WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

You and me both, GlennH! I have a grand total of eight BDs and am in no hurry to replace all my DVDs.

The only reason I have not bought Casablanca on BD is that I'm not willing to pay a fortune for a lot of childish frippery.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I've spent most of my life going against the grain. Think I'll start a new movement here called "Embrace the Box".

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

The inclusion of the John Ritter film makes this a "must buy" for my boss,
who is a major Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland fan. He has been looking
for that John Ritter film for years and years.

While I am not the Oz/Garland fan he is, this is one of the few times where
I do want a Blade Runner "Box of Junk/Crap" style release.
BTW, the briefcase Blu-Ray is long sold out on that limited release.

It is too bad Warner's doesn't follow the Blade Runner format of a
limited set for die-hard fans, and another for the rest of you.

I LOVE Casablanca, but I have not purchased that on Blu-ray yet
for the reasons already stated in this thread.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I have 2,500 DVDs and 150 BDs.

Surprisingly, the BDs I own are not duplicates. For the most part, the industry has chosen recent releases for Blu-ray.

The movies that I *will* rebuy on BD are great classics such as...The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Ben-Hur, Singing in the Rain, Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, North by Northwest, etc.

And I don't mind buying the big box sets.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I am guessing that it was a pricing error. The standard DVD with all the stuff like a watch is priced at $45 at Amazon.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I was at an awards luncheon in Vegas in January seated next to a Warner Veep who was very involved with the restoration practices for impending Blu release. He was very open in discussing the films in play and fact that Warner was spending a ton of money in the 8k scans. He specifically cited Wizard, Doc Z and Gone With the Wind, and his comments about pricing prompted a conversation that made me very curious about how these films would be released.
In a nutshell, he felt that HD buyers are financing the restorations (or rescans where applicable). He indicated that the expense of restoration and the low retail pricing of DVDs was going to ensure that Blu-Ray releases of classic films would be priced high.
My response was that while I have a high appreciation for restorations (can't wait for Dr. Z, BTW), it is NOT THE CONSUMER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FUND RESTORATIONS. While of course it's logical that the studio release profitable product, I pointed out that these 8k transfers would be used again, either for next-gen Home Theater or TV broadcasts (or even theater re-release!), etc.
The conversation was cut short to my dismay, but the format of HiDef releases such as Casablanca and now Wizard serves to solidify his position. So...do you LOVE these old films? Do you LOVE them enough to buy high-margin releases that encourage studios to keep up with the latest tech? Or do you think that managing/maintaining their catalog (regardless of film importance or historic stature) is the sole responsibility of the studio? Of course, the choice of volume sales vs. high-margin, lower volume sales is debatable, but in the end, these films belong to the studios to release as they see fit.
Myself, I'm torn. When DVDs got cheap, I went from collecting my 'Favorite' films to buying titles that were 'OK', and now have a lot of 'meh' in my collection. Perhaps if I had to pay more for movies, I'd have a smaller, tighter collection. Or not.

Just my two pennies rubbed together.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Ron visited with WHV yesterday.

Hopefully he asked WHV if there was going to be a single disc edition. DVDtown's press release from WHV seems to state this, but there still is confusion since no retailer has a single disc option for pre-order.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Let me add to the chrous of voices who are stating the obvious: THE WIZARD OF OZ is a must-have masterpiece title which will look amazing on Blu-ray (and could well sway the average consumer to the format), but this will not matter when people see the pricetag. I was looking forward to owning this, but now I'll just stick with its 1930s companion, Snow White (which Disney is bringing out in both standard Blu and fancy versions a week after this release.) That's the way to do it -- put together the fancy set so the people who actually have $60 to drop on a single movie they love can do so (although I don't know anyone with that amount of free cash right now) and put out a more regular version for the rest of us.

Amazon is currently selling the FIVE-DISC Blu-ray collector's edition of Blade Runner from Warner, which has multipple cuts of the movei & extensive bonus material, for $24.99. If all of that can be sold that cheap, I fail to see why we can't get a standard multidisc Wizard of Oz set for that price.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Spoke to the studio.

There is no single disc BD of OZ available domestically at this time.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Well if that isn't an big 'ol raised middle finger directed at their Blu-ray customers then I'll eat one of their box-o-junk sets.

Thanks Warner!

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I hate to say it, but I hope then that their BD release of TWoO sells miserably. And, most importantly, I hope they understand why.

Dumb.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I also hope the sales are horrible for this. I will completely avoid this release.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

If it doesn't sell, I can't imagine that they won't know why. I'm not wishing ill will on Warners but I do hope that they stop this type of release and if poor sales are the way to that, so be it.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Likewise, I'll never buy the "Box O'Junk Edition". I'd like to have WoO in Blu-Ray, but my standard DVD will do just fine till a normal edition Blu-Ray is released...and I'll happily buy that version.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I always worry about how businesses construe poor sales...since I've had so many conversations with store managers, etc. about issues where they just don't seem to "get" the customer's point of view.

We used to have conversations here all the time about whether boycotts of MAR'd releases would get the message to the studios that we wanted OAR releases or if they'd just think that particular title wasn't popular, or oversaturated, etc.

In this case, maybe WB would infer that poor sales of the BD TWoO means that people don't want older titles in HD...or, whatever.

I suppose (as is always a good policy) that the best thing to do would to directly let WB customer relations know that we're not buying this title because it's too expensive and we want a bare-bones release.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

The key word to me which means another opportunity might become available elsewhere. If and when that opportunity becomes a reality, we should take advantage of it which will send a definite signal to certain Warner executives.





Crawdaddy

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

As long as the import doesn't cost as much as the US release.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Well, I'm buying the single disc of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from Amazon UK because it's a lot cheaper than buying it here where it's only available as part of a boxset with two other films. The same should apply to "The Wizard of Oz" without all those frills.




Crawdaddy

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Time will tell. My experience is that import BDs are much more expensive than their US counterparts.

While it may be cheaper than the US box...it would probably still be too rich for me and I will likely wait until there's a simple 1- or 2-disc US release.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

You're assuming you'll get such a US release. You know what they say about "assuming".

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Not really. I'm just saying that I'll wait until there is. And if there isn't such a release, I'll do without. No biggie. WB loses the sale and I can live without owning TWoO in HD.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I think as more catalog titles come out in the $10-$15 range, sales of catalog titles will improve.

How many people are going to pay $20-$30 for catalog titles that are available for half that on SD (or are already owned on SD)?

IMO, The Wizard of Oz has a much wider potential audience than some of the other classic films mentioned in this thread. (Quo Vadis? Not even close!) It's a family film that *everyone* loves -- a potential "killer app" for the format. But not at that price point.


Ditto.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Then I'm not talking to you, but to those that want TWoO as soon as possible, but don't want to pay $60 for it.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Oh I want it.

I just don't want it at that pricepoint (or at import prices either).

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Again, then I'm not talking to you, but to others like myself that are interested and will buy it at import pricing if it becomes available to us.





Crawdaddy

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

And that's probably just the niche market that Warners is trying to reach!

It's really too bad they're going in this direction--especially if they release a "bare bones" version in another region.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I don't think "bare bones" is the right term here since it implies movie-only, no supplements or extras. I want a multi-disc set with all the on-disc extras, just not a big unwieldy box with a toy watch and other extraneous physical items in the package that cost WHV very little but grossly inflate the price.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Glenn: I agree--which is why I used the quotation marks around the phrase. On other occasions I used "1- or 2-disc" (either of which would be fine with me.)

I meant what you described...but was looking for some shorthand to easily say it.

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

I guess we'll have to wait and see IF Warner announces a no-frills edition in the UK. I do have a "hunch" that DVDTown may've gotten the wrong and/or mixed up press release, and that there will indeed be a single-disc edition with the listed supplements available in the UK.

Mike -

I've only bought two UK imports so far (Zulu and Downfall), and they each ended up costing around $22.00 with airmail shipping.

Not bad at all.

We'll just have to see how they configure the UK OZ release. If there is a single disc edition available in the UK, I'm certain there'll be no shortage of them on ebay at reasonable prices, as I'm certain that many vendors will be aware that most of the buyers in the US don't want the box of stuff.

I still can't get over the fact that WHV actually want's $60+ for OZ in this economic climate! I don't care how important the film may be, it's still just ONE film. I paid less than this for the ENTIRE Godfather Collection and around the same for The Trek Movie collection 1-6!?

Re: WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray)

Agreed. Where'd you order from Reggie? I ordered the UK BD of Sweeney Todd (my only imported disc ever) from amazon.uk and I seem to recall it being in the mid-$30 range. This was months before the US BD release.


I think I paid in the mid-$30s for my used copy of The Godfather Trilogy on BD.