The Phantom Movie LaserDisc was manufactured by Pioneer Video Manufacturing, Inc. under license from Paramount Pictures in the US in 1996. The LaserDisc was exclusively sold in the USA and Canada.
The LaserDisc was a marvel of late 20th-century engineering that offered a glimpse into the future of home cinema long before DVDs or streaming existed. Launched in 1978, these massive 12-inch platters looked like giant, shimmering CDs and represented the first commercially available optical storage medium. Unlike the VHS tapes of the era, which relied on magnetic tape and suffered from physical wear and lower resolution, LaserDiscs provided a significantly sharper picture and high-fidelity audio.
They were a favorite among cinephiles because they supported multiple audio tracks—allowing for the birth of “Director’s Commentaries”—and didn’t require rewinding. However, their premium status came with a high price tag and physical limitations; because the discs were analog-encoded, they could only hold about 30 to 60 minutes of video per side, often forcing viewers to flip the disc halfway through a movie.
Despite their superior quality, LaserDiscs never achieved mainstream dominance outside of Japan and dedicated enthusiast circles. The players were expensive, the discs were prone to a phenomenon known as “laser rot” where the adhesive layers would oxidize and degrade the image, and they lacked the recording capabilities that made VHS so practical for the average household. By the time the digital revolution arrived in the late 1990s, the much smaller and more convenient DVD quickly rendered the bulky LaserDisc obsolete.
The Phantom Movie LaserDisc features The Phantom movie which was release on the 7th of June 1996, an Australian-American superhero film directed by Simon Wincer, staring Billy Zane as The Phantom and Kristy Swanson as Diana Palmer. The movie also stars Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta-Jones, James Remar, Hiroyuki Tagawa and Patrick McGoohan. The film’s screenplay by Jeffrey Boam is loosely inspired by three Phantom stories, “The Singh Brotherhood”, “The Sky Band” and “The Belt”.
The two sided LaserDisc has a running time of approximately 100 minutes in full color with a title of ‘The Phantom – Slam Evil!’. The LaserDisc was presented in a full-color cardboard jacket, securely sealed in clear shrink-wrap plastic and measuring 12.5 inches by 12.5 inches, while the LaserDisc itself has a diameter of 12 inches. The Phantom Movie LaserDisc came with a video aspect ratio of 2.35:1 Widescreen (Letterboxed), preserving the original theatrical “Panavision” framing. The audio format is Dolby Digital (AC-3), a premium feature at the time which required a specialized RF demodulator to play the discrete 5.1 surround sound.
The certification is THX Digitally Mastered, which indicates the disc met strict quality standards for picture and sound reproduction set by Lucasfilm. The disc type is CLV (Extended Play). Both sides are in Constant Linear Velocity format, allowing for the full 100-minute runtime across two sides.
The Phantom Movie LaserDisc presents the film on both sides, with specific chapters allocated to each side.
Side One
- For those who came in late… (The traditional Phantom intro)
- Bengalla Jungle, 1938
- The Ghost Who Walks
- The Skulls of Touganda
- A Quest for Supernatural Power
- Trouble on the Clipper
- Kismet in the Jungle
- The Getaway
- The Skull Cave
- New York City
- Opportunity in Chaos
Side Two
- Kit Walker
- “The skulls have spoken.”
- A Madman on the Loose
- The Devil’s Vortex
- Members of the Singh Brotherhood
- The Fourth Skull
- An Oath of Vengeance
- “Let me see your face.”
- End Credits
The front and back of The Phantom Movie LaserDisc can be seen below with the front featuring Billy Zane who played the part of the Phantom. The back cover features the iconic ‘Phantom on the Throne’ shot with additional shots from the movie.
Within the cardboard jacket is found a white paper envelope that contained the two-sided LaserDisc.
A small description of ‘The Phantom – Slam Evil!’ movie is found on the rear of the cardboard jacket:
Billy Zane stars as The Phantom in this thrill-a-minute actioner based on one of the most successful comic series of all time! The story begins as an expedition lands on the island of Bengalla, seeking the legendary skulls of Touganda. Believed to harness an energy force of incalculable power, the skulls could spell disaster for mankind. And that’s exactly what ruthless tycoon Xander Drax (Treat Williams) has in mind … unless one man can save it. Now evil has met its match and great movie adventure has a new name – The Phantom!
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