Warner Bros UK - Catalogue titles discussion

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by huntauk

Big Red One vs Memphis Belle? Surely the Fuller would be the bigger seller!

Listen, if it weren't for labels like Second Sight, MoC, etc, the UK video market would be nothing but chav catering shite.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by unicron73

i myself have bought adventures of robin hood,excalibur,us marshals,outland and many others from the us.i also have nixon,thirteen days and major league on order.
ive preordered both sorcerer and get carter for cheaper than the preorder of get carter in the uk-complete madness...
im watching the south park movie at the moment-also a us release....

Love major league. Have both 1 and 2 on DVD. Forgot about them, thanks for the reminder will look on amazon for an order.
Classics!!

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by sky_captain

listen, if it weren't for labels like second sight, moc, etc, the uk video market would be nothing but chav catering shite.

+1 (only reason to buy blurays in the UK are these "arthouse" and "classic" labels)

[Blu MacReady]

I've always gone multi region. Not sure if these are WB but I have them on DVD in the old snap case. Pacific Heights and Sharkeys Machine, amongst others, which were never released in the UK on DVD (99%sure). Could never understand why? Both have popular actors and unless its just me who likes them, I think they'd sell well.

If you want to own the films you love/like then import, or it's only you that misses out

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

If you want to own the films you love/like then import, or it's only you that misses out

you got the same "problem" all over the world in probably all countrys with all kind of movies, thats why you are right with going multiregion.

im region free myself and import movies from all over the world and dont mind if i get them from italy , france, korea, HK , USA , UK or somewhere else...

lot of people will most likely wait "forever" for their favorite movie to be released in the UK. and if it gets released the chance that the transfer is worse than the (years) oldUS release and/or bonus features are missing is high (seven samurai UK vs US for example)

[Spiderwalk]

I have imported a number of US Warner releases and they have been fairly pricey with shipping. The same titles if released in the UK would probably end up in the HMV 3 for £20 offer and wouldn't come in those awful eco cases that damage the artwork. So i would definitely prefer a UK release over an import.

Also they have deleted a number of their UK discs like 2010, The Omega Man and THX 1138, all said and done we get a pretty shitty deal from Warner in this country.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by Spiderwalk

Also they have deleted a number of their UK discs like 2010, The Omega Man and THX 1138, all said and done we get a pretty shitty deal from Warner in this country.

? Like I said in my post, you can buy The Omega Man for £6.58 delivered (& 2010 for £6.90) from Amazon UK Marketplace. What's the problem?

[Spiderwalk]

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

? Like I said in my post, you can buy The Omega Man for £6.58 delivered (& 2010 for £6.90) from Amazon UK Marketplace. What's the problem?

The problem is i don't want to spend good money on importing Warner titles only to have them arrive in a damaged state. Of the 7 films i have imported so far 6 have damaged artwork due to the shoddy eco cases.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by Spiderwalk

The problem is i don't want to spend good money on importing Warner titles only to have them arrive in a damaged state. Of the 7 films i have imported so far 6 have damaged artwork due to the shoddy eco cases.

Agree that is an issue. I've not had any damages myself but the US cases are weak and soft.
I bought a pack of proper solid slim amaray cases, single and double swing trays and also 2 disc amaray cases. I normally (unless they arrive in a solid case) change them over and as the multi region player is in the bedroom, I add the UK DVD in case I'd rather watch the movie in the lounge, also because sometimes the DVD has features/extras not on the blu ray.

[Skog]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Listen, if it weren't for labels like Second Sight, MoC, etc, the UK video market would be nothing but chav catering shite.

Daaaamn, you were bustin' chops yesterday!

[huntauk]

Going back on my original rant, perhaps what happened was during the first 12 months, WB backed the UK market releasing a selection of catalogue titles, many of which were remastered, and re-released on DVD also. In 2008 the UK market was still very DVD orientated and only in the last couple of years have people begun to switch over in greater numbers as families upgrade their TV sets to Smarts and 3Ds. The poor sales probably caused the UK branch to focus solely on new releases and the TV series' and cut back completely on anything else, I'm positive if titles such as Rio Bravo, THX-1138 ect were released today they would sell more than 3-5 years ago due to more people having a means to play the format in their homes.

Lets face it the average customer does not import, I wouldn't say the majority of people on this forum are average customers, they are collectors with greater knowledge of region coding, international markets and international distributors and best means of sourcing these. 90% of casual film fans or families who collect films intermittently will not be aware that Dad's favourite Western can be imported from the US, or which players can be remote hacked so they can play all region.

I don't mind personally importing the odd film which might not arrive here for a few years, or will be likely be released cut - A Better Tomorrow for example. But its 100's of films now which are being held back.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by the blob

The UK is one large paradox when it comes to blu-ray catalogue. The three biggest home video markets are Germany, France and the UK. i'm not sure which is the biggest overall. Germany and France get a share of the WB back cat. Even Spain got The Haunting, Westworld, Soylent Green and others. Yet here we have a pathetic show. I've no problem with importing myself but maybe others do and it probably doesn't help the overall uptake when there are gaping holes for more discerning viewers.

On the other hand we have the most thriving independant blu-ray home video industry in the whole of Europe with the likes of Eureka, BFI, Arrow, Second Sight, Artifical Eye and others. Maybe the lack of major studio output is helping to proviide a gap for them. Personally, I could care less if we ever saw another MGM, Universal or Fox back cat release as long as these companies are still able to license them. Likewise with Warner and Sony if they would just do the same!

Just reminded me about Westworld and The Haunting! Why on earth havent these two been released in the UK yet?! Its not as if theyre both unimportant films, both are groundbreaking in different ways and both more than deserve releases.

Looks like I better import these two as well. Its bizarre that Spain are a bigger market for these titles than the UK...are they really?

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by Sky_Captain

Listen, if it weren't for labels like Second Sight, MoC, etc, the UK video market would be nothing but chav catering shite.

Like it!