Streisand Tells All--About ‘Tides,’ That Is

What do “The Prince of Tides” and the artist formerly known as Prince have in common?

Not much, it’s true, but if nothing else, Barbra Streisand and the ex-Prince find themselves united in having exercised the ultimate rank: the power to pull.

Seven years ago, Prince ordered every one of the thousands of just-printed copies of his “Black Album” destroyed just as they were about to be shipped out for release, offering no reason. The precious few units that escaped destruction commanded massive prices on the collectors’ market, at least until the re-pressed album was given an official release just last month.

Streisand pulled a similar move a couple of years back--but on an item destined for the home-video market, and for reasons less mysterious than Prince’s.

In the summer of 1992, the smallish but fanatical laser-disc market was looking forward to the Voyager Co.’s release of a deluxe Criterion Collection edition of “The Prince of Tides,” featuring supplemental material on the movie supplied by the star/director herself. Perhaps most promising for Streisand fans was an extra audio track on which she supplied recollections and commentary throughout the length of the film.

Then, despite the pre-orders, publicity and promotional catalogues with Voyager touting “Tides” as its new flagship disc on the cover, 5,000 shrink-wrapped copies were mangled and made into landfill. (A scant few have been known to quietly pass hands among big-walleted collectors.)

Now, the laser “Tides” has been re-pressed and will at last wash up on retail shores Dec. 21. What happened?

“On the original pressing, (Streisand) found a couple of flaws--honest-to-goodness, legitimate flaws,” says Voyager’s Peter Becker, director of the Criterion imprint. “They were things that, on a project not supervised by a complete perfectionist, would’ve gone by. “We wouldn’t normally change a run of that magnitude for changes of the size she wanted to make,” Becker says. “But then, we’ve never worked so closely with a director as on this project. . . . It’s an emotional project for us.”

Indeed, rumor at the time had it that the Voyager people were livid at having to trash that initial run--at huge expense, since laser discs with the amount of still-frame and extra audio material found on “Tides” are expensive to produce. Some insiders whisper that legal action was being considered and, reportedly, no less a figure than Martin Scorsese--a friend to both Streisand and Voyager--mediated a peace.

Becker downplays just how upset the company was.

“There’s no question ‘Prince of Tides’ has been very hard on the Voyager Co. Yes, it is difficult to destroy discs and take the financial hit on those, but I don’t think it’s such a hit we can’t make it back. And releasing it is the only way to make it back. But there was never any ill feeling toward Barbra. Barbra had put in many more hours than anyone who wasn’t a Criterion producer.”

Work began anew on the project early this year, with Streisand often sending two or three faxes a day in immediate response to Voyager queries. “To her credit, for somebody touring America and Europe, she made herself remarkably available to us,” marvels Becker.

Mike Myers’ Linda Richman would be in hog heaven over Voyager’s “Tides” set: Besides 132 minutes of Streisand’s discourse on the additional audio track, the discs include an interactive supplement with screenplay excerpts, audition and rehearsal footage, alternate versions of key scenes, makeup tests, storyboards, Nick Nolte’s “gag reel” and Streisand singing “Places That Belong to You,” intended as (but ultimately not used for) the closing credits.

Streisand-philes considering buying a disc player just to hear their heroine discourse might want to move fast: The initial press run of the revamped $100 “Tides,” very likely to sell out of stores before New Year’s Day, is a mere 2,500.