No ‘Fantasia’ Shortage Foreseen

A shortage of “Fantasia”? A more expensive “Fantasia”? These were considered possibilities when Disney announced last week that it was no longer taking orders for the 1940 feature, which combines animation and classical music. But industry executives said this week that neither scenario seems likely.

So far, Disney has shipped 9.25 million tapes--both the basic $24.99 version and the deluxe $99.99 edition--to retail outlets. But the demand is much greater than anticipated, Disney spokesman Steven Feldstein said. Reorders total more than 1 million, he said.

Making additional copies is much more time-consuming than usual because “Fantasia,” with its special audio track--dubbed Fanta-Sound--requires rewiring of the duplicating facility and a special duplicating technology.

Ron Castell, senior vice president of the Blockbuster chain, said he doubted that shortages would surface. “There are enough out there to hold the retailers until more copies are made,” he said. “We have plenty.”

But how about the small stores? “They may have some problems,” Castell said. “If they weren’t able to buy in volume, they might run out.”

Meir Hed, co-owner of the Videotheque chain, said that shortages wouldn’t drive up prices in the long run. “People will be buying this for Christmas,” he said. “There will be enough time for Disney to fill orders.”

In the short run, though, Hed speculated that prices may rise here and there. “We were close to running out of copies before we got (another) shipment and we started selling at a higher price,” he said. “If there is actually a major shortage--which I doubt--there may be isolated cases of the price going up. If the demand is high and the copies aren’t there, retailers may charge more because they can get it.”

Tierney and Montand: The movies featuring what are regarded as the best performances of both Gene Tierney and Yves Montand, who died last week, are not yet on video. But they do live on in other work.

Tierney was at her best as the evil, obsessively jealous woman in “Leave Her to Heaven” (1945), by far the juiciest role of her career. But it’s not on cassette. To get the best flavor of Tierney at the moment, there’s only one movie to see: “Laura” (CBS-Fox, 1944).

Probably her most famous movie, this twist-filled mystery largely details the investigation of the murder of the lovely Laura (Tierney). The investigating detective (Dana Andrews) falls in love with her. Tierney is intriguing but the role is not particularly demanding. Actually, Clifton Webb steals the movie as a viperous columnist.

Other Tierney films on video: “The Left Hand of God” (CBS-Fox, 1955) and “The Razor’s Edge” (CBS-Fox, 1946).

To Montand aficionados, his finest performances are generally considered to be in Alain Resnais’ “La Guerre Est Fini” and Costa-Gavras’ “The Confession”--neither of which is on video. But there are other admirable Montand movies available:

* “Z” (RCA/Columbia, 1969). A gripping political thriller, directed by Costa-Gavras, about the aftermath of an assassination of a leader played by Montand. Unfortunately, it loses much of its zing on video because it’s dubbed. No subtitled version is available.

* “Let’s Make Love” (CBS-Fox, 1960). At the time, his headline-making affair with co-star Marilyn Monroe made this trifle--a musical about a rich man romancing an actress--seem more interesting than it was. But it’s fun to watch these two, knowing what went one behind the scenes.

* “The Wages of Fear” (Video Yesteryear, 1953). Probably the best of his films available on video, this thriller about truck drivers carrying dangerous cargo in South America owes more to the directorial skills of Henri-Georges Clouzot than to Montand’s acting.

* “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Spring” (Orion, 1986). In these companion pieces, Montand plays a scheming landowner preying on a kindly, hunchbacked farmer (Gerard Depardieu). Revenge is the theme of “Manon,” the sequel to “Florette.” Effective--but heavy--melodrama, with Montand sticking to the basics and forsaking the wide range of subtleties and nuances that illuminate his best performances. In French but available with subtitles.