WB's Police Academy 7-disc box-set: Press Release (1 Viewer)

[Casey Trowbridg]

While on the surface this might seem like a wonderful idea, there are those of us out there that would like to own all 7 films. So, if we didn't buy 4 or 5 and bought the 5 OAR films separately we could end up spending more money than if we had simply bought the box set, and while I wouldn't have a problem with someone that went with that approach to me I just couldn't rationalize spending more money for less product. So in that sense it would be easier for me to just skip the whole thing. Having said this, I'm still undecided, I may still buy the box set anyway, but the only thing I have decided is since I am a fan of these films its either all or nothing.

I still don't know what WB is thinking...

 

[PhilipG]

That's because mostly everyone here has a widescreen TV.

 

[MikeEckman]

I'll probably buy parts 1-3 by themselves. Im not so much disappointed in 4 and 5 being widescreen, simply because they were pretty bad!

 

[Eugene Esterly]

This sucks because PA 4 & 5 are going to be Pan & Scan. I want all of the PA movies on DVD in OAR.

 

[PaulP]

Well the boxset art is up here:

http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?...3223&n=1&burl=

Still can't grasp that two of the seven films will not be in OAR. But in a world where a DVD gets pulled for a second time within two weeks of release, I guess this is to be expected...

 

[PhilipG]

Yikes, what hideous cover art for that boxset!

Maybe the third time they'll get it right on both counts. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Michael Allred]

Taken from yesterday's HTF/WB chat;


I'm sorry but I don't find this acceptable. Why couldn't they simply create new widescreen transfers for #'s 4 & 5? It's not as if they don't have all the proper elements to do so, the "PA" films never went through ownership changes with bits missing here and there over the years, they've *always* been Warner films. The first 3 (all older obviously) will be widescreen....

Is this simply a case where Warner just didn't want to invest in creating new WS transfers?

I still will NOT be buying the box set.

 

[William Waits]

While I want to thank WB for their participation in the chat, and their flood of information they they were willing to share, I would have to agree with this sentiment... I find the response rather unacceptable, and unbelievable myself. It should throw up a red flag on 1 of two fronts:

- If they truly are lost, the WB needs to impliment tighter controls and inventory management of their stock. Like the above mentioned, this isn't a film 75 years ago, or a film that has changed hands. It always has been a WB entity.

- If they are NOT lost, then that would mean they were untruthful in their response, and that would be unsettling to customers.

It may sound harsh, especially considering their wonderful participation in the chat and the extremely high quality of recently released and upcoming material, but they may want to look in the mirror and ask themselves that very question. [Why no OAR for PA 4 & 5?]

I also don't mean to sound like I am in attack mode. As I indicated, they have put out some WONDERFUL material as of late, and from the chat, more is yet to come, so I am not trying to place a glowing red scarlet letter on them for this, or brand them worst studio of the year for it (BTW, Universal CLEARLY holds that title for me, with Columbia a close second...). It just seems out of place [Non-OAR] considerating all of the great material released in this same timeframe (+/- 1-2 years)

 

[PaulP]

I decided to give in and this set will be the only non-OAR title in my 450+ collection (not counting the Kubrick Collection's intended non-OAR discs). There's little or no chance these will be revisited, and for 40 bucks it's hard to pass this opportunity up, to own these very fun movies.

 

[Jacinto]

That, to me is what makes this release so ridiculous, Crawdaddy. Because the films are so mainstream there will be far more people returning their "defective" copies of the boxset at Walmart, seeing as how 1-3, 6 and 7 will have those terrrible black bars. Warner has essentially put themselves in a no win situation: J6P will be thrilled with 4 and 5, but complain about the others. Those of us concerned with OAR will complain about 4 and 5. They have essentially made a boxset guaranteed to please nobody. WTF?!

 

[Joseph S]

Sorry WB, I'm not about to change my ways now. Maybe you'll correct this in the future but No OAR. No Sale! There are far too many other DVDs out there in competition with this defective compilation for me to waste my money on this.

 

[CraigL]

I hate to say it but I agree. The "shut up and take it" attitude is not something that people who run a well-respected site such as this should accept. Or at least, I'm not expecting it but apparently I'm wrong. WB royally screwed this one up. I'm just going to wait on Columbia House for the first 3. Warner Bros can kiss my ass on the other 4.

 

[Patrick McCart]

You know, you can matte the films yourself since Warner stated they're open matte.

Police Academy 4 and 5 are "Z-grade" titles and shouldn't be on DVD to begin with. Warner didn't even need to re-transfer 2, 3, 6, or 7.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I might get roasted for this but here goes.

I agree that the OAR should be released 100% of the time but this is a dream that will never happen. As much as we support OAR the majority of the people out there simply don't care. Even those who prefer widescreen still won't pass up a film just because it isn't in the correct AR. I'd go even further and say that the majority of DVD buyers don't check the cover to see if something is widescreen or not.

Coming from a horror film website, the biggest concern there is that films are released uncut, in their X-rated form. What I really don't understand about this uncut issue or the OAR issue is how fans of a certain film will boycott a release and refuse to own one of their favorite films just because it isn't OAR. I mean, we became fans watching them open matte for the past twenty years so are we not ever going to watch the film again? The thought of never watching one of my favorite movies because it's not the correct ratio or because it's missing five seconds of gore doesn't make much sense.

Since 1999 I've worked with various sites and I've always pushed the OAR cause but I think it's a lost one. Overall, I think the majority of studios (especially Warner/Fox) release the correct AR the way they should. However, these smaller titles sometimes will be pushed out there without a studio wanting to spend much money (if that's the case here, which I doubt since extras are included). It appears you can either be a "fan" and not buy your favorite film or a J6P and "buy what the studio wants".

I personally don't see anything coming from the boycott because a few lost sales aren't going to cost Warner anything because this is still going to sell. The only thing that will happen is that the fan will suffer by not being able to own one of their favorite films. As much as I love the OAR, the movie is still the most important thing. Some might say the OAR is the "film", which is true but I'm a fan of these and I've never seen them widescreen.

Even if we did send a "message" to Warner, it could always backfire on us. If we all stood up and refused to buy this set then Warner could get the wrong message and think that we simply don't want to own films like this. If that's the case then we might not see furture releases of this "Z" grade comedies from the 1980's. I just went through this with MGM on their DEATH WISH films, which were released open matte. I could have boycotted them and wouldn't have a couple favorite films of mine in my collection. I would have sent a message to MGM but on the other hand, if I hadn't bought those DW films then MGM might have gotten the idea that I wasn't interested in Bronson and they wouldn't have bothered releasing the other 10+ films they own by him.

What was the best thing to do? I decided to buy the discs AND let MGM know that I want the OAR. I let them know that they did get my money but if they want to keep getting it they must start doing the right thing. Will this do anything? I'd like to think so but I'm fairly certain MGM doesn't care. Yes, they got my money but hopefully (to me) that money will get future films on DVD, which is what's important to me.

I'm going to buy this PA set without hesintation but at the same time I'm going to send an e-mail to Warner and let them know that I want OAR. I'm sure someone from Warner is reading this thread so they are hearing you fans when you say you want OAR. The thing is, this isn't the type of title that is going to be re-released. So, you fans can either buy the set, which isn't perfect or be without one of your favorite films. I doubt we're going to be able to send any message so to me, I'll give my money but at the same time I will also give my feedback to the studio.

 

[Joseph S]

Anything can backfire, at this point what's the difference other than possible future benefit? People buy plenty of "crap" every day, if this set doesn't sell it can only be due to people's reaction to the terrible production value. I'm sad to see they still haven't learned from all the other issues in the past ranging from the crappy South Park and Friends medleys to the Vacation Movies, Willy Wonka, Space Jam, etc. Most folks here have significant collections that are constantly being added to and they need to learn every once in a while that our money in not just a given. Maybe foreign WBs or other rights owners will see a bump in sales in the future like they did for ER and South Park. Give us a solid product and they will see sales. They should know better and we at least deserve honest answers.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I'm not a sales expert but I'm sure something like SPACE JAM, VACATION or something like ROBIN HOOD would be big enough of a seller to get a re-release. I'm not sure if that would be the case for PA 4 and 5. So, I could hold off buying the set in hopes that a SE will follow but considering the titles, I'm going to guess this is all I'm going to get so I can take it or leave it.

I used to boycott these type of things but the past year I've come to realize that it's hurting no one but me. Everyone here has boycotted MGM at one time or another yet in over three years, MGM continues to release open matte and non-anamorphic transfers so apparently they either don't care what we say or simply aren't going to change their ways. As I said earlier, as much as I want the OAR at the same time I can't never watch a favorite film of mine for that reason. I gave up my VCR years ago and never owned a LD player so DVD is it.

Money is probably the biggest issue for me here. I could only buy 1-3 and 6-7 but it would be higher than buying the box. To me, I'll take the open matte transfers for "free" since it will save me money. I've already bought 17 Warner releases this year and I've got 38 more Warner films to buy up till June 1st. I'm certainly not happy about 4 and 5 being open matte but I don't see a re-release coming.

Even with the open matte issue, I'm a lot more upset about POLICE ACADEMY 7 being on DVD before various Cagney, Tracy, Brando, Newman and Val Lewton titles. However, with PA7 on DVD, it gives me hope that something small like Lugosi's RETURN OF THE APE MAN or VOODOO MAN will eventually get a home on my shelf thanks to Warner.

Again, everyone here has the right to be upset but for me personally, I don't want to go the next 50 years of my life without being able to see these films again.

 

[CraigL]

If these films were GREAT films that I HAD TO OWN, it would be a different story. We're not talking about Star Wars here. We're talking about PA 4 and 5. I liked them a lot and they're a part of my childhood. But I've done without them all these years and it looks like I still will. I have 1 p&s in my collection and I'm on my way to getting the widescreen. I'm not adding 2 more to it.

 

[WillG]

Here's the thing, we may have grown up watching some of our favorite films in MAR for many years, but that it all the more reason the studio should finally release their catalog films in OAR. DVD has set the precident for OAR to the world unlike any other format before it. I have been looking at sales charts weekly and I can't remember when I saw a P&S release higher on the charts than it's OAR counterpart. Studios should not just throw old titles out there in P&S. They do it, but it shouldn't happen. Warner has been reliable (the do have a lot of early titles that they need to re-do in OAR, however) So, I'm not going to call the P.A. transgression another kick in the crotch by them, but it's is dissapointing.



So,if MGM keeps releasing movies you love in MAR and Non-Anamorphic, when do you actually draw the line and not give them anymore of your money?

 

[Michael Elliott]

In my opinion, when I die. Perhaps I'm looking at this in the wrong way or perhaps I'm just frustrated with MGM but... I don't see any change coming no matter how many of their titles I don't buy. I know people who have boycotted them since 2000 because one of their favorite films were released MAR. Four years later MGM continues to release MAR titles so apparently these boycotts haven't worked. As someone else said, STAR WARS could get a re-release but it's highly doubtful that DEATH WISH 4 will get one.

I love these "bad" films and I think they should get the same attention as the big boys but this probably won't happen. A studio could re-release DANCES WITH WOLVES five times a year and I'm sure fans would penny up for each release. A studio could do that because the thing would sell. That's not the case (I don't think) with something like DEATH WISH 4, POLICE ACADEMY 4 or even something like CHILD'S PLAY (a cult horror film).

Coming from a "fans" point of view, I see no way to win here. Since it's doubtful Warner would re-release titles like these, there's very little hope for OAR. From the OAR point, I'm losing with this MAR release. On the other hand, if I refuse to buy the set then I lose again by not being able to watch a film I enjoy. I agree OAR is the most important thing when it comes to DVD but the one thing bigger is the film itself. When it comes down to it, if it's a film I love then it's going to be in my collection no matter if there are no extras or a poor picture quality. Probably I'm wrong in saying this but I do think DVD has caused a lot of harm along with the greatness it's brought.

Warner is my favorite studio and they are pretty much untouched in every genre they release. If they say widescreen masters aren't available then I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and think they are telling the truth. Warner is probably reading this thread so I'm letting them know I'm going to give them my money for them in hopes that they will release more "smaller" movies. However, I'm also telling them that I want them in OAR. So, for the POLICE ACADEMY set, I'm giving them my money so that they will then release something without a huge fanbase. I'm also telling them that I want that film released OAR.

Hopefully, both the studio and the fan will get what they want.

 

[WillG]

In the Warner Chat someone mentioned a film that they were hoping for an anamorphic release of. Warner admitted that they did have a letterboxed transfer of that film in their posession but there were no plans to release it because it would have been cost prohibitive to do a new anamorphic transfer and that would be (in their words) "Unacceptable" I know they might have said that in the sense that it would have been unacceptable to us but they are still not planning on releasing it even though they do have an OAR transfer. So if Non-Anamorphic is unacceptable, why is MAR only acceptable?

I'm not really trying to attack Warner, because they are one of the most reliable studios out there, but I think it poses an intesting question.