WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray) - Page 10

I'm no expert, but I think it probably has to do with the fact that they dye-transfer process didn't create the sharpest of prints, due to the fact that they had to align the multiple passes for the separate colors during the process (and they never lined up perfectly).

I doubt it.

Given the 400% mark up on these Box-O-Junk Editions, the profit margins are at the very least 4 x's more than a disc only release.

With that kind of margin they don't have to "sell well" for Warner to make a profit.

I'm sure the cardboard and plastic trinkets don't add much more than a few pennies per unit to their costs.

I'm sorry, Robert.  I misspoke.  I was referring to the link up in Post #256.  Scroll down to the 8-22-09 entry.  That's what made me think the "Sing-Along" edition was a separate "songs only" edition being released in the UK...much like those old Disney Sing-Along VHS releases from decades ago. 

It says this disc is "part of the bonus features on the American versions."

But, admittedly, the amazon.uk listing doesn't give the same info. 

Warner's site says that the "no-frills" BD of Casablanca is streeting tomorrow.

http://www.wbshop.com/Casablanca-+BD/1000019003,default,pd.html?cgid=

I'm not seeing this at Amazon, but Deep Discount is taking orders.

no problem, but beware that "home" cinema is quite a different beast than a "commercial" cinema. it's like comparing a hybrid consumer passenger vehicle to a mack truck . first u might have 9.3 or 9.9 or 11.11 speaker setup or even a 22.22 speaker setup@home but a commercial cinema will still have u beat w/higher cleaner RMS power. most consumers have 7.1.

as for video, while the lines of resolution might be similar, the quality is VASTLY different. if u follow the link to the wikipedia on Digital Cinema, in addition to resolution, on the commercial front you're projecting 300"+ diagonally, while@home the best your consumer projector is likely to get to is 100" before you run out of physical real estate. not only the size footprint, but the projector needs to have VERY HIGH lumens (dunno the details) close to 35mm projection AND be at a huge size! there is no way u can just take ur $2,500 1080p consumer projector and sprawl it out on a commercial cinema. but actually they do use that, ONLY for slides/TV advertisement BEFORE the film starts. when movie trailers begin, they switch back to the REAL projector, so u can actually see the visual differences of a consumer projector and a commercial one. the consumer one doesn't have enough brightness/contract light output to match a commercial projector.

furthermore the home theater chain is limited to 8-bit video SOURCE encoding on Blu-Ray, DVD, HDTV, etc. the spex do not include anything better. i dunno if the commercial ones do encode the source@10,12,16-bit color depths, but the equipment chain can play that back i believe. not interloped, or software-jigged, but real authentic 4:4:4 lossless video playback. so video-wise that's quite a huge difference.

that's not even getting to the 4k business, lol. IMAX i believe is 4k-capable, especially those 3-D digital full-sized true IMAX versions, not the IMAX-lite (fake versions). that for sure has 4:4:4 HDR lossless video.

I decided to buy the Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind, and North By Northwest from Amazon.co.uk .  Being from the states I don't have to pay VAT. One thing I noticed is that Amazon only took the VAT off one of the blu-rays. I also ordered some CDs. The VAT was taken off all of the CDs. I tried canceling and reordering but it always comes out the same. Has anyone else had this happen ?

North By Northwest   11.98 pounds Gone With The Wind  14.98 pounds The Wizard of Oz      13.73 pounds. Sorry my keyboard doesn't have the "pound" symbol. Only the Wizard seems net of the VAT.

Thanks Jedifonger--fascinating stuff! I'm afraid I don't understand all of it, but I think I get the point that a properly presented digital presentation of a film can be better than what you see at home. We've already got our tix to see OZ at the theater on Weds. the 23rd at 7 pm. I think they are showing it at that same day and time across the country. Anyone else going?

Yep, got three tickets and a friend and her aunt are joining us. Can't wait!

just wanted to warn ya'll that if you walk away disappointed, don't be surprised. what fathom events does is use the CONSUMER projector that's used on ad slides/TV commercials to project Oz and other "events". they do not use the COMMERCIAL projector to present "events". BSG S4 premiere was on there and and even some of the older Star Trek like Wrath of Khan was projected and many have walked away disappointed.

so you won't get the brightness attributed to commercial projection. in fact, your HOME projector (if u had one) will likely look better coupled w/Blu-Ray copy than that. fathom is just there2make $ =P. so unless they change, they will be presenting Oz on crappy projectors. it won't be bright enough to convey all that is Oz =P

If that's true, it's not worth the gas to go see the WOZ in the theater.  You can see the scan lines on those projectors.

I've heard that the Fathom events have taken a big jump up in quality in the last year or two. I'm sure it all depends on the theater.

The "box of junk" is $39.49 on Amazon, The disc only is $27.85. Not a 400% markup.

Where did you see the $39.49 price?

When I search Amazon.com, the Blu-Ray Box 'o Junk Edition shows $51.99, and the DVD version is $44.99. There is no disc-only version available at Amazon.com, only at Amazon.co.uk.

I believe he is talking about the price of Casablanca, or he is confusing the price of the Wizard of Oz with that of Casablanca. The UCE of the Casablanca BD is $39.49 at Amazon. Warner's website is selling the disc-only BD of Casablanca for $19.16, so the UCE is roughly twice the price of the disc-only version.

http://www.wbshop.com/Casablanca-+BD/1000019003,default,pd.html?cgid=

Amazon's current price for the UCE of Wizard of Oz is $51.49 (that's down a few bucks from a few days ago), and when the disc-only version is released in the U.S. it isn't likely to be selling for much less than $25.

For anybody who dislikes the uk coverart, there is also a blu ray version at amazon.de , listed for october 16 !!! The only downside is the lettering is in german, but im willing to overlook that if the english audio is included .It just has to be, it would be ridiculous if it wasnt.Plus, I really like the cover art.

What are you talking about?

There is no US BD disc only release, the Box O Junk is NOT $39 at Amazon (just checked), even if it was for a couple of hours the oddity of an e-tailer offering a 65% markdown on a product is irrelevant to Warners SRP pricing and their Box O Junk exclusive.

www.amazon.com/Casablanca-Ultimate-Collectors-Blu-ray-Humphrey/dp/B001EL6EH2/ref=sr_1_1


Its been at that price for at least a week.

Sorry I thought you were talking about the Casablanca list price. If you were talking about OZ I haven't looked at the price of that one. There were several "box-o-junk" sets being thrown around here as examples.  But we were talking about the fact that Casablanca might have sold well and you said not with a 400% markup.

Doug

so, did people watch Oz on the big screen? how was it? curious about what fathom events has been doing. if they did, indeed, upgrade their PQ, i'd definitely try it again =).

otherwise, my home projector+lossless audio is better, lol ;).

Target is exclusively selling a disc-only version of The Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray for $34.99. Pricey, but you avoid the box of junk. It's available this Tuesday. I'm sure the price for the BD-only version will be cheaper later, but if you want it now, there it is, and with extras you may not be able to access with the UK PAL version.

weeklyad.target.com/target/default.aspx     Page 9 of weekly ad

Check out the bottom of Page Three in THIS THREAD.  A bunch of people went.  Most were disappointed.

Walmart has an even more slimmed down version for $19.96.

The word is that the Target offering is a 3 disc set.  So it's the same discs as the UCE minus the digital copy. 

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/1/full/1254078356_3.jpg

Thanks Warner Brothers for giving the consumer a choice on what versions to buy, since different retailers had different versions to sell.
All I wanted was just the movie, so I picked up the Walmart version. 

yup... =). exactly what i outlined... hopefully peepz will realize fathom events is a scam ;).

I got the box from Amazon yesterday. Funny, but I didn't find a single piece of junk in it.

One person's trash is another person's treasure.

I don't think anything in it is junk. The book has never before published photos. I love the one with Victor Fleming sitting on the Yellow Brick Road with Judy and Ray.  The watch is very nice (as is the case it comes in). The press book is a wonderful reproduction of an item that can fetch many hundreds of dollars. The budget sheet is unique. The entire box has been designed in a very classy way. Of course, this movie is my most beloved so these things mean more to me than they might to someone who just has a passing interest in the film. But at least it is available to those who want it. :)