Universal and TCM's Partnership For Made-To-Order DVD (1 Viewer)

[JoHud]

Interlacing issues with Remember the Night aside, this looks like a much more appealing program compared to the Warner Archive. I'm planning on purchasing both this and the Cult Horror collection this January.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Did anybody else use the cheap shipping option (USPS)? I ordered on 11/28, it shipped on 12/3 and there has been no further tracking updates since then. I knows it says 10-14 days, but I rarely see that and the lack of tracking progress scares me.

 

[Paul Penna]

Originally Posted by Eric Peterson

Did anybody else use the cheap shipping option (USPS)? I ordered on 11/28, it shipped on 12/3 and there has been no further tracking updates since then. I knows it says 10-14 days, but I rarely see that and the lack of tracking progress scares me.

USPS Delivery Confirmation isn't "tracking." The only required scan is upon delivery or delivery attempt; items don't normally get scanned in transit. The initial "scan" is actually a record of an electronic manifest transmitted to the USPS by the sender. The only USPS product that currently provides full tracking is Express Mail.

 

[Alan Tully]

Well I hope you enjoy this lot Poder, but I'm just not interested. It was great while it lasted, & I have most of my favorite films on good looking DVD's. I'm still buying lots of classic hollywood titles that I didn't get around to buying when they were released, esp. as the studios are practically giving them away these days.

 

[Eric Peterson]

USPS Delivery Confirmation isn't "tracking." The only required scan is upon delivery or delivery attempt; items don't normally get scanned in transit. The initial "scan" is actually a record of an electronic manifest transmitted to the USPS by the sender. The only USPS product that currently provides full tracking is Express Mail.

Thanks for the input. That's obviously what is going on, but they do refer to it as "Tracking". It's amazing that anybody uses the post-office any more. It's so hopelessly out-dated, slow, & inefficient.

I realize that I paid for the cheapest shipping, but it was still $4.95. I can't remember the last time that I paid that much to ship any single movie, nor can I remember the last time that I paid $20 for a single movie (outside of a deluxe-edition). Yet, here I am 2 weeks after the order date and nearly 2 weeks from the shipping date with no sign of package, nor any clue of where it's at. This will be the last time that I use this TCM service unless they do something about their S/H costs & methods.

 

[Paul Penna]

Thanks for the input. That's obviously what is going on, but they do refer to it as "Tracking". It's amazing that anybody uses the post-office any more. It's so hopelessly out-dated, slow, & inefficient.

99% of my video shipments, both purchases and rentals, come via USPS and I can't remember the last time I had a serious problem. My Warner Archives purchase was shipped via UPS, however, presumably because Warner or their fulfillment service sees some value in that carrier's added enhancements, such as full tracking, but as it arrived no sooner than a Postal Service item from the same point would have, the only difference to me was that I had to pay more for shipping.

 

[borisfw]

Most of my packages come USPS.But the ones that do come UPS always seem to be quicker and tracable. With tracking.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

I think I'm in the same boat Eric is in.

In post # 135, on 12-4-09, I described how I placed my order for 'Remember The Night', based on the 'pressed disc' feedback.

Apart from the initial email confirming my order, I have not received any other emails, and I am still waiting for the actual package, as well.

 

[John Stell]

Have you guys gone on the Movies Unlimited website and into the My Account area? There you can check the status of your orders. There is also a "tracking number", which is probably just delivery confirmation, for shipped items. But ususally the packages I get utilizing the USPS delivery confirmation do get scanned at various locations during the shipping process, not just at the beginning and end.

 

[Eric Peterson]

I didn't create an account on their website when I placed my order, so I can't check anything there. That said, I'm using the E-mail that they sent me with the "Tracking" number and their link to the USPS site. There hasn't been any change in status since it was scanned in New Jersey on the 3rd.

I'm really disappointed at this time, but don't feel that I've waited long enough to file a complaint.

My experiences with the post office are almost uniformally horrible except when I used Priority or First Class mail. It's almost like if you don't use those methods, they send the package to the neglect department.

On the other hand, I can use the cheapest methods for UPS or FedEx (Which are usually comporable price-wise)...and I get my package in less than a week almost 100% of the time.

 

[Richard--W]

I haven't read through this entire thread (after the upgrade HTF is really slow to use and often times-out), but I would like to suggest that Universal toss a bone to Douglas Sirk fans through its TCM alliance. The films Sirk directed for Universal in the 1950s are generally considered his best, and some are very important films:

1951 Thunder On the Hill
1952 No Room for the Groom
1953 All I Desire
1953 Take Me to Town
1954 Sign of the Pagan
1954 Taza Son of Cochise 3-D
1955 Captain Lightfoot
1956 Never Say Goodbye
1956 There's Always Tomorrow
1957 Interlude
1958 Time to Love and a Time to Die
1958 The Tarnished Angels

I've gotten to know these films through TCM airings, and each is a worthwhile, rewarding film. Although some of the above are released in region 2, it would be nice to see them at the proper pitch in region 1. How about it, TCM?

 

[JoHud]

The Cary Grant collection is now available for preorder from TCM to be released on 2/01/2010. Will anyone be able to let me know what other unreleased Cary Grants remain?

Cary Grant: The Early Years

Now Accepting Advance Orders!
Before he was the suave, sophisticated and dashing movie star known as Cary Grant, he was a rising young leading man appearing in every type of genre film from war epic to action-adventure to romantic melodrama. Cary Grant: The Early Years Collection is a three-picture sampler of his early years at Paramount studios that includes Devil and the Deep (1932), The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) and The Last Outpost (1935). In Devil and the Deep, Cary is a lieutenant whose commanding officer (Charles Laughton) suspects him of seducing his wife (Tallulah Bankhead) when the real threat is another officer (Gary Cooper). The Eagle and the Hawk is a powerful anti-war adventure in which Cary and Fredric March play pilots with bitterly opposing views of warfare. The Last Outpost features Cary as a British officer stationed in the Sudan who falls in love with the wife (Gertrude Michael) of a secret agent (Claude Rains). **Three-disc set includes "Devil and the Deep," "The Eagle and the Hawk," and "The Last Outpost" (1935).**

 

[ColbyCo82]

I only really know about the pre-code films, but I think these are the only ones yet to be released:

1. Remember the Night (1932) - An all-star, b-picture of sorts, with the talents of Charlie Ruggles, Thelma Todd, and Lili Dalmita. Very highly rated in "Sin in Soft Focus." Wish this had been in the TCM set.
2. Sinner in the Sun (1932) - Carole Lombard vehicle
3. Madame Butterfly (1932) Sylvia Sidney vehicle
4. The Woman Accused (1933) with Nancy Carroll
5. Gambling Ship (1933)

 

[Eric Peterson]

It's been almost 2 months since I placed my order for "Remember the Night" from Movies Unlimited and I still don't have it. I sent an e-mail 3 weeks ago and got a "We don't have time for you" reply, so please call us when you have time. Last week, I finally called, but before they can ship me a new disc, they have to send me a letter for me to sign that verifies I didn't receive my package. I just got the letter, but the instructions with it don't match the from that they sent me, so I have to make another call today for clarification. On top of that, there is no postage-paid envelope for me to return the letter, so now I have to pay for additional postage on top of everything. My credit card was charged more than 6 weeks ago. In 15 years of purchasing online, I've never used a company that treated my with such disdain. Needless to say, I won't be making any more purchases through Movies Unlimited unless it's an absolute "Must Own" title that is unavailable through other outlets.

 

[jdee28]

Originally Posted by ColbyCo82

I only really know about the pre-code films, but I think these are the only ones yet to be released:

1. Remember the Night (1932) - An all-star, b-picture of sorts, with the talents of Charlie Ruggles, Thelma Todd, and Lili Dalmita. Very highly rated in "Sin in Soft Focus." Wish this had been in the TCM set.
2. Sinner in the Sun (1932) - Carole Lombard vehicle
3. Madame Butterfly (1932) Sylvia Sidney vehicle
4. The Woman Accused (1933) with Nancy Carroll
5. Gambling Ship (1933)

Number 1 should be "This Is the Night" (1932). Fun film! Hopefully TCM will air it some time. It did air on AMC back in the day.

 

[John Morgan]

Are we sure these are DVDr? I believe the Cult Horror set were standard DVDs. On the TCM web site, they list them as DVDs. And I can't find a price for the Cary Grant films? Are they $19 for the bundle of all three or per film? I know they say they are MOD, but I wonder.

 

[greylocke5]

Originally Posted by John Morgan

Are we sure these are DVDr? I believe the Cult Horror set were standard DVDs. On the TCM web site, they list them as DVDs. And I can't find a price for the Cary Grant films? Are they $19 for the bundle of all three or per film? I know they say they are MOD, but I wonder.

TCM web site says the price is $34.99 for the 3-disc set.

 

[mdnitoil]

We pretty much have to wait and see on a release by release basis as to whether they are pressed or not. Much like the horror set, if they are pressed then I'm in.

What I find more confusing is why Universal would have two different MOD programs running. We have this arrangement with TCM and now the other one with Amazon. I'm wondering if somebody got their wires crossed and perhaps the TCM deal was always supposed to be pressed discs. Probably not, but it's worth hoping for.

 

[KellyVO]

I was at moviesunlmited.com and I found this!


The TCM Universal Deanna Durbin Collection /musite/images/medialogo-D.png Now Accepting Advance Orders! - Available on 04/27/10

Looks like the set will include "Mad About Music", "That Certain Age", "Three Smart Girls Grow Up", "Because of Him", and "For the Love of Mary"! Finally more Deanna Durbin on DVD! All I can say is keep up the good work!

Here is the link: www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/product.asp

 

[John Morgan]

At about $10 per title, I think the price is good too.

Originally Posted by KellyVO ">[/url]

[SIZE=2]I was at moviesunlmited.com and I found this!

[/SIZE]The TCM Universal Deanna Durbin Collection