MGM's new Brief Encounter, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist (1 Viewer)

[MartEvans]

I was thinking of picking up the Criterion versions of these classics until I heard that MGM was releasing them at a much cheaper price! Has anyone picked up these and if so, how do they look?

 

[Charles H]

The Lean films from MGM have been cancelled.

 

[MartEvans]

Any reason why? and where did you hear this?

 

[Drew Reiber]

I would imagine it has a lot to do with their business practices of late. Considering the DVD plans they have pulled back on during the second half of 2004, they probably also looked at the market value of re-released product like the Lean and Hitchcock titles and figured there was too much saturation.

For the sake of the MGM division's future, which is about to be re-evaluated from the business end (by Sony), it would not look good to have any major blunders from their home video department. I'm also willing to bet that their operating capital has been drastically reduced in recent months as well. That's my two cents anyway.

 

[MartEvans]

oh well, I guess that gives me a good enough excuse to go get the Criterions then

 

[Robert Crawford]

From what I've heard, it has nothing to do with their business practices or their budget, but more to do with MGM not having the dvd release rights to some of those films.





Crawdaddy

 

[Eric Peterson]

Have they been cancelled or just delayed. I was under the impression that these films had been delayed.

 

[Charles H]

DVD EMPIRE removed the Lean Collection from TBA status to Cancelled. I was particularly interested in MADELINE and THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS since they have never been represented on video before anywhere. It was frustrating because the artwork of all the dvds has been published. My suspicion is that it is a rights issue--rather than a marketing issue--since it had been on TBA status for quite awhile suggesting real negotiations before they "pulled the plug."

 

[Dick]

If this has anything to do with Criterion versions being available for BRIEF ENCOUNTER, GREAT EXPECTATIONS and OLIVER TWIST, I certainly hope they will release the rest of the titles, which are not available currently from anyone else.

 

[Joel C]

MGM has done this a lot lately. The Hitckcock set was a must-buy for me, as I missed out on the Criterions. An insert in some DVD I bought also advertised an Errol Morris collection with The Thin Blue Line and Gates of Heaven, and it never materialized (this was in September or so... I think the title was Intermission).

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

There must be some sort of internal wrangling between MGM and Carlton, who own the Lean films in question. MGM has a longterm license on the Rank Organisation films owned by Carlton, inherited from their buyout of the Samuel Goldwyn company which had first made the deal. But of all the libraries in MGM's control, it is the least exploited on DVD, which says that perhaps Carlton has some degree of either veto or free agency: Criterion continues to offer and has announced some more titles that are clearly Rank films and thus Carlton properties. Maybe Carlton simply went to MGM and denied them the right to make those Lean DVDs, hoping for a better presentation from Criterion.

 

[Jon Martin]

I was also really looking forward to the Lean collection.

Funny thing is, I had MADELINE and THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS added to my Netflix queue. They are all still there, went from "Releases Oct 15 (or whatever it was)"to VERY LONG WAIT. They are still there listed that way.

Guess it really will be a long wait.

 

[Charles H]

Any chance of Carlton cutting a deal to release them in R2? It seems strange that with posted artwork that some sort of contract was not cut with MGM.