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

[GaryP]

Hmmm,
I must be one of the few lucky ones. The local Blockbuster I deal with got about 50 copies of The Mummy Returns all of which are widescreen. Very seldom do they get the full screen version of any movie when both versions are available. Since these are franchised stores, does anyone know if the individual locations have final say on which product they get?
Gary
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Hey bartender.....Joboo needs a refill.

 

[eric holm]

I, like everyone else here, prefers WS to the point that I won't buy FS unless that is the only option.
One thing to consider is that most people don't have the HT setup the we do. I am not saying that we all have high-end front projection jobs. I don't. I think we all have TVs that are typically larger than average and the room is set up to watch TV.
For most folks, the TV is smaller and not setup for optimal viewing distance. For example, my folks have a 27" TV that is about 18' away from the sitting area. I took a couple of movies over and they were so small you could hardly see them. In this case, FS is vastly more enjoyable.
While it is unfortunate for us, we are relatively a select few compared to what most people need. I don't think that it is so much a matter of education as it is a matter of placing a priority on their HT setup.

 

[Mark_TS]

...we can thank Woody Allen for starting the mess were in...
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time was, when you went to purchase a recording, there was a choice: you could buy the MONO version, or the STEREO version....it soon became apparant that duplication was unnecessary, and that STEREO should be the standard.
STEREO was 'forced' upon us, but few complained...
You rarely find (new) recordings in MONO these days....
Why are the studios, and the public virtually wearing 'back to MONO' buttons?
By pure progression, all films should be put out in their OAR ONLY!
This is the Twenty First Century. There is no need for an antiquated, unreasonable viewing preference...People should get used to the fact that there is(or will be) NO MORE MONO!
Likewise, the video studios should follow the lead of the recording studios, and stop making available Pan and Scan versions of films...
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[Tim Shumway]

Here is the Email I sent Blockbuster on Tuesday:
Issue category

ther
Issue: I wanted to voice my displeasure not with one store but with your
chain,reguarding widescreen dvd releases.When I went to rent THE MUMMY
RETURNS today to my dismay all that were available were FULLSCREEN
versions At all locations in my town.I understand that most people are
ignorant when it comes to widescreen and would pefer a full screen picture
that(fills up their TV).I PREFER WIDESCREEN!Why would your stores not even have 1 copy
of the Widescreen version of the film available? That is presented in the
ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO.This is not the first time that this has occured, .I
have rented hundreds of films from your chain over the past five years I
am a REWARDS member.I am seriously considering not renewing my rewards
membership and starting to rent from Hollywood Video beacuse they carry
the widescreen versions of the films I want to rent.Please read this and
know that their are many people like me who prefer WIDESCREEN VERSIONS
over Fullscreen PAN and SCAN
Here is the reply I got Today???????????????????????????????
Thank you for your e-mail. We take your questions and comments as a welcome
show of interest and loyalty. Customer feedback is very important to us and we
are glad you took the time to write.
We do not edit or otherwise alter movies ourselves. We leave the methodology as
to how ratings are applied specifically and completely to the studios involved.
We are retailers and not members of the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of
America), so we take no position on individual scenes or the overall artistic
merits of a film. We are not in the content business. We are in the business
of exceeding the expectations of our members and customers, and thus our goal is
to offer the widest possible selection within our broad parameters of our "no
NC-17 or X" standards.
Blockbuster has always tried to provide our customers with a variety of choices
while maintaining our family orientation. As you know, we will not carry "X"
rated or "NC-17" rated films. However, there are unrated film titles we feel
may contain content unsuitable for children, and we designate these titles with
a "YRV" designation, for "Youth Restricted Viewing". Although not pornographic,
only members older than 17 are allowed to select these films.
Thank you for letting us know how we can better serve your entertainment needs.
We take your comments very seriously and welcome them, as a valuable tool needed
to improve the quality of our service. We hope you will give us another
opportunity to serve your entertainment needs. If you need further assistance,
please contact your local Blockbuster store. Our employees are empowered,
authorized, and expected to take care of customers.
Sincerely,
Blockbuster Consumer Services
Figures
The Hollywood video here did have the WIDESCREEN VERSION.
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My DVD Collection
[Edited last by Tim Shumway on October 04, 2001 at 05:24 PM]

 

[Dwayne]

Well, that certainly addresses the issue.

They're empowered my ass. Go ahead try to voice your concerns to them. I'll bet that they'll suggest complaining to corporate. It's one of those cirle of life kind of things.

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-Dwayne

 

[Matt_Stevens]

I am speechless. They didn't even read your email!
I think it is clear why this is happening. The company is run by a bunch of monkeys.
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www.deceptions.net/superman

 

[Peter Kim]

Tim,
The response you received from BB defines incredible. What do you think...are they (corporate BB) that stupid or do they believe by providing a meandering and irrelelvant response, you'll lose sight of your complaint?
I'm just dumbfounded by this reponse. I sent a complaint to BB this morning. I can only anticipate nothing less than the ridiculous.
I believe that they're doing this on purpose - they believe they can deceive us with their doublespeak. The company will always think they can feed the public shit; unfortunately, the public apparently concedes. Kinda reminds me of the scene in Fight Club where the Ed Norton character talks to a fellow airline passanger on how car companies accept their meager losses at the great expense of personal, consumer lives.
Again, just incredible. If I get anything of the same nature, I'll personally boycott BB from here on out.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I wouldn't classify the responce from Blockbuster as 'doublespeak', its more like a pre printed response to deal with any complaints that deal with censorship.

 

[Peter Kim]

Yes, Carl, you're right. You've summarized their response exactly. But it has nothing to do with Tim's (our) complaint. I'm guessing they aren't that stupid to answer a "why is the sky blue" question with a "because pizza only comes with sausage" answer.
I believe they deliberately spewed out their response to Tim to mislead or mistrack. So in that sense it is doublespeak, to deceive or conceal with something totally unrelated to the issue at hand.
I don't give companies like BB the benefit of the doubt. They know what they've done and they're covering their tracks. I don't know much about this, but didn't they lose a class action lawsuit regarding late fees (if anyone can clarify, I'd be grateful - as a customer, I was automatically included in this class action and the subsequent settlement).
[Edited last by Peter Kim on October 04, 2001 at 07:15 PM]

 

[Jan Strnad]

I've just about given up on convincing J6P that he needs widescreen movies. He'd rather fill his screen, end of story.
I believe that our only chance is widescreen televisions. And not just $2-20k big screens and projectors, but living room sized widescreen sets that don't cost both arms and legs.
Until set manufacturers get their shit together, I think we're doomed to endure this kind of nonsense.
Too bad I can't further boycott Blockbuster. I've been doing that since they refused to carry The Last Temptation of Christ.
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http://www.mindspring.com/~atombrain/risenintro.html
Jan Strnad
author of Risen (now in Palm Reader format) and
"The AtomBrain Guide to Letterboxing"

 

[Bruce Leonard]

I had the same problem with Mummy Returns DVD rental the other night. Found out is was not Widescreen when I put it in the DVD player. Watched p/s version, but not a happy camper.
When I took it back, I asked the owner of the mom and pop store( I don't do BB) why, and he said he didn't even notice when he ordered it. I asked if he had had any complaints and he said no, so far.
I will ask him again in a week or two.
So it looks like, in this case, it was an ordering error, but the owner doesn't seem too upset about it.
Bruce.
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[Steven Good]

Tim Shumway,
The first and last paragraphs that you received in your reply from Ballbuster are identical to the wording I received in their reply to the email I sent them regarding full frame Mummy Returns. They simply push a button with a pre-set paragraph to address you concern as closly as possible. A 21st century form letter. Though the whole middle of your reply has nothing to do with your complaint. You mention aspect ratio to these Cust. Serv. Reps. and their eyes glaze over. They didn't know what button to push, and weren't capable of writing an original paragraph to address your concern.
Roger Ebert--"This is one more pathetic example of the dumbing of America--to show the films in the wrong
aspect ratio to placate the stupid, instead of in the right aspect ratio to reward the knowledgeable."
That quote seems to cover so many issues we're facing now that DVD is mainstream, huh?
Steven

 

[Clinton McClure]

quote: 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...[/quote]
The cover shown in the commercial is for the widescreen release. Viva la Resistance!

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http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=mport_drivr Casa del Clint
[Edited last by Clinton on October 05, 2001 at 12:32 AM]

 

[Peter Kim]

Well, I got a response from BB to my complaint. I received the exact same form letter (the same one Tim received) that has nothing to do with the OAR issue I wrote in about. The last line is especially ridiculous:
"Our employees are empowered,
authorized, and expected to take care of customers."
They are liars.
Goodbye, Blockbuster. You're a worthless company.

 

[Dave Hahn]

I usually don't respond to these kind of threads, but this one contains so many alarmist posts that I couldn't resist.
People, the sky is not falling. This is not the end of films on dvd in OAR. It's a bump in the road, that's all. Nothing worth having is easy, and re-creating the movie-going experience in our homes, complete with films in original theatrical aspect ratio, is no exception. We'll get there, we just have to fight and sweat a little. I'll tell you, we wouldn't be having this discussion if HDTV had caught on as fast as dvd has, but it soon will.
The prices on HDTV-ready rptv's are now almost the same as regular rptv's. In two to three years good 'ole suburbia will be flooded with widescreen high definition televisons, and the good little suburbanites will fill the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos of the world demanding widescreen movies to fill their new widescreen televisions. It's really that simple. Even now, things aren't as bad as some would have us believe.
Not a few, not some, not half, not most, but almost all films released on dvd are available in their original aspect ratio. I'm sure that The Mummy Returns is a great popcorn flick, (I have it on order), but we're not talking The Godfather here. If no one could rent The Godfather or The French Connection in their OAR's, then it would be time to start petitions. I don't think we're there yet, and I don't think we'll ever be.
HDTV is coming and it will end this argument for good. If anything, ten years from now we'll be complaining about studios releasing television shows, shot in 1.33:1, in some kind of pre-stretched mode so that it would fill everyone's high definition widescreen tv without any black bars on the sides!
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"When you call me that, smile!"
My DVD Collection

 

[Daniel L]

"HDTV is coming and it will end this argument for good."
Uh, Dave... Have you ever seen Gladiator or Deep Blue Sea (just to name a few) on High-Def HBO? Froming a 2.35 film for 1.78 does not end the argument at all.
Daniel L

 

[Mark McLeod]

I've never had a problem with my local Blockbuster stocking Non OAR DVDs. Infact the few times when there has been a P&S Version available the BB near me only had the widescreen version. I'm not sure about this time around since I haven't been there and I refuse to watch The Mummy Returns but I haven't seen a P&S version there when a widescreen version existed. Even recently they stocked the unrated Saving Silverman on DVD and the rated one on VHS. So it appears they are about their DVD customers even if they shaft me on the rental pricing.

 

[Miles_W]

I went to a local chain in Canada called Jumbo, and much to my dismay... Nothing but Full Screen. I spoke to the owner and volia, he opened up a widescreen ( that was on the shelf for sale) and turned it onto a rental...I asked him about if he had received any complaints about no Widescreen, and did he find the majority of the customers prefer widescreen or Pan and Scan. Interestingly enough he echoed what Eric Holm was discussing earlier in the thread, that most people with smaller tv's "feel cheated" by those black bars, and gave very negative feedback upon accidentally renting widescreen.. ah well life continues.
It was a very bad movie anyway ( the cgi was so blatent it was not funny!)
Miles
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Miles
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DarkSide Member since(93)

 

[Jeff Swindoll]

Our employees are empowered,
authorized, and expected to take care of customers.

Dont you just love it when marketing comes up with these feel good statements to cover up the problem without fixing the problem

. Like slapping this statement on every BB is going to fix the problem.
I also love it when customer service reps email you a "because pizza has sausage on it" response. Arent they trained to READ the emails??!!?? Wait, maybe they cant read??

I guess I'm turning into a OAR fanatic, since I wont even bother with movies that arent in their OAR anymore

.
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I didnt play Dungeons and Dragons all those years and not learn something about courage.
--Bernie Faulkner

 

[Andrew Cybulska]

I got the same exact response that Tim got. I don't think they even care.

I just don't get it... People think the black bars cut their picture, but when they learn the truth about widescreen, they don't care. I thought they cared about the picture being cut off in the first place.

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