We're still having theatrical films not getting Blu-ray releases!

[JayEmm]

Very depressing for those of us who work in films too, especially when we are now being told it is a requirement to shoot in 4K, or at least HD - then finding the film only gets a DVD release.

Very often the subtle details of a film's look - sharpness, grain - are completely lost on DVD.

[OceanBlue]

There was a film which I saw covered on The Film Review on the BBC News Channel, which was released in UK cinemas, called Electricity. Sadly though, it had a DVD-only release in the UK by Soda Pictures last year.

[EvilJames]

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

There was a film which I saw covered on The Film Review on the BBC News Channel, which was released in UK cinemas, called Electricity. Sadly though, it had a DVD-only release in the UK by Soda Pictures last year.

As Soda's name has been invoked here, I hope no-one minds if I re-post something I posted on another forum some time ago when someone similarly asked why we didn't release certain titles on Blu-Ray. Hopefully some of you may find this constructive and enlightening:

Firstly, authoring and mastering (especially for BD-50 as opposed to BD-25) costs, while more affordable now than they've ever been, are still obviously higher for Blu-Ray than they are for DVD. Factor in less obvious costs like manpower time spent QCing - which takes longer for Blu-Ray due to its increased interactivity - and the costs rise still. Despite this extra expenditure, with rare exceptions Blu-Ray copies typically sell a smaller market share of units than their DVD counterparts*, and while you could claim that a Blu-Ray of an acclaimed yet niche title like The Wonders might make its costs back over the years Soda has it licensed, titles that are seemingly more likely to make those costs back faster (due to box office, or the talent involved, or genre) are generally privileged.

Compare that to, say, uploading the film in HD quality to iTunes, which is a much smaller one-time cost that can be recouped much quicker. Also, having the film available digitally in HD gives a distributor peace of mind that the film is future-proofed for when more and more people forego physical for digital as download speeds improve, etc.

As O-scope said in an earlier reply, obviously if Soda had the option of releasing everything on Blu-Ray, standard edition, limited or otherwise, we'd love to. (Though it would mean twice as much work for me, so maybe I shouldn't be too quick to say that!) But as physical media sales inevitably decline, and audiences' and consumers' buying habits become more conservative, it's unfortunately a less and less viable option. Though I should add that Soda are certainly still dedicated to releasing Blu-Rays whenever we can.

* Just to clarify that I'm talking about "first-run" releases of contemporary films here; obviously with the collector's market for catalogue titles, there's more of a skew towards Blu-Ray. Also, my experience is just with the UK market - I don't know if the US DVD/BD market share is similar.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I've said this before, but really, the UK market would be nothing without companies like Arrow, BFI and Eureka. I don't know what exactly happened over there several years ago with the price of DVDs going so low, but basically, the result is that the commoners are all too happy to save a few quid and buy the DVD. And by this point, the behavior is really quite embarrassing, because in 2016, if you want to own brand new films in particular, you should be wanting to own them on Blu-ray not DVD. The only place where things seem worse for Blu-ray is Australia, because other than Madman and Umbrella, they seem to lack the strong foundation that the UK boutique labels have built up here. However, I would hope that things will finally take a turn for the better, as 4K (hopefully) drives more consumers to at least consider Blu-ray over DVD.

Many of the films mentioned here are either receiving region free releases elsewhere, or receiving Region B releases in Germany, which is Europe's largest Blu-ray market, and many of these discs, particularly ones from Fox and Sony, are authored to sell in the UK, with HoH subs and even audio description, depending on the language package offered.

So, my advice to you all is to import whatever you want. Don't buy local DVDs just because they are a small bit cheaper than, say, a German BD. At least you're helping the Blu-ray format somewhere, even if you can't support it locally with a domestic release.

Exactly what I do. No Bluray, no purchase.

[Foggy]

Chuck Ash vs Evil Dead as another DVD only release over here.

[CavebobSpongeman]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Chuck Ash vs Evil Dead as another DVD only release over here.

Weird, innit.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Chuck Ash vs Evil Dead as another DVD only release over here.

Originally Posted by CavebobSpongeman

Weird, innit.

And yet, even as an Amazon.co.uk review dares to complain about that, note the first comment, from a typical Amazon user in the UK or USA:

Why are you giving a one star rating to the DVD? Do you think anyone from Fox is reading this? Idiot.

Which is the typical lack of enthusiasm for Blu-ray all over the sites, even as reviews that laud or critique the series itself rarely earn any rebuke from any Amazon user, despite those reviews being just as "useless" as any that dares to condemn the lack of a Blu-ray release.

There is obviously no reason to not release the series in the UK, particularly as it is a virtual certainty to get an Australian release, and like Spartacus, they should be able to use the same materials across the US, UK and Australia, as I believe Fox and Starz/Anchor Bay have a symbiotic relationship beyond the US, as well.

It's very irritating and upsetting.

[Aunt Peg]

Mistress America is another. So far only a Blu Ray Region A locked in the U.S.

[Coenskubrick]

I've seen a lot of those mentioned in this thread here in Australia. Dope, Diary of a Teenage Girl etc.

Maybe indie movies are more popular in Australia

[Aunt Peg]

But in Australia we are missing out on Blu Ray releases of Son of Saul, Rams, Our Little Sister, I Wish, Like Father, Like Son, Eisenstein in Guamajuato, Stranger by the Lake, Mustang, A War, Journey to the Shore, The Club, Kill Your Friends and The Wolfpack.

[agent999]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Chuck Ash vs Evil Dead as another DVD only release over here.

That one seems particularly odd to me. Evil Dead movies have always been a big sellers on Blu (there wouldn't be so many re-releases and special editions if not) so is it a blanket policy on the part of Fox regarding TV shows?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

I've seen a lot of those mentioned in this thread here in Australia. Dope, Diary of a Teenage Girl etc.

Maybe indie movies are more popular in Australia

Australia is in the same boat as the UK, generally. However, saying that, Ash vs Evil Dead is a product of New Zealand, and with Lawless and Tapert living in New Zealand, well, they would hardly be able to use a U.S. Region A copy themselves, so, unless things are really very, very bad, I would expect an Australian/NZ Blu-ray eventually. Certainly, most Starz programming released by Anchor Bay in the US is released by Anchor Bay in Australia, anyway, as well.

Obviously, the idea that the series would not be released in all of Region B, including, say, Germany, is patently ridiculous. But then, customers in English-speaking Region B countries should not be forced to acquire a copy localized to a non-English language, either.

[Dirk Pepper]

True Story didn't get either a DVD or Blu release but is currently on Sky On Demand.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

[Show spoiler]

And yet, even as an Amazon.co.uk review dares to complain about that, note the first comment, from a typical Amazon user in the UK or USA:

Which is the typical lack of enthusiasm for Blu-ray all over the sites, even as reviews that laud or critique the series itself rarely earn any rebuke from any Amazon user, despite those reviews being just as "useless" as any that dares to condemn the lack of a Blu-ray release.

There is obviously no reason to not release the series in the UK, particularly as it is a virtual certainty to get an Australian release, and like Spartacus, they should be able to use the same materials across the US, UK and Australia, as I believe Fox and Starz/Anchor Bay have a symbiotic relationship beyond the US, as well.

It's very irritating and upsetting.

As I predicted: Fox will release the series on Blu-ray in Australia:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=279314

[dvdmike]

And I take it the US release is region locked?

[JimDiGriz]

Ah might as well mention it again for what its worth...

Solaris (2002).

[Harwin123]

Also just found out that theres no listing for the Blu-Ray edition of Whisky Tango Foxtrot where as the DVD version is available to pre-order. I mean its no masterpiece but it would be nice to have a BD copy of it...

[Bluyoda]

Originally Posted by Harwin123

Also just found out that theres no listing for the Blu-Ray edition of Whisky Tango Foxtrot where as the DVD version is available to pre-order. I mean its no masterpiece but it would be nice to have a BD copy of it...

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Whisk...lu-ray/152141/

I will never forgive Disney for not releasing Strange Magic on Blu-ray!

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Whisk...lu-ray/152141/



I will never forgive Disney for not releasing Strange Magic on Blu-ray!

This is a UK thread in the UK sub forum.
Harwin is correct that the UK seems about the only country in the world Paramount are not releasing Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on BD. Typically UK gets screwed as DVD only, whilst mainland Europe and Australia get BD.

[Grimmy11]

It's frustrating with stuff like True Lies because it'd obviously sell (unless there's some reason they're not releasing it that we don't know about)

It's very annoying when it happens to new films. I had to import "Before Midnight" from Spain and "Like Crazy" from america. I'd also like to get "The Way" but I'll have to import that from America too.

I honestly think film studios pushing for just digital over physical blu-rays is going to cause them more harm than good in the long run. As soon as physical media dies (well I don't think it will ever die completely but let's say goes they way of vinyl) I expect piracy will skyrocket further. I wonder how many people pirated the extended Batman Vs Superman that's available early digitally who may have bought the blu-ray if it had been released on the same date?