The Mummy Returns...the end of rental OAR? (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kim]

Robyn,
That's exactly what I stated earlier...that the decision to shelve only fullscreen reigned down from corporate. This fact makes it all the more gloomy and foreboding for the fate of OAR. If it was only a hodgepodge of stores making this decision on an individual basis, perhaps the ant-OAR (yes anti, since I believe this is a dedicated attempt on the part of the studios) sentiment could be subdued.
Changing the course of history which currently is on track to record the demise of OARdvd is much more overwhelming when dealing the the monoliths that are the studios/rental outlets. Perhaps they lost (not-really) on the Willy Wonka front, the dvd piracy front, etc., they damn well are not going to cede on the OAR front.
Actually, a theory...perhaps the studios, understanding the velocity of dvd acceptance, don't want to give up the farm. With the looming and ever-pervasive breach of techies on the issue of dvd piracy, why not just release fullscreen dvd's? The studios keep the OAR to themselves as an intellectual archive, a proprietary blueprint out of reach of consumers. As Mary Antoinette cried, "let them eat cake".

 

[Matthew H]

Does it say on the box it's full frame, or is it hidden in small writing on the back? If it's hidden, it just shows how people are sort of "tricked" into thinking it's the version they want, when in fact it's just P&S garbage.
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Matt
Mobu? Sounds like some sort of damn car polish.
My DVD Collection

 

[Brad_W]

Matt,
Unfortunately, the HV rental stickers cover up the "full-screen" lettering on the bottom. However, it does say it on the spine and back.
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"I was born to murder the world." -Nix (Lord of Illusions)
My Home Page http://www.geocities.com/masternix/DVD.html

 

[Rob Tomlin]

Hearing stuff like this makes me glad to know that The Phantom Menace will be released in widescreen ONLY!
Hopefully some of the P&S lovers will do a little research into why this movie is only available in widescreen....so they can find out what they have been missing!

 

[Jason Merrick]

I was recently informed by a friend at Disney that there is a decent chance Pearl Harbor will be released exclusively in Widescreen OAR on both DVD and VHS! As my friend said, if this happens, Michael Bay will be my new hero!

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[Lucas Dang]

Doh! I just looked at the one I just bought at Costco, it says full screen at the very bottom in shiny letters that blended in and didnt get my attention, I hope Costco is selling WS versions too. Otherwise I think we will have more to complain about. I hate it when they do this, I never look to see if its WS, I just asume that it is I didnt buy it a Wallmart afterall, But I guess joe six pack also shops at costco.
This is not the first time something like this has happened either. Unfortunately I never get the word off this forum until I already rushed out and bought the dumb versions.
The mummy returns is right, Im going to return it back to the store, and buy it somewhere else that sells only ws copies.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Well, I spoke with the head of purchasing for TommyK's, which is pretty big in CT and they have just adopted a new policy for duel releases after much experimentation:
Each store gets both. 70/30 ratio, pan-scan/widescreen.
Yes, that means more pan & scan copies, but they said they will not allow their widescreen customers to go away unhappy, so it will always be stocked.
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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[Brad Cook]

You know, all the anecdotal evidence I've seen here and other places leads me to believe that most people who want to rent movies don't really care about OAR. I would suspect that a higher percentage of movie buyers care, but it sounds like most people who want to watch movies in their homes--I'd be willing to bet that the average home movie watcher owns a handful of films and rents most of what they watch--just want to rent, and they don't care about OAR.
And even if they're educated, they still don't seem to care, which I have to admit surprises me. I thought that education was the answer.
Well, as far as I'm concerned, you can't do anything else with people who have been educated and still don't care, so they can rent P&S all they want. The great thing about this country is that you can choose what you want, and they can choose that. I just want to be able to choose widescreen if I want, and it looks like BB and HV don't want me to.
And that sucks.
- Brad

 

[richard plumb]

Is the rental version a special version, or is it just the 4:3 retail version in a plain box?
If so, there should be no extra cost in getting some widescreen versions in.
At the end of the day, those stores that do not stock widescreen renters are losing customers. If I go to Blockbuster for a DVD and find its 4:3, I leave it. Maybe one of my friends will lend it to me, or my local store will have a retail version to rent.
If you like OAR and want to rent movies (there must be more than just me!), and the big stores offer only P&S a few times, you will stop bothering checking them out. So they will lose business.
Even if this number is relatively small, it is still worthwhile, surely? Blockbuster were stocking DVD when the userbase was still small and mostly early adopters. But they still went for it.
I wouldn't even mind so much if they removed the widescreen versions from their 'if we don't have it in you rent it free next time' type of offers. That might enable them to stock small numbers without too much risk.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

[email protected]
Everyone needs to email them. And I mean everyone! Make it short and sweet.
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www.deceptions.net/superman
[Edited last by Matt_Stevens on October 04, 2001 at 09:54 AM]

 

[NathanP]

Dittos for me guys..
Couldn't get widescreen..
Execept this time my little brother who knows nothing about widescreen/fullscreen picked up this particular dvd..
As I came home, I took a brief peek at the backside of the dvd in which I loudly shouted " Oh S*** it's not widescreen."
Nathan

 

[Chris Moreau]

After reading this thread yesterday, I saw a Blockbuster commercial on television last night. In it were bits of several recent releases including The Mummy Returns. All were letterboxed! Maybe someone should talk to them about false advertising?

 

[Martin Rendall]

Blockbuster is running TV ads in Toronto (maybe all Canada, I don't know) for a guaranteed rental of Mummy Returns. The commercial shows scenes from Mummy Returns in 2.35 aspect! So maybe the problem is with Blockbuster US only?
Martin.

 

[Peter Kim]

Went ahead and emailed BB, Matt. Explained what I was told by the clerk at my BB.
Strange about the US / Canadian differences. Sometimes nothing makes sense...perhaps we Americans in general aren't quite up to speed with the Canadians in terms of OAR vigilance.

 

[Peter Kim]

Perhaps an analogy can be drawn up from this experience. I don't think it's too far of a reach...
I hated The Mummy. Heard about The Mummy Returns and vowed I would not be suckered this time. Alas, my willpower weak around any sci-fi/sfx flicks, I thought I'd check it out on video. This, despite the fact that I've only heard of negative, sometimes extreme, reviews.
Is this a closure thing...both my desire to see the sequel and the need for the masses to see a filled screen? I'd still like to see The Mummy Returns (although I won't fall prey to the full screen) at the risk of wasting my time and killing a few more grey cells.
Likewise, it may be a unconscious psychological need to see their tv screens fully utilized, especially for Americans. We need to fulfill our manifest destiny, and that includes the real estate on the screens of our expensive tv's. Rationalism about OAR/black bars, much like my good taste, then becomes victim to the wide swath cut down by the errant notion that the OAR picture the masses see is incomplete.
Don't underestimate the masses. We are a nation held hostage by Elmo, margarine, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Their unconscious and unspoken desire invariably dictates the course of this country. It is futile to resist basic instinct on an uneducated level.

 

[Chris Moreau]

Maybe I worded my ealier post incorrectly when I said that the film clips were letterboxed. The Blockbuster commercial shows them in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, so there is no difference between the Canadian and US commercials.

 

[brian a]

After I had rented it from HV here in texas and returned it for credit once I saw the 'formatted' message, I called Hollywood's customer service line last night and was told that since most DVD's are widescreen now when HV has a chance to get a Full Frame version of a film they will do so to give full frame fans a chance to see movies that way. My suggestion that they stock both seemed completely alien to person answering the phone.
I asked if I could expect this to be their policy going forward and was told that I could.
I didn't even look for the widescreen logo on it since it was labeled as a special edition. WTF? special like the short bus?
brianca

 

[Chris S]

This has got me wondering about the other Mummy Returns commercial that Universal has been running as of late. At the end there is a quick image of the DVD cover, and I wonder if it is the cover for the widescreen or p&s? Hmm...
I also wonder with the major chains supporting the p&s version if the sales numbers will indicate to the studios that more people want p&s rather than widescreen. I can just hear it now. "We are only releasing _______ in pan and scan because that is want the consumer wants. We sell 3 times more p&s than widescreen." Well yea because Blockbuster buys 400 times more movies than all the members of this forum put together. Chris
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Star Wars: http://www.ig88-.net

 

[Gavin K]

I stopped by on lunch today to see for myself, (not that I didn't trust you guys), and sure enough lined up on the shelf were 50 boxes all reading 'fullscreen.' I then asked one of the two clerks if they had gotten in any widescreen copies of MR, at first she seemed confused, then she told me, "whatever we have is on the shelf there," and walked away. Nice to know they educate their employees. I then asked if they planned on getting any widescreen copies in, and again she looked confused and told me that they just get in what corporate sends them. I then pointed to the HUGE sign which states that all BB employees are empowered to give me great customer service and she rather annoyingly told me that if I had an issue with corporate that I could contact them. Of course, she didn't have the number and told me just to go to Blockbuster.com. There is a 1-800 number listed on the site, but it is for site concerns only and suggests contacting the individual store for store related issues. Gotta love this company. So I did e-mail them, out of principle more than anything. I have been going to BB merely out of convenience since it is literally right across the street from my apartment, and the three next closest video stores are all BBs as well. There is an alternative near my work, but since I mostly only watch rentals on Friday and Saturday it means a long drive on Sunday or a late fee.

 

[Chris Moreau]

Perhaps if Blockbuster knew how many of us are unhappy with their current policy of renting out only fullscreen editions when widescreen ones exists, they might reconsider. I suggest that those of you who would like to see this changed, write a polite note to that effect at their customer service address:
[email protected]
If enough of us do so, it might just convince them!
[Edited last by Chris Moreau on October 04, 2001 at 03:15 PM]