Wizard Of Oz and Gremlins out 9/29: Post Your Finds! - Page 3

Earlier in this thread it states that the Walmart version is disc one only of the UCE.  Target version is 3 discs with all the film features of the UCE except for the digital copy.

Here is a recap of all the various versions. This link came from DVD Talk.
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3480

Is this 3-disc set going to be released in general (other than Target) soon or at all? I don't mind waiting (I have plenty of things to watch in my queue) if I can save tax and possibly a bit more. Otherwise, I'll head over to Target (there are plenty to choose from here).

Bill:  The 3-disc UCE is expected to see a wide release sometime down the road...probably some months from now. 

Thanks for the info!

That seems to vary by region.. my local Target received 25 of the 3-disc versions.. or so they told me..  they had about 6 of the big boxes on the shelf when I was there.

I agree, tho, we shouldn't be nudged towards uber boxes of stuff we may not want..

A minor point, but the aspect ratio fills the whole area of my 16X9 110" home theater screen.

The (Blu-ray) case is correct to say that the original aspect ratio of the movie is 16X9 but I believe the framing is NOT 1.85:1.  Gremlins (Blu-ray) fills the entire 1.78:1 aspect ratio of my 110" screen.  I have several (Blu-ray) Movies with the OAR of 1.85:1 where the framing will leave small black bars on the top and bottom of the projected image, but Gremlins does not.  i.e. It fills the entire screen area.

I'm very happy with what Warner has delivered.  The 1080P resolution stays true to how I remember the movie theatrically and the multichannel sound quality and fidelity is better than I ever remembered it to be.

This catalog title looks like and sounds better than what I remember experiencing in 1984.

Paul


Edited by Paul Hillenbrand - 9/29/09 at 6:07pm

I was in Target about an hour ago and they had sold out of the 3 disc The Wizard Of Oz Blu-ray. I'm sure Warners is closely monitoring how well Target does with the 3 discer versus how well the box set sells. Hopefully, Target will do well enough that Warners will have both box set and box-less releases for upcoming titles.

I too woke up early to get Gremlins and WOZ at Target. Probably could have slept in and got them anyway, but damnit I wanted to watch it today and didn't want to chance it! :p

Warner always opens up their 1.85:1 films to 1.78:1.

I think this is brilliant marketing on Warner's part. Everyone is like a kid in a candy story clamoring to get a version of a movie they didn't think would be available, and a movie they didn't even know was coming. Amazing how excited everyone is!

Way to go Warners!

Doug

Wow!  This is the first time in more than 20 years since I watched The Wizard of Oz in one sitting. It recall each time i watched this movie, I fell in love with Judy Garland. And that's still the case!

The PQ is fantastic for a film made 70 years ago. The audio track is right on and incredibly clean. I got my 1-disc BD version from Wal-Mart for a great price.

I guess I missed out on Gremlins by waiting until nearly 5:00 PM because there were none there.  I didn't even see a bin labeled for them.  They claimed to have sold out and gave me a rain check, but it states that the item has limited availability and might not be restocked.  They won't even contact you if they do get them in; you have to call in daily to see if they got them in!!  Doesn't seem worth the hassle.  I expect I'll just wait a few weeks for Amazon to get them in - they'll probably be cheaper, anyhow.

I was able to pick up both the Wal-Mart $20 Wizard of Oz and Target Gremlins discs after work yesterday. Wal-Mart had 4-5 copies left of WoO, while Target had a couple of the $35 WoO packages on the shelf, and 3-4 copies of Gremlins left. I was pleasantly surprised that both titles were in stock, and I was able to cancel my order with Amazon.uk.

While I am happy that Warner relented and offered versions other than the Box 'o Junk, I do wish that these had not been store exclusives. It's very inconvenient for me to travel to these stores after work to pick up exclusives, instead of my normal practice of just ordering online. I have no opportunity to go before work, either, so my after-work trips could be in vain if the title sells out. If this becomes a normal practice, I will probably not be buying very many titles.

You know what Doug?  Been back and forth on this as to
whether I like what WB did here.  To suddenly introduce a
title such as GREMLINS we never thought would be  
announced and then make a more affordable version of
OZ -- both exclusive of TARGET and/or WALMART is
a pretty ingenious thing to do.  Agree with you on that!

I love the fact it has stirred up excitement.  However, this
is the first time it has been done and perhaps the novelty
will wear off with future such releases --- especially when
people like myself tire of having to drive all the way to a
TARGET store 25 minutes away when I could have easily
have had it delivered to my front door from Amazon.

My sentiments exactly, Ron. I shop almost exclusively online to save time (and usually money, too). This will get tiresome real fast to me.

Its probably intended to shake up the online-only/preorder market-share of amazon and friends. As an international customer so far away from where these companies make these big decisions, I find it very alienating... I don't want to preorder a box of stuff I never know what to do with... I want to be able to preorder the film-only edition. Come on WB, don't toy with me!

Makes you wonder if maybe it wasn't a last-minute effort to save face after all the complaints about being forced to buy the big box when many of us didn't want it.

===========================

But, Ron, retailer exclusives have been around for a long time and they can be quite maddening...especially when they involve exclusive content. 

There are times when Title A might be the same everywhere except one store gets an exclusive to their copies.  That's not too bad (as long as you have easy enough access to that title).  But there are also times--and we see this a lot with music releases--where Title B is the same in many places but one store has exclusive content, a 2nd store has different exclusive content, and maybe even a 3rd store has something different exclusive to their copies.  THAT is when things get difficult for the consumer.  First off you have to become a really smart shopper and research what's out there or else you may end up buying the generic version only to find out you really would have wanted one from a different retailer with something extra included.  Secondly, if you are a big fan of the title, you would have to consider buying it three-times-over in order to get ALL the content.  That's crazy.

I JUST had this happen to me--again.  After carefully researching the most recent Diana Krall CD release "Quiet Nights" I was relatively certain there were no exclusives to be found anywhere.  After purchasing the CD a couple of months ago, I was in an FYE store this week and found a special exclusive edition that contained a bonus DVD with several live tracks taken from a foreign TV broadcast!  

And this is not the first time retailers have had early exclusives (like Target's Gremlins)...but I'll be darned if any of the others come to mind this morning.  I know Amazon and Best Buy and Target have all had their share of such early exclusives.  Again, it's been more common, perhaps, with music releases--Rolling Stones, Elton John, Eagles--but I know from my years of putting together the Roundup that it has also happened with DVD titles.  And, of course, Wal-Mart also seemed to have an exclusive on a bare-bones release of Woodstock just a few weeks ago. 

If nothing else, it makes for a confused marketplace...and confused shoppers. 

Look at all the questions posted in the various WoO threads here about the different discs, releases and content.   And you can be sure that some people are going to be walking through a Wal-Mart...see WoO on BD and pick it up because it's one of their favorite films.  They will then go to Target and see that they could have purchased a three disc bigger version...or even a four disc "ultimate" version only to then get pissed off since they had already opened their single disc version and watched it--with no way to return it. 

 I think this release of the 3 disc only version was in the cards all along. I got the big box and the three discs were in a standard BluRay holder that would be easily sold on its own. 

That's weird, because I've seen pictures that show a foldout digipack inside the big box.

Pictures of all versions: www.blu-ray.com/news/

There are plenty of Targets in NYC, one just a 1/4 mile from my home. There are not any Wal-Marts in NYC, however.

There are plenty of Targets in NYC, one just a 1/4 mile from my home. There are not any Wal-Marts in NYC, however.

.

Yep!  To heck with the Ruby Red slippers, I want to kiss those Ruby Red lips!  :)

Mark

Actually, that holder in the UCE box set is a DVD-sized holder, not a Blu-ray-sized holder.  Compare it to your DVD cases vs. your Blu-ray cases.  Too tall!!

Mark

I really think the fact that you couldn't get a particular version of the movie at just any store, or on line, made the whole thing kind of special. It made it an event like people lining up for a new movie, or the release of the Playstation. I suppose it could get old if they go to the well too many times, but I suspect the marketing department at Warners has some other tricks up their sleeves.

Doug

Picked up the Wizard of Oz BD at Walmart. They only had one left. I figured I would rent the MGM doc from Blockbuster. If it knocks my socks off, I'll pick it up on eBay.

I am really looking forward to seeing this. I probably haven't watched it all the way through since I was a kid (pre-cable -- CBS used to show it once a year, if I recall correctly.)

We're going to have this same situation next month with Gone With the Wind.  Currently, the only official version is the big box version for $84.99.  

Yet, WBshop for a brief period advertised a single disc only for $19.16.  I ordered one at the time and now that version has been deleted. I have not received a cancellation notice for this title!

I'm wondering what retailer will offer a single disc edition of GWTW?

I'm betting that Walmart will get the single-disc version of GWTW and Target will once again get a 2 or 3-disc.

But it won't matter to me, because, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. :)  BORING movie!

Mark