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WHV Press Release: The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary UCE (DVD/Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

David Wilkins

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You go, Ethan!

A little surliness and lack of taste never hurt anybody. Personally, I descended from a long line of rock throwers and pugilists.
 

ReggieW

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I agree with Paul Scott.

I mentioned earlier that they should've offered a no frills set (much like Sony did with Close Encounters) at $49.95. This would've been far more realistic, imho, than making the $84.95 edition the only thing available.

As far as growth of the format, It's interesting that Blu-ray catalog titles appear not to be selling. Every month we are fed upbeat data (propaganda?) about how great the format is doing, but apparently studios are seldom releasing catalog titles pre-1970. I'm assuming that as Paul Scott stated, WHV is going this route because the poor sales of previous catalog titles simply don't warrant a regular release. Outside of this explanation, this strategy simply makes no sense. Now my question is, how long will it take for Blu-ray to attain the kind of penetration that'll see the floodgates open on pre-1970 catalog titles? There is a side of me that believes that this will POSSIBLY never happen, and that Blu will never attain the mainstream popularity of standard dvd.
 

Scott-S

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There is a limit to how many Blu-Rays can be produced. I think that we are lucky to be getting all of the "old" movies that we are getting. With the limited (getting better now) capacity to manufacture the discs, most of the capacity has been for new, high sellers. As the capacity grows, we should see more catalog titles.

We are basically only a year into this format. We can't expect to have every movie ever made on Blu already.
htf_images_smilies_smile.gif


Not to mention that bringing an oldie to Blu takes a huge effort as far as mastering etc.
 

GlennH

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With regard to Blu-ray catalog titles not selling, I think many people may be like me. I recently got my first Blu-ray player (Oppo BDP-83), and I would love to have lots of classic BD titles on my shelf.

But I find myself holding back. DVD pricing spoiled me. As much as I appreciate the improved product, I can't bring myself to spend upwards of $20 per movie, unless it's one I really want. I have over 900 DVDs (including too many still unwatched), and less than 15 BDs. Until BD prices drop I think I'll continue to be very selective with my purchases and wait for good sales to build my BD library. I should probably sign up for Netflix too.
 

Traveling Matt

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That doesn't mean Blu is not doing well. New and recent titles sell significantly better than catalog and are thus the majority of releases, DVD or BD. The catalog is not going to make or break Blu.
 

Robert Crawford

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That may be true except in this thread. Any further disparaging remarks towards Warner will be deleted without warning.






Crawdaddy
 

Camper

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You know, i wouldn't even want the box of junk if I was flat-out rich.

I'd rather give $50 to charity and buy a 'movie & features' only set for $30.

Why would i need that box of stuff sitting on my shelf? If you're not a rabid collector it's just conspicuous consumption.

I mean if that's what you want and you like it, great, but to make it the only version available is just crazy.
 

Brian Borst

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If everyone would just wait and see. Probably there will be a 'no thrills' package available. If it isn't in the US, it's bound to be somewhere else. You'd just have to import. But I also said it about Casablanca, and many people are still complaining about that one, so I don't know if it matters.
 

Jeff_HR

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It appears that WB is starting to fall from their lofty perch in the opinion of some people with their pricing methods. Really too bad they feel the need to gouge. :thumbsdown:
 

Jeff Ulmer

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How many years did it take to get rid of Snappers? :laugh:

I agree that insulting the studio isn't going to help anything.

I'm sure the Oz in Blu will look stunning, but I still haven't opened the last collector's DVD I bought. I don't need all the fluff either. I'm sure a regular release will come eventually.
 

Robin9

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You and me both, GlennH! I have a grand total of eight BDs and am in no hurry to replace all my DVDs.

The only reason I have not bought Casablanca on BD is that I'm not willing to pay a fortune for a lot of childish frippery.
 

David Wilkins

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I've spent most of my life going against the grain. Think I'll start a new movement here called "Embrace the Box". :D
 

Mark-W

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The inclusion of the John Ritter film makes this a "must buy" for my boss,
who is a major Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland fan. He has been looking
for that John Ritter film for years and years.

While I am not the Oz/Garland fan he is, this is one of the few times where
I do want a Blade Runner "Box of Junk/Crap" style release.
BTW, the briefcase Blu-Ray is long sold out on that limited release.

It is too bad Warner's doesn't follow the Blade Runner format of a
limited set for die-hard fans, and another for the rest of you.

I LOVE Casablanca, but I have not purchased that on Blu-ray yet
for the reasons already stated in this thread.
 

DeeF

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I have 2,500 DVDs and 150 BDs.

Surprisingly, the BDs I own are not duplicates. For the most part, the industry has chosen recent releases for Blu-ray.

The movies that I *will* rebuy on BD are great classics such as...The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Ben-Hur, Singing in the Rain, Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, North by Northwest, etc.

And I don't mind buying the big box sets.
 

Garysb

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I am guessing that it was a pricing error. The standard DVD with all the stuff like a watch is priced at $45 at Amazon.
 

Scot Apathy

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I was at an awards luncheon in Vegas in January seated next to a Warner Veep who was very involved with the restoration practices for impending Blu release. He was very open in discussing the films in play and fact that Warner was spending a ton of money in the 8k scans. He specifically cited Wizard, Doc Z and Gone With the Wind, and his comments about pricing prompted a conversation that made me very curious about how these films would be released.
In a nutshell, he felt that HD buyers are financing the restorations (or rescans where applicable). He indicated that the expense of restoration and the low retail pricing of DVDs was going to ensure that Blu-Ray releases of classic films would be priced high.
My response was that while I have a high appreciation for restorations (can't wait for Dr. Z, BTW), it is NOT THE CONSUMER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FUND RESTORATIONS. While of course it's logical that the studio release profitable product, I pointed out that these 8k transfers would be used again, either for next-gen Home Theater or TV broadcasts (or even theater re-release!), etc.
The conversation was cut short to my dismay, but the format of HiDef releases such as Casablanca and now Wizard serves to solidify his position. So...do you LOVE these old films? Do you LOVE them enough to buy high-margin releases that encourage studios to keep up with the latest tech? Or do you think that managing/maintaining their catalog (regardless of film importance or historic stature) is the sole responsibility of the studio? Of course, the choice of volume sales vs. high-margin, lower volume sales is debatable, but in the end, these films belong to the studios to release as they see fit.
Myself, I'm torn. When DVDs got cheap, I went from collecting my 'Favorite' films to buying titles that were 'OK', and now have a lot of 'meh' in my collection. Perhaps if I had to pay more for movies, I'd have a smaller, tighter collection. Or not.

Just my two pennies rubbed together.
 

ReggieW

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Ron visited with WHV yesterday.

Hopefully he asked WHV if there was going to be a single disc edition. DVDtown's press release from WHV seems to state this, but there still is confusion since no retailer has a single disc option for pre-order.
 

Jake Lipson

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Let me add to the chrous of voices who are stating the obvious: THE WIZARD OF OZ is a must-have masterpiece title which will look amazing on Blu-ray (and could well sway the average consumer to the format), but this will not matter when people see the pricetag. I was looking forward to owning this, but now I'll just stick with its 1930s companion, Snow White (which Disney is bringing out in both standard Blu and fancy versions a week after this release.) That's the way to do it -- put together the fancy set so the people who actually have $60 to drop on a single movie they love can do so (although I don't know anyone with that amount of free cash right now) and put out a more regular version for the rest of us.

Amazon is currently selling the FIVE-DISC Blu-ray collector's edition of Blade Runner from Warner, which has multipple cuts of the movei & extensive bonus material, for $24.99. If all of that can be sold that cheap, I fail to see why we can't get a standard multidisc Wizard of Oz set for that price.
 

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