Sorry it took so long to respond to this, but I just received mine TODAY (and I ordered it back in March)! It came from Canada, and I know international mail is slow, but this is ridiculous! http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/angry4.gif Anyway . .
The CD-ROM is great, but I had one major problem with it – the video quality is HORRIBLE! http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/thumbsdown.gif Maybe I’m just too used to DVDs now, but I found it to be nearly unwatchable. It runs on Quicktime, and I’m sure it was considered top-quality back in 1993, but it really looks terrible compared to a DVD, or even a videotape. It’s WAY too “grainy,” even when viewed in a small window. The color contrast is ok, but the whole thing just looks very blurry. The maximum size you can view it in is about 400x300, which really isn’t that bad because if you made it any bigger it would look even worse. There were some scenes (like the “Can’t Buy Me Love” sequence) where I couldn’t even tell the Beatles apart – the picture was just too blurred. The sound quality, on the other hand, is FANTASTIC. I doubt the DVD could sound any better.
The CD-ROM does include the entire film (including the “I’ll Cry Instead” intro), and it’s divided into scenes, like a DVD. And it does have some great extras, including:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>The original script, including deleted scenes such as Paul with the actress (no footage of the deleted scenes, unfortunately). One cool thing about this is, you can watch the film and have the script scroll along beside it! And, you can scroll to any point in the script and that scene will play automatically. I was hoping there’d be *footage* of the deleted scenes – “You Can’t Do That” isn’t mentioned at all – but I guess you can’t have everything.
<LI>A long, interesting essay by critic Bruce Eder on the movie and Beatlemania
<LI>Bios of the cast and crew
<LI>A video interview with Richard Lester from 1964
<LI>A clip from “It’s Trad, Dad” – Richard Lester’s first film
<LI>The “Running, Jumping, and Standing Still” film (this also appears on the Help DVD)
<LI>The trailer for the 1982 re-release
<LI>Information on all the songs that appear in the film, including the older ones such as “Don’t Bother Me.” This was pretty cool, since it gives you information about the recording of each song and who’s playing what instrument.
<LI>25 photos, including some I’d never seen before. There’s a cool one of Paul sitting at the drums!
<LI>A search feature – also very cool, since you can search the script!
[/list]
One drawback, however, is that you can’t copy any of the text – you can only read it from the screen. That didn’t surprise me, though. In all, the extras are really great, but the picture quality alone is a major turn-off. It’s just no substitute for the quality you get with a DVD. I’m glad I got it since I hadn’t seen AHDN in over 10 years, but I’m still anxiously awaiting the DVD release. Until then, I suppose this will do. (I still wouldn't pay $60 for it, though!) http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/wink3.gif
------------------
I'm always getting winked at these days...