How will the disastrous economy affect the release of new catalog titles? (1 Viewer)

[ahollis]

I read about the BB problems also and as another poster said they are not as bad as CC, but in some sort of perspective in all this, I stopped a long time ago from going to CC for DVD’s. They have the worst way of displaying their titles, and usually did not carry any older catalog titles. BB used to carry just about every title but backed off about three years ago and only carried newer titles, TV titles and the 100th reissue of Grease. I was forced to go to Amazon and Deep Discount for the titles I wanted. On a better note, while at BB purchasing Tropic Thunder, I did see several older catalog titles that I did not think BB would carry so I guess they are stocking them for the holidays.

Yes, I think the economy is going to lessen the sales, I know that I have cut my buy list and presently not purchasing any Television Titles or reissues that I perceive as an upgrade. I already had Cape Fear and Mockingbird, so I did not purchase the Universal Gregory Peck collection and as bad as I want the Planet of Apes Blu-ray, it can wait until better times.

What I hope happens is that Paramount, Universal, and MGM will re-think the notion of re-issuing titles that are already out there and release something that is not. With word today of Universal going to redo the three Back To The Future titles, I guess my hopes are dashed.

 

[Simon Howson]

Other than releasing more as digital files, rather than directly on DVD. The studios could set up interactive webpages where people can suggest and vote on releases.

Have a look at this webpage set up by Legacy, a company that reissues music by Columbia, RCA, and a bunch of other labels:
Customer Feedback for Legacy Recordings

The page lets you suggest music what should be released, or re-released, and then gives you the chance to vote on your and other people's ideas.

I think that would be a great way for the companies to interact with the DVD buying public. They could even follow up various ideas, such as saying if something is feasible, or if it would be too expensive etc. Which would let people make other suggestions, or vote for other titles instead.

 

[ahollis]

I used to enjoy the Warner consumer poll they conducted for three or four years before dropping it a couple of years ago. The only problem is that all films they would list eventually were released that year. The only thing the poll did was to help schedule the releases. I guess presently that the companies are reading this forum and I know that helps with their decisions, so this is like a poll. I just wish they would understand that we are just about double dipped out.

 

[Simon Howson]

Yeah, but it seems to me in slow economic times, double dips are reasonably low risk. They may not sell a whole lot, because many already own the film, but they will at least sell enough, which provides the revenue to fund some other future projects.

 

[Dick]

Unfortunately, this was not the case. The films I was most interested in and voted for did not see the light of day for ages. EDGE OF THE CITY is a case in point. That title was one of twenty Warner Bros had on the poll about five years ago, and only now has it been announced. But at least it will be out there! Warner Bros remains my favorite studio for catalog titles, although a few genuine surprises are filtering in from elsewhere: THE HEIRESS from Universal, CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH from Industrial, the Paramount titles from Legend and Criterion (EL NORTE and tons more from this company also), SOUNDER from Koch, etc. 90% of the movies I consider absolute must-haves are already on DVD and looking splendid. The other 10% is always up in the air. I am concerned that the economy will curtail plans for release of the unreleased material, as it is generally of interest to a niche consumer base. That was the reason for my starting this thread. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I couldn't resist commenting on this. I work in a relatively recession-proof industry (criminal prosecutions), but since I only graduated 3 years ago, my debt load is sky high. This is why I have yet to buy a BD player and my spending is curtailed, as I try to bring my debt under control, since NOBODY's going to lend me any more money @ this point.

 

[MichaelEl]

What worries me is not the lack of new releases, but rather how many titles are going OOP. There are still a lot of DVDs and DVD sets I want to pick up, but the number of titles going OOP every month is higher than the number of DVD purchases I'm able to make.

Some of this seems to be a conspiracy to force people to buy BDs, since much of what's going OOP has a new Blu-Ray release. On the other hand, many obscure titles probably aren't ever going to be available on Blu-Ray, and I feel a lot of pressure to either buy now or forget it.

 

[TravisR]

Just out of curiosity, which ones? Not to say that you aren't correct but I can't think of one title (let alone many) that has gone out of print on DVD and is now solely available on Blu-ray. And if any meet that criteria, I doubt it's that popular of a title to say that there's a conspiracy afoot.

 

[MichaelEl]

STAR TREK TOS (without the CGI), STAR TREK I, V, VI, BATTLE OF BRITAIN, there are a number of others I can't recall at the moment.

Even if there's no conspiracy to replace DVDs with BDs, a lot of titles have still gone OOP and probably won't be back on the market anytime soon - e.g., the AB Hammers or any of the single film Midnite Movies.

 

[Vegas 1]

Ebay!

 

[cineMANIAC]

I don't know about anyone else but my appetite for DVDs/going to the movies has not waned one bit and, bad economy or not, I'm always going to be looking for the next DVD to buy. I just came back from vacation and haven't been to Kim's in NYC in a while and they always have stuff out early so I'm gonna head over there after work and hopefully they'll have Eden Log, The Legend of Blood Castle and S. Darko for me. Message to the studios: You have at least one eager customer ready to shell out so bring 'em on!