Bossard

Did Fox discontinue this series? There are so many other titles they could add.

dx23

It seems. They haven't released any Noir film in more than a year and they have also discontinued their other lines of catalog titles.

NoirFan

Every studio except Sony has abandoned catalog releases.

dx23

Well, Warner is releasing catalog titles through their Warner Archive system.

Gobear

ON DVD-Rs, with no features, copied off old masters with no regard for picture or sound quality.

NoirFan

You forget overpriced!

slop101

Yeah, what happened? I recall reading an article where catalog titles on DVD were huge money-makers for the studios. Is that not the case any more? Did people stop buying them?

Silverscreenvid

People don't buy catalog titles, and video stores/Netflix/Redbox don't pick them up for rentals. Any current piece of garbage can count on thousands of copies being bought by the video stores, Netflix, Redbox, and other rental outlets, plus being stocked in every B&M outlet there is. On the other hand, if video stores pick up catalog titles, they may buy one or two copies and that's it.

There's little demand for catalog titles. Check the best seller lists at Amazon, and you can see all the catalog titles numbering far down in the thousands in terms of sale. Plus, while a new title, even total garbage, almost always fetches $20-25 street price (although top sellers are often discounted as loss leaders), catalog titles go for $10-15 unless they're something special like Criterion. Box sets go for less than that, $5-10 a title.

Times are tough and studios can't afford to put anything out there that's not going to sell. The only catalog titles you will see are Disney titles (which they periodically rotate in and out of print), other kid's titles, and a handful of classics like Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. You will see more "burn on demand" at lower prices (I'm guessing you'll usually be able to get most of those titles around $10 at one time or another if you're patient).

Drake

I guess I am in the minority out of the 900 plus DVDs I own I would say 95% are older titles (30's,40's,50's, and especially the 70's !).

Steve

Drake, I'm with you!! But we have to realize that making DVDs is pure business to these studios. If not enough people buy them, then they will focus their efforts elsewhere.

It hurts us - as people who love the classics - but I am just glad I have as many as I do!!

And I doubt Blu-Ray will change things much.. if the market for 40's film noir is not enough to sustain it on SD DVD, then I doubt people will want to spend MORE money to see Moontide in high definition.

At least most of the great noirs have been released.... I am thankful for that.

NoirFan

Though The Maltese Falcon and possibly The Postman Always Rings Twice (a double feature disc with both versions) are coming to HD in 2010.

Litfuel716

As much as classic films on Blu-Ray sounded cool at first I'm starting to think that maybe I don't want to see them in that form anyway. I'm not sure they lend themsleves to that much detail as it may be more distracting in many cases.

JerryKILL

The demographics of the movie-buyer must be centered around the 15-25 year old range, dropping off sharply as people get older. This means that Transformers 2 sells hundreds of thousands of copies, while Looking for Mr. Goodbar sells hundreds (if it were available, which it is not). Increasingly, I have to go out of region for a DVD, to defunct formats like VHS and Laser, or even bootlegs to see the films I want to see.

I've also been getting my catalog fix via TCM/Fox Movie Channel/Encore channels. There is a huge drop in picture quality vs DVD, so I'd still buy a DVD if it were available. Sadly, most are not.

big e

That's a damn shame too since Transformers 2 was a god awful movie.

slop101

So what happened to all the people who where buying up WB's noir sets and other such collections that used to sell pretty well?

I'm still here.

Steve

slop101, yes, we are still here. I just guess there is just not enough of us around to make it the studios worthwhile anymore.

Silverscreenvid

If every person who frequents this Board were to purchase the same catalogue title this week, Fox (or any other studio) wouldn't sell as many copies total as the number of copies of Jennifer's Body that they are shipping to every single Blockbuster store in the country.

davidh777

I don't think Warner has completely abandoned pressed DVDs of classics (Wagon Train, Esther Williams, Karloff/Lugosi), but it certainly isn't what it used to be because of Archive. Universal just did the Claudette Colbert Collection. Has Fox abandoned their collections like Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda?

Sean O'Hara

As much as I hate to say it, the studios should take a page from Mill Creek. I'd much rather have 50 Noir Classics on ten real DVDs for $20 total than 50 DVD-Rs for $20 a piece.

davidstead

OK. I have to admit that I haven't been following the thread but I do have a question. I was at a garage sale the other day and I came across some Fox Noir DVDs which I bought at $5 a piece (Boomerang; Call Northside 777; Black Widow; Laura; 14 Hours). I enjoyed watching these movies very much. Can anybody tell me whether the Fox Noir movies are being released on DVDs? When I looked on amazon.com, I found out that these DVDs are no longer available for sale.

Gobear

Catalog titles are dead on DVD; the only studio that still releases pre-1960 titles is Warner, and then only through their MOD program. For that matter, DVD is dying, too.

ernestrp

Does anyone know how many there were? I have 1-24 and then Roadhouse and Moontide that were not numbered. Were there any others?

NoirFan

Nope. From that series, Panic in the Streets is available on Blu-ray and Laura is coming early next year.

LorenzoL

Is the Blu-ray for Panic in the Streets, a North American release?

NoirFan

Yes, it's part of Volume I of the Elia Kazan Collection, along with Boomerang (another Fox Noir BD I forgot to mention), Pinky and Gentleman's Agreement. The set is $44.99 and is a Fox Connect exclusive. If you sign up for their newsletter, you receive a 10% off coupon, so I bought Volumes I and II (with Wild River, Viva Zapata, Man on a Tightrope, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) for $80.98 shipped. The transfers are solid, if not spectacular (all are single layer, even for the longer films, and none have had any further restoration) and all of the extras have been ported over. They're definitely worth it for Kazan fans - I watched all eight over a couple of days and really enjoyed them. Well, all but Gentleman's Agreement...