Warner Archive Discussion Thread (FEEDBACK) (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Willis]

Like some others here, I'm cautious about this news. It sounds great for now but I'll need some info from HTF'ers after they receive one before looking into buying from the site.
Are they DVD-R's or factory pressed?
Are the transfers comparable to mainline releases?
As some here have mentioned, DVD-R's can be a gamble on playback issues. I've run across a few that won't play on my Pioneer (Std) player but will play ok on a JVC.

 

[John Morgan]

I'll be very interested to see if these are on DVD-Rs, and if any effort has gone into the transfers.

Well, I just ordered four of them. I hope they are better quality than the transfers on TCM. At least they won't have the TCM bug in the lower right corner.

 

[CineKarine]

This story was not supposed to break until Monday, however I am
not surprised by the manner that it was and the fact that we ended
up not being able to break it to you in the manner we were promised...

Now, I feel very embarrassed :frowning: Since I received the news by email yesterday, I never expected this was any kind of a "big secret". And wanting to share the great news with everyone, it never occurred to me I was actually spilling the beans in the process. Friends call me the "Keeper of the secrets", but in this case, I had no idea this was "hush, hush". My sincere apologies for breaking the news in this manner then. I truly did not mean any disrespect to anyone.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Now, I feel very embarrassed :frowning: Since I received the news by email yesterday, I never expected this was any kind of a "big secret". And wanting to share the great news with everyone, it never occurred to me I was actually spilling the beans in the process. Friends call me the "Keeper of the secrets", but in this case, I had no idea this was "hush, hush". My sincere apologies for breaking the news in this manner then. I truly did not mean any disrespect to anyone.

There is nothing to be sorry about. That's just the breaks. I was interviewed by AP the other day about this marketing concept by Warner and was sworn to secrecy, but now the cat is out of the bag.

Crawdaddy

 

[mdnitoil]

I'm guessing you just stole the big studio chat thunder for tomorrow!

 

[TravisR]

^ Yeah but now people are even more jazzed for the chat.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Now, I feel very embarrassed :frowning: Since I received the news by email yesterday, I never expected this was any kind of a "big secret". And wanting to share the great news with everyone, it never occurred to me I was actually spilling the beans in the process. Friends call me the "Keeper of the secrets", but in this case, I had no idea this was "hush, hush". My sincere apologies for breaking the news in this manner then. I truly did not mean any disrespect to anyone.

I wouldn't feel bad at all. It's silly for Warners to "swear" some to secrecy and then send out emails where folks can click on a link and find it with no problem.
Pfffttt!
I assume that when Ron wrote "I am not surprised by ... the fact that we ended up not being able to break (the story) to you in the manner we were promised...", he meant he's not surprised Warners claimed this was gonna be a big reveal then allowed it to be easily found by anyone browsing their site.
BTW, I ordered Too Hot To Handle and Abe Lincoln in Illinois, both long overdue on disc.

 

[Steve...O]

Great news! Can't wait to hear more about this Monday night!
CineKarine - don't feel bad....I first read about this on another website where someone got the same e-mail you did. Warner's web team is the one who pulled the trigger too soon. This is going to be all over the internet by end of day.
Ron's message explicitly states these are "DVDs" so I have no qualms or worries whatsoever about this program. I do feel for our non USA friends but surely they will find ways to get these titles via their USA contacts.
Mega, mega thanks to WHV for rolling this out.
Steve

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Since at least THE TEMPTRESS is already available on DVD, could this mean that some of these titles will later go on general release?
Very disappointed that they don't dispatch to outside the US. Not everyone knows someone there. And since I could easily get 20 titles out of the list (ok, over a period of time), it's $400 they'll lose of my money.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I hope at some point they can/will release complete sets of various shorts they own. The Crime Does Not Pay or Joe McDoakes series are some I'd like to own but it's doubtful they'd get a mainstream release.

I'm also curious if there's any chance of something like this for Blu-ray titles. If these 150 can't get a SD release then it's doubtful they'll ever have a straight Blu release.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Karine,
You owe us no apology.
This was a total cluster-F as far as a gameplan execution.
This story was not supposed to break until Monday. We were
supposed to have exclusive on the announcement followed by
nationwide press release and further discussion of it in our chat.
Instead, it seems one hand did not know what the other was doing
and the website that featured the list of titles went unexpectedly live.
I have had the chance to talk with Warner today about what happened.
They are looking forward to discussing this rollout with all of you
during Monday's chat. Not only will you be able to ask questions about
this rollout, but the studio will have additional title announcements
pertaining to this program that I think will make people very happy.
We are very excited for Warner and this program as it allows them
to release an array of product that have never seen the light of day
on DVD. This is just the beginning of what the studio hopes to be a
very beneficial program for their consumers.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'll be very interested to see if these are on DVD-Rs, and if any effort has gone into the transfers.

John,
I expect these titles to have the same quality as a retail released DVD, at least in regard to video/audio.
Crawdaddy

 

[Marcel H.]

They are looking forward to discussing this rollout with all of you
during Monday's chat. Not only will you be able to ask questions about
this rollout, but the studio will have additional title announcements
pertaining to this program that I think will make people very happy.
We are very excited for Warner and this program as it allows them
to release an array of product that have never seen the light of day
on DVD. This is just the beginning of what the studio hopes to be a
very beneficial program for their consumers.

As long as they don' stop releasing their "bigger" catalog titles (Film Noir and other stuff) nationwide, it's ok with me.
And just in case they release some titles that interest me in this exclusive line, I'll find a way to get these movies to Germany but for us non-US citizens it'll be much easier if they offer worldwide shipments. Nevertheless I'm looking forward to monday's chat.

 

[mdnitoil]

All in all, it sounds very exciting. Assuming some good answers regarding the manufacturing process, it looks like I'll be opening an account with yet another online dealer. I don't think I'll be sharing the news with the wife just yet.

 

[Mike*HTF]

When I first heard about this a few weeks ago from an archivist friend, he was under the impression that these would in fact be DVD-Rs and mentioned TCM's RKO set as having set an industry precedent. I hope that isn't the case.
I'm most interested in how they will handle the silents - will there be scores? The Garbo titles already have been released on Laserdisc so it might be possible to reproduce those, but what about something like the Red Lily?
Similarly, as far as I know, the Red Mill only had flashtitles. I see it is also on the list and I'm curious as to what it will look like.

 

[Frank M]

Ron or Robert,
could you ask Warner if they will offer these DVDs also to customers from other countries, please? They would sell much more, especially the films with big stars like Clark Gable, James Stewart, et cetera.

 

[Jay Gregory]

I had always assumed that one thing keeping 'One Trick Pony' off DVD was music rights.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I am actually responding to this thread on my
iPhone so please excuse the formatting.
I think some of you should re-read my statement
in post #14.
The quality of these DVDs are what you would expect
from a studio like WB. They are not DVD-Rs being
slapped in an envelope. These are high quality releases
in their proper aspect ratio and manufactured to normal
studio standards.
The studio intends to release thousands more of these
titles and you'll learn just how during Monday's live chat
including exclusive title announcements.

 

[Danny Burk]

When I first heard about this a few weeks ago from an archivist friend, he was under the impression that these would in fact be DVD-Rs and mentioned TCM's RKO set as having set an industry precedent. I hope that isn't the case.
I'm most interested in how they will handle the silents - will there be scores? The Garbo titles already have been released on Laserdisc so it might be possible to reproduce those, but what about something like the Red Lily?
Similarly, as far as I know, the Red Mill only had flashtitles. I see it is also on the list and I'm curious as to what it will look like.

Like you, Mike, I have great interest in the silents and will order all of them, provided the first couple of "guinea pigs" that I sample are satisfactory. I don't doubt that they are DVD-R, which makes me uneasy, but they should be much nicer than copies recorded from TCM.
RED LILY and RED MILL have both been shown, with scores and restored title cards, on TCM, so these will doubtless be the same versions.
EDIT - just read Ron's additional comment - if these are indeed pressed DVDs and not DVD-Rs, that's thrilling news and I foresee a lot of future orders to WB!

 

[kingfish]

It looks like Darby's rangers and Purple Hearts are among the releases. I am a bit confused however because it states that Darb's Rangers is in widescreen format. WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios: Darby's Rangers (MOD)