Any New Paramount Catalog Titles for 2006? (1 Viewer)

[Charles H]

How did this "self-generating" (?) rumor about Paramount pulling back on their classics get started? One of the wonderful things about releasing classics is that they can compete with contemporary films critically, as well as in the marketplace. As an historical dvd package and as a movie, the 1953 WAR OF THE WORLDS has it all over the 2005 WAR OF THE WORLD, which trots out the usual CGI docs and the cliched dysfunctional family of divorce. The real aliens are the stars of the 1953 film. Tom Cruise is the star of the 2005 flick.

 

[Paul_Scott]

yeah, and i think that was a harbinger of which direction Paramount was headed. the fact that they didn't encourage someone to fill that void was evidence of their lack of interest in this segment, and its become manifested in their output.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I didn't really mean that... I'm just saying they're assuming that mediocre sales of mediocre movies, thus they assume people don't want classics in general. That's what I read into.

Honestly, WB has released some real stinkers of movies on DVD (Young Einstein, Night of the Lepus, etc.), yet you don't see them pulling back on catalog titles because certain titles didn't sell as well. I think it was mentioned before that the Lon Chaney 2-disc didn't sell as well as the hoped, yet we've seen the release of 2-disc sets of Garbo and Keaton silents since then. Studios can afford to do titles that won't sell huge numbers when they have the latest films making millions on DVD.

 

[Paul Borges]

I think to say that Paramount dropped the ball this year is wrong. New transfers include:

Detective Story
Carrie
The Far Horizons (VistaVision Color)
Hustle
Another Time, Another Place
A Breath of Scandal (VistaVision Color)
Elephant Walk
It Started In Naples
High And The Mighty
Island In The Sky
Casanova's Big Night
Anything Goes (VistaVision Color)
Branded
Hondo
Darling Lili
King Kong (is this new?)
Airplane!
Five Pennies (VistaVision Color)
Gallipoli
The Matchmaker
A New Kind of Love
On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever
Lady In A Cage
Lil Abner (VistaVision Color)
Teacher's Pet
Three Violent People
With Six You Get Eggroll
The Longest Yard (Is this new?)
Prime Cut
Reivers
Target
Lifeguard
The Rainmaker (VistaVision Color)
Starting Over
Truman Show
Witness
Tommy Boy
Miracle Of Morgan's Creek
Red Garters
We're No Angels (VistaVision Color)
The Warriors
McLintock!
Save The Tiger
Strange Love Of Martha Ivers
Titanic
War Of The Worlds
Lady Sings The Blues
Mahogany

There's a lot titles there, and transfering VistaVision Color titles is a particular challenge as I have read. I think the problem is most of these are more 'cult' kinda titles in that they are not universally known classics. The reality is sales are gonna go down as the 'classics' all get released. Let's give kudos to Paramount for releasing titles that only film buffs know about.

 

[Paul_Scott]

in the last 6 months, double dips have increased significantly as a proportion of their catalog output, and this trend doesn't look to be abating in '06.

King Kong (is this new?)-no, its just a repackaging of the same old disc
Airplane!
Gallipoli
The Longest Yard (Is this new?)
Truman Show
Witness
Tommy Boy
Titanic
War Of The Worlds

and i bought Lifeguard, but what Einstein looked at their catalog and thought "Love With The Proper Stranger?...nah. Samson & Delilah?...nah. The Heiress?... nah. Ace In the Hole?...nah. Lifeguard? BINGO!

 

[Paul Borges]

they don't own Samson & Delilah or The Heiress

And Ace In The Hole was announced, and probably just delayed.

Love With The Proper Stranger...well nobody's perfect

 

[Paul_Scott]

(slaps forehead) D'oh! yeah, of course. i just read it 5 minutes before posting. Suprised about S&D.


in that case, i'll change those two spots to
LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR and 1900.
i find the absence of LFMG to be really odd. while a flawed film, it's still generally considered superior to the other controversial (sexploitative) 70s films they have already released (the Adventurers, Lipstick).

 

[Charles Ellis]

Of course Paramount still owns Samson & Delilah! It was released on VHS by Paramount, and wasn't part of the MCA package of earlier Paramount films. Why? Simple- it was Paramount's biggest box-office hit in years and they saw the great monetary value of reissuing the film in future years.

 

[JPCinema]

In 2005, Paramount released quite a few catalog titles.......but so far for 2006....there has been zilch! ( except for new SE of prevoiusly released titles.)......

 

[Thomas T]

Paramount released a handsome print of Samson And Delilah on laser disc. Have they "lost" the rights since then?

 

[Jeff_HR]

And I have it. And I'll continue to keep it until Paramount opens the vault door.

I'll also be holding on to my LDs of "Looking For Mr Goodbar" & "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" for a while..

 

[MichaelScott]

Paramount isn't exactly holding that much classic material is it?..isn't everything before 47 or something like that in Universal's hands.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

Before 1950, If i'm not mistaken. That split would difinately reduce the amount of Catalogue titles actually in Paramount's vault, but they should still have plenty of classic material to release.

 

[Bradley-E]

I'm still waiting for HOUDINI

 

[Paul Borges]

I thought they didn't own Samson & Delilah because it's before 1950. Obviously there could be exceptions, such as Miracle On Morgan's Creek. Sorry about any confusion I caused.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I think that one reason why Paramount held on to Miracle is that at the time of the MCA sale, Paramount was preparing its semi-remake Rock-A-Bye Baby with Jerry Lewis, and they obviously wanted to hold on to the original to keep it out of circulation while the new Lewis film was in theaters to aviod comparison to the superior Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

ON the Subject of Snoopy Come Home, It was released in Australia and the UK last year in fullscreen (It was created in the 4:3 Aspect Ratio, so it is for all intents and purposes OAR) with a mediocre transfer. I wonder what Paramountr's going to do with it. A SE seems unlikely, but the DVD needs to at least include a better transfer, a theatrical trailer, and (this is wishful thinking) a Commentary from Bill Melendez while he's still alive to do so.

 

[RafaelPires]

Bradley, it's funny that Houdini was not release in dvd in the USA, since Paramount made it available in Italy.

 

[Jing_B]

Before 1950? so why is Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960) and if im not mistaken Touch of Evil (1958) in Universal's hands? Is Hitchcock special?

 

[Charles Ellis]

Those Hitchcock films were personally produced by Mr. Hitchcock's production company and Paramount only had initial release rights. Similarly, Rope was initially released through Warner Brothers. After a number of years, the rights reverted back to him, and by 1963 Hitch was then based at Universal. In fact, the remaining films in his career were Universal productions. When these "lost films" were reissued decades, later, Universal got to release them through their long association with Hitchcock and his heirs.

On the other hand, Touch of Evil has always been a Universal film and is in their DVD library in its "director's cut".