LASER DISC TECHNOLOGY ONLY WAY TO VIEW MOVIES, SAYS COLLECTOR

Many laser disc movies come with video supplementary material such as interviews with the director, theatrical trailers, out-takes, story boards and shooting scripts. Most laser discs sell for between $30 and $40. Special editions can cost over $100. Rodney Bollinger reads about the making of 'Robocop.'

The famous robot C3PO of the 'Star Wars' trilogy is shown in letter-boxed, or widescreen, format on Rodney Bollinger's TV. To get a widescreen movie on a square TV screen the movie must be compressed.

The advent of the VCR and pre-recorded VHS video tapes in the 1970s helped facilitate the demise of the drive-in theater. More people were content to stay home and watch movies on TV -- anytime they wanted.

In 1982 higher technology produced laser disc players and pre-recorded laser disc movies. The laser disc format is to the VHS format what the automobile is to the horse. But back then, few people knew it.

Whereas VHS tapes produce images containing 240 lines of resolution -- lines of resolution being directly related to picture quality -- laser discs offer 425 lines, which means a 60 percent increase in picture sharpness.

Whereas VHS tapes can produce hi-fi stereo audio, laser discs can offer digital stereo audio enhanced with Dolby surround sound, a nifty computer chip called Pro-Logic that separates conversation from background sounds, and a clarity process called THX.

Rodney Bollinger of Jackson is an enthusiastic proponent of laser disc technology -- he has 60 movies on the smooth, silver discs.

The developmental services director at the Jackson Public Works Department, Bollinger, 25, believes laser discs offer video and audio so superior to VHS tapes that it's senseless to indulge in the latter.

He was introduced to the technology about five years ago when he visited a friend who was already sold on laser disc movies and home theater setups.

"He had a 27-inch TV, a laser disc player and big Carver amps," said Bollinger, a 1987 graduate of Jackson High School. "He put on 'Terminator 2' and it was great.

"The images were really crisp and the sounds were as good as technology could get. The future war sequence at the beginning of the movie was shattering, and still is."

Bollinger says laser discs are superior to VHS tapes in every possible way. Besides producing a crystal clear picture with sharp, realistic colors, and besides offering a super-sensitive audio that reproduces a wide sound spectrum with startling, even thunderous clarity, laser discs never wear out as do VHS tapes.

With the VHS format, tapes rub against moving parts, and oxidation can take a toll. The video and audio information in laser discs, however, is read by a laser beam through a protective coating.

"The discs just don't wear out," said Bollinger, watching 'Star Wars' on his 27-inch Philco stereo TV in his apartment. "They're preserved permanently."

Bollinger says to realize and appreciate the full potential of laser disc technology, one needs the right equipment. He recommends a late model TV that can produce 425 lines of resolution on a picture tube that measures at least 27 inches.

He suggests buying a receiver with Dolby Pro-Logic and surround sound capability, in order to channel the audio to three front speakers and two rear speakers. And one needs a laser disc player.

The equipment constitutes a home theater setup, and $2,000 will get a moviephile decked out in style.

Laser disc movies sometimes cost as little as $20 but generally sell for between $30 and $40. Special editions, such as those produced by the Criterion company, often cost between $50 and $150.

Special editions offer the owner much more than just a super sharp picture and remarkable audio. They offer supplementary material.

"You can get interviews with the directors, running commentary, theatrical trailers, out-takes, story boards and shooting scripts. Anything to do with the making of the movie," said Bollinger, opening the gatefold jacket to 'Taxi Driver,' which cost $130.

Martin Scorsese is one of Bollinger's favorite directors. He has eight of his movies on disc, including 'Raging Bull,' the story of boxing champion Jake LaMotta, played by Robert DeNiro.

"There's nothing better than listening to a great director like Scorsese talk about one of his movies like 'Raging Bull' while you're watching it."

The first laser disc movie Bollinger bought was 'The Doors.' That was about five years ago. It's the story of the legendary Los Angeles-based rock group, which featured bad boy Jim Morrison as songwriter/singer.

The most recent one bought was a special Criterion edition of 'Robocop.' The next one will probably be 'Pulp Fiction.'

Bollinger says he buys an average of 10 movies a year. There are over 7,000 titles to choose from.

His favorite possession is the 'Star Wars' trilogy. A definitive collection from Fox Video, it cost $250. Bollinger watches it "over and over."

Bollinger is a firm believer in the power of "letter-boxed" -- or widescreen movies. He points out movies at a theater are viewed on a rectangular screen -- the screen is much wider than it is tall. But if those same movies are not "letter-boxed" for the square-shaped TV screens, picture information on the sides are cropped out.

Producers of laser discs generally produce two versions of each movie, assuming the movie was filmed using a widescreen technique.

One version is called "pan-and-scan" and involves an electronic process that "moves" the movie across the TV screen, directing the viewer's attention to what the director thinks is most important -- since not all of the movie is on the screen at the same time.

Letterboxing shows all the movie as the director intended it be seen. But to get it all on the screen, it has to be compressed. As the sides come into view, the movie appears to shrink at the top and bottom, and black bars appear.

"Letterboxing is the only way to go," said Bollinger. "Some people just can't comprehend what it is, but that's the way to see all the movie on a TV."

An example is the movie 'Dances With Wolves.' In the theatrical release there is a buffalo stampede. In the pan-and-scan version a few dozen buffaloes are shown. But the letter-box version shows what is really there -- hundreds of buffaloes snorting and kicking up prairie dirt.

Most movies released on VHS are also released on laser disc, such as the recent hits 'True Lies' and 'Speed.' And there's a major effort by movie studios and disc producers to put movies from the Silent Era, from the '30s, '40s and all decades on disc.

Charlie Chaplin's 'City Lights,' David O. Selznick's 'Gone With the Wind,' movies such as 'The Maltese Falcon, 'Casablanca,' 'Ben Hur,' 'Oklahoma!,' 'West Side Story' and 'The Graduate' have all been given the disc treatment.

James Cagney, Betty Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Marilyn Monroe are preserved on the silver platters.

When Bollinger wants to add to his collection a movie not yet released on disc, he writes Warner Bros. and Touchstone Home Video, whatever company owns the copyright.

"I tell them they really need to release it."

He recently had a query published in "Laserviews," a national magazine dedicated to laserphiles. He asked about several Brian DePalma films. He received an answer.

Says Bollinger: "All movie buffs should check out laser discs on a good home theater system, and they'll be hooked."

(In this area, laser disc movies can be bought at Camelot Music at West Park Mall and Stereo One in Cape Girardeau, and rented at Super Video in Jackson. Home theater equipment is available from several area businesses.)