WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009 - Page 2

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

My cut off is $15, which isn't easy to do.

With Warner they at least reduced the price on several catalogue titles like THE OMEGA MAN, EYES WIDE SHUT and THE SEARCHERS. I got all of them for $10 so I'm hoping this group here will eventually drop a few months after their release.

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

Same here. My cut-off is somewhere up to $25 -- but I still don't really like paying that much and it's usually only for titles I already love and KNOW I want to own. Even then I wait until it's around $22... but I will not pay $35 for a Blu-ray disc. You mention the $20 level ... I would splurge a lot more on "middle of the road" titles at that price.

At this stage of the game I think it's imperative that the studios make Blu-ray pricing more attractive. Sometimes I order online when I see a good sale, but then there are times like today where I'm browsing BEST BUY and I see BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (one of my all-time favorites) at a whopping $35, and I refuse to budge (it doesn't help that the quality on that disc is said to be weak, but you get the idea). I have never seen THE FRENCH CONNECTION, and even with Friedkin's controversial new transfer I keep thinking I'd do a "blind buy" of this title -- but not for $25 - $35 bucks, I won't! On the other hand, if FRENCH CONNECTION was $15 - $20, I may take a shot.

Blu-ray needs to be competitively priced against DVD, and I still think ALL EXTRAS should be issued only on BD from this point on, leaving the SD counterpart barebones. But that's another thread!

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

I wouldn't trust those opinions if I were you. Check out RAH's opinion here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d-blu-ray.html

Definitely a more informed opinion.

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

While I do respect RAH's reputation and his informed opinions, he often approves new releases. If I'm not mistaken, he even managed to enjoy Friedkin's VERY controversial re-working of THE FRENCH CONNECTION (a film I have never seen in its entirety, but which I'd like to see).

EDITED TO ADD: I've gone and read the entire thread you linked, and understanding that the BD is true to the film's original stock, I may have to buy it (when it's not $35, that is).

Thanks...

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

The list has The New World on it. That makes it better than every other list of Blu catalog releases I've seen, with respect to my tastes

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

Fair enough, and I agree that this list is lacking as far as I'm concerned, but it's all a matter of taste in movies. For example, if Warner had put No Escape (1994) on this list, I'd be all over it, because it's a fun movie from a director who has gone on to a solid reputation as an action director (Martin Campbell), and the only DVD ever released of it was an LD port. Others may not share my assessment, but would be all over Freddy vs. Jason, which IS on this list.


Like I said, a matter of taste.

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

Seems like Joe is thinking *classic* catalog titles, not merely catalog titles.

Anyway, I'd think if the studios can release large quantities of titles more quickly by pushing out these lesser titles w/out any significant retooling (from their previous DVD releases) alongside the new day-and-date releases and more sporadic classics, then that in itself helps one aspect of format growth that's probably needed for mainstream/public perception/acceptance, if not much in the way of actual sales for each individual title. And as someone mentioned, there's also the rental business to factor too.

And at the end of the day, like some have suggested, basically 99% of titles in each format doesn't need to be compelling for everyone. Also, people can jump into this format w/out necessarily dumping SD DVD -- most probably won't and will only replace/upgrade certain favorites, especially if they don't own a particularly large display (and/or sit very close) to take full advantage of 1080p.

If a few enthusiasts find BD selection growth wanting, there are likely at least as many others (if not many more) who find selection growth to be plenty strong enough. And honestly, if you're the type that *needs* a franchise like Star Wars to hit the format before you ever take the plunge, I get the feeling you're not really that *likely* to be a big BD customer for the studios anyway -- there are exceptions of course.

For myself, I can barely keep up w/ titles coming out even though I thought I'd be a lot more selective about upgrades and blind-buys. So far, I think I'm buying BDs just about as quickly as I did DVDs back in the late 90's, which happens to match the point that the studios are basically doing the same thing w/ BD as they did w/ DVD...

_Man_

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

I hope so.

Back to the subject matter, I'm interested in "Dead Calm" and "The Postman".






Crawdaddy

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

Dead Calm interests me particularly because of the sound mix. On laserdisc, it had one of the great Dolby Surround tracks, because the shipboard ocean sounds really lent themselves to the capabilities of matrixed surround.

The DVD I have -- and I don't believe there was a re-issue -- is also 2.0 surround, but the track wasn't as strong, probably because of the lower bitrate.

My guess is that Warner will do the same thing for the Blu-ray that they did for Falling Down: TrueHD 2.0. That should make for a significant improvement. (One can hope for a full 5.1 remix, but that's probably too much to expect.)

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

I don't disagree, Michael, but this goes back to my original point. Warner should step up and give us a state-of-the-art Blu-ray disc if they want to charge $28.99 for this 'catalog' title. Otherwise, give it a $19.99 MSRP knowing that it will sell though as $12.99 - $15.99. It seems to me that is what you do if you truly want this to be a 'catalog building' release. And, I'm not singling out Warner here, either. Warner is usually at least in the ballpark with their prices. Fox, on the other hand, is totally out to lunch with their catalog pricing. $34.99 and up? Come on... You'll never grow a format that way.

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

I guess it depends on what one means by "state-of-the-art". I've been less than thrilled with a lot of 5.1 remixes of films originally released in Dolby Surround. They often sound hollow, artificial and generally less immersive than the original.

I've come around to thinking that maybe they're better left alone, unless there are (a) original stems to work from, and (b) sufficient time and money to do the remix properly, preferably with input from the original creative team. Otherwise, I'd rather stick with the original mix in its best presentation, which would be TrueHD (or DTS-HD MA) 2.0.

As far as pricing goes, I'm always in favor of lower Blu-ray prices.

Re: WHV Press Release: 10 New-To-Blu-Ray Releases September 8 2009

Fair enough, Michael. I agree with everything you said.

BTW, I haven't seen Dead Calm since way back when I had it on LaserDisc. But after all this talk about it, I'm anxious to once again revisit the title. So, maybe Warner's knows what they're doing with this slate of releases after all!