A slew of major announcements have come in over the weekend. Many of which contain very little in the way of details, but all of which we would be negligent in not reporting.

First from Paramount Home Entertainment comes two highly anticipated trilogies. Jack Ryan finally gets the anamorphic treatment, as The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger are re-released with improved transfers and interviews with the cast and crew. Far more anticipated is the release in late 2003 of The Indiana Jones Trilogy. No details at all are available on the set, but will start surfacing soon. Other special editions will be coming from Paramount as well including The Nutty Professor and Paper Moon which will feature an audio commentary with director Peter Bogdanovich among other features.

MGM Home Entertainment will be pleasing fans this year as well. In addition to the previously announced West Side Story Special Edition, new versions of the horror classic The Howling and the 1990 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture Dances With Wolves are both being prepared for special editions.

Artisan Home Entertainment will release an improved version of the cult classic western Young Guns and not surprisingly, another edition of Terminator 2. Although the existing “Ultimate Edition” is considered to be one of the finest DVDs on the market, Artisan is promising new features on the disc which will undoubtedly be timed for a release close to the theatrical release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

And finally, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has confirmed what everyone already knew; The Lion King will arrive in time for Thanksgiving as the third Platinum Collection release. The disc will contain a new song as well as countless other features.

Clearly details are sparse on all of the above releases, but more information will be added as it becomes available.