BATMAN (1989) & sequels (STREET DATE: Oct. 18, 2005) (1 Viewer)

[Jason Goodmanson]

I still have fond memories of the TV trailers for the first Batman film - the one where you are shown cities and parks and freeways that are completely empty - and being asked "Where did everybody go?" To Batman!

 

[DarrinH]

My vote is in for a special edition of this one!

Wake Up Warner I bet this one would sell for sure as long as you had some cool packaging to grab joe six packs' attention!

New mix, new transfer...I do not really care if there are a lot of extras. The Nich was just awesome as the joker!

 

[JonZ]

The Batman DVDs Im dying for are the Animated Series and New Adventures Season Sets.

Unfortunately, I think it will be a LONG wait before WB gets around to going back to Batman. Theyre trying to get a new movie off the ground and I have a feeling if that happens they'll definitely go back to the older stuff to boost up hype and interest.

 

[Geoff_D]

If the WB can get round to revisiting Unforgiven, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Singin' in the Rain et al then Batman deserves another shot. A new transfer with a handful of extras'll do me just fine. But with two other franchises about to start raking in the spring/summer cash for Warners (Matrix & Terminator), I think the Bat will be put on the back-burner for quite a while longer.

 

[oscar_merkx]

To be honest I think they are waiting for 2004 as Batman will turn 15.

 

[Dave H]

Yeah, something tells me a Batman: SE is still ways off. Maybe I should have kept my original release longer.

 

[TheBat]

it would be cool if they added the tinytoons cartoon shorts.. they tiny toons were on tv around the time the first two movies were out.. they had alot of episodes about batman and batman returns.. I remember plucky trying to get arole in batman returns.. he wanted to meet tim burton.. he finally got a role as the batstunt duck.. it was really funny.. they would those episodes to the batman and batman returns dvds.. nick plays the tiny toons now.

JACOB

 

[Bill Hunt]

The latest update we've gotten from Warner is that it's a matter of Burton's availability, but that work is slowly but steadily moving ahead. No time-frame for release. Kind of like Blade Runner. It's coming, but don't start holding your breath anytime soon...

 

[Eric Huffstutler]

I see that one of my all-time favorites "The Color Purple" is finally coming out on a 2-disc SE. This is one of the very first DVD's Warner offered and was also slated for a redo about the same time "Batman". So what ever happened to the SE of it?

 

[todd s]

I have been holding off buying Batman until the SE comes out. I hope it is soon.

 

[Moe Maishlish]

About once a month, a new "Where the hell is the Batman SE?" thread pops up...

I wonder if Warner realizes the serious demand for this title to be done right. I wonder if they realize how popular it still is. I wonder if they realize how much money they could stand to make if/when it's released.

For that matter, I wonder if they realize how much $$$ they could stand to make if they released most of their DC Superhero content (The Flash TV Series, Batman Animated, Superman Animated, etc.) on DVD.

Moe.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

I'd buy all the stuff Moe mentioned if it were released. Hell, if they get a snazzy box set and decent special ediotions, they may even trick me into buying the later Batman movies.

 

[Dave H]

Next to Scarface, this is my "most wanted" re-released DVD. The transfer isn't very good and the 5.1 track is average.

 

[Derek Baker]

I always add a reply to these Batman SE threads...

This is my fave Batman movie and yes the current release sucks. It's great to hear Danny Elfman's score in crappy 5.1, i cream my pants when i imagine it in newly mixed dts 5.1....

As Homer would say 'Mmmmmm....'

 

[David Lambert]

All under consideration, believe me! We were just talking about Flash in the "short-run tv show" thread.

 

[James Reader]

David, their Batman Animated releases are lousy!

Considering all the fuss raised over the 'cut' release of the Batman Beyond:Return of the Joker disc, it seems Warner (Family Entertainment) has learned nothing. Don't they know most of the people who would buy these discs are aged in the mid-teens or above? :frowning:

I'm amazed that Warners consider Batman Animated profitable enough to create Direct to Video features - and yet insist on slowly releasing TV discs with only 5 cartoons each. They must consider Batman:TAS a viable product, or else why the DTV features?

5 episodes per disc, once a year simply won't cut it. It will take 20+ years to finish the series at this rate! and they're bound to make some more during this time!

Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman & Superman et al - I'm amazed how much Warners undervalue their properties (seemingly at a time when AOL Time-Warner needs as much cash as it can get)

Still Warners is not the only company to do this - Disney is supposedly desperate for money and yet fails to mine its vast television library properly.

 

[David Lambert]

James, when your division is strapped for cash and layoffs might be looming (which Wall Street says is a possibililty for "all divisions of AOL/TW", and I believe is already happening at Disney), its hard to find the resources to release these things "properly".

 

[Daniel Becker]

Sometimes you do have to wonder how smart some of these companies are. As many have pointed out Warner Bros has some amazing properties which could vield huge profits if they were released correctly, yet they do nothing about it. Why?!?



Dan.b

 

[todd s]

David,
Shows how incompetent AOL/TW is. These shows and movies in their library are cash cows. Just look at Fox. They have made a fortune by releasing shows on dvd. It is their ignorance or ambivilence that keeps these shows/movies on the shelf. And with regards to cutting back. I am sure most fans of the Batman:Animated show would be happy if the entire show was released quicker, even without extras.

 

[James Reader]

I don't really see how releasing more episodes on a disc, or multiple discs in a pack would require that much more work than releasing the current single discs for Batman:TAS now. It might be more work, but not excessively so.

I'll say this again in bold just so people can realize how crazy it sounds: At the current rate of Batman:TAS releases, it will be well over 20 years before the complete set is released!

The fact is, I'm not going to buy the single discs now because I don't feel it's worth it and there's every chance the discs will be available at a cheaper price in a year or so's time. And if your waiting 20 years, what's one more year going to matter?

I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm sure that there are a lot of people like me who are not buying the discs on principle or are casually considering buying the discs but don't bother when they see how lackluster the contents really are.

Warners may or may not be happy with the sales they are getting for the single discs now, but I'm sure the extra expense in creating decent sized packs would result in considerably more sales.

I'm not asking for season sets as such - it would be impossible to do a season one set which was 60 or 65 episodes I believe. But can't Warners follow the release patterns set up by one of their subsidiary's Rhino with the Transformers releases? 3-4 disc sets with 6-8 episodes per disc seems ideal. They don't need extras (but they would be nice) they just need to show that they are serious about releasing the series sometime within the next five years before they get my money.

If Warners really are going to have layoffs in their Home Video division, then isn't this a time to make sure that any product they do put out sells as well as it could? If the threat of redundancies is used to excuse poor releases and missed opportunities, then why don't they just shovel out poor quality pan and scan releases of their films? After all, I'm sure they would sell enough to the general public to bring just about enough money in.