Fantastic article about lackluster DVD efforts and growing production oversights... (1 Viewer)

[Matt Stieg]

Yep, that's why, instead of taking the time to a DVD right, the studios like to stick loud, noisy PSA's on discs lecturing us how wrong it is to download movies, despite the fact that we just bought their damn disc.

 

[FrancisP]

I think this lack of understanding about selling classic titles is pretty much industry wide except for Warner and some of the smaller companies like Image and AB. I recently bought a copy of Image's Beginning of the End. They have also put out European versions of Black Sunday and Black Sabbath. Maybe the studios need to form joint ventures with these companies. It certainly would be better than letting
titles gather dust.

Universal has two problems. First is convincing them to release a title and then getting them to do it right. Everyone should be familiar with the problems that plague Universal with their use of DVD-18s. This quote
on Night Gallery shows how they treat their dvd releases. I still remember the debacle with
Colossus:The Forbin Project that was released in full screen instead of its OAR. Since I had an excellent full screen version of it, I passed.

I wouldn't mind seeing Fox release a OAR dvd of The St Valentines Day Massacre.

As for Sony/Columbia/MGM, there are a host of Glenn Ford westerns that I have recorded off TCM since they are not available on dvd.

Paramount still has a number of excellent titles. What they need is someone who knows what they're doing. I think they have done a better job with tv titles than they have with classic titles in terms of selection and promotion. Would love to see Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies with Tony Curtis. There should be a shake-up there. There is no reason why Paramount should be a poor sixth.

I think you can see who is really trying to find out what consumers want. It is people on forums like this or watch TCM that buy classic titles. Warner and the other smaller companies seem most agreeable to online interviews or chats.

There are no guarantees that hi-def discs will ever provide the gold mine that the studios are hoping for. They think that all they have to do is put movies like Star Wars on hi-def and their problems will be solved. Will the average person who bought Star Wars on SD rush out and buy a hi-def version and throw their SD in the trash? I think these constant re-releasing of titles is one reason that movie
sales have dropped. Releasing classic titles could provide a steady stream of revenue. Maybe not Star Wars type numbers but solid only if they learn to sell classic movies.