Scream on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Laser Disc Releases

I’ve already broken down the various Scream releases on VHS and thought I’d take a look at the DVD, Blu-Ray, and laser disc release history now. Scream has been released and re-released several times over the years, but sadly has never truly had an perfect release containing all the bonus features and unrated cut. The only thing we can hope for is that Scream Factory will eventually get their hands on the franchise, but until then, here are your North American choices.

Note: I’m only looking at the first Scream film in this article. In combo packs I will not break down extras or discuss the sequels included. I may tackle them in another post at a later date.

Scream DVD (1997)

Theatrical R-Rated Version
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson
-Red band trailer

This was the original release from 1997. It’s pretty bare bones with just a commentary track and trailer. You can tell it’s the 1997 edition because of the purple widescreen logo across the artwork.

Scream DVD (1998) Cover 1

Theatrical R-Rated Version
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson
-Original Promo Featurette (6 Minutes)
-Two Short Featurettes (“On the Scream Set” and “Drew Barrymore”) (3 Minutes)
-Q&A with the Cast (“What’s your favorite scary movie?” and “Why are people so fascinated by horror films?” (5 minutes)
-Special Effects Gallery
-Cast and Crew Bios
-Trivia
-Two Trailers, Seven TV spots, and Stills Gallery

I have not actually seen a Scream DVD without the Widescreen banner or the Collector’s Series logo, so I’m not 100% convinced this DVD exists. However, several sites online suggest that it does, so I’ve decided to include it for the time being.

This version (along with the 1998 Collector’s Series) are identical with the only different being the artwork.

Scream DVD (1998) Cover 2

This version includes the Collector’s Series band across the top of the artwork. This disc will be reused throughout the different bundles as you’ll see below.

Ultimate Scream Edition DVD (2000)

Theatrical R-Rated Version
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson
-Behind the Scream documentary (30 minutes)
-Scream Outakes
-Cast Screen tests (Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, and Jamie Kennedy)
-An Editing Game featuring Cotton Weary’s Apartment
-Fictional Trailers from Sunrise Studios (the makers of Stab)
-DVD-ROM: Screen saver, screenplay, and trivia game
-Original Promo Featurette (6 Minutes)
-Two Short Featurettes (“On the Scream Set” and “Drew Barrymore”) (3 Minutes)
-Q&A with the Cast (“What’s your favorite scary movie?” and “Why are people so fascinated by horror films?” (5 minutes)
-Special Effects Gallery
-Cast and Crew Bios
-Trivia
-Two Trailers, Seven TV spots, and Stills Gallery

This is a four disc set that combines the 1998 Collector’s Series disc with the Scream 2 and 3 Collector’s Editions. There is a fourth disc that is full of bonus features not found on any other set. See the highlighted extras above that exclusive to this set.

Scream DVD Triple Pack (2009)

This includes the 1998 Collector’s Series bundled alongside the Scream 2 and 3 Collector’s Series. There are no additional features or extras.

Scream DVD Triple Feature (2011)

Theatrical R-Rated Version
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson
-Original Promo Featurette (6 Minutes)
-Two Short Featurettes (“On the Scream Set” and “Drew Barrymore”) (3 Minutes)
-Q&A with the Cast (“What’s your favorite scary movie?” and “Why are people so fascinated by horror films?” (5 minutes)
-Special Effects Gallery
-Cast and Crew Bios
-Trivia
-Two Trailers, Seven TV spots, and Stills Gallery

The Scream DVD Triple Feature from 2011 is identical to the 2009 Triple Pack. It uses the same 1998 Collector’s Series DVD with the same extras. The only major difference is the packaging which this time combines all three movies into one standard size amaray case.

Scream 1-4 Pack (2018)

Theatrical R-Rated Version

Extras:
-Probably the same as the Collector’s Edition, but I’m not 100% sure.

The Scream 1-4 Pack is the latest in Scream DVD releases having been released in January 2018. It’s the only release in the United States to include all four Scream films in one collection. No extra features are listed on the back of the box and I haven’t been able to confirm exactly what discs are in this particular set, but I’d assume its still the same Collector’s Edition disc that was used in all the other releases. I don’t see anyone going out of their way to make a new Scream DVD in 2018 for a budget set.

Scream Blu Ray (2011)

The Blu ray omits the cast and crew bios and the special effects gallery seen on previous DVD releases. All of the features are presented in standard definition and there are no new features on the disc. The biggest selling point for the blu ray is that this is the first time the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen. All of the previous releases were non-anamorphic

Scream 5 Film Set Blu Ray (2011)

Theatrical R-Rated Version
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson
-Documentary: Still Screaming (90 minutes)
-Documentary: Scream: The Inside Story (90 minutes)
-Original Promo Featurette (6 Minutes)
-Two Short Featurettes (“On the Scream Set” and “Drew Barrymore”) (3 Minutes)
-Q&A with the Cast (“What’s your favorite scary movie?” and “Why are people so fascinated by horror films?” (5 minutes)
-Trailers and TV spots

This Blu ray set includes the same disc included in the standard Scream Blu ray. Also included are Scream 2 and 3, and two documentaries found on separate discs (thus the Five Film set title.) Scream 4 is not included and I’m sure this poorly worded title has fooled people into thinking they were buying all four films.

The two documentaries (Still Screaming and Scream: The Inside Story) are not found on any other release outside of this package.

None of the extra features from the “Ultimate Scream Edition” are included.

Scream Laserdisc (1997)

Unrated Director’s Cut
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson

The biggest reason to own the Scream laserdisc is that this is the best looking format to see the unrated director’s cut since it never made its way onto DVD in the United States. The only other place to find it is the collector’s edition VHS tapes which had the unrated cut by accident.

It’s obvious the commentary track was recorded for the laserdisc because it mentions it being the unrated cut. However, this commentary track made its way onto all the DVD releases which were R rated.

What makes the commentary track really interesting is that it was recorded before Kevin Williamson’s career took off with Dawson’s Creek, so he comes across very humble and almost fanboyish.

Scream Laserdisc (1998)

Unrated Director’s Cut
Extras:
-Audio Commentary with Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson

The only difference in this laserdisc from the previous laserdisc is an added DTS track.

As you can see there is no true “ultimate package” when it comes to Scream. If you want to experience Scream and all the features you would need to pick up a laserdisc for the unrated cut, then buy the Ultimate Scream DVD set so that you get the bonus disc full of features, and then buy the five disc Blu-ray set so you can watch the film in its best presentation and also enjoy the two documentaries.

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