Aussie DVD while International get Blu-ray

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by Gaffer

So the recent Kristen Stewart thriller Underwater originally had pre-orders on JB for 4K, Blu ray and DVD. A 4K version was never announced in U.S so I expected that to be cancelled but now JB has removed that PLUS the Blu-ray version. So now it seems its going to be DVD only (Sanity still has a Blu ray listing but Amazon.au and EzyDVD now only list a DVD).

JB NZ still has the BD listed. Might be a glitch on the Aussie site, or maybe they accidentally deleted the BD listing at the same time as the 4K.

[Gaffer]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

JB NZ still has the BD listed. Might be a glitch on the Aussie site, or maybe they accidentally deleted the BD listing at the same time as the 4K.

Yeah hopefully but Amazon.au had a blu ray listed recently and that’s been removed and Ezydvd had 4K and Blu ray listings and now only the DVD remains so I’m not holding my breath (pun intended)

[The Watcher 69]

Again, not physical media but iTunes Australia has Batman: TAS in SD while US has HD.

Still holding out hope for my previous purchases to be upgraded one day...

[Rick Grimes]

Another good Aussie film that Madman decided not to release on BD.
1%



We get a German release and a Nordic release. But Australia gets DVD only.
Caught the last 2/3 on Foxtel early Friday morning.
Tempted to import the film, to support Aussie films, by buying overseas.
That’s sounds ****ing crazy, but I guess that’s why Madman continues to release critically acclaimed Aussie films on DVD.

[SillyG]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

That’s sounds ****ing crazy, but I guess that’s why Madman continues to release critically acclaimed Aussie films on DVD.

These days, Madman releases almost nothing other than anime on Blu-ray. Speaking of which, I am completely baffled that The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was never issued a local Blu-ray release when it has been available in the U.S. for a number of years now (instead, we get two "complete series" releases on DVD).

March was one of Madman's busier Blu-ray months with about 7 non-anime Blu-ray releases, followed by NONE in April, and only two in May (not counting the five Imprint releases).

I want to support our local distributors as much as possible, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to justify nowadays, and the example you've cited is among the more absurd ones (similarly, Doctor Doctor and Seasons 3+ of A Place To Call Home are available on Blu-ray in the U.S. but are DVD only locally, and presumably region A locked to add salt to the wound).

[Rick Grimes]

I believe A Place to Call Home went to Season 4 (S1-2 are chronicled on Blu-Ray.com). Problem with A Place to Call Home on US BD is it will be the incorrect pitch and speed (PAL Slowdown).

Crazy enough, the second season of ABC’s Jack Irish was DVD here but BD in the US... And one of the seminal Aussie war films, The Odd Angry Shot (about Aussie’s fighting in the Vietnam War), that has an eclectic Aussie cast from Graham Kennedy to Bryan Brown to Wolf Creek’s John Jarrat, is released in the US on BD, but has f*ck-all here (i.e. DVD only).

[SillyG]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

I believe A Place to Call Home went to Season 4 (S1-2 are chronicled on Blu-Ray.com).

I don't recall any of the Foxtel seasons (seasons 3+) being released on Blu-ray, and I couldn't find anything past season 2 on eBay (I don't particularly recall seasons 3 or 4 being released locally on Blu, though I could be mistaken; I just don't remember with any certainty to be able to say that they have), and this site only chronicled Seasons 1-2, so I stuck with that.

When the show got picked up by Foxtel, they reshot the ending of the second season finale (as it originally served as the series finale) and Universal issued a separate DVD release of the third disc for those who already owned the initial print of the second season (and I don't believe that they ever issued a revised Blu-ray with the new ending, which would support my belief that nothing past season 2 would have been released on Blu-ray locally).

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

Problem with A Place to Call Home on US BD is it will be the incorrect pitch and speed (PAL Slowdown).

Quite possibly. I imagine that this happens with a lot of releases though in order to present them in progressive scan as opposed to interlaced (due to the limitations of Blu-ray specs), though I haven't seen enough Aussie TV on Blu-ray to be able to ascertain what the norm is. It was also brought to my attention recently that a lot of American TVs do not support 50/100Hz, so PAL content would need to be converted to 29.976fps/23.976/24fps to ensure compatibility with most NA devices. Fortunately, the majority of modern TVs in Australia have no problem with NTSC content, so I found it strange that American TVs specifically would not support multiple refresh rates as well.

[kuzronk]

A Hidden Life is going to be DVD only here sigh...

[jay166]

Originally Posted by kuzronk

A Hidden Life is going to be DVD only here sigh...

That was always a given. I’m waiting until I can import from US...

[g12345567]

Ken Burns' Country Music Series.

Its a shame that the local TV broadcast is the shorter BBC 8 hour edited version and have to buy to get the complete 16 hour edit.

Local is only DVD whilst USA gets Blu-ray.

[Auss1e]

Looks like the show Lucifer has gone DVD-only for Season 4 after Roadshow gave it Blu-Ray releases for the first three seasons. Roadshow rarely carries Warner Archive releases (how it was released on Blu in the US) but considering Season 5 will be the last of the show it's a shame they couldn't bother to keep going...

[Brayden96]

After releasing X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Tolkien, Stuber, Ad Astra, Ready or Not, Terminator: Dark Fate, Ford v Ferrari, JoJo Rabbit and Spies in Disguise as normal along with the 4K releases of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, Disney has decided to make the shocking decision to release all upcoming titles from 20th Century Fox (including Searchlight) on DVD only.

The Call of the Wild, Underwater, Downhill and A Hidden Life will only be released on DVD in Australia despite listing releases on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray for months in some cases.

To make matters even more scary they appear to have completely removed The Art of Racing in the Rain from all physical store fronts (JB, Sanity and EzyDVD) on all formats after it was just released late last year.

[Cevolution]

What exactly is your purpose for the thread, as it's not very clear in the first post? To inform people of this, or to get a better understanding of why this is happening in the Australian market, or to complain and protest?...

[Brayden96]

Originally Posted by Cevolution

What exactly is your purpose for the thread, as it's not very clear in the first post? To inform people of this, or to get a better understanding of why this is happening in the Australian market, or to complain and protest?...

All of the above.

I want to inform people.

If people know anything else I'd be happy to hear it.

I am also complaining about it.

[LMFAObros]

Im not really that suprised tbh. I wanted the call of the wild to at least get a BD release here as well as A Hidden Life, but I don't really see it happening.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by Brayden96

After releasing X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Tolkien, Stuber, Ad Astra, Ready or Not, Terminator: Dark Fate, Ford v Ferrari, JoJo Rabbit and Spies in Disguise as normal along with the 4K releases of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, Disney has decided to make the shocking decision to release all upcoming titles from 20th Century Fox (including Searchlight) on DVD only.

The Call of the Wild, Underwater, Downhill and A Hidden Life will only be released on DVD in Australia despite listing releases on Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray for months in some cases.

To make matters even more scary they appear to have completely removed The Art of Racing in the Rain from all physical store fronts (JB, Sanity and EzyDVD) on all formats after it was just released late last year.

At least with DVDs & Blu Rays Fox is the problem (I don't know about Disney or 4K releases).

The Art of Racing in the Rain was due to be released in cinemas in Australia. It had a release date set and Dendy Newtown (in Sydney) had a poster up for it at one stage but the release never happened (like lots of films including Ma with Octavia Spencer). I really don't think the physical media release of The Art of Racing in the Rain actually even happened. I do know that one late last year it suddenly turned up on Fetch which is how I saw it. I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy the Blu Ray but noticed it wasn't released in any format in Australia. I purchased the US Blu Ray (which turned out to be Region Free). The Art of Racing was released in UK cinemas (I believe) but also didn't receive a physical media release at all in the UK.

Fox have been doing these sorts of things for sometime now. Here are some other cases:

True Story (2015) with James Franco & Jonah Hill. No cinema or physical media release in Australia. No physical media release in the UK (not sure about cinema release there). Released on physical media in US but the Blu Ray is Region A locked. The film is available in Australia to stream only;

Rules Don't Apply (2016) Warren Beatty's latest flop. Played in cinemas in Australia and the UK. Never released on physical media in Australia & UK. Released on physical media in US - don't know if the Blu Ray is locked A Region Free. Is only available in Australia to stream;

Frances Ha (2012) Released in cinemas in Australia & UK. No physical media release in Australia & UK, though it has been released on Blu Ray in Germany. Released on physical media in the US. The US Blu Ray is Region A locked. Is only available in Australia to stream;

The Sessions (2012) Released in the cinemas in Australia & UK. DVD only in Australia and UK. Released on Blu Ray in US with is Region Free.

Fox were doing this kind of stuff before Disney took them over so I wasn't the least bit surprised that The Art of Racing.... coped a similar fate.

Sony aren't much better. Elle released only on DVD. Never Look Away, Julietta & Pain and Glory all released on the big screen but no physical media release in OZ - straight to streaming. Sunset didn't even earn a cinema release in Australia - no physical media release either - straight to streaming.

Even Madman are guilty of it - White God (2014) - festival screenings and then straight to streaming, no physical media release. The Summer House (2019) - festival screenings and then straight to streaming, no physical media release.

They wonder why the income stream is drying up and we shop internationally!

[lateralspin]

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

Frances Ha (2012)

I have the BD release by Transmission Films. It has no extras, though.

[kuzronk]

She's confused with Mistress America (got the promo pamphlet on my wall for it), even got rated for it's release on home media.

Call of the Wild is a bit of a shock to not get an local release though, I imported A Hidden Life but that lacks a release in most countries on Blu-ray.

[Aunt Peg]

Originally Posted by kuzronk

She's confused with Mistress America (got the promo pamphlet on my wall for it), even got rated for it's release on home media.

Call of the Wild is a bit of a shock to not get an local release though, I imported A Hidden Life but that lacks a release in most countries on Blu-ray.

Opps, yes I have. I meant Mistress America.

[Brayden96]

Originally Posted by Aunt Peg

At least with DVDs & Blu Rays Fox is the problem (I don't know about Disney or 4K releases).

The Art of Racing in the Rain was due to be released in cinemas in Australia. It had a release date set and Dendy Newtown (in Sydney) had a poster up for it at one stage but the release never happened (like lots of films including Ma with Octavia Spencer). I really don't think the physical media release of The Art of Racing in the Rain actually even happened. I do know that one late last year it suddenly turned up on Fetch which is how I saw it. I enjoyed it so much I decided to buy the Blu Ray but noticed it wasn't released in any format in Australia. I purchased the US Blu Ray (which turned out to be Region Free). The Art of Racing was released in UK cinemas (I believe) but also didn't receive a physical media release at all in the UK.

Fox have been doing these sorts of things for sometime now. Here are some other cases:

True Story (2015) with James Franco & Jonah Hill. No cinema or physical media release in Australia. No physical media release in the UK (not sure about cinema release there). Released on physical media in US but the Blu Ray is Region A locked. The film is available in Australia to stream only;

Rules Don't Apply (2016) Warren Beatty's latest flop. Played in cinemas in Australia and the UK. Never released on physical media in Australia & UK. Released on physical media in US - don't know if the Blu Ray is locked A Region Free. Is only available in Australia to stream;

Frances Ha (2012) Released in cinemas in Australia & UK. No physical media release in Australia & UK, though it has been released on Blu Ray in Germany. Released on physical media in the US. The US Blu Ray is Region A locked. Is only available in Australia to stream;

The Sessions (2012) Released in the cinemas in Australia & UK. DVD only in Australia and UK. Released on Blu Ray in US with is Region Free.

Fox were doing this kind of stuff before Disney took them over so I wasn't the least bit surprised that The Art of Racing.... coped a similar fate.

Sony aren't much better. Elle released only on DVD. Never Look Away, Julietta & Pain and Glory all released on the big screen but no physical media release in OZ - straight to streaming. Sunset didn't even earn a cinema release in Australia - no physical media release either - straight to streaming.

Even Madman are guilty of it - White God (2014) - festival screenings and then straight to streaming, no physical media release. The Summer House (2019) - festival screenings and then straight to streaming, no physical media release.

They wonder why the income stream is drying up and we shop internationally!

Disney's now handling it in Australia tho. They might have done a few examples of this in the past for a few bombs but nothing on this scale.

Did they even list those titles for release on Blu-ray? Underwater was listed for Blu-ray and 4K for months.