Speculation about films never released on home video from WB. (1 Viewer)

[JulianK]

An interesting article, but they're in error when they say that My So-Called Life hasn't been available on DVD - it has, and I own a copy! - and several episodes of Ally McBeal are available (the whole series is available here in the UK!)

 

[PaulaJ]

Two Richard Barthelmess films:

The Enchanted Cottage (a silent -- probably needs a musical score to be composed and recorded for a DVD release -- are there any cue sheets existing for it?)

The Last Flight

 

[ted:r]

True, but us poor region 1'ers are for the most part without. I am still kicking myself over not purchasing "My So-Called Life" when it was available. ("Ally McBeal" was released only piecemeal here, so I'll give myself a pass on that one.)

 

[soop.spoon]

"Warner Home Video, for example, has a library of 6,700 titles but has released only 1,400 on DVD"

The 1,400 number seems a bit low to me.

 

[Corey]

They should do something like that new Criterion line where the films are just available unrestored with no fuss.

 

[serenapowell]

I agree with you, Corey... a no-frills DVD line would be much better than Amazon downloads. I really wouldn't mind buying movies that are in rough shape... better than never having them at all 'cause the studios don't think they're important/commercial enough to spend money restoring or creating special features for.

Thanks for sharing this interesting article, CinéKarine. It does make me rather sad. I appreciate that Criterion wants to make more films available more quickly, and I'd like to support them - if only I was more interested in the types of artsy/foreign films they tend to release. I wish they would rescue more "Hollywood" classics... maybe free up some of Warner's backlog of unreleased titles? So many great movies being ignored by the studios due to "small perceived demand compared with bigger, or at least more recent, hits" :frowning:


But Warner's releasing "campy" movies, so they don't only stick to classics or quality films... I guess there's a market for cheesy/trashy "bad movies". But I'd like to believe that with the right marketing campaign and promotion on TCM, higher quality, lesser-known films from the 1930s & 40s could become financially viable.

I've seen some truly terrific movies that deserve to be regarded as classics, and maybe they would be if they received the kind of TV exposure/home video availability, that classics like "The Wizard Of Oz" or "It's A Wonderful Life" have received over the years (not knocking those movies at all, I love 'em!)

I just hope George Feltenstein (and I know it's not up to him alone, but I'm just responding to what he said) doesn't write off these films that aren't as famous right now as "Oz" etc, without giving them a chance to grow in the public consciousness! And making them available to the public on DVD would be a great start.

 

[Simon Howson]

I agree with this as well, I'm more interested in just seeing rare and lesser films, and don't need them all to be perfect quality. If they do a quick cheap release, then the film sells REALLY well, then it could be reissued a few years later with a brand new transfer.

I personally think the canon of what we consider great films is often completely arbitary, because there are better films sitting in vaults that people have completely forgotten about. I suggest that films that have never been issued on any home video format are prime candidates for films that fit into this category, because they never had releases to build their reputation.

However, the fact these films haven't ever been released may make it prohibitively expensive to issue them on DVD. If a film was issued on VHS or laserdisc, then most likely there is an inter positive, or other element sutiable for DVD transfer already sitting in the vault. Films never issued on DVD may mean Warner have to go back to the negative to release the film, which means it will cost several hundred thousand dollars just to issue the film.

But maybe Warner could make things more interactive by holding more of the You Decide voting competitions, say a vote every three months, rather than once a year.

 

[BethHarrison]

I see what you guys are saying and you have some excellent points. However, when Warners release films from their catalogue titles, they do it to the best of their ability, or not at all. That is what makes them the best.

I guess it is a case of getting the best and missing out on those they feel won't sell to make a profit.

 

[Simon Howson]

I don't think this is completely true, the best example I can think of is Border Incident. The transfer is good, but far from perfect, there are a lot of blemishes in the element they used, and it doesn't look like they did a digital clean up (pasting sections from good frames over bad).

HOWEVER! It is a brilliant film, I would go as far to say as it was one of my favourite DVDs from last year, because it is a brilliant movie, and a low budget film that I never thought I'd get to see.

I hope Warner release more films like that which were made by good directors and cinemtographers, but that aren't classic films.

 

[Tim Tucker]

They did experiment with that last year with their Triple Feature line. While most of the titles were budget reissues, the Randolph Scott and John Wayne entries were new to DVD, and the films looked like unrestored transfers from best surviving elements.

 

[serenapowell]

I would LOVE that! I hope the votes over at the TCM website are making an impact...

 

[Corey]

Wow that's an excellent idea. I think WHV knows by now how successful those dvd decisions are and there are still a lot of titles from past ones, that still haven't came out. I think if they did one twice a year (one in spring and one in fall), that would be perfect.

 

[Simon Howson]

Yeah but as long as films I vote for get released! :-P

Just looking at your list, there are half a dozen titles there that I voted for but didn't get enough votes.

 

[Derek M Germano]

Put me down for I MARRIED A WITCH. Hopefully, Warner will eventually get around to this little gem.