What's the deal with the lack of titles?

[Disky76]

Does anyone else here share my frustations that it seems like most of the Blu Ray releases have been mindless, plot-lacking action flicks? Hollywood's new releases the last few years have proven that the movie industry is in desperate need of some fresh blood and new ideas.

What baffles me is that people are wondering why Blu-Ray doesn't take off like wildfire when there is a serious lack of titles in the format. Where is Jurassic Park? Aliens? Titanic? Platoon? Schindler's List? I could go on and on and name movies that I would prefer to be buying than the numbing and awfully boring special effects laden flicks that are released today.

If you want me to get something to show off my BluRay and HDTV, give me Dances with Wolves - the buffalo hunt scene I'm sure would be fantastic on BluRay. Or The Silence of the Lambs...can you imagine how red the blood would be?

Does anyone else share my frustations?

[Blu Man]

Calm down.The movie you want will come out sooner or later. But until then enjoy the movie that are out. Don't have a cow man.

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

+1 Blu-ray is still young. When dvd first came out, it was slow to develop.

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Does anyone else share my frustations?

This was a crab of mine for the last two years. I, however, have finally shut my mouth because it's a HECK of alot better that it was a year ago (or two years for that matter). While it may seem to you (your new member status aside) that there aren't enough good titles - I assure you, it used to be worse. Just hang on... the next few months have even more good releases coming.

It used to be there were a FEW new titles every week... check the last few release dates and the next few coming up... you will see MANY more than 3-4 new releases per week.

Welcome to the site, Doc.

PS - did I mention I crabbed about this for TWO YEARS??? And it's better now? TWO Years!!! And now I don't crab about it anymore. Not sure how long you've been a Blu adoptee, but if you've been watching the scene for the last few YEARS, then you already know it used to be worse. If you're new to Blu, then again - trust me - it used to be worse... just hold on tight.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Does anyone else here share my frustations that it seems like most of the Blu Ray releases have been mindless, plot-lacking action flicks? Hollywood's new releases the last few years have proven that the movie industry is in desperate need of some fresh blood and new ideas.

What baffles me is that people are wondering why Blu-Ray doesn't take off like wildfire when there is a serious lack of titles in the format. Where is Jurassic Park? Aliens? Titanic? Platoon? Schindler's List? I could go on and on and name movies that I would prefer to be buying than the numbing and awfully boring special effects laden flicks that are released today.

If you want me to get something to show off my BluRay and HDTV, give me Dances with Wolves - the buffalo hunt scene I'm sure would be fantastic on BluRay. Or The Silence of the Lambs...can you imagine how red the blood would be?

Does anyone else share my frustations?

You probably have a solid ground to wish that the market offers more diverse titles. However, I would like to point a few things to you which I hope will provide you with a completely different perspective.

1. It has been only a few months since Blu-ray gained full studio support. Unlike what a lot of critics consistently harp on this is a major factor to consider. DVD started saturating the market with serious titles after its second year of mass presence. We are not there yet.

2. There are some great titles to look forward to that will surely meet the expectations of any serious film afficionado: Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, Luc Besson's Joan of Arc, the notable celebration of the city of love by some of world cinema's greatest directors Paris, je'taime. If you are region-free you could also pick Michelangelo Antonioni's Red Desert, Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salo, even Wong Kar-Wai's Days of Being Wild. In the UK you already have region-free releases of David Lean's Great Expectations in addition to Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger's Black Narcissus. If you wish to go even further you could obtain the recent release of Federico Fellini's Casanova as well as Jean-Luc Godard's One+One from France.

We are simply following the same route DVD established.

Pro-B

[Disky76]

Just call me impatient! LOL I bought my Blu-Ray this past summer, after it was clear that BluRay was going to trump HD-DVD.

Don't get me wrong - I am a big fan of BluRay. My jaw dropped after I first hooked up the player and popped in "The Day After Tomorrow". It just seems like I go to my local Best Buy and various stores, week after week, and things don't change. I had to vent a little!

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

1.

2.

Pro-B

What she said

(did I mention it used to be worse?)

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by Disky76

It just seems like I go to my local Best Buy and various stores, week after week, and things don't change.

Since you're online here - I assume you've checked Amazon as well? If your local stores are not keeping up with selection, follow a link from the title you want here at BR.C to Amazon. You'll get a good price, best selection, and help support BR.C as well.

Cheers

[SquidPuppet]

Rumor: Floodgates = opening = 2009

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Rumor: Floodgates = opening = 2009

What?!?!?

(Starts building large wooden boat...)

[badboi]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Does anyone else share my frustations?

Not me.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Just call me impatient! LOL I bought my Blu-Ray this past summer, after it was clear that BluRay was going to trump HD-DVD.

Don't get me wrong - I am a big fan of BluRay. My jaw dropped after I first hooked up the player and popped in "The Day After Tomorrow". It just seems like I go to my local Best Buy and various stores, week after week, and things don't change. I had to vent a little!

O, I certainly understand. That is why I noted that having Criterion finally step in is a major, major event. Maybe not for a lot of people who do not frequent the internet forums but, believe me, it means a lot. At least to me.

I have a very large library of DVDs where plenty of films I saw during the years will probably take quite a bit of pushing to arrive on Blu-ray (imagine having Bela Tarr's Satantango in HD, or Tarkovsky, or Zulawski, or Tati) and I understand that my generation will probably be gone by the time all of them see proper HD releases. But what I am trying to convey to you is that we already have the major pieces of the puzzle in place. Some of the serious distribs - Artificial Eye, Criterion, Medusa, RHV - are on board and if all that it takes is being patient and supportive of the industry before we can see the cinema you and I cherish in Blu...I can be patient again. Just as I was with DVD.

Pro-B

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

O, I certainly understand. That is why I noted that having Criterion finally step in is a major, major event. Maybe not for a lot of people who do not frequent the internet forums but, believe me, it means a lot. At least to me.

I have a very large library of DVDs where plenty of films I saw during the years will probably take quite a bit of pushing to arrive on Blu-ray (imagine having Bela Tarr's Satantango in HD, or Tarkovsky, or Zulawski, or Tati) and I understand that my generation will probably be gone by the time all of them see proper HD releases. But what I am trying to convey to you is that we already have the major pieces of the puzzle in place. Some of the serious distribs - Artificial Eye, Criterion, Medusa, RHV - are on board and if all that it takes is being patient and supportive of the industry before we can see the cinema you and I cherish in Blu...I can be patient again. Just as I was with DVD.

Pro-B

Very good post. I find that the amount of releases for 2008 were a vast improvement over 2007. looking foward to a huge Blu 2009.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by Disky76

What baffles me is that people are wondering why Blu-Ray doesn't take off like wildfire when there is a serious lack of titles in the format. Where is Jurassic Park? Aliens? Titanic? Platoon? Schindler's List? I could go on and on and name movies that I would prefer to be buying than the numbing and awfully boring special effects laden flicks that are released today.

It's funny because someone could argue that Jurassic Park, Aliens and Titanic all fall into the "numbing and awfully boring special effects laden flicks" category that you are railing against. I love all 3 of those movies personally, but very few people are going to like everything that is released. You could easily argue that Jurassic Park by itself led us into the "CGI Hell" that many movies now exist in such as the CGI overload of the Star Wars prequels.

There was a thread a few weeks ago where someone was b*tching about the number of chick flicks being released and not enough action flicks. So which is it? Too many action flicks or not enough?

I could just easily complain about Warner wasting time releasing all the Kubrick movies I have zero interest in. Or Disney wasting resources putting out Tarantino's crappy Kill Bill movies instead of Fantasia. But I'm not. I'm too busy enjoying my copy of Wall-E that arrived Friday afternoon and eagerly awaiting the release of The Dark Knight, Prince Caspian, and Mamma Mia! in a few weeks.

Take what you can get out of the releases and spend your leftover money on a nice dinner or a good bottle of wine.

[DetroitSportsFan]

There it is. I waiting for the monthly "new member complaining about lack of titles" thread. The month is almost over... whew... I'm glad the streak is still alive.

[ArkGuy]

Early adaptors tend to be male and younger. That is probably even more true with Blu-ray. Among owners of Blu-ray players, the most popular player is the PS3, which likely has a demographic that is even more male and younger.

Studios sell movies with the idea of selling movies. Thus, movies where lots of things get blown up and/or contain heavy computer effects or bloody body parts are perceived to be able to generate bigger sales amoung current Blu-ray owners and likely take presedence when they prioritizing which catalog titles get the Blu-ray treatment first. Thus, you get people on this board panting breathlessly over the cinematic tour de force 300 while war movies like Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Guns of Navarone have no release dates.

It's just the way it is going to be for while. Good movies here and there mixed with a lot of pure crap that is projected to sell well. Over time, more good movies will drift into release. Casablanca in a couple of weeks and Chinatown and Sunset Blvd. not long after are good examples.

For ages it seemed like The Searchers was about the only Top 20 movie out but since last Christmas several more have been released or announced.

There will be more classic movies eventualy. We just have to be patient while Hollywood first quinches the pent up demand for Heathers, My Name is Bruce, and Space Chimps.

[Blu-Ron]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Does anyone else here share my frustations that it seems like most of the Blu Ray releases have been mindless, plot-lacking action flicks? Hollywood's new releases the last few years have proven that the movie industry is in desperate need of some fresh blood and new ideas.

What baffles me is that people are wondering why Blu-Ray doesn't take off like wildfire when there is a serious lack of titles in the format. Where is Jurassic Park? Aliens? Titanic? Platoon? Schindler's List? I could go on and on and name movies that I would prefer to be buying than the numbing and awfully boring special effects laden flicks that are released today.

If you want me to get something to show off my BluRay and HDTV, give me Dances with Wolves - the buffalo hunt scene I'm sure would be fantastic on BluRay. Or The Silence of the Lambs...can you imagine how red the blood would be?

Does anyone else share my frustations?

Totally agree. Just look at the latest Blu-ray news on the left side of the home page. Lots of garbage there.

[Graboid]

I for one do not want the studios to release all of the big titles at one time. I just could not afford that, and I'm sure there are a lot of you who would agree. I'm having trouble keeping up at the current pace. And hopefully by the time many of the huge titles are released the prices of blu-ray discs will have come down a bit.

[Lucy Diamond]

Am I the only one who remembers the original DvD titles were Hunt for Red October and Time cop...for like...two years!!! (Can't remember the titles exactly, but you get the point.)

DvD had one of the cruddiest beginnings ever.

Personally, I'm all about a Blu-ray release of Bring It On III.

[TheForce8686]

Originally Posted by Disky76

Does anyone else share my frustations?

No. My only frustration is the lack of money to buy the abundance of great titles.