When are MGM going to start releasing catalogue titles again!

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Is the French disc superior to the US disc from Lionsgate?

It has some interviews in the extras so on that front, yes. It also seems to be a BD-50 whereas the US is listed as BD-25. But I can't common on visual comparisons although it looked nice and I didn't notice any issues.

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Yep, MGM has clearly been doing new 4K scans of their library, for eventual streaming use, but they don't seem all that interested in putting them onto discs, even just BDs. Four Weddings, City Slickers, Spaceballs, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and many more have all had beautifully remastered releases through boutique labels over the last few years, MGM didn't bother with them.

I think at this point the focus is on streaming, we're lucky the Shouts and KLs of the world have given us discs of some of these remasters.

Overboard isn't a 4k scan, tho.

[Filmfanatic10]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

I know they're recovering after the AT&T split, but Warner needs to place their bid to buy MGM ASAP!

All of MGM under roof again? Who wouldn't want that? Plus you also get a majority of the Castle Rock library in one place.

Or they need to at least buy a stake in MGM from Amazon if the latter wastes nearly all their money on the acquisition and doesn't know how to manage the studio (just like NBCUniversal owning a small stake in Amblin/DreamWorks Pictures, or ViacomCBS buying 49% of Miramax from BeIN).

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by rocknblues81

Maybe selling the collection is going on far, but going forward my spending physical media is going to be cut majorly.

Yeah, Of course they want to beef up their streaming crap.... I wish I had your optimism that they will do something to be helpful in regards to this issue, but we'll see I guess.

Are you sure you’ve not just been looking for an excuse to dump your discs and this is just the nearest convenient reason? You’re broadcasting your woes in several of these MGM-related threads but the bonkers thing is that MGM don’t give a crap aboot physical media ANYWAY, haven’t done for years hence all this stuff they’ve licensed out to the indies. The indie question is a pressing one, but those deals aren’t going to be cancelled overnight. If this was Universal or Paramount or Sony getting bought by a streamer then I could better understand the panic because what we don’t want is catalogue-friendly majors getting consumed. Even Lionsgate getting bought would have a far greater impact on the non-indie disc ecosystem, 4K UHD in particular, than MGM.

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

The thing that makes little sense though is if any streamer should NOT be afraid of physical media it should be Amazon. Many get Prime regardless of streaming even existing and most would still keep it even if they put titles onto disc and most who would get the discs would buy them from Amazon, quite possibly using Prime. All they would do is ADD money. It wouldn't cut down Prime at all, they'd just add physical media sales of their catalog on top sold through their store (pushing Prime even more) for max profit out of them.

[Donl1282]

Hopefully MGM will release the 1990s Outer Limits on BD now Amazon owns it. Amazon can sell the physical copies.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW

The thing that makes little sense though is if any streamer should NOT be afraid of physical media it should be Amazon. Many get Prime regardless of streaming even existing and most would still keep it even if they put titles onto disc and most who would get the discs would buy them from Amazon, quite possibly using Prime. All they would do is ADD money. It wouldn't cut down Prime at all, they'd just add physical media sales of their catalog on top sold through their store (pushing Prime even more) for max profit out of them.

Except.......amazon haven't bothered trying to shill physical editions of their own 'originals' so why would MGM's content be any different? Some stuff squeaks out like The Boys (hell, even Netflix released a couple seasons of Stranger Things on disc) but most of the time it's a big fat no.

[rocknblues81]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Are you sure you’ve not just been looking for an excuse to dump your discs and this is just the nearest convenient reason? You’re broadcasting your woes in several of these MGM-related threads but the bonkers thing is that MGM don’t give a crap aboot physical media ANYWAY, haven’t done for years hence all this stuff they’ve licensed out to the indies. The indie question is a pressing one, but those deals aren’t going to be cancelled overnight. If this was Universal or Paramount or Sony getting bought by a streamer then I could better understand the panic because what we don’t want is catalogue-friendly majors getting consumed. Even Lionsgate getting bought would have a far greater impact on the non-indie disc ecosystem, 4K UHD in particular, than MGM.

That's the thing though... Isn't it?

I get that MGM hasn't really been a big deal the last several years, but it's more about how this is another sign of one of the biggest players steamrolling everyone else. The more you see it happen, the more reality sets reality sets in when it comes to the future.

It is what it is I guess.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by rocknblues81

That's the thing though... Isn't it?

I get that MGM hasn't really been a big deal the last several years, but it's more about how this is another sign of one of the biggest players steamrolling everyone else. The more you see it happen, the more reality sets reality sets in when it comes to the future.

It is what it is I guess.

Right, but that doesn't mean it sullies my enjoyment now. I just got done watching My Fair Lady on UHD and the results are cosmic, cos-bloody-mic, and that kind of experience shouldn't be given up just because a clapped-out old wreck of a film studio is gobbled up by a streamer. $9Bn is fookin peanuts compared to what Fox went for, I'm amazed it's actually taken this long for MGM to be sold because the likes of amazon and apple have that sort of money lying down the back of the couch. MGM have changed hands so many times over the years they might as well have set up a revolving door in the boardroom, and that it went to Blofeld, I mean, Bezos doesn't fill me with mortal dread about physical media's overall future because I already know it's dying as a mass market proposition.

That ^ might be the opposite of the pep talk you expected, but here's the thing: the boutiques will keep on going for as long as we're still buying. If they have to do it without MGM's product then that still leaves a lot of stuff, and is all the more reason to stock up now on the gear that is out there. Or wave goodbye to physical media, pile it all onto a bonfire, ROTJ-style, then embrace the digital future/present. Whatever.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

Originally Posted by Donl1282

Hopefully MGM will release the 1990s Outer Limits on BD now Amazon owns it. Amazon can sell the physical copies.

The Showtime series? Probably not a good bet for blu given the costs involved (they'd probably have to rebuild the whole thing because it's got that finished on video look and its early CGI would collapse into Klingon Gagh if up-scaled). But even by way of ancient, SD masters I'd enjoy revisiting a few episodes if it meant Amazon could score the original cable versions.

[Filmfanatic10]

I know this deal is only to bolster Amazon's streaming offerings, but I'm just worried about how it affects MGM's physical media distribution deal with Warners.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by Filmfanatic10

I know this deal is only to bolster Amazon's streaming offerings, but I'm just worried about how it affects MGM's physical media distribution deal with Warners.

It does not affect it.

[vwnut13]

When are MGM going to start releasing catalogue titles again!

Amazon: Never.

[Nailwraps]

If it's anything, a friend of mine on Facebook said the deal won't be finalized until the end of this year so there's still a chance someone else might get it if the price is right.

And I am REALLY hoping its Warner.

[danman227460]

Warner is out as they are currently going through their own merger with Discovery.

The only other player would be Apple. Disney can't buy it as it might not pass government regulations. Though someone can correct me as how much control does the government see as a monopoly?

And no other studio out there has pockets that deep to offer as much as Amazon has.

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

If it's anything, a friend of mine on Facebook said the deal won't be finalized until the end of this year so there's still a chance someone else might get it if the price is right.

And I am REALLY hoping its Warner.

[deltatauhobbit]

Originally Posted by danman227460

Warner is out as they are currently going through their own merger with Discovery.

The only other player would be Apple. Disney can't buy it as it might not pass government regulations. Though someone can correct me as how much control does the government see as a monopoly?

And no other studio out there has pockets that deep to offer as much as Amazon has.

I actually don't think Disney would run into government issues with buying MGM if they wanted to. MGM is no longer a major content creator, they barely use the IPs they do own. They don't even control the Bond franchise since Broccoli has final say on what happens and that's really the only thing MGM has going.

It'd be all about controlling more of the past library for streaming service. Disney could offload plenty of titles on Hulu (so many film-noirs, dramas, etc) to mitigate some of the monopoly issues and maybe keep some of the comedies/musicals for their own Disney+. I just honestly don't think Disney is interested in MGM. Sure, they'd get Stargate but they already have enough with Star Wars. Sure, they'd get Robocop, but really, Disney doing anything with Robocop? I don't think there's enough IP interest for Disney to bother.

So I guess that would leave Apple with also enough cash? If they're serious about streaming, they really need the catalog; I can't think of a single person who has said, "oh, I'm going to watch movie/TV show on Apple". Like literally anyone and that goes for their original content too.

[reason108]

In some ways I am glad to see the end of physical media. Why? Because I need a very good reason to stop buying stuff. I spend more money on "upgrading" the same movies over and over and over and over and over and over, etc. You get the gist of my letter? But, not only do we need to stop blu-rays and dvd`s but we need to end CD`s and vinyl, cassettes and VHS too. Well, I think (new) VHS is dead at this point in time. Thank the maker! I have no control! Amazon (and the whole streaming world) is my only hope!




Sorry folks, not sure if the meds are kicking in or wearing off.


As much as I hate all the quadruple double dipping, I really don't want to live in a world where I can't own something that I "buy". My gf and I were laughing about this last night while wanting to watch a show that was on Amazon streaming. They wanted to charge us $20 to "own the movie". It was streaming. How do you "own" a stream? You can't, really. You are just paying for the privilege to be able to continue to watch it on their channel. If I cancel my service where does that stream go that I "purchased"? Exactly!

[WBMakeVMarsMovieNOW]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Except.......amazon haven't bothered trying to shill physical editions of their own 'originals' so why would MGM's content be any different? Some stuff squeaks out like The Boys (hell, even Netflix released a couple seasons of Stranger Things on disc) but most of the time it's a big fat no.

I know, but I was just saying that it makes no sense, since for them they would could only gain even more $$$$$. No other streamer is set up the way they are in any way.

And speaking of Netflxi they need to get the darn Season 3 UHD out for that come on! If they were not afraid to use Amazon, they could sell them easily enough.

[Bk_Tan]

Eh, if Netflix, Amazon or Apple cared about videophiles, it'd make sense to sell their content onto discs but only through their platform. So someone has to subscribe to their package to be able to buy it.

But it's probably too much of a hassle, probably not cost effective and I'm sure they DGAF about videophiles.

[BaronVH]

I had a little optimism with Amazon and physical releases, as Amazon releases their films in the theater and may be less averse to the physical disks. They know that people still buy physical items and there will always be a market for it. To remind people about history, Apple and Microsoft have been all about digital delivery since the HD-DVD blu-ray war. The digital store fronts are all about the most profit versus the least effort. Ask Apple where is a physical release for Greyhound, for example. If they get a studio say goodbye to quality releases.

And I love catalog releases, but many people just don’t buy them. The reviewers here do not seem to understand them with head scratching review scores on genuine near perfect films and very little fanfare when something major gets released. It takes insiders to push them on the forums. There could be books written about the efforts of some preservationists have done, but you have to dig deep in the forums or go to hometheaterforum.com to find out more.

I have been pleasantly surprised that Netflix has had Criterion releases, so some streaming services are at least seeing incentives for physical disks. It does not seem that Disney has not totally exited with a few more exclusives to the DMC. I can assure you, however, that every major studio wants its own streaming service and would gladly eliminate physical releases if they could. That is why purchasing these disks and promoting the hard work of restorations is critical.