MGM classic films get video-on-demand release

I know Return to Paradise starring Gary Cooper seems to be on this program and listed on Amazon for a December 31st release.  I do not know what other titles are coming out.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Return-Paradise-Gary-Cooper/dp/B002Y26UPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1259052383&sr=1-1

so this is apparently the future of the format... full price barebones catalog release in a generic box with the studio logo. I'm so thankful for some of the truly rare and special films released over the past few years. I'm not necessarily complaining; I guess the times they are a changin'...

But I'm still putting more weight into my hunch that it's the studios pushing their BR agendas in order to further phase out SDVD for a singular home video format than the economic state alone. I just don't buy that. This sure is a bread winner for them!

Ok this is what I came up with on Amazon as far as titles for this MGM program:

Return to Paradise  (as mentioned above)
Trapeze
Welcome to Woop Woop
A Fish in The Bathtub
Dreamchild
Far North
Late For Dinner
The Group
Poltergeist - Season 2
Between the Lines
Rich In Love
Jeremiah - Season 2
Chains of Gold
Two for the Seesaw



All you do is type in  or MGM DVDR when you search and they come up. I've very excited about Late For Dinner, that was on my want list :-).
Edited by Van594 - 11/24/09 at 11:27am

I think that the MGM/WB co-promotion is a separate deal from MGM's DVD-R program with Amazon.  The former seems to be focused on VOD, getting people to watch streaming video or download films, and to sell the idea of MGM as a complete studio, while the latter is selling catalog product from the MGM library (which apparently now includes titles owned by Joan Micklin Silver - wonder if HESTER STREET will pop up in there?).

On a related note, Silver's BETWEEN THE LINES and CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER have both aired on MGM-HD in the past.

DREAMCHILD? Sold!

Two for the Seesaw and Trapeze have both been released in the UK by MGM. I own both so I am glad I got them on regular pressed DVDs.

Sad to see another studio go this way. Looks like they'll be copying Warner with the price. Time will tell if they're copying the quality too. Warner did set many ugly precedents.

Ditto!

Is Amazon already burning DVD-Rs for the MGM titles?  I ordered Between The Lines and it still says "pre-order".

Between the Lines is a wonderful film about the newspaper business and features one of those quirky Jeff Goldbum performances we all know and love. Glad to see it on the schedule. But... is the pending doom of MGM going go nix this program, which, if allowed to continue, might finally give us the missing Midnight Movies we've been begging for for years?

I noticed that House of Dark Shadows has now gone the video on demand route.  I had always hoped that it would get a decent release, but I guess it won't happen now.  I'll just wait until they show it on TCM again, because it probably won't look any better on the DVD-R they are selling.

 Where did you see this re: HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS? It's not on Amazon that I could find.

Warner Brothers owns the rights to both Dark Shadows films.  If it does go the MOD route, then it would be through the Warner Archive program not the MGM/Amazon MOD.  At the present it is not listed on the WA site.

Go to amazon.com and search House of dark shadows under all departments.  It should be the 10th item listed (don't ask me why) under video on demand for $9.99.

Does anyone know when more titles will be announced for this program? TRAPEZE and THE
GROUP just arrived, and they appear to be good copies, altho I've only had time to check out
the first few minutes of each. By the way, on the box for THE GROUP it says "full screen",
but at least the beginning appears to be a moderate widescreen. Does anyone know how it
was released? (DREAMCHILD is on order, and should arrive in January. That one title alone
completely made my day!!)

My copy of Dreamchild has shipped. I might be out of town when it arrives, but I'll be sure to give my impressions when I get a chance to watch it.

Does it even come with a sleeve with art work of any kind?

THE GROUP should be presented in 16x9 widescreen, as it was a theatrical feature.

Walter:
    Nope, no artwork whatsoever. A generic grey cover design of film reels, with the MGM logo and the spine in gold. The titles are in black. I replaced the black DVD cases with gold ones, and that spiffed them up a bit. (I also replace all the WB Archive DVD cases with white ones, which I prefer. I'm puzzled as to why, with rare exceptions, only kids' DVDs are released with white or colored DVD cases. Shouldn't the Amaray color be a part of the total design?
    Also, thanks for the info on The Group ...
                                                                 Poder 

Got my copy of Dreamchild today, which I ordered through amazon.com.

The cover art has a picture from Dreamchild, and generally look similar to a Warner Archive release, though with a generic MGM "film reel" background white/grey/gold background that is far more subdued than the WA deep blue. The amaray case seems to be a better plastic than the brittle Warner Archive ones. Generally, a nice looking, if basic, DVD package.

The disc is indeed a DVD-R, with nice disc art that matched the color scheme of the packaging.

The disc has no menus whatsoever. It simply starts with a MGM logo and then the film. Chapter spots are every five minutes.

I've only watched a total of 7-10 minutes of the film at various spots, and to my eyes it's an adequate transfer. 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widecreen, decent colors. It's a bit heavy on digital noise, but I expected as much. It's a definite step-up from the Pan and Scan bootleg I acquired about a year ago.

A quick check on the computer does confirm that this disc is, unfortunately, interlaced. Fortunately my normal viewing display handles interlacing quite well, but this really is subpar authoring. Even a MOD disc should be able to be made 480p.

Watched it fully the other day while at my parents house for the holiday weekend. Overall, my initial impressions proved true. Unfortunately my copy has a slight skip at the 10:40 mark, where some frames are missing and the sound goes out. 99% sure it's a burn issue. I'm gonna look into the customer service options later tonight.

 I got my DREAMCHILD today, and second what Brandon Conway said. No problems here, though, with skipping. The VHS-era Thorn EMI logo at the start did give me pause, but it's a decent transfer. 

Thanks for confirming that the skip is just my copy. I didn't get around to contacting MGM yesterday, but I will tonight.

Does MGM own the rights for The Town That Dreaded Sundown?. I would love to see this one in widescreen someday.

Yes, it's an AIP Film :) 

Well, it appears a number of you hace received copies of DREAMCHILD, yet today (01/03), the Amazon site still lists it as "Available For Preorder." Where are your copies coming from?