Why do they re-do DVD's (1 Viewer)

[Don]

like bringing out special editions of the ones we already have. instead of redoing something why not bring out more movies that we already have. i kind of switched over to buying anime right now because of this. but i would like some more older movies released as well. Don,

 

[Richard Gilmore]

$$$$$$$$$ - sell the same product, slightly altered, twice, three times, you make more money.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Well I'm all for it, if the reason is to give us OAR of a previously P&S version, or to give us an anamorphic version of a previously non-anamorphic release. Another good reason it to give us more footage in the movie, (Director's Cut, Extended Edition, etc.)

Besides that, they shouldn't do it, though.

 

[Don]

i'm for the extra's but would like just to have a original copy of the movie. and not like what they did with south pacific.

 

[David_N]

Because they sell. Look how the studios have released great original disks like Men in Black then release a special version with a MIB2 trailer later. Terminator 2 is another good example, the T2:UE is great as it is.

As already stated, if the rerelease is a drastic improvement over the previous release, I'm all for it.

 

[Charlie Essmeier]

Most of the highly sought-after titles have already been released on DVD. Those that remain are mostly niche films with a small fan base.

A studio is likely to sell more copies of a remastered "T2", even when releasing a second or third time, than it will copies of a never-before-released 1950's B film. There's only so much manufacturing capacity, and it's always allocated to that which will sell the most copies.

The bottom line, as always, is $$$.

Charlie

 

[Roger Rollins]

The T2 reissue is ridiculous and obviously exploitative. ARTISAN has a minuscule library of hits and a huge library of bombs. So they keep re-doing certain titles, and in many cases, like THE QUIET MAN, the improvements are negligible.

I'm all for new versions on DVD when significant improvements can be made. Fox's old ALL ABOUT EVE looked and sounded terrible. The new version is a big improvement. The old MGM SINGIN' IN THE RAIN looked somewhat decent, but had no extras. The new WB SINGIN' IN THE RAIN looks astounding, and has tons of extras. THESE are more than justifiable reissues.

It's really a case-by-case basis situation. Titles released in the earlier days of DVD that were not OAR, or weren't anamorphic when they should be, deserve another chance. So do titles that have significantly improved transfers. Otherwise, when it's a T2, or WEST SIDE STORY in a new box, with an uninspired new documentary (but the same video transfer, and with a portion of the song TONIGHT now out-of synch!), it's obvious these are unwarranted attempts to bilk the consumer for extra bucks.

 

[Jon Robertson]

There are essentially two reasons why a company would redo a title - one, as a shameless tie-in promotion (American Pie, Men in Black) and two, as a worthwhile effort to improve on previous discs that didn't do the film justice (Fahrenheit 451, Rushmore, Singin' in the Rain, All About Eve).

 

[MarkHastings]

As Richard Gilmore stated: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Homer Simpson: "The all ightly ollar?"


Plus, most of the DVD work has already been done so it's probably fairly cheap to go back and rework a few things so as to re-release a DVD (that might not be selling well anymore) and make some quick/easy cash by a "Special Edition". It gains new interest from people who didn't buy it when it was originally released and it also gains interest from people who have already bought the original release and want the new one as well. Double Cha-Ching! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Think of it this way. Let's say you had a DVD release out there that was 2 years old. Now, when that DVD first came out, let's say (for example) that you sold 3 Million copies that first year. Now, 2 years later, let's say you're only selling about 300/year. Let's also assume that your inventory is running out of stock.

As a studio, you don't want to screw yourself out of a possible sale by taking the product off the shelves completely, but you probably don't want to spend the money to go have another pressing made of an older disc (i.e. Is it worth the $$ to repress a DVD that only sells 300/year?)

So you think, Instead of repressing the OLD version, let's add some new features and enhance the video quality (since MPEG compression gets better every year).

Now, you have a "Brand New" DVD that will probably sell in the thousands rather than in the hundreds which would definitely make up for the small amount of production costs to release it with a few more enhancements.

 

[James Reader]

So you think, Instead of repressing the OLD version, let's add some new features and enhance the video quality (since MPEG compression gets better every year).

My theory is that they don't improve the encoding most of the time. This explains why many first run DVD's still have space left on them even with supplements - space is left for additional supplements on the re-release.

 

[Greg_M]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $ - enough said?

 

[Michael Harris]

How many versions of the "Lord of the Rings" have you seen put out in print? Hard bound, paper bound, annotated, three volumes, one volume, illustrated, movie tie-in versions, faux-leather bound, etc, etc, etc. The video industry is just taking a page from the publishing industry. If they make it, someone may just buy it.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Most of the time, to improve quality.

Compare the two editions of Amadeus (theatrical and director's cut versions). To add supplemental material.. Singin' In The Rain had a trailer-only disc with an OK transfer. The SE provides much better picture and sound quality, plus a ton of extras.

Some are to provide a version for the enthusiast such as the Lord of the Rings DVDs. Most people will want just the movie with a few extras. Many want a ton of extras and speciality items.

Some are just to cash in. Artisan's crappy The Quiet Man DVDs are an example. T-2 is sort of an improvement, but it's not good if you lose stuff from the original.

For every special edition of Amadeus, Singin' In The Rain, A Hard Day's Night, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit...we have T-2: Extreme Edition, The Quiet Man: Collector's Special Edition, and MIB: Superbit.

 

[Eugene Esterly]

Basically, it boils down to one thing which is money. Also studios are re-doing DVD's because the sequel is coming to theaters. The reason why we are seeing an new release of Terminator 2, Fast & The Furious & The Matrix is because the sequels are coming out this year.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Because we buy them.

I would rather have a rerelease of a film if it improves the film through a better/anamorphic transfer/OAR or extras. At least then it is a nice upgrade. I'm less than pleased by a release with just a marginal addition of other extras. Even worse was the "Ultimate Edition" tendency to include a P&S version just to take up space (IMO).

 

[Brad HP]

The installed base of DVD players continues to grow steadily. Releases that are just a couple of years old can be re-introduced to an ever growing population of new DVD hardware owners. Titles sell very well during the week of their initial release, due to heavy advertising and premium shelf space in stores. As such, it is to the studios benefit to re-release the titles as often as possible. It's just good marketing. I am sure the studios are fine with having customers re-purchase titles, but I believe that their main focus is on all of the evergrowing number of new hardware owners.

 

[Craig Beam]

Hey, as long as great editions of "niche" titles like FAHRENHEIT 451 and THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR continue to be released, the studios can rerelease TERMINATOR 2 and MEN IN BLACK as many times as they like. It's the revenue from these double/triple-dip releases that finance the catalogue releases.

 

[Derek_McL]

To me it is a cynical money-making exercise. Adding extra features and improving the transfer might be justifiable but many studios (particularly Warner Brothers) have so many classics which should be on DVD and haven't even been released once in a bare bones edition. How many times do you actually watch the extra features on a DVD or listen to the commentary track ? I think it is totally wrong to say that all the sought after titles have been released. Fans of classic film know that some studios have only covered the tip of the iceberg.

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