Several hundred Warner DVDs are going OOP - Page 2

Well, first of all, it's not better than the Blu-ray Gone with the Wind, which is the main focus of the re-release, not the DVD.

And I said most of the time, not all of the time. You've listed some exceptions. I'm sure they have people that crunch the numbers and know when the odds are best to have a larger or smaller budget for different types of re-releases.

Ah, but there can be only one!

Relax, folks - DVD isn't going anywhere. One studio loses faith in the format because people aren't buying their movies in droves doesn't mean its all over. There's new management over at Warners and the new guys are trying out a new strategy, that's all. There are dozens of other studios putting out quality stuff, like Criterion, Shout! Factory, Severin, etc. Once the economy picks up I'm sure we'll get back to normal
Edited by elDomenechHTF - 10/14/09 at 10:55am

Seeing how the one studio that has lost faith happens to be the one that supported classic DVD releases the most, I find it hard to have your optimistic view. I don't think it will ever go back to "normal" as we knew it. But I'd be happy to be wrong.

DVD sales, especially classic catalogue had leveled off long before the economy tanked.  I'm glad to see Columbia and Universal stepping up the classic releases, but with Warners pretty much abandoning their catalogue  releases on pressed dics and 20th Century Fox and Paramount pretty much abandoning them completely for the time being, it does not bode well for the future of catalogue titles on pressed DVD.  It won't disappear completely, but it will never again be what it was.  That was a golden era so to speak. 
Edited by JohnMor - 10/14/09 at 3:30pm

I think we've just entered the era of "pressed" DVDs!  Who would like to be the person known for coining that term?

Just entered?  We're leaving it.  Welcome to the era of burned DVDs, MOD and video streaming.

Unfortunately, Warners, Fox and Paramount own the majority of film properties from the eras that we'd like to see released... they hold distribution rights over the majority of unreleased classic catalog titles from the great star actors and directors of the past... not companies like Severin, etc.  :(

Oops - I meant exiting, not entering. I know there are literally hundreds of movies still unreleased that probably won't make it unless the studio goes the DVD-R route but using the "obscure movie" issue as an excuse to charge a premium is not only unfair but in these down times it's also unconscionable. I suppose there are people out there willing to fork out good money for their favorite obscurities. I'm just glad my current collection is about as complete as its ever gonna be

I am surprised this didn't happen sooner. I don't think it is really related to the economy, more to due with the maturation of the DVD format and the progress of technology.

Like many, I went on a massive DVD buying spree between 1999 and 2004 - but curtailed my DVD buying significantly around 2005. I never did, and still don't, buy many new theatrical releases - keeping my collection mostly to classic catalog titles from the '60s-'90s, as well as a lot of concert or music-related titles that I know I will watch more than 1-2 times.

My reasons for declining DVD purchases around 2005 were mainly to wait for the equivalent HD titles on Blu-Ray. And yes, the fact that my shelves were getting pretty full of unopened DVD's.

A good example of HD paralysis is the Sergio Leone westerns. I was very tempted to buy the set on DVD when it came out, especially for "Duck, You Sucker" - but decided to wait for Blu-Ray. In the meanwhile, I've since watched a few of these Sergio Leone westerns on HDNet, and also have had an Apple TV and a wireless network setup since early 2008.

So, for me, the only real advantage of Blu-Ray over these other mediums at this point is the uncompressed, lossless sound, and maybe the bonus material. And here we are a few years later, and only "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" has been released on Blu-Ray. Pretty frustrating. So I just got out of the habit of buying these type of classic releases, mainly due to the ineptness of Hollywood studios.

The Bond movies are another example of Hollywood bungling. I have the full DVD set from 1999, and eagerly awaited the Blu-Ray equivalent. In particular, I've been waiting patiently for the Blu-Ray of "On Her Majesties Secret Service" - which although it is not my favorite Bond film, is probably my single favorite movie of all time (hopefully that statement will make sense if you stop and think about it).

But now I hear that the remaining Bond titles will not be released on Blu-Ray for many years to come (friggin' idiots!). And if and when they finally do release them on Blu-Ray, the packaging will not likely match the few Bond Blu-Ray titles I've already purchased. The whole situation confuses the consumer and makes it easy to put off a purchase.

There are some classic titles like the 60s Bond, Star Wars, Tarantino movies, Lord Of The Rings, etc. which I will likely upgrade to Blu-Ray no matter what - if and when they come out. But I'm much more discerning on what other catalog titles I will buy or upgrade at this point.

And there has not been a single new theatrical release this year which I've deemed worthy of adding to my collection (the latest Bond, Star Trek, Terminator, and Tarantino movies were all disappointments to varying degrees). I'm sure there were some good movies released this year, but it might be awhile until I recognize which ones were great and worth owning.

So my buying habits have changed significantly over the past 5 years, to the point where I spend more time these days listening to vinyl records and playing my guitar than watching and collecting DVD or Blu-Ray movies (hurray!). I think the average consumer has moved on from collecting shelves full of DVD movie discs.

Despite the fresh example of the music industry not giving consumers what they want, it appears the Hollywood movie studios are going down the same path as far as home video.

You must be the only one.

 I AM talking about MY collection, not yours or anyone else's.

Translation of my comment: everyone else here is talking about how they'll never discover all the great movies in the world... I've never heard anyone think their collection could ever be complete... Even owners of 7000 DVDs...There's just that many great movies out there.

Bottom line: you must be the only one on the entire internet who thinks their collection is even close to complete. That is my point.

Well my collection is close to complete. The films I really like are the ones I grew up watching on the telly in the 50's, & at the cinema in the 60's. I now own a ton of films I thought I'd never see again, & were just about impossible to see a couple of years ago. Of course there's films I'd still like released on DVD, but if I had to list them now, after 20-30 titles I'd be strugging. Enjoy what you have now, you never know what's going to happen tomorrow.

Very well said.  I was able to purchase almost all of my "holy grails", including the Scott/Boetticher films, 'Le Samourai', and 'The Decalogue', so even if I had to stop purchasing DVD's today, I would be more happy than sad.

Same here.  I've been fortunate that most of my "must-have" movies have been released on Sd DVD.  My waiting list is small but there's a few that still haven't been re-released in anamorphic format that I'd buy.  Thanks to (std) region-free capability I've picked up several of those in R2/4.

My only WB archive buy so far has been the "Barker" Tarzan set.  Just me, but I haven't seen hardly any archive titles appear that I've had on my list.

Now, TV/DVD is another matter (for the other forum)

Well, MY collection is far from complete. Arbitrarily choosing just four years from the 1950s (1953-1956), (not to mention the 30s, 40s, 60s, and the remainder of the 50s) I want:

Affair With A Stranger (1953)
At Gunpoint (1955)
Autumn Leaves (1956)
Best Things In Life Are Free (1956)
Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
Bwana Devil (1953)
Captain Lightfoot (1955)
Catered Affair (1956)
Congo Crossing (1956)
Dangerous Mission (1954)
Deep Blue Sea (1955)
Desert Legion (1953)
Female On The Beach (1955)
Flame And The Flesh (1954)
French Line (1953)
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955)
Green Fire (1954)
Great Day In The Morning (1956)
I Am A Camera (1955)
Jamaica Run (1953)
Julie (1956)
King Of The Khyber Rifles (1953)
King Richard And The Crusaders (1954)
King's Thief (1955)
Last Hunt (1956)
Latin Lovers (1953)
Left Hand Of God (1955)
Man On A Tightrope (1953)
Man Without A Star (1955)
Mississippi Gambler (1953)
My Cousin Rachel (1952)
Not As A Stranger (1955)
Phantom Of The Rue Morgue (1954)
President's Lady (1953)
Princess Of The Nile (1954)
Rains Of Ranchipur (1955)
Revolt Of Mamie Stover (1956)
Ride Vaquero (1953)
Rogue Cop (1954)
Sea Devils (1953)
She's Back on Broadway (1953)
Sign Of The Pagan (1954)
Sombrero (1953)
Strange Lady In Town (1955)
Taza Son Of Cochise (1954)
Tension At Table Rock (1956)
That Certain Feeling (1956)
There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
Three Ring Circus (1954)
Thunder In The East (1953)
Trial (1955)
Unguarded Moment (1956)
Valley Of The Kings (1954)
View From Pompey's Head (1955)
Violent Saturday (1955)
White Witch Doctor (1953)
Woman's World (1954)
Young Bess (1953)

Obviously a serious collector! There's a couple of titles there that have been released in France, Phantom Of The Rue Morgue & The Last Hunt (but not anamorphic), I'm thinking of buying Phantom. I suppose I'm lucky. If, say 20 years ago I was to list my 150 favorite films, then I've probably got over 140 of them on DVD. Every epic I ever wanted (The Egyptian, Helen Of Troy ect.), every Hammer film I ever wanted, rare stuff like Terror Of The Tongs, The Damned & Camp On Blood Island (well the last two should be on there way to me). I'd buy quite a few titles on that list, but it's not like I'm waiting for them. I do wish that Warner had put out a couple of 50's western boxes, so many MGM & Warner westerns unreleased. But it's getting time to watch what I have got, & you have to be in the mood!

...followed by a big list of Paramount titles, I see (two posts), here.

There are occasions where these lists get seriously fubared.  I wouldn't get too excited about that Paramount list just yet.

To be fair the OP of that list did preface it by saying:

Paramount cleaning house? I am not really sure why the following Paramount release got posted as discontinued this last week. It all could be related to the following:

Paramount Pictures registered a loss of almost $150m in the first half of this year. Paramount fills long-empty home entertainment slot

It may just be a readjustment with some of the titles coming back in a few months. This week MGM & Fox are quietly un-discontinuing titles they discontinued in May and June this year. So take most of the following with some grains of salt (at least until the water settles).

     Quote:

I'm of two minds on this.  In one sense I too have most of the "must own" films I want.  There are a few classic titles still outstanding I'd like, but for the most part I'm good when it comes to one shot epics.  In another sense, there are many titles I still want, but these films are part of a "series".  Things like the Bowery Boys, the Blondie films, numerous detective/mystery series (Crime Doctor, Boston Blackie, Whistler, Saint, Lone Wolf, Falcon, Torchy Blane, Perry Mason, etc.), the Andy Hardy movies, a few more Abbott & Costello films, and so on. 

If we are talking one shot films then I'm pretty much set, but if we are talking series films then I've got a long, long way to go.

I'm not sure what to make of the OOP films, other than to say that I've seen dvds go out of print real quick from time to time and this just goes to show you can't sit on something for too long in this hobby.  If you want it, you better find a way to get it within a certain amount of time.  Don't count on it being around 5 to 10 years later.  That may or may not be the case.

Gary "still looking for that WB Abbott & Costello set that has been rumored to come out for several years now" O.

I remember back in the day when DVD was only a few years old we used to sit around waiting for an announcement for the Indiana Jones trilogy, Star Wars, whatever, when Spielberg wasn't completely sold on the format and held his movies back, when Warners wouldn't release an SE of Blade Runner, hell, even when we got truncated DVD versions of spectacular Laserdiscs (the 1-hr Jaws doc vs. the 2-hr version). Those were the days when we COULD say our collections weren't complete because there were tons of blockbusters and mainstream films that were waiting for their DVD debuts. Now, in 2009, when we've had all the "Majors" released and re-released and now the focus is shifting to Blu-Ray, we're just starting over and we're waiting for all those mainstream movies to make their way to the new format all over again. So now we have a whole new batch of people who are going to say their film libraries are far from complete because they don't have Star Wars or Back to the Future on Blu-Ray. Folks, there are tons of great DVDs to enjoy right now.

Gary,

Good advice about not waiting too long for some of these catalog releases.  I have to watch a couple closely for sales before they might go oop.

I always forget about my movie-series lists, thanks for reminding me.  I'd buy a complete Blondie movie series (the orig Columbia theatrical formats, not those Platinum sets) and the Andy Hardy set.  I hope that the Andy Hardy set that was rumored coming from WB doesn't end up in the archive.

I've been a collector (of many different things) for almost 35 years now.  Some things I've learned:

1.  Nothing stays in print forever.

2.  You always regret the item you don't buy when you have the opportunity.

At least this time, we have been warned.  If you ever considered buying anything on these lists, now is the time to do so.

 

Most of these are already at overstock vendors like Big Lots, Oldies.com and HamiltonBook.com.  Even Amazon is currently listing lots of those Warner titles at $5.79.  And if the Deep Discount sale returns next month, I know I will be using these lists to plan my buying.

I've read various, this is the end of DVD posts, but I don't think so. It would be, if the studios released a Blu-ray for every DVD they deleted, but they're a million miles away from doing that. A great many titles (1000's) will never be released on BR. I mean, Warner will release a BR of Ben-Hur, but will they do the same with Helen Of Troy & Land Of The Pharaohs, I don't think so. DVD's like CD's will continue to give me pleasure for many years to come.

Agreed.  Everybody needs to do some house cleaning from time to time.  I think some of those titles like The Swarm might end up as an Archive Title, but The Thin Man Series (one of the most popular sellers of all time) and most of the horror titles (see you next October) will more than likely see another DVD pressing in a couple of years.  Disney has been doing this for a long time.   And who knows what Paramount is up to.  I understand they just made major changes in their Home Entertainment Department.

Hard to believe they're letting the Astaire/Rogers movies go OOP.  I should think those would be perennial sellers.

I think what we are seeing is a complete change in how DVD's will be marketed.  In the past years at both Virgin and Tower you would go into the stores starting about now and see display after display of the collections, Holiday Collection, Astaire and Rogers, The Thin Man, Paul Newman, John Wayne and Liz Taylor.  People would be carting them off by the handfuls out of those stores.  Now those outlets are gone and it just does not make any sense to hold on to those in the film companies warehouses, so the companies just get rid of the stock and don't press any more.