DVD version of Tori Amos: Complete Videos: 1992-1998

Updated December 30, 2001

For nearly a year now we have been waiting for a new U.S. and Canadian Tori Amos DVD release called "Tori Amos: Complete Videos: 1992-1998." (or something like that!) This is the DVD version of the Complete Videos which was released on VHS tape in 1998. The DVD was to include a bonus not seen in the earlier tape release -- the 3 videos Tori did for her 1999 "to venus and back" album.

However, it looks like plans to release this DVD are cancelled, at least for now. Several people have been told by the folks who run the toriamos.com web site that the DVD has been cancelled. This information from toriamos.com supposedly came from Tori's management. So while you may still find some web sites that refer to the DVD, it looks like it will not be released. This could be related to the fact that Tori left Atlantic records after her Strange Little Girls album in 2001.

I assume that this could be released at some point in the future, and I hope that it is. For now though, it appears that all plans to release the Complete Videos collection on DVD, either in the U.S. or Europe, are cancelled.

The history of this DVD

The release date for this DVD, back when we thought it would be released, was originally November 7, 2000. Since then, the release date was pushed back several times. Stores and various web sites started to differ with the release date they posted online. Some web sites listed the DVD, others removed, and some added it again. Sites would contradict one another with information about the release of the DVD.

SamGoody.com

SamGoody.com still has a listing for the DVD, but is listed as unavailable.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com still has a confusing listing for this CD, but it is obvious if you read the comments at the bottom of the listing that the DVD has never been released! They do claim you can order it used, but I am not sure if that is true.

Some web sites may still say the DVD is available now, a claim that is wrong.

The sources below have the DVD listed, but they list a street date of blank, TBA or unknown:

DVD Review

"Why does something as simple as a DVD release date have to be so difficult to pin down?"

December 5, 2000 - I received email from Lizzy Daymont, who worked as a "DVD person " at Tower for a year. She wanted to answer the following question that I placed on the Dent about The Complete Videos DVD. "Why does something as simple as a DVD release date have to be so difficult to pin down?" Here is her response to that question, which I found very informative:

You posed the question, "Why does something as simple as a DVD release date have to be so difficult to pin down?" Well, I might havea possible answer.Until a few months ago I worked as "the DVD person" at Tower here in Seattle. I didn't actually buy product, but I took care of the section for over a year, and I can tell you that since I started in May of 1999, the market for DVD's has grown almost out of control.

I have likened it to the CD boom several years ago (the late 80's...oh boy do I feel old now!), when labels were rushing to release the most in-demand albums on cd to satisfy music buyers as quickly as possible. This accounts for all the "remastered" versions that come out now, since the labels didn't bother taking the time to treat the recordings appropriately when they first transferred them to CD. They just wanted to dump the stuff out there, without even providing nice packaging or anything. Even the Beatles albums didn't come out on CDfor awhile.It is similar now with DVDs. Now that DVDs are becoming the norm, people want their favorite movies on DVD, buta lot of themhaven't come out yet. (Star Wars, The Godfather Trilogy, etc.--but thereIS a barrage of really low quality crappy movies on DVD for some reason...) The thing about transferring films to DVD isthat it is a long process, and if it isn't done properly the DVD will come out looking yucky. The other problem is that there are only (last I heard) 2 (TWO) pressing plants in the US where DVDs come from. By now there may be more, I don't know.So, you have the process of actually doing the transfer, where they digitize every single frame of a film, make sure it looks good, and not too dark or light, then there is a long wait at the pressing plant for the thing to get pressed. It also is a more lengthy process to press them than itis for CDs, which just get stamped out in mass production. DVDs are sometimes dual-layered and there is a lot more information on them. On top of all that, many film directors insist that they have control over the transfer process, as well as the "extras" that are often included: director/actor commentary on a separate audio track, adding in deleted scenes, alternate versions of the films, music videos, etc. This is supposedly why George Lucas refuses to even think about doing Star Wars yet. He's too busy with the new upcoming film to work on a DVD right now. He will want to take the time to create a high quality product, andsays he will wait until the rest of the prequels are done which might be 10 years! I'm sure it will be worth the wait, but the fans are indeed impatient. It's hard to explain all that to a customer who promised theirson they'd get him the Star Wars DVD for his birthday!

My reason for going into this is because there are occaisionally technical difficulties with getting DVDs realeased on time. (Really that's all I wanted to say!) This past year, there was a DVD released of Metallica's concert with the San FranciscoSymphony. It was supposed to come out about a year ago, then it was delayed for a month due to some problem with the multi-angle thing they wanted on there. Then it was delayed for 6 months! It finally came out, unfortunately for them, long after the hype for the CD had died down. Yes'sDVD "Live Atthe House Of Blues"was delayed by a month or more from it's original date (they are my absolutefavorite, so I know how annoying this is!)We at Tower (So I assume it was industry-wide) also had a great deal of trouble with the film "The Matrix". Demand was so great that the manufacturer couldn't keep up with it. We'd sell out then wait a few weeks to get more in. Very frustrating.This was due, as far as I know, to the great demand placed on the few pressing plants. So what I'm suggesting, in a really long-winded way, (sorry) is that perhaps there is just some problem with the manufacture of Tori's DVD. It wouldn't be at all unheard of. The only way to find out if this is the case would be to speak with someone at the label, I would imagine. And since it is the holiday season, I'm sure there are plenty of blockbuster films to be on the shelves by Christmas, which probably gives themajor film studios priority for pressing.

So, I think that perhaps Atlantic is experiencing difficulty with the technical aspects. It could have something to do with adding the videos from "Venus". Maybe that decision was made late in the game and they had to make changes?As far as conflicting information on retail web sites, I would put that down to simply not updating their information when, or even if they receive it. Labels often change release dates at the last minute, for various reasons, and they don't always get that information to retailers in a timely manner if at all. Most retailers, unless someone specifically asks, won't go hunting it down either.

I also have heard that Atlantic is sitting on a DVD project for Rush, one of my all-time fave bands. So they themselves have their own priorities. That doesn't explain the delay for something already slated for release, but...who knows what actually goes on with major labels anymore when it comes to priorities We should be so lucky that Tori has been a huge success for Atlantic, she at least has some clout with them.

The Exact Name of this DVD

Even the exact name of this DVD is confusing and varies from source to source. Most call it "Tori Amos: The Complete Videos 1992-1998". However, I have also seen it referred to as "Tori Amos: Complete Collection: 1991-1998" at SamGoody.com. Some say that some computer systems now call the older VHS tape version "Tori Amos: "Complete Collection 1992-1998." However, I have the older VHS tape version and it clearly says on it, "Tori Amos: The Complete Videos 1991-1998". If the Venus videos are on the DVD, then the 1998 part makes no sense. And some sources put the start date at 1991 and others 1992. Naming this release is as complicated as choosing a U.S. president apparently!

Details about this DVD

We do know that there were definite plans to release this DVD at one point, and we also know that the three videos from "to venus and back" were to be includes on the disc. These videos were not on the tape released in 1998. You can still read a description of the DVD on the dvdplanet.com, DVD Review and Express.com web sites and that description reads:

"Tori Amos: The Complete Videos: 1992-1998" features eighteen companion clips from all five of Tori's acclaimed Atlantic solo releases, including favorites as "Silent All These Years," "God," and "Caught a Lite Sneeze." "The Complete Collection" - the original home video release of which was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of over 50,000 units, also includes videos which, prior to their release in this retrospective, had been seen in Europe only, such as the stark "Cornflake Girl," The DVD version includes "1,000 Oceans," "Bliss," and "Glory of the '80s," from "To Venus and Back."

This DVD release was to have the catalog ID WEA83154DVD and UPC # 0-75678-3154-28 and was not rated. The DVD was listed as Full Frame/Open Matte, Color. The audio is English - Dolby Digital 5.1 and English - Dolby Digital 2.0. It is PCM Stereo and Region 1.

The 1998 VHS tape release of The Complete Videos

For those who do not remember, the VHS tape release of this collection in 1998 included almost all of Tori's videos through 1998, except for Professional Widow, which was really not an original video, and The Big Picture, which was from Y Kant Tori Read.

Read all about the VHS tape release of the Complete Videos.

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Please give me feedback, comments, or suggestions about A Dent In The Tori Amos Net Universe. Email me (Mikewhy) at mikewhy@iglou.com