MGM MOD: Fox Bows On Demand MGM Movies for Retailers (1 Viewer)

[DeWilson]

Originally Posted by Jobla
Movies Unlimited are taking preorders on the MGM MODs, which are now "expected on December 29" (apparently changed from Dec. 15th). I've heard that Deep Discount is taking orders too. Haven't checked Critics Choice Video yet.

Not really impressed with this first batch.

 

[PaulaJ]

Has anyone found a complete list of the first 50 titles yet?

Also would like to put in a vote for the retailers to do an "MGM store" on their sites so we can easily see the titles available.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by PaulaJ
Has anyone found a complete list of the first 50 titles yet?

Also would like to put in a vote for the retailers to do an "MGM store" on their sites so we can easily see the titles available.

Weird that we have heard nothing. So far Diary Of A Mad Man, The Satan Bug and The Hawiians are the only ones I want, but I will wait and see if they are anamorphic.

 

[SWFF]

I emailed MGM's PR person asking her if she had a complete list. So far, though, no reply.

 

[Stefan Andersson]

Check this link: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/fox-use-dvd-manufacturing-demand-mine-mgm-catalog-22229

Seems to list all 50 titles if I´m not mistaken.

 

[Mark Pytel]

It only lists 20 of them. It seems that we will not know what the other 30 are until the actual release date.
On a side note, I wonder if this program will also be used to upgrade the current full frame only dvd's that are out there. MGM liked to make a lot of their comedies fullframe. I guess the logic was that you will be laughing so hard that you won't even notice the missing information.
Also I'd love to see the other Death Wishes put out in Widescreen for this program.
My goal from these programs is that I don't want to own any MAR disc. I'd like to think that the studios have lost their lessons. Also now that the Joe Six packs have Widescreen tv's they don't want those bars on the sides
I am excited for a great deal of the first 20 however I will wait and read some reviews as I wasn't too thrilled with the original MGM MOD batch

 

[Stefan Andersson]

I´m sorry, yes, you´re right, it´s not the full 50-title list.

 

[PaulaJ]

Next question:

Would the contacts page at the MGM store (http://shop.mgm.com/contacts/) be a good place to request titles that one would like to see among the 400 supposedly to be released over the next 18 months?

(And does anyone really think they'll be rolling out 400 titles in 18 months?)

 

[Bob Cashill]

I'd be surprised if they rolled out 40 in 36 months. I'm a MOD supporter but outside of Warner (and, with reservations, Sony) I'm cynical about their marketing and distribution.

 

[SWFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefan Andersson
Check this link: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/fox-use-dvd-manufacturing-demand-mine-mgm-catalog-22229

Seems to list all 50 titles if I´m not mistaken.

This is the place I discovered, too, but, yes, it's only the first 20.

I'm still hoping that PR person will get back to me. She got back to me before on some "other stuff."

 

[kingfish]

does anybody have a list of the titles that mgm owns that are NOT out on dvd?

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by kingfish
does anybody have a list of the titles that mgm owns that are NOT out on dvd?

[COLOR= black]Since they throw out a number of owning close to 5000 titles, the list would be huge. MGM/UA owns post 1986 MGM films, post 1952 UA films and some of the pre-1952 films, most of post 1981 Orion films, most of the AIP films. Pre 1997 Samuel Goldwyn films, pre 1996 Motion Picture Company of America films, most of Cannon films, pre-1996 Polygram Filmed Entertainment films, and the films of defunct companies Empire Pictures, Scotti Brothers Pictures and Hemdale Film Corporation. There are also some ITV Global Entertainment titles along with some other one shot deals. However there are some films that are not covered but were released by those companies, such as The Addams Family, which Orion sold to Paramount during their bankruptcy. They also control the ABC films including the Selznick titles and the 1970 tiles from ABC such as Krakatoa East of Java and Song of Norway. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= black]I would like to see a complete list of titles that they own and what rights they control to each film. I am sure there is a list running around somewhere due to the information books that went out to interested parties when the company was up for sale.[/COLOR]

 

[SWFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ahollis

[COLOR= black]I am sure there is a list running around somewhere due to the information books that went out to interested parties when the company was up for sale.[/COLOR]

I would kill to get a hold of one of those books. That would mean they probably own Dan Curtis' 1977 TV horror flick, CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW. Still have the Anchor Bay VHS of that one, and would also kill to get it on some kind of DVD or MOD.

 

[Jobla]

MGM controls some Embassy Pictures titles, too.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by Jobla
MGM controls some Embassy Pictures titles, too.

Correct, I got overwhelmed looking at all the studios they have control of the films. There is just so much out there. Kirk Kekorian was famous for buying up defunct film companies just for the title inventory. At one time with MGM also in control of the pre-48 Warner Brother films they had the largest library in Hollywood. Now the the title is split between MGM, Warner's, and Lionsgate.

 

[cineMANIAC]

MGM controls the libraries of so many indie labels its dizzying: Orion Pictures, Nelson Entertainment, Embassy (some titles, not everything), Cannon, AIP and many other, smaller companies - so many unreleased movies still waiting their turn. Maybe we'll see some of them through the MOD program.

 

[Douglas Monce]

It doesn't cost more to create a 16:9 transfer, but it can't be done retroactively. That is, if the studio already has a 4:3 letterboxed master lying around and isn't willing to ante up for a new transfer, it can't magically create a true 16:9 master from the extisting transfer. It's possible to make it anamorphic, but it won't have any more detail or look any better than it would by zooming the image to fit your TV.

If the original master is HD, and unless the master is more than 20 years old it probably is, then it can be done at any time with no loss of resolution going to SD.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

I don't see how these programs could cost more than manufacturing and distributing pressed DVDs. The discs are cheaper, the packaging is cheaper, and there are no distribution costs at all. Since most titles are simply being copied straight to a digital file from existing tape masters, it costs the studios absolutely nothing to create the transfers. My guess is the studios would still be making a sizable profit if they were charging $10 for these discs.

DVD-Rs are not cheaper than a large pressed DVD production run. Even in bulk, a good quality DVD-R costs around 40 cents a disc. A large run DVD pressing is around 2 cents a disc. Add to that that the discs still have a screen printed label on them, they are still in a plastic case with a screen printed cover. They still have to be shrink wrapped and mailed. People have to be employed to do all that.

Right now most new pressed DVDs are between $13 and $28 depending on where you buy them, and those titles are expected to sell in the millions, not in the thousands.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by Bob Cashill
Sell-through VHS tapes also cost $20, and buyers with average incomes, like me, amassed large collections. LDs cost $40, and buyers with average incomes, like me, amassed large collections.

But average income isn't the whole story; it's also average taste. People of average taste (and that excludes pretty much anyone who participates here) will never be drawn to CENTRAL AIRPORT or THE LAST FLIGHT or the majority of MOD titles, some of which I had never heard of. Those of us who are pay the price for our broader interest in movies...and as more and more deals emerge that price gets more affordable.

I remember paying $80 for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom the day it came out on VHS. The next year Paramount started its sell through pricing with Beverly Hills Cop at $19.95.

Doug

 

[Douglas Monce]

Until LD emerged, VHS was the only viable medium for home video collections, and so there was no way to compare the price of tapes to anything else. Now we have pressed DVDs, DVD-Rs, and BDs, and the irony is that the highest quality medium - Blu-Ray - is often the cheapest. Charging $20 for a barebones DVD-R is like increasing the price of a VHS tape to double the price of a DVD at the point when DVD took over the home video market. In fact, the price of VHS tapes plummeted when DVD became the standard, and likewise we ought to be paying less - not more - for DVDs now that Blu-Ray is becoming the standard.

VHS was introduced in 1977, Laserdisc was introduced in 1978. I think you can safely compare them.

Doug