The Official Arrow Video Thread

[Ben_C]

Originally Posted by logboy

the healthiest and most useful labels, and their releases, are those that get the furthest away from the LE model, sell predominantly or preferably only a consistent single edition at an accessible price and keep it in print for the long term. anything else is selfish, a possible gatekeeping exercise in pretending to have greater appreciation. i want more people to get what was made, the films, not fewer. sooner the LE and its model is gone, the better.

Love or hate the current LE model, it’s clearly working for the UK boutiques. Arrow LEs sometimes sell out before release day, whilst the likes of Radiance, 88 Films and Eureka have equally found (presumably) decent sales thanks to the FOMO factor of the LE extra/s - the obi, the slipcover, the booklet, etc.

Then look at the likes of Sony or Warner Bros, their LE steelbooks and the super-duper tat-filled collector’s edition steelbooks are selling out, again sometimes before release day.

The LE model is working for these companies, it ain’t going anywhere.

[Guy87]

Originally Posted by JAG2045

Jeez sorry to hear that

Serious question - if they (Arrow) know how many copies they are making for a limited edition, why don't they stop taking pre-orders when all pre-orders are ordered? Or offer each vendor a limited amount to sell.

Then that way they won't have upset fans when suppliers don't have enough stock to fulfill orders?

I'm absolutely blindsided. I usually have nothing but good things to say about Arrow, even when there's disc issues the replacements usually go out ASAP with little to no chasing.

This time the didn't even tell me, it was only after I sent a cursory email, which I NEVER do.

[darrellmaclaine]

If the FOMO, limited edition, 'collectable' factor is the apparent, genuine difference between a film selling out on pre-order or selling very poorly across an extended period of time, with little middle ground, the entire UK home video industry is already completely cooked. And it helped cook itself by pandering to the loudest minority of collector brats at every turn.

Short run LEs aren't film releases, they are Beanie Babies - man-cave Funko Pops that might as well be ape NFTs. Some of them clearly only sell because they are physically massive and help fill a shelf that can be vlogged in front of. These people get bored very quickly - remember how fast all those sold-by-the-weight noir box sets used to sell out? They barely move at all now.

If we're at the stage where they're just high status action figures let it all burn. Bring on the bootleg years.

[koberulz]

Wet pavement causes rain.

[darrellmaclaine]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Wet pavement causes rain.

You think these releases just randomly appeared from the ground one day? Steelbooks were the beginning of the end, that was the start of the toyification of home media, when the tastes of overgrown schoolboys started to dominate.

A label could bring out a release of 90 minutes of video static and as long as it was a 4K hardcased special edition with HDR, Dolby Atmos, a long list of cheapo never-to-be-watched extras designed only to make the list on the back as long as possible, a 100 page booklet, art cards, at least 4cm wide and limited to 1000 copies, it would sell out.

Surprised they don't just go the whole hog with these things and add a sound chip that makes "pew! pew!" noises.

[darlo16]

I believe that the change in the editions is more down to the success of streaming than anything else. If you want physical media to stay around, you need to give people something other than better bitrate, which the vast majority of viewers either won't notice or won't care about, and better soundmixes.

For some, this may be a steelbook that they can display nicely on their shelves, for others it will be posters, a booklet or special features.

Personally, I don't care much for bulky releases as they take up a lot of shelf space but if an edition includes a worthwile booklet - and by that I don't mean a glossy accumulation of movie stills but writing on the film - or a well-made documentary, entertaining Q&A etc., you have my attention. Does that mean that I always read all the articles in a booklet or watch all the special features? Of course not, but if I have some spare time I might.

In fact I have editions where the special features are as good as the feature and sometimes even better. Since KL was mentioned as an example: I upgraded my DVD edition of Brick to 4K and am disappointed that on a $40 RRP edition, they obviously couldn't be bothered to get the rights to the UK exclusive features on the 2-disc DVD. The "Junkyard Orchestra" featurette on the creation of the soundtrack is a hidden gem that would elevate the release.

Before this turns into a rant (not the intention): I'm thankful for anyone who still buys physical releases - and I couldn't care less if they do it to play frisbee with a dual format disc or use their posters as a wallpaper substitute - as long as it means that we keep getting editions of old and new films. If I'm given the option of picking between editions with more or fewer gimmicks, even better.

[BudBaxter]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

Surprised they don't just go the whole hog with these things and add a sound chip that makes "pew! pew!" noises.

Well now I want that.

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

You think these releases just randomly appeared from the ground one day? Steelbooks were the beginning of the end, that was the start of the toyification of home media, when the tastes of overgrown schoolboys started to dominate.

A label could bring out a release of 90 minutes of video static and as long as it was a 4K hardcased special edition with HDR, Dolby Atmos, a long list of cheapo never-to-be-watched extras designed only to make the list on the back as long as possible, a 100 page booklet, art cards, at least 4cm wide and limited to 1000 copies, it would sell out.

Surprised they don't just go the whole hog with these things and add a sound chip that makes "pew! pew!" noises.

Low volume, full price, MOD-like, and/or limited items that sell quickly and don't require costly overhead while maintaining a decent profit are the new normal. Steelbooks did not cause that, shrinking disk sales did. Best get used to it or find a new hobby.

And yes, I do have limited editions in my collection that light up when opened or have other silly things. No actual pew-pew, but close enough. Heck, for a similar example, I have the Exploding Kittens card game kickstart box that meows when opened. It doesn't make the game any different, like movie release tat, but I does enjoy it.

Rock on.

[darlo16]

Originally Posted by sojrner

Heck, for a similar example, I have the Exploding Kittens card game kickstart box that meows when opened. It doesn't make the game any different, like movie release tat, but I does enjoy it.

Rock on.

Good thing it just meows and doesn't explode. 😂

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by darrellmaclaine

Surprised they don't just go the whole hog with these things and add a sound chip that makes "pew! pew!" noises.

Originally Posted by BudBaxter

Well now I want that.

Didn't the Book of the Dead edition for Evil Dead 2 emit a scream when you poked it in the eye?

[cooey]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Didn't the Book of the Dead edition for Evil Dead 2 emit a scream when you poked it in the eye?

It certainly did.

One for the overgrown schoolboys for sure!

[Persona]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Didn't the Book of the Dead edition for Evil Dead 2 emit a scream when you poked it in the eye?

I can almost smell that aging material through the screen

[Zodiac]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Didn't the Book of the Dead edition for Evil Dead 2 emit a scream when you poked it in the eye?

It did for couple of years, then it stopped, and I miss it

[Ste7en]

Mine no longer smell or scream (Evil Dead 2)

[Eibon]

Let the whole market move to conspicuous consumption and bragging rights. I love LEs because they are akin to folio editions of your favourite books, but I realise I've been snapping up tat editions of more than a few movies that I only like rather than love, and that's as much down to FOMO as it is badge of ownership.

But I realise it has distracted me from love of the films themselves. Maybe we are all drawn to the notion of creating a shelf of movies that tell the world who we are and what rare curios we love, but in reality it's a folly.

All that really matters is the actual movie and nitpicking black crush, colour space and so on, is a distraction from the emotional heft and narrative intent of any given movie. My TGTBTU is still in limbo at Amazon but I have the blu ray which is certainly not as good, but perfectly adequate. I settled for the blu ray LE of Dark City because I loved the design of the Arrow LE and the movie itself, but again I found myself working hard to secure a copy because the hobby is now becoming a wild goose chase.

Instead of spending my evenings scrolling sites for the next big release, I'm going to watch what I already have. And if any of those discs cause cravings for a better edition after watching it, I can kick that can down the road.

[PhatsoCallum]

Ay yo. I got £3 back from the zombie flesh eaters original art shipping.

Sent another email after they got back to me the first time explaining about how the £6 charge is for tracking services.

This time they have sent £3 back to my original payment method.

[PhatsoCallum]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Didn't the Book of the Dead edition for Evil Dead 2 emit a scream when you poked it in the eye?

And you have to be careful to never touch them or else they just fall apart lol

[koberulz]

I don't care much about tat, but I will definitely jump on a limited edition to get a book or booklet. I've even double-dipped just for booklets.

[Eibon]

At least you got yours. They cancelled my preorder even though i restated my card details when they were ready to send me my copy. I'd have gladly paid the £6 to have it along side my Original Art COTLD and HBTC, although to be fair, I do have the three on original pre-cert VHS if all I wanted was art nostalgia.

[Ste7en]

Originally Posted by PhatsoCallum

And you have to be careful to never touch them or else they just fall apart lol

Neither of mine has. They are just as good as they were when I bought them. Well, better because they don't smell now. It may be because I keep my room cool and never open the blinds/curtains.

The one thing I've never gotten my head around is these expensive repackaging jobbies. Okay, I have a couple, but I'm mostly "Err... what?" about them. Especially when you see YouTubers talking about them like they are some kind of museum artefact, "This is a beautiful piece..." I just don't get it at all. You could buy ten films for the price of that repackaged one.

Unless it is some kind of litmus test to see how much of a 'fan' you are of a specific film. "This is my mostest favourite film ever because I bought the wang-brick edition". Bit like how bands dictate how much of a fan you are based on how deep your pockets are, screw that.