Rollerball (1975) (Standard [SOLD OUT] + Encore Editions) (Limited Edition)

[Sodslaw]

Will be getting this when it's available for pre order.
Don't agree with how they go about things but if it's the only way to get this on blu ray then so be it.
What I'm not looking forward to is the scrum for copies of The Blob,that's already a must have for a lot of folks.

[Deciazulado]

All I wish is the surround track preserves the sound of the ball going around the room when launched like it did when I saw this in a CINERAMA theater presentation.

PS. You're looking for something? This thread is about a Rollerball Blu-ray..

[Viper187]

Oh Hell Yeah! This will be a definite pre-order. I wonder if there's any chance they'll get a hold of Catch Me if You Can (1989). A 25th anniversary release of that next year would be awesome, since it's never been on ****ing DVD. Krull and Storm of the Century would be nice too.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Viper187

Oh Hell Yeah! This will be a definite pre-order. I wonder if there's any chance they'll get a hold of Catch Me if You Can (1989). A 25th anniversary release of that next year would be awesome, since it's never been on ****ing DVD. Krull and Storm of the Century would be nice too.

If you're referring to the 1999 TV mini-series then Echo Bridge has that.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Monroville

No... you are in the Twilight Time Zone.

thanks... whatever the hell that means....

[Viper187]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

If you're referring to the 1999 TV mini-series then Echo Bridge has that.

Huh. I wonder if they'll ever get around to releasing the Blu. I ****ing hate that flipper DVD.

[Hintermann]

I will pre-order Rollerball on Blu-ray even though I dislike TT's policy. This movie has grown greatly on me since I first saw it in 1976. I do have a good anamorphic DVD but it is certainly worth the upgrade to a 'limited edition' BD.

[Kristian Idol]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

All I wish is the surround track preserves the sound of the ball going around the room when launched like it did when I saw this in a CINERAMA theater presentation.

Ha ha. Those shots are what surround was made for!

I can already hear the lone skates on the track: kish... kish... kish... kish...

[Hintermann]

Is there any information on when TT are bringing this out?

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by Hintermann

Is there any information on when TT are bringing this out?

They hinted at a 2014 release, but haven't offically announced the title for release, to my knowledge.

Originally Posted by Akijama

https://www.facebook.com/twilighttim...74344652584204

[mdonovan]

I don't agree with the twilight time strategy ... but it must be working for them and the last I checked we are a free market system. So as long as there is no collusion I'm fine with it.

Now that I got that out-of-the-way does anybody know if the preorder date has been released yet?? i'm definitely ready to shell out 35 bucks for this. wish it were 15 but it's not.

[Mr Kite]

I would really like to know also.

[Jobla]

No official announcement as of yet.

[scrapser]

I've been waiting for this movie for years. I have several TT titles. I am grateful to them for publishing an old movie (on DVD) that changed my life as a teenager (Fate is the Hunter). I first saw it on TV in 1969. Years later I discovered it was based on a book of the same name by Ernest Gann. I now have that as well. If I like a movie enough or it has significant value to me, I don't care who sells it or for how much. Putting money above the film on principle is shooting yourself in the foot (my opinion). You only live once people.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by scrapser

I've been waiting for this movie for years. I have several TT titles. I am grateful to them for publishing an old movie (on DVD) that changed my life as a teenager (Fate is the Hunter). I first saw it on TV in 1969. Years later I discovered it was based on a book of the same name by Ernest Gann. I now have that as well. If I like a movie enough or it has significant value to me, I don't care who sells it or for how much. Putting money above the film on principle is shooting yourself in the foot (my opinion). You only live once people.

As a fan of these old classics, I care who releases them precisely because I do care.

Great that some of us manage to be the lucky ones who snag a copy of our favorite classics by Twilight Time, but as a film fan, I want others fans to be able to enjoy this as well. I don't want it to be just for me. Rollerball deserves to be on store shelves. It was on DVD. Which means they should be made available for those fans to purchase. Christine was sold out within a few hours. That's not even a release as far as I'm concerned. Fans hoped for years that would show up on blu-ray, and if you had to work that day, you missed out. Ridiculous!

Why did these studios decide years ago that these films should be on stores shelves on DVD, but now they refuse to put the same films on blu-ray in stores? That's what's so frustrating - all these films that Twilight Time gets have been on stores shelves in the past on DVD, Laserdisc, VHS - now, all of a sudden, the studios don't even want to distribute these to stores any more. It's like a lottery - if you're 1 of 3000 lucky winners you get a copy, if not, you'll never get it. That's not what home video should be about. I can see special packaging being a limited-release thing - but not the film itself.

[Viper187]

Originally Posted by mar3o

As a fan of these old classics, I care who releases them precisely because I do care.

Great that some of us manage to be the lucky ones who snag a copy of our favorite classics by Twilight Time, but as a film fan, I want others fans to be able to enjoy this as well. I don't want it to be just for me. Rollerball deserves to be on store shelves. It was on DVD. Which means they should be made available for those fans to purchase. Christine was sold out within a few hours. That's not even a release as far as I'm concerned. Fans hoped for years that would show up on blu-ray, and if you had to work that day, you missed out. Ridiculous!

Why did these studios decide years ago that these films should be on stores shelves on DVD, but now they refuse to put the same films on blu-ray in stores? That's what's so frustrating - all these films that Twilight Time gets have been on stores shelves in the past on DVD, Laserdisc, VHS - now, all of a sudden, the studios don't even want to distribute these to stores any more. It's like a lottery - if you're 1 of 3000 lucky winners you get a copy, if not, you'll never get it. That's not what home video should be about. I can see special packaging being a limited-release thing - but not the film itself.

Exactly! Why the hell didn't Catch Me If You Can 1989 even get a DVD release? It was written by Steven ****ing Sommers! (The Mummy, Scorpion King, etc) They release some of the dumbest ****in movies on earth straight to DVD, but we can't get movies that were actually good released. Will we ever see Lawnmower Man (DIRECTORS CUT) beyond VHS/LD!? It's a 40 minute difference in the film for christ sake! The list just goes on and on.

[chriszilla]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Why did these studios decide years ago that these films should be on stores shelves on DVD, but now they refuse to put the same films on blu-ray in stores?

Are you seriously asking this question?

DVD sales of catalog titles were a boon for home video distributors, hence they were widely available. But we're in 2013 now, and home video sales of even the hottest titles are a shell of what they once were, and catalog sales are damn near non-existent. These video companies exist to make money. Don't you think if MGM could realize a nice profit on ROLLERBALL on Blu-Ray that they would be releasing it? They can't, and that's why such a title gets farmed out to a boutique label like TT.

The whole "lucky lottery winner" analogy has only applied to a very few titles that TT has released. Most are still available, and those that did sell out usually took a fair amount of time. Only a few sold out relatively quickly.

I've noticed in this forum that there is a real sense of "entitlement" on the part of a lot of home video collectors. We all want access to any catalog title, at any time, and want to pay around $10 for it! That's great, and I'd love to live in such a world, too, but it just isn't realistic in this day and age. If folks here saw the pathetic numbers that catalog titles are selling, they'd probably have a better understanding of why companies are licensing to TT.

And for the record, I'm not a TT "apologist" or "super fan". I only own 6 TT titles, have the two Sinbad's on pre-order, and would like to own another half dozen or so of their releases. There is one TT title that I would have liked to own, that I no longer have the opportunity to order (THE BIG HEAT).

Just calling it like it is...

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by chriszilla

Are you seriously asking this question?

DVD sales of catalog titles were a boon for home video distributors, hence they were widely available. But we're in 2013 now, and home video sales of even the hottest titles are a shell of what they once were, and catalog sales are damn near non-existent. These video companies exist to make money. Don't you think if MGM could realize a nice profit on ROLLERBALL on Blu-Ray that they would be releasing it? They can't, and that's why such a title gets farmed out to a boutique label like TT.

The whole "lucky lottery winner" analogy has only applied to a very few titles that TT has released. Most are still available, and those that did sell out usually took a fair amount of time. Only a few sold out relatively quickly.

I've noticed in this forum that there is a real sense of "entitlement" on the part of a lot of home video collectors. We all want access to any catalog title, at any time, and want to pay around $10 for it! That's great, and I'd love to live in such a world, too, but it just isn't realistic in this day and age. If folks here saw the pathetic numbers that catalog titles are selling, they'd probably have a better understanding of why companies are licensing to TT.

And for the record, I'm not a TT "apologist" or "super fan". I only own 6 TT titles, have the two Sinbad's on pre-order, and would like to own another half dozen or so of their releases. There is one TT title that I would have liked to own, that I no longer have the opportunity to order (THE BIG HEAT).

Just calling it like it is...

Yes, I am seriously asking this question.

Catalog title sales are only a shell of what they once were because they're not releasing that many catalog titles any more on blu-ray, and when they do, stores refuse to stock them, or they stock them inconsistently.

Last year I wanted to buy Grease and Fast Times at Ridgemont High on blu-ray for my girlfriend - Went to all my local Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy stores - even Movie Stop - nobody had them. I ended up buying them on Amazon. For months afterwards I never saw them on the shelf in stores. Yet randomly a few weeks ago I noticed Best Buy got a bunch in, out of the blue. Unreliable - you can't count on titles being in stores any more. But I shop online a lot for discs anyway so though frustrating at least I knew Amazon would have them. There are lots of people in my girlfriend's family that aren't really into blu-rays enough that they would follow a forum like this. If they don't see a title on the store shelf, they just assume it's not available.

So how can the industry sell catalog titles when stores refuse to carry them and people therefore don't know they're available?

Studios are different now than they were when DVD was big. They want huge numbers of pre-orders and instant sales now. I was buying DVDs when most people I knew didn't know what they were yet. As DVD got more popular, I could almost always count on finding all the new releases in Best Buy or other stores on release date. And if they sold, the stores would order more copies. Now, they get a few copies in, and when they sell, they're gone, and likely you won't see more re-ordered. And stores don't want to have multiple copies of catalog titles sitting on shelves for weeks or months at a time waiting for just the right fan to walk in and discover it. They only want to stock the latest and greatest films guaranteed to sell in huge quantities. So they don't stock so many catalog titles. Best Buy's catalog titles are ever-dwindling. Their catalog horror titles for Halloween was pathetic. They just don't bother any more. And that hurts catalog sales because people don't know the titles are out.

I often blame the studios for not putting out these catalog titles, but really, I should be blaming the retail stores more. They're the ones who refuse to stock them when they do get released, and if they don't stock them, they don't sell, and then the studios hesitate.

It certainly isn't because people don't buy catalog titles because all the people who bought DVDs of their favorite films are still fans of their favorite films, and many would be willing to upgrade if they were available.

[Viper187]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Yes, I am seriously asking this question.

Catalog title sales are only a shell of what they once were because they're not releasing that many catalog titles any more on blu-ray, and when they do, stores refuse to stock them, or they stock them inconsistently.

Last year I wanted to buy Grease and Fast Times at Ridgemont High on blu-ray for my girlfriend - Went to all my local Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy stores - even Movie Stop - nobody had them. I ended up buying them on Amazon. For months afterwards I never saw them on the shelf in stores. Yet randomly a few weeks ago I noticed Best Buy got a bunch in, out of the blue. Unreliable - you can't count on titles being in stores any more. But I shop online a lot for discs anyway so though frustrating at least I knew Amazon would have them. There are lots of people in my girlfriend's family that aren't really into blu-rays enough that they would follow a forum like this. If they don't see a title on the store shelf, they just assume it's not available.

So how can the industry sell catalog titles when stores refuse to carry them and people therefore don't know they're available?

Studios are different now than they were when DVD was big. They want huge numbers of pre-orders and instant sales now. I was buying DVDs when most people I knew didn't know what they were yet. As DVD got more popular, I could almost always count on finding all the new releases in Best Buy or other stores on release date. And if they sold, the stores would order more copies. Now, they get a few copies in, and when they sell, they're gone, and likely you won't see more re-ordered. And stores don't want to have multiple copies of catalog titles sitting on shelves for weeks or months at a time waiting for just the right fan to walk in and discover it. They only want to stock the latest and greatest films guaranteed to sell in huge quantities. So they don't stock so many catalog titles. Best Buy's catalog titles are ever-dwindling. Their catalog horror titles for Halloween was pathetic. They just don't bother any more. And that hurts catalog sales because people don't know the titles are out.

I often blame the studios for not putting out these catalog titles, but really, I should be blaming the retail stores more. They're the ones who refuse to stock them when they do get released, and if they don't stock them, they don't sell, and then the studios hesitate.

It certainly isn't because people don't buy catalog titles because all the people who bought DVDs of their favorite films are still fans of their favorite films, and many would be willing to upgrade if they were available.

That's part of the problem too. However, the studios just don't seem willing to give people what they want anymore. They don't listen. They don't even have easy ways to write in and request titles be made available even for the damn DVD-R services like Warner Archive. They constantly release blus without including all versions of the movie that were on DVD. Why the hell would I buy the cut I don't like? It's amazing all the complete trash straight-to-video titles you see on both DVD and Blu, but we can't get the decent stuff released right. I mean. Will we ever see the 2004 Punisher EXTENDED CUT in HD? I had to import Payback in HD because they only put the director's cut of that, which was like a completely different movie. I liked the version with Kris Kristofferson. **** you very much, Paramount. I'm still waiting for Last Comic Standing to get released in some form, along with the unreleased Comedy Central Roasts.

Then you see blus that are way over-priced. 90s catalog titles should be down to $10 within 6 months and stay there. Why the hell is Maverick still sitting at nearly $20 TWO YEARS LATER!? It's a Walmart bargain bin title for christ sake! Movies are only worth so much. Charging a premium for classics is one thing. Expecting people to pay an arm and a leg for catalog titles that are usually barebones, half-assed releases is just stupid.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Viper187

That's part of the problem too. However, the studios just don't seem willing to give people what they want anymore. They don't listen. They don't even have easy ways to write in and request titles be made available even for the damn DVD-R services like Warner Archive. They constantly release blus without including all versions of the movie that were on DVD. Why the hell would I buy the cut I don't like? It's amazing all the complete trash straight-to-video titles you see on both DVD and Blu, but we can't get the decent stuff released right. I mean. Will we ever see the 2004 Punisher EXTENDED CUT in HD? I had to import Payback in HD because they only put the director's cut of that, which was like a completely different movie. I liked the version with Kris Kristofferson. **** you very much, Paramount. I'm still waiting for Last Comic Standing to get released in some form, along iwth the unlreased Comedy Central Roasts.

Yes, I agree with you here definitely. Studios do deserve a good portion of the blame for releasing such poor product over the years. They introduce blu-ray with promises of "Perfect picture, perfect sound", then smear the hell out of the transfers with DNR and sharpening tools. They mess around with the color timing. They shortchange us on extras by releasing barebones discs when previous DVDs were stacked with extras. They produce faulty discs. Now they're going after the packaging with cardboard sleeves and stacked discs, resulting in damaged discs. And as you said, they refuse to listen. I see so much crap on store shelves - I mean complete junk, yet people in here claim there isn't a place for titles like Rollerball? I don't buy it. The customers aren't the problem. We all like movies and like to buy movies. But how many disappointments are we supposed to put up with before we start being more cautious with purchases.

We (my girlfriend and I) used to buy all the Disney catalog animated DVDs. For a while we were buying all the Disney blu-rays. Now, we've backed off due to titles like Cinderella, Sword in the Stone, and Mickey's Christmas Carol. We skipped Weird Science due to the lousy transfer, even though we're big fans of the film. The studios can't hit us indefinitely with sub-par releases and then not expect some of us to back away and be more careful with our purchases. I think blu-ray has amazing potential but too often studios abuse the format. Look at The Deadly Spawn to see how bad some releases can get. This all contributes to less sales. They're losing people's faith in the format.