Warner comments about classic films on Blu-ray

[johndoyle123]

you can tell they have a serious passion for the classics

and a clear statement that they have of"packed schedule " of blu-ray releases heading are way ...


god damn i admire warner brothers

[Strevlac]

"Maybe 2013 for "Auntie Mame.'' Consumer acceptance of classics on Blu-ray is painfully limited. That breaks my heart. We've put out a lot of great titles that have not performed particularly well."

That saddens me as well. In my view, well-done blurays of classic film is the best thing since.....well, ever. I wish more people felt the same way.

[johndoyle123]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

"Maybe 2013 for "Auntie Mame.'' Consumer acceptance of classics on Blu-ray is painfully limited. That breaks my heart. We've put out a lot of great titles that have not performed particularly well."

That saddens me as well. In my view, well-done blurays of classic film is the best thing since.....well, ever. I wish more people felt the same way.

" All of our releases have been profitable" thats the key point to take away as well as robust schedule i think

[DetroitSportsFan]

We've put out a lot of great titles that have not performed particularly well

I'd like to know the titles that this person is referring to.

[johndoyle123]

Originally Posted by DetroitSportsFan

I'd like to know the titles that this person is referring to.

personally i cant imagine the big titles "gone with the wind" not selling , considering most of the forum member own them ,,,

i blame mutiny on the bounty

[Variable_Star]

Originally Posted by johndoyle123

i blame mutiny on the bounty

I think that's definitely a plausible candidate for an underperforming title, which might have something to do with the fact that it was a digibook release. I'm not decrying the format (a tiresome topic if ever there was one), I simply feel many consumers are turned off by the higher prices the digibooks often command. For more ardent film fans, the Blu-Ray release of Mutiny was an instant buy, I myself own the release. Others, such as my father, opted to buy the DVD for $5 instead - despite owning an HDTV and Blu-Ray player. He's happy with it.

All we can do is speculate, so it'd be nice to see some actual sales numbers.

[Zoodles95]

Originally Posted by Variable_Star

I think that's definitely a plausible candidate for an underperforming title, which might have something to do with the fact that it was a digibook release. I'm not decrying the format (a tiresome topic if ever there was one), I simply feel many consumers are turned off by the higher prices the digibooks often command. For more ardent film fans, the Blu-Ray release of Mutiny was an instant buy, I myself own the release. Others, such as my father, opted to buy the DVD for $5 instead - despite owning an HDTV and Blu-Ray player. He's happy with it.

All we can do is speculate, so it'd be nice to see some actual sales numbers.

Well, I for one was guilty of this. I tried to wait for a better price on Mutiny On The Bounty but gave in and ordered it up last night. Now, I have been on the fence about All The President's Men. It is expensive here so I was trying to order online but anybody who had it for a good deal refused to ship to Canada. I tried this past week to buy it locally to find it not stocked at the stores which previously had it in stock.

Now I feel bad because by not buying the release I helped send the message that catalogue Blurays will not sell. I guess I will pick this one up online as well to retire another DVD.

Network is another Blu that was relatively easy to find but has now disappeared locally.

I find it funny that people complain about $30 Blus. I clearly remember $30-$40 and up VHS releases and LDs that cost $70-$100. Many DVDs were $30 or so when they first came out. $30 for an all time classic in a beautiful Digibook is a bargain compared to what it cost to own it on VHS or LD; especially if you take inflation into account.

Just the same it will be hard to justify replacing everyone of my DVDs. For now I am using some criteria which essentially is that I am re-buying all time classics and personal favourites.

[bboisvert]

Originally Posted by johndoyle123

personally i cant imagine the big titles "gone with the wind" not selling , considering most of the forum member own them ,,,

i blame mutiny on the bounty

Yeah, I don't get the sense he was talking about big releases (like GWTW). Nor do I think he was singling out any specific release (like Mutiny).

I think he's just saying that -- unlike the glory days of DVD -- putting out a classic catalog title on BD usually results in a reaction of "meh" at retail... and it slowly limps its way to eventual profit, rather than selling like gangbusters right out of the gate on release week.

I think a pile of titles would fit that mold -- Treasure of Sierra Madre, Mutiny on the Bounty, THX-1138, The Maltese Falcon, Ocean's 11, Forbidden Planet. None of those seemed to make a huge splash on BD...


This may also be a chicken-and-egg thing too. Given the number of years they've been releasing and the breadth of their catalog, Warner has released VERY few older films. (Say 1965 and earlier.) It's possible that this lack of classics simply has many fans of those films (picture a stereotypical TCM viewer) still sitting on the sidelines, having not yet bought a BD player.

I don't blame them for being gun-shy, but if it's true that they're not losing money here and the BDs do eventually turn a profit, I'd like to see them open the floodgates a bit more.

[NOTLWolfie]

The problem is the average consumer's view of what Blu-ray is. Many people think old movies can't look good on Blu-ray because they weren't shot in hi-def. And others think that old movies should look better than they do on Blu-ray, because Blu-ray is advertised as "the look and sound of perfect."

So either way these people look at it, they don't have any particular desire to get a Marx Brothers film on BD.

That said, I was hoping to get a copy of Duck Soup for a while, preferably BD. At least a new DVD is coming out soon.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by bboisvert

I think a pile of titles would fit that mold -- Treasure of Sierra Madre, Mutiny on the Bounty, THX-1138, The Maltese Falcon, Ocean's 11, Forbidden Planet. None of those seemed to make a huge splash on BD...

Yeah, the relative quiet surrounding The Maltese Falcon and Treasure of the Sierra Madre in particular kind of surprised me. I know they're not Casablanca but they're not exactly late, late, late, late show material either.

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by bboisvert

I think a pile of titles would fit that mold -- Treasure of Sierra Madre, Mutiny on the Bounty, THX-1138, The Maltese Falcon, Ocean's 11, Forbidden Planet. None of those seemed to make a huge splash on BD...

The original version of THX-1138 might do okay since it hasn't seen the light of day for a while. I don't think Lucas actually owns the rights to that movie and Warner could probably release it if they wanted to.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by johndoyle123

personally i cant imagine the big titles "gone with the wind" not selling , considering most of the forum member own them ,,,

i blame mutiny on the bounty

I blame big fancy packages and/or digibooks. Could sell a lot more if they weren't so pricey because of the fancy stuff.

[KrugStillo]

I really don't understand the dislike for digibooks. I personally think they look cool and will definitely choose a digibook over a standard BD case any time. Yeah they are taller looking in my collection but that's just being really picky if that's the reason why folks don't like them. I understand the box sets because not everybody has the space for all that stuff. Regardless I love my Wizard of Oz box and my Warner digibooks, keep em coming I'll buy.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by johndoyle123

you can tell they have a serious passion for the classics

and a clear statement that they have of"packed schedule " of blu-ray releases heading are way ...


god damn i admire warner brothers

Well, they own the largest film library of any studio, so it's good that they don't neglect the golden age, when (IMO) films were 100x better than they are today. They get overzealous with DNR at times, but otherwise, since ditching their compressed audio tracks, they have been getting better.