WHV imposing "Oz" moratorium ahead of 75th anniversary reissue - Blu-ray Forum

BluBonnet · 02-14-2012, 07:30 AM

WHV imposing "Wizard of Oz" moratorium, ahead of 75th Anniversary in 2014.

Crimson King · 02-14-2012, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

WHV imposing "Wizard of Oz" moratorium, ahead of 75th Anniversary in 2014.

geez, how many more times does this film need to be restored?
the blu from 2009 looks incredible.

BluBonnet · 02-14-2012, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crimson King

geez, how many more times does this film need to be restored?

Well, since it's one of the crown jewels in the WHV vaults, they'll probably be squeezing it for all it's worth as long as people keep buying.

thebard · 02-14-2012, 07:39 AM

"Goodbye yellow brick road"?

Crimson King · 02-14-2012, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Well, since it's one of the crown jewels in the WHV vaults, they'll probably be squeezing it for all it's worth as long as people keep buying.

I'm more than happy with my 70th ann edition , no double dipping for me

benbess · 02-14-2012, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crimson King

geez, how many more times does this film need to be restored?
the blu from 2009 looks incredible.

+1

WHV has thousands of unreleased movies that should be on blu...This is painful.

HDMe · 02-14-2012, 10:04 AM

Nothing against the movie... but when you make a big deal out of the 70th anniversary, there's no need to make another big deal at just 75...

Every year people have a birthday.. but usually they only make big deals out of certain spread-out milestone anniversaries...

IndyMLVC · 02-14-2012, 10:20 AM

What exactly are they going to include in that edition? Are there any newly discovered deleted scenes??? The cast/crew are dying off at a rapid rate. There's not much else to tell, it seems.

bboisvert · 02-14-2012, 10:28 AM

Hard to imagine what they could possibly do for a new edition to get me interested. PQ/AQ is pretty flawless at this point and the extras are exhaustive.

benbess · 02-14-2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

What exactly are they going to include in that edition? Are there any newly discovered deleted scenes??? The cast/crew are dying off at a rapid rate. There's not much else to tell, it seems.

+1

All of the deleted scenes were thrown in a landfill in c. 1970 when Kirk Kerkorian took over MGM. The same happened with every other movie that MGM had ever made....

This is just another grab for cash from WHV.

There are so many other Technicolor classics that Warner owns that cry out for restoration and their patented UltraResolution process, which is terrific. WB is one of my favorite studios when it comes to home video. Even though this decision is not one I like, they still have put out some great classics on amazing blu-rays.

Imho the best spin to put on it is this: They are in the business to make money. This one is a sure fire money maker. They will probably put some of the profits that they make from this one into other old movies that still need a release on blu that have less of a chance of making a profit...

Like many of you I'm one of the ones who has helped make this decision for them. I bought Oz on vhs in c. 1989. I got it on DVD in c.1999. I got the blu-ray in 2009. I've bought it every ten years. But this time I'll probably skip it. It already looks better than it looked when it was released in 1939 on opening day. Any improvement would be marginal. And I don't need a box of junk.

IndyMLVC · 02-14-2012, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbess

+1

All of the deleted scenes were thrown in a landfill in c. 1970 when Kirk Kerkorian took over MGM. The same happened with every other movie that MGM had ever made....

This is just another grab for cash from WHV.

Seriously?

Is there an article about that?

benbess · 02-14-2012, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndyMLVC

Seriously?

Is there an article about that?

Yes. I read it in a book a long time ago. They did keep the original technicolor negatives of all films, but anything that wasn't in the film itself was thrown away.

That's better than what 20th century fox did. They threw away most of their Technicolor negatives!

It's all to save annual money on warehouse storage and cut costs.

I can't find an article online about it right now. Anyone else have a link they can post?

It happened a couple of years after Kerkorian took over MGM--right about the time he tore down the MGM back lot, and sold the ruby slippers from OZ and anything else he thought he could get cash for. From wikipedia:

"MGM

In 1969, Kerkorian appointed James T. Aubrey, Jr. as president of MGM. Aubrey downsized the struggling MGM and sold off massive amounts of historical memorabilia, including Dorothy's ruby slippers (from The Wizard of Oz), the majority of the studio's backlots in Culver City and overseas operations such as the British MGM studio at Borehamwood. Kerkorian sold MGM's distribution system in 1973, and gradually distanced himself from the daily operation of the studio...."

Crimson King · 02-14-2012, 01:22 PM

if they are doing this with WOZ, bank on it that GWTW will get similar treatment as well...

jmbenesh · 02-14-2012, 01:32 PM

Anybody else wonder what exactly is meant by:

"2013 will see the re-launching of The Wizard of Oz franchise in a multi-platform, unprecedented rollout that will include new and restored formats..."

Multi-platform? New and restored formats?

Is this going to be the beginning of 4K Blu-ray or some newer format, or what's going on?

Atreyu · 02-14-2012, 02:01 PM

The only way I would consider rebuying this favorite of mine is if they found and included the original missing "The Jitterbug" dance number, and I don't mean the home movie footage that someone filmed.

HD Goofnut · 02-14-2012, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbenesh

Anybody else wonder what exactly is meant by:

"2013 will see the re-launching of The Wizard of Oz franchise in a multi-platform, unprecedented rollout that will include new and restored formats..."

Multi-platform? New and restored formats?

Is this going to be the beginning of 4K Blu-ray or some newer format, or what's going on?

I seriously doubt a 1.37:1 film would be one of the launching titles for the 4K format, but you never know.

MarkWM · 02-14-2012, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbenesh

Anybody else wonder what exactly is meant by:

"2013 will see the re-launching of The Wizard of Oz franchise in a multi-platform, unprecedented rollout that will include new and restored formats..."

Multi-platform? New and restored formats?

Is this going to be the beginning of 4K Blu-ray or some newer format, or what's going on?

Maybe toss the thing-out on a thumb drive?

I've bought this on every other format.

jmbenesh · 02-14-2012, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I seriously doubt a 1.37:1 film would be one of the launching titles for the 4K format, but you never know.

I suppose I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if it was one of the launching titles, especially given that WoZ is among one of cinema's finest and most established. I imagine that an initial 4K launch would feature a mixture of older classics, newer "classics", and some new release titles as well.

bone crusher · 02-14-2012, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crimson King

geez, how many more times does this film need to be restored?
the blu from 2009 looks incredible.

I'd put money on it that those buggers bring it out in 3D. Any movie that wasn't intended to be 3D though should NOT be made that way after the fact.

OneWayFilms · 02-14-2012, 02:46 PM

It's like celebrities who keep getting face-lifts.......after a couple, it starts to look distorted and fake (ex: Joan Rivers, Dolly Pardon).

I'm afraid THE WIZARD OF OZ is going to get lost in all these face-lifts.

02-14-2012, 07:30 AM	#1
BluBonnet Blu-ray King Top contributor Member since:Oct 2009 Trading Score:1	WHV imposing "Oz" moratorium ahead of 75th anniversary reissue WHV imposing "Wizard of Oz" moratorium, ahead of 75th Anniversary in 2014.

02-14-2012, 07:39 AM	#4
thebard Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2010 Trading Score:2	"Goodbye yellow brick road"?

02-14-2012, 10:04 AM	#7
HDMe Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jan 2010 Location:North Augusta, SC	Nothing against the movie... but when you make a big deal out of the 70th anniversary, there's no need to make another big deal at just 75... Every year people have a birthday.. but usually they only make big deals out of certain spread-out milestone anniversaries...

02-14-2012, 10:20 AM	#8
IndyMLVC Blu-ray Duke Top contributor Member since:Oct 2010 Location:New York City, NY 4K collection:296 Blu-ray collection:738 DVD collection:58 Digital collection:754 iTunes collection:2 Trading Score:62	What exactly are they going to include in that edition? Are there any newly discovered deleted scenes??? The cast/crew are dying off at a rapid rate. There's not much else to tell, it seems.

02-14-2012, 10:28 AM	#9
bboisvert Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Dec 2009 Blu-ray collection:1368 DVD collection:10 Trading Score:5	Hard to imagine what they could possibly do for a new edition to get me interested. PQ/AQ is pretty flawless at this point and the extras are exhaustive.

02-14-2012, 01:22 PM	#13
Crimson King Blu-ray Prince Member since:Oct 2009 Blu-ray reviews: 19 Trading Score:684	if they are doing this with WOZ, bank on it that GWTW will get similar treatment as well...

02-14-2012, 01:32 PM	#14
jmbenesh Power Member Member since:Feb 2011 Location:Tempe, AZ Blu-ray collection:200 Blu-ray reviews: 3	Anybody else wonder what exactly is meant by: "2013 will see the re-launching of The Wizard of Oz franchise in a multi-platform, unprecedented rollout that will include new and restored formats..." Multi-platform? New and restored formats? Is this going to be the beginning of 4K Blu-ray or some newer format, or what's going on?

02-14-2012, 02:01 PM	#15
Atreyu Blu-ray Knight Member since:Dec 2008 Location:North Carolina 4K collection:372 Blu-ray collection:1882 DVD collection:619 Digital collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 299 Trading Score:4	The only way I would consider rebuying this favorite of mine is if they found and included the original missing "The Jitterbug" dance number, and I don't mean the home movie footage that someone filmed.

02-14-2012, 02:46 PM	#20
OneWayFilms Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Mar 2010 Location:Mississippi 4K collection:16 Blu-ray collection:963 DVD collection:759 Digital collection:457 iTunes collection:1 Blu-ray reviews:5	It's like celebrities who keep getting face-lifts.......after a couple, it starts to look distorted and fake (ex: Joan Rivers, Dolly Pardon). I'm afraid THE WIZARD OF OZ is going to get lost in all these face-lifts.

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