Blu Ray Choices Driving Me Crazy

[Pitman]

I bought a Blu Ray player last month, taking a chance that it would win the format wars.

As a died in the wool movie buff, seeing movies at their best video quality is very appealing to me.

However, I have to say that I am more than a little frustrated at the choices studios have made when it comes to what past or current movies to release on to Blu Ray. For every excellent movie, like a Memento or a Blade Runner or a No Country For Old Men, there seem to be about 20 to 30 times as many just plain bad movies released. I can't understand this.

I mean, it would be one thing if Blu Ray were an established format and every movie, bad or good, was getting released on it. But that's not the case. Does anybody think that the Blu Ray audience is going to build when forgettable or just plain bad movies like Arlington Road, Phone Booth, The Sixth Day, Flight of the Phoenix, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are released instead of true classics, critical and financial successes, and/or cult classics?

G.I. Jane? Really? THAT was an early Blu Ray release?

It drives me crazy when, with so relatively few Blu Ray discs out there now, studios are announcing titles like Mr. Magorium. But I can at least understand the desire to release recent titles on Blu Ray. Decisions to release Blu Ray titles such as Battle of the Bulge, Swordfish, or Twilight Zone: the Movie are just beyond me. How many people would prefer to see the 1965 dog Battle of the Bulge versus another possible Warners Brothers release such as The Matrix? Just curious.

I would like to think that the studios would concentrate more on getting "must have" Blu Rays on the market in order to grow it.

[chan1490]

Agreed - I'm still waiting for Matthew Broderick in Glory.

[Luis_A51]

The studios are doing a great job with new releases.

Catalogue titles will come. They didnt all magically appear on DVD at the beggining of that format either. The best catalogue titles will get special treatment, or come out on the anniversary of the original release, or be delayed until there are more players out there etc, but my point is it will take time.

Its just a fact of life that for every good movie there are a lot of mediocre ones. Also poorly performing movies tend to get released on disc very quickly (an extreme example being the straight-to-dvd stinkers)

[cobwebb]

For real...It may be cheaper to covert basic movies in Blu ray rather than newer movies with all of the CGI action sequences. They are probably just blowing out the quick fixer-uppers to get the ball rolling. In that case they should release titles like: Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club. those should be easy upcoverts (as soon as Paramount and Universal make the final switch).

[NoQuestion]

First let me say welcome to the site. Secondly, every person has thier own opinion when it comes to the movies that are released. I personally think phone booth was a good movie and i do own on it on blu. If you take a look at the upcoming movies you can see that the studios are digging into thier catalog titles. You will not see movies like Star Wars or LOTR for a couple years. Mainly because Lucas and New Line will want the format to be very well established so they can make the most out of the release. You also wont see some big titles until the format matures more. I would rather wait for highly anticapated titles until the studios get the encodes mastered.

To summarize, the studios are doing a great job so far in my opinion. People have thier own opinions on this matter and i respect that. Over the next year or two we will begin to see better catalog titles coming to market. Just look at march: ID4 and I, Robot. Just be patient the movies you want will be coming soon.

[workshed108]

Originally Posted by Pitman

I bought a Blu Ray player last month, taking a chance that it would win the format wars.

As a died in the wool movie buff, seeing movies at their best video quality is very appealing to me.

However, I have to say that I am more than a little frustrated at the choices studios have made when it comes to what past or current movies to release on to Blu Ray. For every excellent movie, like a Memento or a Blade Runner or a No Country For Old Men, there seem to be about 20 to 30 times as many just plain bad movies released. I can't understand this.

I mean, it would be one thing if Blu Ray were an established format and every movie, bad or good, was getting released on it. But that's not the case. Does anybody think that the Blu Ray audience is going to build when forgettable or just plain bad movies like Arlington Road, Phone Booth, The Sixth Day, Flight of the Phoenix, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are released instead of true classics, critical and financial successes, and/or cult classics?

G.I. Jane? Really? THAT was an early Blu Ray release?

It drives me crazy when, with so relatively few Blu Ray discs out there now, studios are announcing titles like Mr. Magorium. But I can at least understand the desire to release recent titles on Blu Ray. Decisions to release Blu Ray titles such as Battle of the Bulge, Swordfish, or Twilight Zone: the Movie are just beyond me. How many people would prefer to see the 1965 dog Battle of the Bulge versus another possible Warners Brothers release such as The Matrix? Just curious.

I would like to think that the studios would concentrate more on getting "must have" Blu Rays on the market in order to grow it.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

I have been waiting for this movie for YEARS on DVD and now its in HD!!!! I am very glad that it finally came out.

[MasterXeus]

Originally Posted by Pitman

I bought a Blu Ray player last month, taking a chance that it would win the format wars.

As a died in the wool movie buff, seeing movies at their best video quality is very appealing to me.

However, I have to say that I am more than a little frustrated at the choices studios have made when it comes to what past or current movies to release on to Blu Ray. For every excellent movie, like a Memento or a Blade Runner or a No Country For Old Men, there seem to be about 20 to 30 times as many just plain bad movies released. I can't understand this.

I mean, it would be one thing if Blu Ray were an established format and every movie, bad or good, was getting released on it. But that's not the case. Does anybody think that the Blu Ray audience is going to build when forgettable or just plain bad movies like Arlington Road, Phone Booth, The Sixth Day, Flight of the Phoenix, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are released instead of true classics, critical and financial successes, and/or cult classics?

G.I. Jane? Really? THAT was an early Blu Ray release?

It drives me crazy when, with so relatively few Blu Ray discs out there now, studios are announcing titles like Mr. Magorium. But I can at least understand the desire to release recent titles on Blu Ray. Decisions to release Blu Ray titles such as Battle of the Bulge, Swordfish, or Twilight Zone: the Movie are just beyond me. How many people would prefer to see the 1965 dog Battle of the Bulge versus another possible Warners Brothers release such as The Matrix? Just curious.

I would like to think that the studios would concentrate more on getting "must have" Blu Rays on the market in order to grow it.

Your question has been asked many times.

Just because you think Swordfish, Phone Booth, etc... are bad movies doesn't mean everybody agrees with you. Everybody has their own taste in movies, so the best think for studios to do is to release a wide range of films. Just give it time; you'll see more movies that you'll like.

[CAB]

I'm kinda glad they are slow in coming. I'm blowing my budget on content and upgrades to the system. Is the Home Theater tax deductible?

[owa]

I thought the below quote (in the last thread of this nature) summed it up pretty well. I've been happy with the releases so far and don't have any trouble finding movies that I enjoy. People have very different opinions on what is an enjoyable movie so who decides? A recent example, I saw a couple of people saying they were very disappointed with Bridge to Terabithia (in the most disappointing thread) and I really like that movie. A movie you mentioned as not being worth the trouble to release, Swordfish, I really like (own the DVD and blu-ray). So, what's the harm in releasing these movies. If you don't like them, don't buy them.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=56

To each his own.

We will eventually see all the big titles on the format once there is an installed base large enough to buy the big titles in large quantities.

Frankly I don't understand the "this film should never be on Blu-ray" mentality. The point should be to have as many releases as possible to give every member of the buying public a chance to own their favorite movies on the best format available. One person's trash is another's treasure. There is a lot of thought and planning that goes on behind the scenes when movies are released. They don't plan releases by picking a name out of a hat or throwing a dart at a dartboard.

Full thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=30436

[Teazle]

When High School Musical 2 was announced for Blu I thought: how unutterably lame and a total waste of a precious replication "slot". Then a week before Xmas the person in front of me in the queue at HMV bought a copy. Not only is there no accounting for taste, I suspect that at this early stage in the game the studios have to crank out a broad range of titles just to make the point that all genres will be represented; that Blu is meant to appeal widely to different audiences and that it's not all gamers' flicks like 300. So you get this disproportionate number of duffers mixed in with the real worldbeater titles.

According to a stat from Paramount, Failure to Launch sold under 400 (four hundred) units on Blu in the US in 2007, and even fewer on HD-DVD. You have to have a few romantic comedies in there, but if it had been When Harry Met Sally there's no guarantee it would have done all that much better at this point.


Edit: I think that stat was for the first half of 07 but still.

[ben7ben3]

Originally Posted by Pitman

I bought a Blu Ray player last month, taking a chance that it would win the format wars.

As a died in the wool movie buff, seeing movies at their best video quality is very appealing to me.

However, I have to say that I am more than a little frustrated at the choices studios have made when it comes to what past or current movies to release on to Blu Ray. For every excellent movie, like a Memento or a Blade Runner or a No Country For Old Men, there seem to be about 20 to 30 times as many just plain bad movies released. I can't understand this.

I mean, it would be one thing if Blu Ray were an established format and every movie, bad or good, was getting released on it. But that's not the case. Does anybody think that the Blu Ray audience is going to build when forgettable or just plain bad movies like Arlington Road, Phone Booth, The Sixth Day, Flight of the Phoenix, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are released instead of true classics, critical and financial successes, and/or cult classics?

G.I. Jane? Really? THAT was an early Blu Ray release?

It drives me crazy when, with so relatively few Blu Ray discs out there now, studios are announcing titles like Mr. Magorium. But I can at least understand the desire to release recent titles on Blu Ray. Decisions to release Blu Ray titles such as Battle of the Bulge, Swordfish, or Twilight Zone: the Movie are just beyond me. How many people would prefer to see the 1965 dog Battle of the Bulge versus another possible Warners Brothers release such as The Matrix? Just curious.

I would like to think that the studios would concentrate more on getting "must have" Blu Rays on the market in order to grow it.

speak for yourself buddy...phone booth is one of my favorite movies, and swordfish is good and i know plenty of people who like it. people like different movies. i own 75 blu rays (tho not swordfish). i dont like or want the other several hundred.

imo, who cares about battle of the bulge? i would look at that as a bad release.

[bageleaterkkjji]

flight of the phoenix and arlington road bad ...blade runner and matrix good ? are you sure you like movies? i like most keanu movies and 98 percent of all movies but the matrix and blade runner go in the 2% i couldnt care less about seeing..

[blaugrana23]

its the new format, and as a format should, it should have every movie...

[ryoohki]

Movies, like any art form is personnal.

Right now most Catalog do poorly unless they are offered in 2:1 or other incentive. So studio are not that exhited to make them.

You could do like Universal, crap a crapload of title with crap quality (catalog), or do like Warner and Sony are doing right now. Taking more their time, but doing good remaster..

[bageleaterkkjji]

Originally Posted by ryoohki

You could do like Universal, crap a crapload of title with crap quality (catalog), or do like Warner and Sony are doing right now. Taking more their time, but doing good remaster..

warner isnt doing good

[Wreck]

I liked Arlington Road, it may not be a movie you watch over and over again but it has one hell of a plot, esp the ending, it shows you how cover ups can and have happened in todays world and I though it was pretty intelligent.

I liked League of Ext Gent, jus cause the action and what not, I liked it better than hell boy.

And Phone Booth wasnt too bad if you get into the fact that it was one of the lowest budget movies ever made, why? cause it was pretty much all filmed in one spot

Flight of the Phoenix wasnt too bad.

But sure, its no Scarface

[GORT]

Originally Posted by Pitman

I bought a Blu Ray player last month, taking a chance that it would win the format wars.

As a died in the wool movie buff, seeing movies at their best video quality is very appealing to me.

However, I have to say that I am more than a little frustrated at the choices studios have made when it comes to what past or current movies to release on to Blu Ray. For every excellent movie, like a Memento or a Blade Runner or a No Country For Old Men, there seem to be about 20 to 30 times as many just plain bad movies released. I can't understand this.

I mean, it would be one thing if Blu Ray were an established format and every movie, bad or good, was getting released on it. But that's not the case. Does anybody think that the Blu Ray audience is going to build when forgettable or just plain bad movies like Arlington Road, Phone Booth, The Sixth Day, Flight of the Phoenix, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are released instead of true classics, critical and financial successes, and/or cult classics?

G.I. Jane? Really? THAT was an early Blu Ray release?

It drives me crazy when, with so relatively few Blu Ray discs out there now, studios are announcing titles like Mr. Magorium. But I can at least understand the desire to release recent titles on Blu Ray. Decisions to release Blu Ray titles such as Battle of the Bulge, Swordfish, or Twilight Zone: the Movie are just beyond me. How many people would prefer to see the 1965 dog Battle of the Bulge versus another possible Warners Brothers release such as The Matrix? Just curious.

I would like to think that the studios would concentrate more on getting "must have" Blu Rays on the market in order to grow it.

[Terra4Gary]

Originally Posted by CAB

I'm kinda glad they are slow in coming. I'm blowing my budget on content and upgrades to the system. Is the Home Theater tax deductible?

Agreed!!!

Give me a chance to control my budget, the pace is just about right for me

[LUkassZ]

Originally Posted by MasterXeus

Your question has been asked many times.

Just because you think Swordfish, Phone Booth, etc... are bad movies doesn't mean everybody agrees with you. Everybody has their own taste in movies, so the best think for studios to do is to release a wide range of films. Just give it time; you'll see more movies that you'll like.

Well thank GOD they released little man on blue-ray!! No seriously though I am sitting on the fence with this argument. You are correct, MANY people liked swordfish, and phone booth. They were both good choices IMHO. But to go along with the skeptics, releases to blu-ray like little man, blonde ambition, etc are simple blasphemy! I would like to see how many people on this site bought little man or blonde ambition, hah even in a BOGO I bet hardly anyone did. And I agree, let the "shitty blu-ray titles released" threads stop. We all agree...

[Chaka]

I rather them release slowly and properly with a good transfer with all the features that you would expect than every friggen catalog title ripped from the dvd just to get it out there.