funstan

I recently purchased Style Wars and am very happy with the purchase. I have watched the extras and am going to watch the film this week. I am also wanting to purchase Hell House, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, and Ciao, Manhatten. My question for other posters is this, Does Plexifilm has what it takes to have serious market share in the niche DVD market, (i.e. Criterion, Troma, etc) I think they do, they had a good design, reasonable pricing, and the scanning the film for defects it seemed to have a good transfer. They do suffer from numerous delays, but I think they can be competitive with this. That is MHO, but I would love to hear from other collectors.

SCHMEGGA

I think there are several factors that can make or break a DVD Co.

1. You need good movies in your catalog
2. Price
3. Customer Service
4. Distribution
5. Desire: THE MAJOR FACTOR to me; If a company has the desire to make excellent DVDs and goes the distance to do that then they can succeed
6. Many other small factors which make an impact

Coral

I honestly don't think Plexifilm will survive.

The titles released and announced so far don't seem to generate much interest within the DVD community, which probably doesn't bode well for the average consumer either. I barely see any talk about them, and there aren't many reviews for these DVDs available.

Troma can get by because their production costs are very low, and they have a steady niche market.

I'd like to know how well Plexifilm is doing with their sales. I'd imagine that the Wilco disc is their best seller.

Regardless of the quality of these discs, I personally have no interest in any of their released and announced DVDs - even though I enjoy documentaries and independant films.
I'd rather blind-buy some of the Criterion titles since they seem more interesting.

I hope we'll see some better titles by Plexifilm in the future. I wonder if there's any chance of them acquiring the rights to some Canadian films which the studios are ignoring.

Sunday Morning

Plexi's catalog thus far isn't strong enough to substantiate a guess from me yet... They do seem to be targeting more music & documentary enthusiasts than anyone else, though.

I believe their catalog is distributed by ryko, who handles blue underground now.

Heliosphann

Style Wars is a sweet ass DVD...

Top notch all the way around on that release. I hope Plexifilm does survive and gets some decent titles to release.

Coral

I think the small amount of replies and views in this thread is some sort of indication that Plexifilm and the titles they offer have little interest among DVD fans.

I still don't see this company surviving with their current crop of titles.

I hope Plexifilm stays afloat for those who are interested in the titles they offer, and I really hope they'll improve upon their titles in the near future for those of us who remain uninterested.

Gdrlv

I really like the I Am Trying to Break Your Heart DVD...great job putting it together. I hope they get some more semi-high profile releases...

Groucho

Do they have spine numbers? If so, I'm all over it, baby!

Heliosphann

Yep, they have spine numbers.

ehonauer

Style Wars is definitely on my "to-buy" list, but I'm an old school hip hop fan, literally. I remember when Rapper's Delight came out, seeing kids popping and locking in the schoolyard. Anything about the early days of rap gives me a major nostalghia rush.

Style Wars has been the first Plexifilm release to get any major attention - NPR did a story on its release. I saw it front and center in the New Release bin at a Newbury Comics store a couple of weeks ago. It looks like they did a fantastic job on this set, but it will probably be purchased by more music fans than film fans.

I think the titles Plexifilm obtains will make or break them. For me, they have the same problem as Homevision - most of their releases make me say "I'd like to see that," instead of "I have to get that." If they can get a couple of decent titles under their belt it would be good for them, but unlike Criterion, they don't have the luxury of a Janus film catalog to pick through for releases.

Pointyskull

Another great Plexifilm disc is Benjamin Smoke. An unusually moving documentary, filled with a lot of excellent music. I really recommend it...

They certainly have a limited demographic, it seems, but their releases have so far been stellar, imo (Hell House, Style Wars). I'll continue to support them.

angryyoungman

Plexifilm has a lot of competition: Criterion (Salesman, Hearts and Minds, General Idi Amin Dada, Gimme Shelter) and Docurama (The Atomic Cafe, Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back, Keep the River on Your Right, Porn Star, Go Tigers!, The Awful Truth season sets) just to name a couple.

I think the studio would be wise to follow the model of Image and Anchor Bay--selling niche titles for different segments of the market. Image sells its genre titles, but also sells music, porn, kids titles and even a little anime. Anchor Bay is well known around here for high quality genre discs, but they also have a huge catalog of fitness and children's titles (selling VHS as well). I don't think it's "selling out", it's just running a business.

That being said if they can get their hands on a few well known titles and produce some stellar discs, I think they can survive. The DVD market is still growing.

fnordboy

The only Plexifilm disc release I have is the Pavement video anthology Slow Century I believe it is called. I think it is a great release and am very happy with it. Aren't they also going to be releasing the They Might Be Giants documentary? That is another of their releases I will definitely be picking up.

Adam Tyner

Yes, Gigantic is coming sometime this Fall. There's a press release at http://www.plexifilm.com/release121902.html

Hiro11

They may not make dvds for the masses, but they do make DVDs for me. Style Wars and Slow Century are two of my favorites right now. Both are extremely well done and a great value, no Criterion Collection-esque gouging here.

There have got to be other people out there with my tastes. Plexifilm also does a terrific job with every release. I'd say odds are good for them to hang around, but not break any sales records.

Brain Stew

I would say that Plexifilm will not survive; they have no niche. Think about it, Criterion showcases more high brow (except Michael Bay releases ) titles and Anchor Bay more of the fringe releases, with the major studios filling in the gap. There is no room for it, unless it can somehow snag better titles.

Pants

Will Plexfilm survive? Only time will tell.

You guys are comparing them to companies like Criterion and Anchor Bay (which by the way is really the Handleman Company which is a huge distributor of music and VHS to Wal-mart and K-mart. Anchor Bay [and Madacy] have this huge corporate parent backing them up). These companies have 15 to 25 years in the industry. They started small at one point, maybe Plexfilms will grow to be as big as them one day too. But comparing them now is unfair.

Clearly Plexfilms is striving to get some recognized quailty titles on their slate. I wanted to give out a good word for Hell House which I named as my #3 favorite movie of 2002. I'm excited to see the Plexfilms disc.

BTW, Home Vision (which somebody mentioned) is another company that has been around for years, is linked with Criterion on some fundamental level, and has huge distribution networks (including all those PBS videos they try to sell during pledge week: Power of Myth, Civilization, etc.)

Companies survive when they get good titles and control those titles through many distribution channels (all formats of video, television, theatrical revival, etc.) Plexfilms apears to be trying to do just that. Hell House got a small (but prestigious) release (one week at the American Cinemateque in Los Angeles where most films play for one night only), next it will be on DVD (where these days anything is gold), and in the future Plexfilms may get distribution on cable channels (like Criterion has on IFC and Sundance)

Heliosphann

Hell House... *shiver* A truly horrifying film if you know what I'm talking about. That and it was utterly hilariousat the same time to me.

I'll have to pick this up for sure...

ehonauer

After reading this thread, it looks that Plexifilm is carving out a niche - indie/underground music themed releases. Benjamin Smoke, Gigantic, Slow Century and Style Wars all appeal to a similar demographic. I can think of several other titles they could license that have been ignored by the movie studios and/or DVD production houses:

Rude Boy
Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone
Half-Cocked
Urgh A Music War
Decline of Western Civilization
Decline of Western Civilization Part II

If they could bring the same style and loving attention to detail to these types of releases that Criterion brought to foreign film, they could have a future.

By the way, wasn't Plexifilm formed by ex-Criterion Collection employees?

Pants

I'd love to see Forbidden Zone

The Decline films are owned by Paramount I think

There is a Decline of Western Civilization Part III now. Maybe all three will come to dvd at the same time.

Pointyskull

Wow. I had forgotten all about that one. A trippy classic.
Hervé Villechaize's best moments, to be sure....

ehonauer

Don't forget Danny Elfman as the Devil...
Forbidden Zone