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Shout Select Press Release: Abbott & Costello The Complete Universal Collection (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

Dick

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The ones I would buy if they were individual, reasonably-priced Blu-ray titles:

TIME OF THEIR LIVES
A&C MEET THE KILLER
A&C MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
HOLD THAT GHOST
RIDE 'EM COWBOY
BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME
KEEP 'EM FLYING

I still own the DVD set, and for most of these films that's (sometimes more than) enough.
 
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Rob W

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I don't at all blame Shout or Universal for this not being in the set (it's not a Universal title afterall) but I really do wish someone could put out a decent version of Africa Screams - the very first A&C thing I ever saw. I wore out the VHS copy that was given to me when I was a kid, but haven't seen it in decades.

Our friend Bob Furmanek did a first-rate laserdisc special edition of Africa Screams back in the day ; don't know if he still has access to the elements.
 

Mark-P

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Wow! Didn't see this coming! I hope Buck Privates has an improved transfer...
Doubtful. The whole reason that Universal kept the A&C entries in the Monsters Legacy box each on their own disc was so that those discs could be re-used for this exact box set. They had enough expense just bringing all the remaining films to Blu-ray without remastering the ones they already had prepared.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I'm reservedly excited by this - my biggest "gripe" is it's from Shout! who consistently overprices their product.

In my opinion, they're not overpricing their product. Rather, they are simply declining to participate in the "race to the bottom" pricing that some other companies have employed. Everybody is taking their own approach to handling a severely declining market for physical media and especially catalog titles on physical media. They're in a difficult environment because, on the one hand, people will respond affirmatively to surveys and market research and on forums saying that they're eager to purchase X title, but when that title is released, the sales numbers don't come close to matching the interest that had been hinted at.

If you lower your retail price and/or engage in sales frequently, people will no longer purchase at full price, and the money the label makes on sale pricing often results in them only breaking even, or worse. You may sell more units in the end, but what does that matter if you're selling them at a loss?

I believe Shout understands what the market is and is simply pricing their product in a way so that they can recoup their investment while keeping in mind that the number of people who want to purchase physical media is on the decline.

This is the world we're now living in. Physical media is losing its widespread support from general consumers, which means that for it to survive in any way, shape, or form, it will be a niche product, and it will need the support of enthusiasts willing to pay prices that are more than what they might have been years ago. We've gone from an age when a DVD could sell anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 or more copies, to an era where Blu-ray catalog titles are selling substantially fewer copies - maybe a couple thousand for some titles, maybe only a few hundred or less for others. The general public isn't subsidizing this niche anymore by purchasing huge number of copies. The only way it survives is if the people who say they prefer physical media support it by paying for it.

If this doesn't sell well, I guarantee that the folks at Shout won't have a meeting and conclude, "We overpriced the disc and we need to drop the price." Rather, they will conclude that there was no longer a market for this title on physical media.
 

B-ROLL

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Doubtful. The whole reason that Universal kept the A&C entries in the Monsters Legacy box each on their own disc was so that those discs could be re-used for this exact box set. They had enough expense just bringing all the remaining films to Blu-ray without remastering the ones they already had prepared.
I suspect you are right. But this set is being released by Shout! So the discs will probably not be the same as the ones in the monster sets (which are the same as the ones that appear to be available individually). Possibly with different special features.
 

Astairefan

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Doubtful. The whole reason that Universal kept the A&C entries in the Monsters Legacy box each on their own disc was so that those discs could be re-used for this exact box set. They had enough expense just bringing all the remaining films to Blu-ray without remastering the ones they already had prepared.
I don't disagree with you about Buck Privates. I don't really see it happening, but hey, I can dream, can't I? ;) Either way, I'm a lot more willing to grab it as part of this big set than I would be grabbing the individual release, given the opinions of many around here. It does make me wish Criterion could have gotten hold of it, but then again, for a set like this from them, I would barely have a shot at it even when it is on sale, so I'll take it from Shout! At this point, the only remaining Universal films that I want that would be upgrades for me would be some of the remaining Bing Crosby or Bob Hope films, so I hope a few more of them are coming out soon (besides Kino's release of Ghost Breakers when they get that far)!
 

LouA

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I'd love to see a similar Blu-ray box set on the ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW. They could probably throw in some of the boys appearances on the Colgate Comedy Hour as non HD bonus features.
 

Tino

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Abbott and Costello are imo the greatest comedy duo of all time.

This is the BEST news I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve watched all these films countless times over the years and love them all dearly. They are my youth. I’ve worn out the dvd releases.

To finally have them all on Blu is the best gift to myself that I could imagine. :)
 

Tino

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From Chris Costello’s FB page.

Get ready, as here they come everyone ... Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection on Blu-Ray!

Here's the link to pre-order through Shout Factory (Releasing in November):

http://bit.ly/AbbottCostello80

Had the pleasure of joining others who were interviewed for this collection, including Ron Palumbo, who co-authored "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" with Bob Furmanek.

Here I am with Greg Carson, who conducted the interview.

Have a great Wednesday everyone ...

https://www.facebook.com/658368620887421/posts/2492217130835885?s=608337843&sfns=xmwa
 

Robert Crawford

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In my opinion, they're not overpricing their product. Rather, they are simply declining to participate in the "race to the bottom" pricing that some other companies have employed. Everybody is taking their own approach to handling a severely declining market for physical media and especially catalog titles on physical media. They're in a difficult environment because, on the one hand, people will respond affirmatively to surveys and market research and on forums saying that they're eager to purchase X title, but when that title is released, the sales numbers don't come close to matching the interest that had been hinted at.

If you lower your retail price and/or engage in sales frequently, people will no longer purchase at full price, and the money the label makes on sale pricing often results in them only breaking even, or worse. You may sell more units in the end, but what does that matter if you're selling them at a loss?

I believe Shout understands what the market is and is simply pricing their product in a way so that they can recoup their investment while keeping in mind that the number of people who want to purchase physical media is on the decline.

This is the world we're now living in. Physical media is losing its widespread support from general consumers, which means that for it to survive in any way, shape, or form, it will be a niche product, and it will need the support of enthusiasts willing to pay prices that are more than what they might have been years ago. We've gone from an age when a DVD could sell anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 or more copies, to an era where Blu-ray catalog titles are selling substantially fewer copies - maybe a couple thousand for some titles, maybe only a few hundred or less for others. The general public isn't subsidizing this niche anymore by purchasing huge number of copies. The only way it survives is if the people who say they prefer physical media support it by paying for it.

If this doesn't sell well, I guarantee that the folks at Shout won't have a meeting and conclude, "We overpriced the disc and we need to drop the price." Rather, they will conclude that there was no longer a market for this title on physical media.
Then they shouldn't complain when the number of units sold is lackluster to what they expected. Their pricing is the reason why I don't purchase as many of their releases that I would've if their pricing structure was more align to my disposable income budget. In 2019, the consumer base is spoiled and they won't spend their monies like they did during the early stages of the home video era.
 

BobO'Link

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The ones I would buy if they were individual, reasonably-priced Blu-ray titles:

TIME OF THEIR LIVES
A&C MEET THE KILLER
A&C MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
HOLD THAT GHOST
RIDE 'EM COWBOY
BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME
KEEP 'EM FLYING

I still own the DVD set, and for most of these films that's (sometimes more than) enough.
The problem is you'll likely never see "reasonably priced" singles of those that would be significantly less than just purchasing Shout!'s, IMHO, slightly overpriced box set.
 

Astairefan

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Doubtful. The whole reason that Universal kept the A&C entries in the Monsters Legacy box each on their own disc was so that those discs could be re-used for this exact box set. They had enough expense just bringing all the remaining films to Blu-ray without remastering the ones they already had prepared.
Something I forgot before. According to Shout's site, this is going to be a 15 disc set. I'd like to hope, by that count, that they are not just using the 4 previously available Universal discs and cramming the remaining 24 films onto 11 discs. I hope they are keeping the movies a little more evenly spread out.
 

Robert Crawford

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Something I forgot before. According to Shout's site, this is going to be a 15 disc set. I'd like to hope, by that count, that they are not just using the 4 previously available Universal discs and cramming the remaining 24 films onto 11 discs. I hope they are keeping the movies a little more evenly spread out.
You do understand that the capacity of Blu-ray discs are much larger than DVD discs. Even if they use 25 GB discs that is more than enough to handle 3-4 A&B movies that generally only run about 85 minutes each. 15 BD discs should be fine.
 

Gary OS

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The ones I would buy if they were individual, reasonably-priced Blu-ray titles:

TIME OF THEIR LIVES
A&C MEET THE KILLER
A&C MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
HOLD THAT GHOST
RIDE 'EM COWBOY
BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME
KEEP 'EM FLYING

I still own the DVD set, and for most of these films that's (sometimes more than) enough.

But what about all the other pre-Lou's illness films? Those are the best, and you'd be missing upgrades on top-notch movies like:

IN THE NAVY
PARDON MY SARONG
WHO DONE IT?
IT AIN'T HAY
HIT THE ICE

And certainly the films released shortly after Lou's bout with Rheumatic fever are no slouches either:

IN SOCIETY
HERE COME THE CO-EDS
THE NAUGHTY NINETIES

For me personally, there are several distinct lines of demarcation during the boys film career. My favorites, by a country mile, are the early war years films before Lou got sick. I can watch each and every one of those films at the drop of a hat. Then come the films between his return and before the "split". These are also generally quite well done, but not as high up in my book as the earlier films. Then come the films between the short "split" (LITTLE GIANT & TIME OF THEIR LIVES) and up through the remainder of the decade (ending with MEET THE KILLER). Some in this group are excellent and some are only so-so. Then come the remainder of the films, which I personally just label their 50's films. Here things really begin to get spotty. Don't get me wrong, I love the boys so much I can and will watch any of their films (although even my tastes are tasked with their last outing, DANCE WITH ME HENRY). But there are some films in this batch that I feel were not even close to the standards they had set in their 40's films. Of course by this time they were getting tired so that's to be understood. They single-handedly kept Universal afloat during much of the 40's, never getting the full respect they deserved from the studio. But there's no doubt these later films are hit and miss with me. Some I love, some I only like. A few, I tolerate.

Anyhow, I think this Shout set is reasonably priced and with the extra's that Bob has hinted at, I'm stoked.

Gary "counting the days till November 5th" O.
 

Randy Korstick

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Wow this is a huge release for me.1st the Godzilla set and now this. Christmas has come early. I normally have a problem with Shouts pricing but this set is reasonably priced for 28 films and is likely to come down a little. This is one I would purchase at any price as I am such a huge fan. I never tire of watching them and always watch them in chronological order so I am very happy they are releasing the whole series at once. It would take forever waiting for individual or double features and it may never be completed that way. I could never image only watching a few of them.
I agree with Gary about the 3 periods and encourage those who only have seen Buck Privates and the Meet the Monsters series to watch their films made during the war years from 1940-1945 this is when they were by far at their peak. Full of energy and add libs. Their dialog was never crisper and their comic timing never better. Most of their sillier films were all made in the 50's and the boys seem to lack energy in those films. Reportedly they were not happy with the scripts they were receiving then. Like Gary I love all their films but find the meet the monsters series a bit overrated and lesser Abbott and Costello other than the classic Meet Frankenstein. Watching their films in chronological order really lets you observe their energy declining and how much lesser the 50's films were. I really hope WAC releases the 3 larger budgeted MGM films from the war years as those are very good too: Rio Rita, Lost in a Harem and In Hollywood.
My history for these films:
I saw each on tv growing up 3-4 times each.
I collected them all on VHS and Laserdisc and watched them all 3-4 times each.
I collected the flipper sets on DVD and watched them all twice
I collected the box set on DVD and watched them all once.
I was getting ready to watch them all again so now I can wait for a blu ray treat.
 

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