. Hasan