3D Any Chance for "The French Line" in 3D? (1 Viewer)

[Doug Bull]

Those Texans certainly weren't crazy.

and here's a TV prediction from a 1981 Women's Magazine.

Doug.

 

[phillyrobt]

Thanks Mr. Furmanek! Optimistically, it's not as if there are hundreds of years of films to be preserved. Hopefully through Kickstarter and similar efforts, the Golden Age titles that are in most danger of being lost can be saved. Paintings, sculptures, books all have benefactors, hopefully a 3-d enthusiast/film preservation society member will hit Powerball. But then they'd have to deal with the studios and rights holders...

 

[Bob Furmanek]

I sure hope so!

 

[RolandL]

Unfortunately, the RKO 3-D titles have never been preserved. The good news is that 35mm left/right elements do exist but it would need a lot of work to prep them for 3-D Blu-ray. We were told if HOUSE OF WAX (a 300K restoration) did well, then WB might restore KISS ME KATE next. With a cost of 200 to 300 thousand to restore each title, it's going to be VERY hard to get approval from the bean counters to put that kind of money into the RKO films. I wish that I could be more optimistic!

For what its worth, here are Amazon's sales ranking for the 1950's Blu-ray 3D titles. Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,948 in Movies & TV - House of WaxAmazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,028 in Movies & TV - Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection (has Creature form the Black Lagoon)Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,333 in Movies & TV – Dial M for MurderAmazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,029 in Movies & TV – Creature form the Black Lagoon

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Are those considered good numbers?

 

[SFMike]

Now that's what I call promotion! Not like my local cineplex that continues to show the 3D version of the latest 3D films at 4:00PM and 9:55PM. All other showings are 2D, even if on two screens. The second screen will be 2D only. They tell me that is what the customers want. I guess I don't count.

 

[RolandL]

Are those considered good numbers?

Kiss-Me-Kate-campaign.jpg

Other 3D film titles:

#15,584 in Movies & TV - Journey to the Center of the Earth
#16,843 in Movies & TV - Kung Fu Panda 2
#20,635 in Movies & TV - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
#27,065 in Movies & TV - Megamind
#29,728 in Movies & TV - Hugo

 

[pinknik]

Other 3D film titles:

#15,584 in Movies & TV - Journey to the Center of the Earth
#16,843 in Movies & TV - Kung Fu Panda 2
#20,635 in Movies & TV - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
#27,065 in Movies & TV - Megamind
#29,728 in Movies & TV - Hugo

Just so ya know, those rankings are updated every hour and just indicate how those titles are selling right now compared to other titles. They are not all time sales rankings.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Now that's what I call promotion! Not like my local cineplex that continues to show the 3D version of the latest 3D films at 4:00PM and 9:55PM. All other showings are 2D, even if on two screens. The second screen will be 2D only. They tell me that is what the customers want. I guess I don't count.

I'm seeing a lot of the same on the East Coast as well, in NYC - in the suburbs the splits are even more pronounced, almost everything is 2D on Long Island - they have the theaters, people just don't want those tickets it seems. Maybe it's just economics - people may not feel that they're getting an extra $4 in content to match the surcharge.

 

[phillyrobt]

If House Of Wax is considered a financial fail for Warner Home Video, it seems to be because of pricing issues. On another forum, people wanted to buy it but unreasonably were waiting for the price to drop to the $20-22 range. I don't understand this mindset, if you paid a premium price for your display and player, why wouldn't you pay a premium price for a unique piece of software? (But then I work at a retailer where people balk at paying $9.99 for a movie if it's more than 3 years old). If Twilight Time sells out of Man In The Dark it's a gross of about $90,000 (3,000 copies at 29.95 each plus TCM sales) Sorry if I'm overthinking this, but it seems to be an issue of art versus commerce wherein great works of art could be forever lost. i'd like to see a business school do a study of how different genres of movies sell in the U.S. versus overseas. Would China, for example, have enough interest in American movies from the 50s to justify production of all Golden Age Titles for blu-ray?

 

[Keith Cobby]

The problem with Man in the Dark is that it is not a very good film and is mainly being promoted on its 3-D. If sales are slow there will not be much incentive for TT to release any better 3-D films. House of Wax is in a different class and it is disappointing if there are insufficient sales to make any further 3-D releases cost effective. Both films are region free so sales should reflect worldwide demand.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

We would not have recommended MAN IN THE DARK as the inaugural TT 3-D release...

 

[revgen]

It's a pipedream, but maybe, since classic 3D is a niche market, the studios could just do a limited edition boxset together. French Line (Time-Warner), Miss Sadie Thompson (Sony), Inferno (Fox), Glass Web (Universal), and Hondo (Paramount). A musical, a romance, two dramas (noirs), and a western. Price it for 100 bucks. Each title will cost $20 instead of $29.

 

[Doug Bull]

We would not have recommended MAN IN THE DARK as the inaugural TT 3-D release...

My TT choice for a Columbia title would have been "Miss Sadie Thompson" or from Fox "Inferno"

Doug.

 

[Todd J Moore]

Or The Mad Magician would be have been a good inaugural release. It's frustrating that I may need to buy a PS3 just to be able to get that film in 3D.

I do suspect price is a factor, but I also think availability is a factor. Of the golden age titles so far, I've only seen House of Wax and Creature From the Black Lagoon in one big box store--Best Buy. Movie Stop had Dial M For Murder when it first hit blu ray, but not since. So it's not like you can just walk into Target or Walmart and score a copy. And while Best Buy has had most of the Warner titles on sale at one point or another, I've never seen House of Wax on sale there. So they aren't easy to find and when you do find them, they cost a lot of money--a lot more than most newer titles. And for the person who said why wouldn't you pay a premium for the movie when you did for the TV and Blu Ray player, I say this: after paying a premium for an IPod, would you want to pay $10 per song for it or $1 per song?

 

[phillyrobt]

When Dragonfly Squadron, The Bubble and the 3D rarities discs are released, I'm expecting to pay at least $30-40 for each one first day of release and do it gladly. FYE is where I first knew of Dial M's existence. It was $35.99 then and now. By comparison they sell Criterion's Foreign Correspondent for 39.99 They have a pretty good catalog (the Broad St store here in Phila even carries classical import titles like Aida and Carmen). I also went to see Dial M in Doylestown at the County Theater. I think I paid about $16. With transportation there and back I paid about the same as the cost of a blu-ray which I will own until it deteriorates in about 20 years. I expect to pay more. Blu-ray is already a premium product and 3D costs money to produce. I pay more than $30 a month for cable to watch commercial interruptions and movies with station ids plastered in their corners that I can only "keep" if I DVR them. I'm hoping that Gravity becomes such a game changer as Avatar that people start to go backwards to develop an appetite for these titles. Also wondering if Warner factors in the box office from the revival showings when they gauge sales of archive titles. At the very least, I would like to see a streaming 3d network. The resolution wouldn't be as good, but if the cost of producing a physical product is too prohibitive maybe that's the only way.

 

[Todd J Moore]

And I've pumped several thousand dollars--more than I care to actually acknowledge, in fact, to see 40 of the existing 43 Golden Age titles on the big screen between the 3 Day of 3-D at the Lafayette, Columbia 3-D Thursdays at the Film Forum as well as several other showings (which always end up costing me $50 round trip by the time the day is over), and two of the three World 3-D Film Expos. I've also willingly pumped a decent chunk of change into obtaining 3D movies on VHS, DVD, and now 3-D Blu Ray over the past thirty or so years. And mind you, this doesn't count other revival showings from pre-2000 that I went to. Mind you, I paid full price for Dial M as a Day One purchase at Movie Stop. The only reason I didn't pay full price for House of Wax and Creature From the Black Lagoon is because I pre-ordered them. I also plopped down $55 or so for the Amityville Horror trilogy even though I only wanted the third film and had no interest in the other two. I even pre-ordered The Flesh and Blood Show, a movie that I've known about for over thirty years and never had the slightest desire to see. I'll be pre-ordering all three of the Archive discs, too. Point in fact, I am the guy who said he would buy any and all vintage 3D Blu Rays, even for movies I absolutely don't like such as The Nebraskan. God help me, I might even be moved to buy The Stewardesses if it came out on 3D Blu Ray. And I so hate The Stewardesses that I actually stood up in the theater after it was over and declared "Somebody owes me 90 minutes of my life".

So I'm perfectly willing and happy to drop money on vintage 3D. Been there, done that. However, it should also be noted that most Blu Rays are within a few dollars of the DVD version. It's not like I'm spending $10 for The Great Escape on DVD and $30 for it on Blu Ray. And Universal sells Creature From the Black Lagoon on 3D Blu for a lot cheaper than Warner sells House of Wax or Dial M. The list price for Creature is only $22.98 and you can find it for around $15 at most places. Creature has more bonus material in it, too. So considering that, it's not unreasonable to think that Warners could and probably should sell House of Wax and Dial M for cheaper than they do. And now Warner has several two-fers like both Journey films in 3D Blu for only $27.99. So it can be done. Most of my collection of 3D Blu Rays I paid $15 to $20 for, new, at Best Buy. Best Buy may be fairly incompetent in most things, but one can't argue their 3D Blu sales titles.

As for FYE...I live in Philly, too, and make it a point to never buy a 3D Blu Ray from FYE. They are hilariously overpriced compared to every other store in the city. That even includes Barnes and Noble since it's possible to occasionally get a buy two get one free sale there.

 

[bujaki]

Todd, not The Stewardesses again! Life's too short for that! Even Robot Monster is better, and that's saying a lot.
Hope you're doing well this winter.
Jose

 

[Todd J Moore]

I love Robot Monster and would totally get a 3D Blu Ray of it. I would even pay $30-$40 for the privilege of owning it. I'm still kicking around doing a 3D remake/spoof of it.

Want to hear something horrible, Jose? I saw The Stewardesses in 3D twice--once at Expo II (which is where I made my 90 minute declaration) and once at Expo III. I deserve a medal or a free 3D Blu Ray or something for that as I think I may have been the only fool to actually do that. God what a waste of 3D technology.

I do admit I'd probably have to draw the line at Domo Arigato*, however. I bought the Rhino anaglyph version at Tower Records after searching for it for a year. 20 minutes in I shouted at the TV "something had better happen and it better happen right now!". 70 minutes later and still nothing had happened.

Funny enough, I spent almost a year looking for the anaglyph 3D Blu Ray of Wildcat Women. I turned that one off after 20 minutes and have yet to look at it again. Quite possibly the only 3D movie I've ever begun and refused to finish watching.

Although talking about cheesy 70s 3D movies, I'm rather surprised Magnificent Bodyguards with Jackie Chan isn't being considered for a 3D Blu. It would seem to me that it would do far better than something like The Flesh and Blood Show.

*Cue Bob Furmanek announcing Domo Arigato as the fourth of the 3D Film Archive Blu Rays.

 

[bujaki]

I saw Robot Monster during its first run, albeit in 2D, and even then, as a child in love with monster movies, I thought it was awful. Now, after seeing it 50+ years later, and in 3D, I have more respect for it (even though it's still bad in a "good" way, and would pay money to own good 3D copy of it.
I've never seen Domo Arigato, and I'm sure that I will never see other releases just because they're in 3D, particularly those made after the first wave. I did see Flesh for Frankenstein in 3D during its premiere run, and I'm ashamed to admit that I saw a horrendous John Holmes 3D porn film.
When I met you, Todd, I didn't have a 3D TV. Since then I've acquired a VT60 Panasonic plasma, and I'm very pleased. First thing I played was The Creature from the Black Lagoon, since that's the first movie embedded in my memory bank.
What a thrill it was to meet Julia Adams at the 3D Film Expo and to tell her she was my first crush at the age of 4!
Coming back to The French Line: It was fun but nowhere as good as Inferno. We need that in 3D pronto!