Ever wondered why some films are not released on DVD these days even though they were released on some other format, VHS or laserdisc, in the past? I'm pretty sure there are a few reasons, owners rights and assorted legal mumbo jumbo most likely but for the most part I think it simply comes down to money and lack of general interest. Releasing a DVD is a costly venture especially when you are dealing with obscure titles with a very small market. There is a reason many of the smaller DVD companies that deal with cult films are going under, costs are high and the chance of investment returns are slim. Us film nerds who dwell in to the world of obscure films on a daily basis like to believe that the world revolves around us but the sad truth is, 90% of the viewers out there don't give a rats ass about the films we love and want. So the odds of getting a good release for a film we've been hunting for are getting less and less likely. Warner Brothers, whose library consists of well over 5000 movie titles are hoping to make some cold hard cash on us film geeks by offering up every single title in their vast collection for sale, either as a download or as a pressed DVD under the Warner Archive label. Most of these titles are very obscure and some are considered cult material but the idea that if a single dude out there wants a copy of Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze, he can do so by simply ordering it on DVD and have a copy in his hands after a few days. Brilliant. Each film comes in its own case with artwork on both the case and the disc so this doesn't look like some hack job.
This on demand service started about a week ago and so far there are 150 titles on the site. Very few I recognize I must admit but I'm sure there are many out there giggling with glee over some of the titles on hand. Now I seriously doubt that these are all remastered titles, speck free and clean as a whistle but you can read some reviews online about some of the discs. Most of them seem very good considering the type of service this is. This is a genius idea and I really hope more studios will do the same, there are tons of films out there I wish I could get on proper DVD rather than to scour the web searching for subpar torrents of VHS rips.
One thing just occurred to me, Warner owns the rights to Ken Russel's The Devils, yes please.
The long tail just got that much longer. Nice.
I will be ordering Doc Savage and many, many more... I am glad studios are finally understanding in the age of piracy (which I do not condone or take part in) we film lovers just want our obscure films.
I remember for years wanting a DVD of Danger Diabolik, Modesty Blaise, Doc Savage, and more and now we have what we want. (Now if we can get a Blu Ray for Henry and June, and a Criterion release of The Bermuda Depths, I will be happy.)
It would seem that most of these dvds are only available through the Warner Archive Shop and not via on-line stores like Amazon or Deep Discount et al..
With regard to Ken Russell's THE DEVILS. It would also seem that its long delayed release is due to the devil in the details!!!
That's the way to go.
"If this doesn’t include their hundreds of Golden Harvest films then they can quite frankly kiss my ass."
This.
I'm with Rhythm-X. That is, if Swarez is wrong and they do still own them. I've skipped out on bootlegs of these films for years hoping they would release them. A lot of people are willing to give them cash but they'd rather sit there and watch those people buy boots.
Rhythm. I was referring to the old school HK flicks and you know that.
But I didn't know that WB had bought a large chunk of the Golden Harvest catalog, so then yes there might be very good chance of them showing up in the store, which would be very cool.
Collin, you have to understand what type of service this is, this ain't cheap but it beats shitty bootlegs. Plus if people respond to this I'm sure the price will come down.
I've been involved in commercial DVD production through my work for many years now, and I understand the costs involved, especially in doing something unique like this - it's just a little high a price to pay at this point to me - especially if they are issuing DVD-Rs (again, not sure about that).
I agree, it beats gray or black market stuff, no doubt, and I hope it succeeds - I just don't see myself supporting it the way I would if titles were $10 / $12 apiece. As it stands now, I'll only go in for things I absolutely must own and will be less willing to make blind buys.
The old school titles WB distributed back in the day are all owned by Fortune Star now. The current Warner Bros GH titles are the films produced immediately after that earlier library sale to Fortune Star/Star TV, going through some point in the middle of 1998. Some of Golden Harvest's films from 1998 are at WB (ENTER THE EAGLES, HOLD YOU TIGHT) and some of them aren't (ANNA MAGDALENA, THE STORMRIDERS). The most definitive known list is here: http://tinyurl.com/cbbl34