As a child of the 80's I can go back to most 70's and 60's films with total ease, but the 50's feels like a whole other world. Not because of the color issue, just the style of acting, writing and direction. I do appreciate a lot of movies from that era, don't get me wrong, but I want to own very few of them.
Yes, many have too high expectations for older movies, but considering the price point it's hard to blame them. Personally I would rather buy a movie I love from a mediocre old master than buy a movie that I like from a newly minted perfect 4k master.
Once people get realize that the studios are not going to remaster most movies for many years to come (if ever), then it's easier to accept a less than perfect transfer as the lessor of two evils (the other evil is never seeing it released on Blu-ray). Since TT has said that sales are really low on classics anyway, people can wait for reviews (since it obviously won't sell out before the reviews come out) instead of buying and complaining because they had higher (unrealistic) expectations.
Also regarding TT saying that they always lose money on older movies, then why don't they have a smaller run? Say 1000, 1500, or 2000 copies? If they can bump it up to 5000 on genre movies, then it makes sense to bump it down for slow movers. Having a lower limit is sure to spark extra sales too. Besides, I think they get better licensing terms for "slow movers" anyway, making the lower print runs feasible.
Posted by TT on another forum in regards to some comments and complaints about the picture quality in regards to Solomon and Sheba:
It's their own fault for setting the bar, and the price, so high. I have yet to be disappointed in the PQ of a TT film, but I would be disappointed if I bought a TT release and it wasn't worth at at least 4 stars out of 5 for PQ. I understand the economics, and I realize that they can't provide a better picture than what the studios give them. I understand that, but maybe the best thing for them to do is to take a pass rather than release something that doesn't live up to their high standards.
The 1950s was one of THE great decades for film. Before Blu-ray came along, I was a whole lot of ignorant about that period if it wasn't a bible epic, noir, a couple of westerns, or a monster movie. However, Blu-ray has encouraged me to explore, including searching out and streaming 50s movies not out on Blu-ray, and the more I poke around in that decade, the more impressed I am. There was so much subtlety and social commentary built into the DNA of so many of the dramas and genre films of the time.
An incredible number of superb actors and directors came to the forefront of film in the 1950s. All those actors and directors who carried with them the anguish and life lessons of two world wars, a depression, and all the momentous events of the first half of the 20th Century. There would be no 1960s or 70s reinvention of cinema if not for the 1950s. What makes the classic films so classic, what sets the creative energy of those mid-to-late decades of the 20th Century apart from the output of today's writers, directors, and actors, is those earlier generations had a period to draw on for inspiration and experience that has not been equaled since...and thank God for that.
My preconceptions that in general films from the 50s are dated has been proven flat out wrong. How could any decade that saw so much turmoil in world events, post-WWII alienation and readjustment, the Cold War gone hot, Stalin with the bomb, the threat of WWIII and global nuclear holocaust, duck and cover air raid drills in the schools, wars of colonial liberation, the very real fear of Communist infiltration and subversion of Western ideals and society, great leaps in societal change, social unrest, a decade of debates about who we are and where we are going as a people, and the birth of rock and roll, be anything but impressive?
Billy Wilder, Samuel Fuller, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Mann, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Elia Kazan, James Stewart, John Ford, John Huston, John Wayne, William Holden, Kim Novak, Jean Simmons, Glenn Ford, Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Fred Zinnemann, Bernard Herrmann, William Wyler, Ray Harryhausen, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Charlton Heston, Shirley McClaine, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas, Ida Lupino, Alec Guinness, Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick, Ingmar Bergman, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, Mikhail Kalatozov, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, and the great Toshiro Mifune.....just to scratch the surface. The list goes on and on.
Posted by TT on another forum in regards to some comments and complaints about the picture quality in regards to Solomon and Sheba:
I don't have Solomon and Sheba, frankly it's not a film I'm interested in, although I do enjoy other 40s and 50s titles, particularly musicals like Pal Joey and Cover Girl. I don't know what the issue is with the picture quality on Solomon and Sheba but taking a quick look at the screencaps, it looks fine to me. Oh, I'm sure plenty of people might respond to me and prattle on about too much DNR, too much edge enhancement, blah, blah, blah, but frankly as someone who became a film lover in the late 80s having to watch stuff on full screen, fuzzy VHS tapes or late night TV with constant commercial interruptions, I really couldn't give a rat's ass about that stuff. Sure, I can certainly tell with some of the more egregious examples such as Back to the Future, and with titles like Patton I'll certainly take the latter version over the earlier one, but in the end I'm simply happy that films like these are actually available on blu-ray at all.
Yes, many have too high expectations for older movies, but considering the price point it's hard to blame them. Personally I would rather buy a movie I love from a mediocre old master than buy a movie that I like from a newly minted perfect 4k master.
Once people get realize that the studios are not going to remaster most movies for many years to come (if ever), then it's easier to accept a less than perfect transfer as the lessor of two evils (the other evil is never seeing it released on Blu-ray). Since TT has said that sales are really low on classics anyway, people can wait for reviews (since it obviously won't sell out before the reviews come out) instead of buying and complaining because they had higher (unrealistic) expectations.
Also regarding TT saying that they always lose money on older movies, then why don't they have a smaller run? Say 1000, 1500, or 2000 copies? If they can bump it up to 5000 on genre movies, then it makes sense to bump it down for slow movers. Having a lower limit is sure to spark extra sales too.
I agree, i would rather they lower the limit than not release them at all.
Blind buys are always a tough thing for me. With very rare exceptions I just don't like spending money on titles that I have never seen. As TT titles are limited issue I try to see as many of the films they release as possible before a purchase so I don't get stiffed on owning a film I'd really like to have on the shelf. Thankfully between Netflix disc rental, Netflix Instant, Amazon Prime Instant, etc. I've seen the majority of the library and specifically the discounted titles. However, the following are simply unavailable by these means. Any strong blind buy recommendations?
High Time
The Only Game in Town
Riff-Raff (I've seen Raining Stones and wouldn't want to own that one if on its own release)
Under Fire
Resurrected
Save Your Legs!
Bandit Queen
I suppose most of these are likely to be around next year if they have another anniversary sale, so I'll have more time to track them down for a rental. (Under Fire is technically available via Netfix disc rental, but has been at Very Long Wait status for months now...)
Blind buys are always a tough thing for me. With very rare exceptions I just don't like spending money on titles that I have never seen. As TT titles are limited issue I try to see as many of the films they release as possible before a purchase so I don't get stiffed on owning a film I'd really like to have on the shelf. Thankfully between Netflix disc rental, Netflix Instant, Amazon Prime Instant, etc. I've seen the majority of the library and specifically the discounted titles. However, the following are simply unavailable by these means. Any strong blind buy recommendations?
High Time
The Only Game in Town
Riff-Raff (I've seen Raining Stones and wouldn't want to own that one if on its own release)
Under Fire
Resurrected
Save Your Legs!
Bandit Queen
I suppose most of these are likely to be around next year if they have another anniversary sale, so I'll have more time to track them down for a rental. (Under Fire is technically available via Netfix disc rental, but has been at Very Long Wait status for months now...)
Not sure if you have the MGMHD channel and a DVR but I know they are playing Under Fire later this week. I have it set to record for the same reason but I don't remember the date off the top of my head.
Not sure if you have the MGMHD channel and a DVR but I know they are playing Under Fire later this week. I have it set to record for the same reason but I don't remember the date off the top of my head.
I do not, unfortunately. (I've been cable/dish free since 2005).
I appreciate the heads up, though. If there was one title I was leaning towards blind buying it would be this one. How does it compare to similarly themed films like Salvador, Missing, etc.?
Blind buys are always a tough thing for me. With very rare exceptions I just don't like spending money on titles that I have never seen. As TT titles are limited issue I try to see as many of the films they release as possible before a purchase so I don't get stiffed on owning a film I'd really like to have on the shelf. Thankfully between Netflix disc rental, Netflix Instant, Amazon Prime Instant, etc. I've seen the majority of the library and specifically the discounted titles. However, the following are simply unavailable by these means. Any strong blind buy recommendations?
High Time
The Only Game in Town
Riff-Raff (I've seen Raining Stones and wouldn't want to own that one if on its own release)
Under Fire
Resurrected
Save Your Legs!
Bandit Queen
I suppose most of these are likely to be around next year if they have another anniversary sale, so I'll have more time to track them down for a rental. (Under Fire is technically available via Netfix disc rental, but has been at Very Long Wait status for months now...)
I liked Under Fire, I wouldn't have bought it but it was a signed give away and I was placing an order anyway. It was much better than I thought it would be.
Good news as I am NOT interested in this title . I already spent $300 in TT titles in the last month .
Crap. I would've really liked this, but I got a lot in the sale. I suppose I can duplicate my order that includes Zardoz and a bunch of sale titles, re-order with Breaking Away, and if successful, cancel my original Zardoz+ order. Hmmm...
BTW - In regards to blind buys in general, now that TT is releasing five titles a month I find that at least 25% of my rentals are TT titles I need to try and see before they possibly sell out.
Now when they make their new title announcements I hope that it's either a film I know I want to buy, or a film I know I'd never want to own!
If it's a title I've never seen that's one more in the film viewing queue that goes to the top and above other non-TT I want to check out, LOL.
BTW - In regards to blind buys in general, now that TT is releasing five titles a month I find that at least 25% of my rentals are TT titles I need to try and see before they possibly sell out.
Now when they make their new title announcements I hope that it's either a film I know I want to buy, or a film I know I'd never want to own!
If it's a title I've never seen that's one more in the film viewing queue that goes to the top and above other non-TT I want to check out, LOL.
Now that I think about it, aren't we due for another roster of titles this weekend?
well it will be a great travesty indeed if TT abandons the 50's--as so many cool epics were made during that. Personally I think TT needs to go for more classic film noirs that people are just begging for. They mentioned how The Big Heat sold out. There are a ton of unreleased Columbia/Sony film noirs they could go after. Plus, what about more films from the Sony box sets they have tapped into--like the Budd Boetticher set. That would be most welcome imo. Or the James Stewart set. Surely they could get one of those films if TCM could get one.
I don't know--it just may be that bd's niche is just skewing too young for these films to ever sell well. such a shame.
It's not just TT either. There's a reason Fox has all but halted their classic releases. People complain about Warner not doing enough releases because their library holdings are so vast, but they release more than most major labels.
Frankly, I find the Olive/Kino/Shout releases of the MGM library holdings at the recent clip they've done it at astounding. You just don't see that anymore otherwise.
In order to budget a lower # run the MSRP for those titles would have to go higher to break even or earn a profit.
Not if the license fee is lower. If they pay what the sales potential is worth then it can be more feasible to do a lower print run because they don't get stuck with unsold inventory. It makes no sense to pay the same fee for a 50's obscure movie as say Fright Night.
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