Bye-bye, MGM
04-08-05 | 03:01 PM
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Bye-bye, MGM
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- It's very sad. MGM is gone. So is United Artists.
The deal, expected to close on Friday, for a consortium of companies (including Sony Corp.) to purchase the MGM assets for some $4.8 billion reminds us that in today's entertainment universe, it's all about selling DVDs.
Ted Turner was right: It's the library, stupid. All 4,000 titles.
The deal, expected to close on Friday, for a consortium of companies (including Sony Corp.) to purchase the MGM assets for some $4.8 billion reminds us that in today's entertainment universe, it's all about selling DVDs.
Ted Turner was right: It's the library, stupid. All 4,000 titles.
04-08-05 | 03:43 PM
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From: Newport, KY
In a pre cinematic sense, it's truly tragic. The death of a legacy. So what will happen to the extensive MGM/UA DVD library already out? Will they just be repackaged under the sony labels, or will they continue to be MGM titles? Lastly, does this mean less flippers?
04-08-05 | 04:05 PM
#6
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I understand that there is a lot of history behind MGM but for the past little I have grown to hate them. Well there DVD department at least. IMO they have been responcible for so of the most disapointing and sometimes rage inflicting releases. For example the Graduate "special" edition. On the other hand they did do a nice job on the Raging Bull special edition packaging (their whole Scorsese Collection for that matter). I hope their sale has some positive repercussions, like some truly great films from their library getting the treatment they deserve.
04-08-05 | 04:16 PM
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From: Formerly known as (ahem) "LASERMOVIES"/California
Originally Posted by Atreus
For example the Graduate "special" edition.
04-08-05 | 04:18 PM
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Originally Posted by LASERMOVIES
What special edition? I assume you mean the recent downgrading of the Graduate from a "special edition" to a bare bones release with the same terrible non anamorphic transfer from the earlier version.
04-08-05 | 05:14 PM
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from what i hear, Sony has no plans on folding the MGM brand.. it'll just be owned by Sony. no idea if they'll keep both the MGM and United Artists brands going, but i'm pretty sure the MGM stays.
04-08-05 | 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by ruk
i am not sure but i think they might keep packaging them under mgm.
Great article, by the way... it really mirrors my thoughts. It's difficult to see the end of the studio, but in reality the studio has been undergoing a slow death by papercuts for decades. I only wish that Warner had aquired the films rather than Sony, given Warner's wonderful DVD editions over the past few years. (Although, I also believe that Blu-Ray appears to be the better of the upcoming formats, so I'm torn.
)
04-08-05 | 05:52 PM
#14
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Articles not bad but it goes too far:
"But it doesn't take much to bring these monoliths down. MGM's slide began when Kerkorian outbid Edgar Bronfman for the studio in 1969, cannily recognizing the value of the MGM brand."
No. MGM's slide began with the decline of the musical and the death of the studio system. And Kerkorian outbiding Bronfman is like Dumb and Dumber. What positive contribution did Bronfman do for Universal?
"But it doesn't take much to bring these monoliths down. MGM's slide began when Kerkorian outbid Edgar Bronfman for the studio in 1969, cannily recognizing the value of the MGM brand."
No. MGM's slide began with the decline of the musical and the death of the studio system. And Kerkorian outbiding Bronfman is like Dumb and Dumber. What positive contribution did Bronfman do for Universal?
04-08-05 | 06:05 PM
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MGM has been a mess for years and Kerkorian never helped matters by his constant sale and re-purchasing of the company. Their biggest loss was Turner's purchase and him keeping the pre-1986 MGM catalog. Every studio has classics but MGM had two of the biggest ever: The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, not to mention 2001, Doctor Zhivago, and Singin in the Rain, all lost to Turner. All they have left now is Bond, Rocky and scraps from UA and the other studios they've bought up like Orion and Polygram.
04-08-05 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by NitroJMS
MGM has been a mess for years and Kerkorian never helped matters by his constant sale and re-purchasing of the company. Their biggest loss was Turner's purchase and him keeping the pre-1986 MGM catalog. Every studio has classics but MGM had two of the biggest ever: The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, not to mention 2001, Doctor Zhivago, and Singin in the Rain, all lost to Turner. All they have left now is Bond, Rocky and scraps from UA and the other studios they've bought up like Orion and Polygram.
04-08-05 | 06:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike Lowrey
They've got the Stargate franchise as well.
04-08-05 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by dsa_shea
Let's hope that future releases of the Stargate series keeps the same packaging style.
04-08-05 | 06:37 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by Mike Lowrey
That's what I was thinking (and hoping for). Since the Season 8 of SG-1 and Season 1 of SGA releases have already been announced, I don't see them changing the package style. Although they're some bulky-ass packaging. 5 keepcases per season. Probably the most shelfspace-hogging box sets I own.
04-08-05 | 06:41 PM
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LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- It's very sad. MGM is gone. So is United Artists.
The deal, expected to close on Friday, for a consortium of companies (including Sony Corp.) to purchase the MGM assets for some $4.8 billion reminds us that in today's entertainment universe, it's all about selling DVDs.
Ted Turner was right: It's the library, stupid. All 4,000 titles.
The deal, expected to close on Friday, for a consortium of companies (including Sony Corp.) to purchase the MGM assets for some $4.8 billion reminds us that in today's entertainment universe, it's all about selling DVDs.
Ted Turner was right: It's the library, stupid. All 4,000 titles.
Last edited by ReduxGuy; 04-08-05 at 06:48 PM.
04-08-05 | 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by dsa_shea
I agree with you but for some reason I like them very much despite being space consumers. I think it has to do with each set being so colorful. It looks nice when you have em all lined up. A little bit of a rainbow effect for an otherwise drab looking dvd shelf.
I wished they re-issue Season 1 with 5.1 instead of the 2.0 track it now has.