The Road to Wellville FINALLY!!! (1 Viewer)

[Scott Weinberg]

Though Road to Wellville is NOT a film I'd add to my collection, I think this thread is a perfect indication of how these Fullscreen-only DVDs really disappoint that devoted fans.
I'm not sure what the rationale behind it is (and frankly I'm beyond caring), but it's a sin to see studios destroy specific movies like this.
Heck, the movie was a massive flop and lots of journalists ranked it among the worst of 1994. So if Columbia isn't releasing this film for the few fans the movie has (those who logically want the film in OAR)...who ARE they releasing it for?
Fullscreen-only should never happen. Ever.

 

[Sarah S]

Yesterday. I am so happy. Now if only payday would get here sooner so I can order so other-region stuff...
Honestly, we should boycott all domestic fullscreen releases & buy from overseas...then notify the studio that we made the oveases distributer richer by their not releasing OAR here.

 

[MikeEckman]

WHY??????

I can easily think of 3 or 4 others far more deserving.

Universal
-releases OAR (with the exception of the first wave)
-supports DTS more than any other studio
-releases NC-17 and Unrated versions
-adds a shit-load of extras

I'm not saying Universal is perfect (lack of original mono track on Jaws for example, but there's far worse studios out there.

With all due respect, yes, Universal and Columbia each have SOME positives about their releases, most of which you mentioned, but heres the main reasons why Columbia and Universal are at the low end of my favorite studio list:

Universal and Columbia are two studios who listen the least to their fans. Has any member of either studio ever participated in a HTF chat? I remember back in the days of the VSDA conferences and the DVD forum meetings, Universal would repeatedly be a no-show. Columbia had the problems with the missing Monty Python subtitles and would never acknowledge there was a problem. Columbia has shown absolutely no sign of caring about our concerns of OAR. Their pricing tiers make no sense at all (in all fairness, Paramount is guilty of this too, but at least theyre getting better) but featureless movies for $24.95 when even Paramount is starting to release things at $19.95 for barebones discs. Columbias new policy of totally ugly coverart brings a sour knot to my stomach. Universal has yet to do anything about re-releasing their first wave of DVDs, Happy Gilmore, Timecop, and basically all the other non-anamorphic titles they have out there (at least Columbia supported anamorphic enhancement from the beginning), Universals lack of catalog titles, the recent E.T. marketing scheme (which could be the fault of Spielberg, so maybe thats not their fault) and theres more nitpicks I could come up with.

Like I said before, no one studio does everything wrong, each studio definitely has its pluses. All I merely stated was that Columbia and Universal are at the top of my most hated studios for 2002....all that means is that everyone else is doing a consistently better job for this year.

Look at how far along MGM and Buena Vista have come. Fox had a terrible start in DVD, look at them now. Warner made some mistakes, but at least they listen to their fans, look at the full season sets of Friends and South Park, they made a widescreen Wonka, etc.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Honestly, we should boycott all domestic fullscreen releases & buy from overseas...then notify the studio that we made the oveases distributer richer by their not releasing OAR here.

That's what I've been saying for some time now. I bought the R2 Scent of Green Papaya in OAR. I may just get the R2 Perfect to make the point, even though it is not exactly the kind of film I'd normally buy... I'll certainly get A Midnight Clear if that gets released in OAR.
We also need to find someone high up in Sony's HARDWARE division and impress upon them how their wayward, brainless subsidiary is sabotaging their high margin widescreen TV sales.
Ted

 

[David Lambert]

We also need to find someone high up in Sony's HARDWARE division and impress upon them how their wayward, brainless subsidiary is sabotaging their high margin widescreen TV sales.

Hey, I've already sent a snailmail to the President of Sony America (which is posted here on HTF somewhere); what more do you want?
He seemed real disinterested in replying to me, though, even though I mentioned he lost an HDTV sale over this issue.
As to Wellville's DVD, I have now seen the box front and back. The cover is NOT a bowl of cornflakes. It looks more like the cover of Phantoms, with the inverted diagonals of the starring cast going back to Hopkins at the center. The back of the box confirms rather proudly that this is a Full Screen presentation, and is formatted to fit your TV.
But...the menus are anamorphic. No...REALLY!

 

[oscar_merkx]

Also announced are the full details on Alan Parker's lunatic comedy The Road to Wellville due 9/17, which alas is another Columbia full frame-only disaster. Audio options include an English 2.0 Dolby surround track and bonus trailers.
from dvdfile.com

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

such a disappointment.

 

[oscar_merkx]

tonight BBC 1 in the UK are showing this movie, and will watch this.

 

[JasenP]

I would have purchased this as I enjoyed the LD when it was first released and I regret letting it go, but no OAR WTF?

Booooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

[MikeEckman]

For those of us with the LD of this movie, it is widescreen. Obviously the picture quality isnt as good as the DVD would have been, but thats fine with me. I'm keeping my LD.

 

[streeter]

yep, Columbia is now officially the worst. I will tell them this at the VSDA convention in two weeks. I will tell them in their face that their inconsistent releases bring both confusion and shame into the fledgling DVD market. Not that this will make a difference, but maybe they will tell me their reasoning behind this.

 

[Jodee]

Not only did Columbia screw the pooch on the aspect ratio, but check out this HIDEOUS artwork.
I think even Real Genius might have looked better:
http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_ite...item_id=216998

 

[Alex Spindler]

Nothing is worse than the Real Genius artwork. I don't know about you, but I have found it remarkably effective at scaring young children and pets. How about you?