Okay, Mr. Spielberg, we think you're wonderful, BUT... (1 Viewer)

[GlennH]

Yeah, but maybe that whole "working relationship" thing is being strained these days.

Universal to DreamWorks: We're just not that into you - USATODAY.com

 

[Paul_Warren]

I think this year we will see a few more releases. Last year we got Indy4 & films he produced like: MIB, The Goonies & Poltergeist. Gremlins 1 was announced for Region B but cancelled at the last minute so perhaps that will turn up this year. I think that newer movies like WOTW would come out sooner rather than later as it would need little extra work for BD. Some of the older titles may need more work on the transfer so they will come over time in a trickle just like with DVD.

I wish Spielberg would move onto Interstellar, Indy 5 & get the When Worlds Collide remake moving again rather than waste his talents on a motion capture childrens movie.

 

[Michael Rogers]

I'm a big 1941 fan myself. Hopefully a blu-ray release would show both the theatrical and extended versions (only the extended version is on DVD which I think actually works better than the theatrical but still want the theatrical as well)

 

[Derek Miner]

You and me and Stephen King would buy it!

 

[Douglas Monce]

I'd be in line behind you and King.

 

[BrettB]

DreamWorks

Amistad (1997)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
The Terminal (2004)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Munich (2005)

Paramount

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Sony

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Hook (1991)

Universal

Duel (1971)
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Jaws (1975)
1941 (1979)
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Always (1989)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Warner

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
The Color Purple (1985)
Empire of the Sun (1987)

List omits Poltergeist.

Anniversary possibilities

 

[John Hodson]

Good to see the love for 1941; actually while I'm potentially homicidal in my desire for a good BD release of that film, Mrs H is likewise for Always...and I'm sure she's not alone in that either.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Before anyone asks, the new DreamWorks/Disney deal does not effect the catalog DreamWorks films. Paramount still distributes, and Spielberg still has to give his go ahead.

It should also be noted that not all of the Universal catalog is simply staying unreleased due to an attempt at good relations. From E.T. on, Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment produced the films, so he still has final say on those no matter what Universal wants to do. While Universal could technically release the pre-Amblin films without Spielberg's sign-off, they'd be doing so with a major risk of not being able to release the titles from E.T. on. In other words: it ain't happening.

 

[Ryan-G]

I would argue that this actually shouldn't hold true.

The assumption is that there are higher sales if one waits and releases when there is a larger installed base. There's a couple major problems with this theory.

1. There's no evidence to support this. There's only been 4 home video formats, VHS, LD, DVD, BR. No one's ever tried releasing in a format's infancy vs releasing in it's maturity with an AAA title.

2. The assumption requires there to be a very large number of people who will not buy the movies if they preceed the date they purchase their player, but will run out and buy them if the movies release is after. While there's likely a small number of people who will do that, it's really illogical to assume that the majority will do that, because...

3. These are now catalogue titles. Everyone who was going to see it has seen it(For the most part). Star Wars and Indy will sell obscene numbers of titles over it's lifespan regardless. You could make them launch titles and they'll sell. Jurrasic Park is increasingly fading in importance, they're good movies, but they aren't Star Wars. So people who want to own them will buy them regardless of release.

IMO, it sounds to me like the issue is a faster recovery of investment, as these won't be small budget releases. The market penetration thing sounds to me like they're more interested in seeing their investment paid off faster, which is fine, except we're now discussing Chicken and Egg. Star Wars can sell Players. Indy, Jurrasic, and ET, could sell smaller numbers of players. Not having them out means a number of people waiting for a "Must have" to upgrade will likely continue to sit watching prices drop and waiting for the "Must haves".

IMO someone needs to test the whole theory, and Star Wars is the series to do it with. It's a certainty that one will sell as many units no matter when it's released, and it'll sell Players, so it's virtually non-existant risk.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Well, if the rumors are true, this Fall will see that experiment unfold with the first three Indiana Jones films getting released.

 

[Radioman970]

I wish he could find the time to do some commentary tracks too. imagine ET or Close Encounters with friggin commentary from Mr. S.

 

[DavidS]

Speaking of Dreamworks, we're coming up on the 10-year anniversary of American Beauty, as well as a few other titles. I do wish Paramount would get some of these out on Blu-ray.

 

[Kenshiro]

Saving Private Ryan with dts-Master Audio, please.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Spielberg doesn't do commentaries because he believes they "destroy the magic of film-making" or something like that, not because he doesn't have the time.

 

[MarekM]

+1 oh yeah, that will destroy my room

Marek

 

[Ron-P]

Agreed.

The sales numbers will be the same whether his films are released now, or 5 years from now. Say Jurassic Park is released now, it will sell and continue to do so over the next 5 years. If Jurassic Park is released 5 years from now, those same people that would have been buying over the last 5 years would all buy at that time. Either way, the same amount of units would be sold.

 

[David Deeb]

And to some degree, he is right. Art sometimes should just speak for itself just like a book or a painting.

But I would love to get BDs of Jaws, the original Indy films and AI. Strangely, I've never seen 1941. I guess I'd blind buy it, since I've heard so many good things about it.

 

[Patrick McCart]

And he substitutes them for consistently excellent documentaries. Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, and the Indiana Jones trilogy all have feature-length ones that are beyond in-depth.

 

[TravisR]

That's what is odd to me about Spielberg's refusal to do a commentary. I think those excellent documentaries reveal more about the 'magic' than a commentary would.

 

[Jason Seaver]

That's what we think intuitively, but may not the case in practice. In most cases, titles have their biggest sales in the first week/month of release, when they're featured in big box circulars, advertised on television, featured in store endcaps, etc. The promotion to do that costs the same whether the installed base is 40,000 or 40,000,000. It makes a lot more sense to do it once when it's 40,000,000.