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post #151 of 506
2/6/08 at 10:39am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Budgell
The one glimmer of hope I have is that the 50 are films that were made originally made at Warner Bros. I hope they wouldn't release just 50 catalog titles in total.

Andy
That is true, it's 50 original Warner productions which means other titles from MGM, RKO and Allied will be released too.
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post #152 of 506
2/6/08 at 10:56am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by TravisR
a ton of whining
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conrad_SSS
moaning and pissing

The gig is up: somebody's figured out what online forums are all about! Quick! Call the Men In Black with their Optic Neuralizers!
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post #153 of 506
2/6/08 at 11:06am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Conrad_SSS
How right you are!

Several fellow members of this forum and I had a discussion about this very topic last week. The general consensus is that, no matter what was announced or discussed, there would me the (sadly) now-obligatory moaning and pissing.

Well, I hope you felt free to wave your WHV flags aloft on the way out of the meeting.

Seriously, people will range from those nitpicking every little thing to those that will defend a studio beyond what they deserve. This is the Internet. So what's new?

But, while your defending the honor of WHV know this, you do a weak-ass press announcement including some already known and already done titles don't expect the public to stand up and cheer. And that is squarely on the shoulders of the good folks at WHV. Live with it.
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post #154 of 506
2/6/08 at 11:07am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertGr
What is amazing is the thread I posted "Not Bashing, Just Venting" and I said c'mon lets stop the remasters of GWTW and OZ and guess what the titles are being remastered again and released again on SD DVD and BD so here we go again after just dropping 40.00 on the three disc set what 2 years ago they are going to try to get us again!

The article on the Bits says those two won't be out until 2009, at which point it will've been 4 years since the Oz set and 5 since the GWTW. I think that's long enough to warrant a new edition, especially if it'll be an upgarde to DVD.
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post #155 of 506
2/6/08 at 11:12am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by rich_d
Well, I hope you felt free to wave your WHV flags aloft on the way out of the meeting.

Seriously, people will range from those nitpicking every little thing to those that will defend a studio beyond what they deserve. This is the Internet. So what's new?

But, while your defending the honor of WHV know this, you do a weak-ass press announcement including some already known and already done titles don't expect the public to stand up and cheer. And that is squarely on the shoulders of the good folks at WHV. Live with it.

Press announcements are always weak ass. they are aimed at public media, not movie nerds. the meat of the promo will come out in a chat and trickle through the boards as individual titles are announced.

But feel free to write off the entire year for Warners anyways.
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post #156 of 506
2/6/08 at 11:30am

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell G
Press announcements are always weak ass. they are aimed at public media, not movie nerds. the meat of the promo will come out in a chat and trickle through the boards as individual titles are announced.

Hmmm; I'd like to think that's so. We've been down this road many times after all; initial announcement provokes outrage / indignation / puzzlement, everyone's talking about Warner, then down the line we get the real story and suddenly, everyone's tallking about Warner (again). It's sheer ineptness might be deliberate...
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post #157 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:06pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Let's be totally honest every last bit of stuff of importance supplement wise has been thrown of the previous releases of OZ. The only reason I would upgrade OZ would be if they found the real film footage for THE JITTERBUG sequence. Funny thing I had a very good contact at MGM before the sale to Turner resulting in my contact losing his job, this contact told me rumors were circulating that a collector in Texas actually had the footage for the sequence. Recently another contact told me he had seen the footage many years ago and that other cut stuff exists in a third person's hands - the story was his father or something had worked at MGM for years and would salvage discarded stuff!
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post #158 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:21pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

I could be wrong but I'm quite certain the Oz and GWTW announcements were referring to BD only. I can't imagine WHV revisiting these, even in ten years... there's just no need. Unless somebody new has taken over the marketing dept. and that's why we're seeing all these re-released box sets w/ different cover art or a different supplemental disc, etc. I hope they don't start jumping on the same bandwagon that has been so heavily criticized here of other studios!
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post #159 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:40pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

"Finally, studio reps revealed that 4 major catalog titles (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Woodstock and North by Northwest) are all soon going on moratorium. The good news is, each will reappear in 2009 in day-and-date DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases, complete with stunning new high-definition restorations to celebrate their own individual anniversaries."


Marco - from the quote above from the Bits website it seems it OZ will be reissued yet again "day and date dvd and Blu ray."
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post #160 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:41pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

I don't really know what more they can do with OZ and GWTW on SD-DVD. I guess we'll find out in a year or so . . .

Andy
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post #161 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:48pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoBiscotti
I could be wrong but I'm quite certain the Oz and GWTW announcements were referring to BD only. I can't imagine WHV revisiting these, even in ten years... there's just no need.

Here's what Bill Hunt's story says:

Quote:
Finally, studio reps revealed that 4 major catalog titles (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Woodstock and North by Northwest) are all soon going on moratorium. The good news is, each will reappear in 2009 in day-and-date DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases, complete with stunning new high-definition restorations to celebrate their own individual anniversaries.

So they're pulling the current DVDs to increase demand for the eventual rerelease in both standard and high definition. I don't get the part about the "new high definition restorations" -- I thought the point of the much ballyhooed 4k transfer was that it's of such high quality that they wouldn't have to redo it for HD.
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post #162 of 506
2/6/08 at 12:55pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by seanOhara
So they're pulling the current DVDs to increase demand for the eventual rerelease in both standard and high definition. I don't get the part about the "new high definition restorations" -- I thought the point of the much ballyhooed 4k transfer was that it's of such high quality that they wouldn't have to redo it for HD.

Good point, but let's face it, nothing sells Hi Def like saying "new high definition transfers". I'm sure they're old hi def transfers that are newly released in true hi def
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post #163 of 506
2/6/08 at 1:02pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Well that's silly... I guess they figure they've profited all they can off of the current releases and any income generated from leftover stock copies in retail will suffice until 2009?

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Warners doesn't jump on the idiotic Disney moratorium bandwagon.

I suspect most people own all of these films anyways at this point in time...
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post #164 of 506
2/6/08 at 1:20pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Russell G
Good point, but let's face it, nothing sells Hi Def like saying "new high definition transfers". I'm sure they're old hi def transfers that are newly released in true hi def

Yup. But perhaps they figured out that revising the colors in OZ didn't go over as they expected. Perhaps they will revisit that and select some happy medium between the prior release and the last release.

Undoubtedly, they will redo NBNW from original elements if they can. That was a very early effort by Lowry and no way was it a 4k scan. By their own admission they were too aggressive with the removal of grain. Still the result is the best looking Vistavision Hitchcock film out on DVD and I'm certainly looking forward to the new release.
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post #165 of 506
2/6/08 at 1:36pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoBiscotti
Well that's silly... I guess they figure they've profited all they can off of the current releases and any income generated from leftover stock copies in retail will suffice until 2009?

Actually, from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. DVD's make money for a studio in the first several weeks of the new release, before they discount the price. As you know, it's not what the DVD sells for it's what the merchant pays for it.

So, every time a new release comes out it gets them back to full market price. So, building up some demand for the next release at a better margin can be an effective strategy. Naturally, they are also estimating the number of Blu-Ray players out there in 2009, hoping that will be a factor for demand as well.
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post #166 of 506
2/6/08 at 2:24pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

from Home Media Magazine - Bringing Digital Entertainment To You

Quote:
Beatty, in an impromptu speech, agreed. “What I’m really interested in is film preservation and restoration — although I don’t mind making a little money, as well,” he said. Referring to his involvement with the Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Bonnie and Clyde, he added, “I’ve been giving the DVD people here a terrible time.”

Beatty praised Feltenstein for his long career in bringing classics back to life on videocassette and, later, DVD, and talked up the DVD format in general as a great way to preserve Hollywood’s legacy in an easy-to-obtain and affordable fashion. “When I think back to what I had to do to get two 16mm prints [back in the 1960s],” he said. “It took me two and a half weeks.”
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post #167 of 506
2/6/08 at 4:43pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

I'm normally very upbeat and have been a big WHV supporter both verbally and financially, but I have to agree that most of the posts in this thread are not whiny or moaning. Many of the titles that are mentioned are ones that WHV themselves indicated were coming in prior chats.

As others have indicated, the press release is likely at fault here. The emphasis on repackages of previously released material plus the trumping of "over 50 new to DVD" releases while the RKO & MGM catalogs are buried in a generic, almost throwaway, sentence does raise some legitimate questions. If those other studios were going to have significant releases I would think Warners would have done some basic quantification of those to gain some advance publicity.

The otherall disappointment that has greeted this press releases is unfortunate because (a) there is some really good stuff coming and (b) it has created a negative perception of an event that should be cause for celebration.

Steve
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post #168 of 506
2/6/08 at 10:50pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Edit: Deleted!!!
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post #169 of 506
2/6/08 at 11:51pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

3 words Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

also wear is Wait Until Dark

both are wonderful films and need an ugrade like nobody's bussiness.
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post #170 of 506
2/7/08 at 1:15pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Budgell
I don't really know what more they can do with OZ and GWTW on SD-DVD. I guess we'll find out in a year or so . . .

Andy

In terms of special edition content on these releases, it will probably be the same. As you say, the work already done on these titles is pretty elaborate in terms of extras. So the focus will be on the high-definition release.

We've posted additional follow on ths subject on The Bits this morning, hopefully clarifying some of the questions people have had from our original post:

The Digital Bits - Celebrating Film in the Digital Age
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post #171 of 506
2/7/08 at 1:20pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Budgell
The one glimmer of hope I have is that the 50 are films that were made originally made at Warner Bros. I hope they wouldn't release just 50 catalog titles in total.

Andy

The 50 mentioned were JUST Warner titles. George Feltenstein tells me that there are dozens and dozens more coming from the MGM, RKO, Allied and other libraries Warner controls, IN ADDITION to the 50 Warner titles.
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post #172 of 506
2/7/08 at 1:22pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Hunt
The 50 mentioned were JUST Warner titles. George Feltenstein tells me that there are dozens and dozens more coming from the MGM, RKO, Allied and other libraries Warner controls, IN ADDITION to the 50 Warner titles.
Thank you Bill for that information as it should calm the waters a bit.

Also, I'm really looking forward to getting as many catalog titles as possible on Blu-ray.




Crawdaddy
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post #173 of 506
2/7/08 at 2:03pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

I just read the section of the Bits post about how blu-ray releases of classic titles can't be expected to look like the releases of newly made films.

I hope that Warner include some kind of written explanation on the packaging to that effect. Something like "This High Definition transfer has been made to preserve the look and sound of the film's original theatrical release. The presence of film grain demonstrates how accurately the high definition format can capture the qualities of the original film element".

My point is that Warner (and other companies) need to educate viewer's of HD media about what to expect from old films on HD. If not some people are going to complain and we will end up with transfers full of digital filtering to remove the grain. From reading the HD forum here it seems some people already are concerned with the amount of filtering applied to recent films.
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post #174 of 506
2/7/08 at 3:23pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Crawford
Thank you Bill for that information as it should calm the waters a bit.

Also, I'm really looking forward to getting as many catalog titles as possible on Blu-ray.




Crawdaddy

Should be lots on the way. I know people wanted more specific titles and dates, but as I'm sure most people here know, high-def is a little harder to master classic titles for, so any dates they'd give would probably be subject to a lot of change. From talking to George and Ronnee, however, I'm pretty confident that they're going to deliver another fine slate of titles this year on both DVD and Blu-ray.
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post #175 of 506
2/7/08 at 3:36pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

can't wait to hear what they have got in store for us
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post #176 of 506
2/7/08 at 4:33pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by rich_d
Actually, from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. DVD's make money for a studio in the first several weeks of the new release, before they discount the price. As you know, it's not what the DVD sells for it's what the merchant pays for it.
.


People also forget that these older titles are off store shelves very quickly. A re-release gets them back on the shelf for new people to buy them.
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post #177 of 506
2/7/08 at 5:06pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Edit: Delete
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post #178 of 506
2/7/08 at 5:24pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Hunt
The 50 mentioned were JUST Warner titles. George Feltenstein tells me that there are dozens and dozens more coming from the MGM, RKO, Allied and other libraries Warner controls, IN ADDITION to the 50 Warner titles.

Thanks for this!!

I was certain it was a simple issue of wording in the press release. Hopefully the first wave of upcoming Bowery Boys titles are slated for announcement this year as well. I'm sure 2008 will be a terrific year for Warner Bros and even better for classic DVD collectors!
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post #179 of 506
2/7/08 at 5:26pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Quote:
Originally Posted by rich_d
Yup. But perhaps they figured out that revising the colors in OZ didn't go over as they expected. Perhaps they will revisit that and select some happy medium between the prior release and the last release.

Undoubtedly, they will redo NBNW from original elements if they can. That was a very early effort by Lowry and no way was it a 4k scan. By their own admission they were too aggressive with the removal of grain. Still the result is the best looking Vistavision Hitchcock film out on DVD and I'm certainly looking forward to the new release.

The '05 Oz looks just like the '98 dye-transfer print I saw back in '04, save for fixing all the color fringing issues. One of the most striking items I noticed was how the Witch's cloak and hat were inky black - the contrast is much lighter on the '99 causing the black levels to look slightly washed out. So, the 4K matches the '98 prints while the '99 doesn't. Take that as you will. I'm not sure which is really correct, but it at least matched the print.
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post #180 of 506
2/7/08 at 6:38pm

Re: Speculation for Warner Bros. 85th Anniversary Celebration

Edit: Deleted.
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