Warner Archive Discussion Thread (FEEDBACK) (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

It looks like Darby's rangers and Purple Hearts are among the releases. I am a bit confused however because it states that Darb's Rangers is in widescreen format. WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios: Darby's Rangers (MOD)

What's so confusing about that?

 

[John Hodson]

John,
I expect these titles to have the same quality as a retail released DVD, at least in regard to video/audio.

I'd be far more excited and upbeat about this Robert if only the WBShop shipped overseas; the chances of that happening, I understand, are nil.
As it is, I stand by the sidelines and watch with a semi-detached interest.

 

[mdnitoil]

It looks like Darby's rangers and Purple Hearts are among the releases. I am a bit confused however because it states that Darb's Rangers is in widescreen format. WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios: Darby's Rangers (MOD)

I believe it was originally 1.66 so anamorphic widescreen would be appropriate.

 

[Cees Alons]

This is exciting news!

But it looks like bad news for international members who (1) are unable to order through that site (directly, although I agree that one could have it sent to a friend inside the US, but it's really a burden), and (2) cannot hope to see the same titles arrive as well on "regular" DVD (or BD) soon or at all.

Cees

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'd be far more excited and upbeat about this Robert if only the WBShop shipped overseas; the chances of that happening, I understand, are nil.
As it is, I stand by the sidelines and watch with a semi-detached interest.

Yeah, I understand John.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I believe it was originally 1.66 so anamorphic widescreen would be appropriate.

AFI has its OAR as 1.75:1

 

[John Hodson]

Warner, I'm begging you; don't shut the door on overseas sales, don't make UK fans have to rely on the horrors of (gasp...) Universal for any RKO transfers, or endure the demands of scalpers on ebay - please, please, please think again and throw this open to other etailers, even a 'sideways' exclusive with Amazon would do...

Yours pleadingly

John Hodson (aged 52½, currently considering American citizenship)

 

[Armin Jager]

I don't mind the high price if it can't be done any other way, I can live without extras, but I find the lack of international shipping options very disappointing and at least very troublesome for international customers who should be quite interesting for Warner because these rare films may have never run in their native countries.

An even more important question: what about English subtitles for the hard-hearing or foreigners who don't wish to rely only on their learned English???

And finally does the announcement of these titles mean that they are automatically dead for a normal release? Because some of these seemingly obscure titles are far more popular than some of the regularily released ones by Warner ...

 

[Garysb]

I wonder if "Idiot's Delight" will have both endings with the ability to choose which ending you want to see. Very happy to see a lot of 1930's Gable on the list.
You can see a clip from each movie on WB site. The clips have a Warner Bros Shield bug in the corner.
I assume the films on DVD will not have the bug.

 

[BillyFeldman]

I don't see how they can be anything DVD-Rs - maybe high quality and all, but if it's basically the equivalent of Print On Demand, there's no way for them to be pressed DVDs - how on Earth would they know how many to press? And that's the point of Print On Demand - you print exactly what you have orders for as they come in. I don't really care what they are as long as the transfers have been mastered to a high standard and aren't old VHS masters. But I'm willing to put my money on it and I'm ordering twenty titles.

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Warner, I'm begging you; don't shut the door on overseas sales, don't make UK fans have to rely on the horrors of (gasp...) Universal for any RKO transfers, or endure the demands of scalpers on ebay - please, please, please think again and throw this open to other etailers, even a 'sideways' exclusive with Amazon would do...
Yours pleadingly
John Hodson (aged 52½, currently considering American citizenship)

I'm entirely with you.

 

[Edward Weinman]

...well, I tried to place an order just now and failed...I got to the final page only to be informed that I could not proceed "at this time."

 

[BethHarrison]

Warner, I'm begging you; don't shut the door on overseas sales, don't make UK fans have to rely on the horrors of (gasp...) Universal for any RKO transfers, or endure the demands of scalpers on ebay - please, please, please think again and throw this open to other etailers, even a 'sideways' exclusive with Amazon would do...
Yours pleadingly
John Hodson (aged 52½, currently considering American citizenship)

Agree absolutely John.
I have seen many titles on that website that I have been after for a long, long time. I must admit that my heart sank when I realised it was only available for residents within the United States. Your suggestion of an affiliation with Amazon would be absolutely perfect.
CineKarine suggested getting a friend in the U.S to buy and send for you. Well, I don't know anyone who would do that for me, so that is really a pointless exercise. I have purchased countless Warner classic releases and intend to purchase a great many more. Please don't leave us International residents out :frowning:

 

[borisfw]

Has anyone figured out how to get the 20% off yet?I called earlier and i was told by a wb phone rep that i should try later .She claimed that they are still working on the website and that the 20% should automatically show up on your order.I have tried a few times with no luck.

 

[Edward Weinman]

...well, I tried to place an order just now and failed...I got to the final page only to be informed that I could not proceed "at this time."

o.k.,..the order at the site appeared to not go through, but my email says otherwise.

 

[Timothy E]

I hope at some point they can/will release complete sets of various shorts they own. The Crime Does Not Pay or Joe McDoakes series are some I'd like to own but it's doubtful they'd get a mainstream release.

I agree that I would like to see these released. I hope Warners considers these and that this is brought up during the conference on Monday.

 

[Simon Howson]

CineKarine suggested getting a friend in the U.S to buy and send for you. Well, I don't know anyone who would do that for me, so that is really a pointless exercise. I have purchased countless Warner classic releases and intend to purchase a great many more. Please don't leave us International residents out :frowning:

I have a friend in the U.S. who has bought some Best-buy exclusives for me. My first thought was to ask him to order everything that BOTH of us wanted, and then get him to post them all to us. But that effectively means paying for postage twice.
I was going to ask about Wichita during the chat, but that's already up on the site!

 

[Richard--W]

I'm looking at all 140 titles, but there is no Wichita in the w's. I've scanned the entire page, and there is no Wichita. Do you see it there now?

 

[Andrew Budgell]

WB has updated their "Archives" site with a new background that includes a photo of Elizabeth Taylor from Beau Brummell! I guess we can expect that title as part of the "on demand" series--which is great as it's one of my most wanted films on DVD!

Since I'm in Canada, I'll have to get a friend in the States to get this for me. Or Warners could just ship internationally. I don't see why they aren't sending to Canada at the very least--we're at part of Region 1!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I would order WICHITA right now... but apparently I cannot since I'm in Quebec.
That's kind of lame. Unlike some eager spenders here, I've no interest in sending them to a US address to then pay additional shipping costs to have someone redirect to Canada. Not at these prices! Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of online shopping from the convenience of your desk?
I'm also curious to know how it's possible that WHV could not find a viable retail release for their Cary Grant titles in some kind of budget TCM set?
And finally, I realize these are "made to order" but at costs exceeding those of retail stock, couldn't they have done something a little bit more fitting with the art work? Plain black backgrounds would look much classier than what they have up on the website right now which remind me of those generic A&E home video "exclusives".
Lastly, at these price points I would like some reassurance that all of these "on-demand" titles on this site will truly NEVER turn up in any future star collection and it will not be a case of certain titles selling exceedingly well online and therefore warranting a future release. Or being sneaked out on some two-fer disc as part of a larger box set. Because as much as I'd like to own a handful of these, that will make me never want to touch another one of these made to order titles again...
Now anyone who's ordered WICHITA, please report back asap to let us know the verdict. I can't believe this Jacques Tourneur western couldn't find a retail shelf market on DVD!