According to an article in Home Media Retailing, the upcoming DVD release of the Will Smith film Hitch will have a new soundtrack. Whereas the theatrical release of the film was replete with pop songs, the DVD will offer viewers the opportunity to watch the film with composer George Fenton's original score, which was not used in the final theatrical release.



Obviously this will change the tone of the film a bit, and it is not clear whether they are offering a mix of the film with Fenton's score as a secondary track in addition to the original theatrical version, or if the theatrical (pop song) version has been dropped altogether.



Assuming that the pop-song mix of the film is not included, this opens up a can of worms for movie purists, since the theatrical version of the film will therefore not be available at all! In much the same way how people have complained about the original (Oscar-winning) mono sound mix of Jaws being dropped from the original DVD release, will we have to wait for a new "anniversary" edition to rectify the potential loss of the original Hitch sound mix? (I will of course note that there is a new 30th Anniversary DVD of Jaws coming out this year, which will included the mono mix.)



In either case, while the inclusion of Fenton's missing score is certainly a welcome addition to the DVD, if it is replacing the original sound mix as heard in the theaters, I wonder if it is setting a bad precedent. Any thoughts/comments/arguments will be gladly heard!