theguyoverthere

...and still no "No Time For Sergeants"...

riotinmyskull

WISDOM! finally!!!!! i'll hold off ordering until a couple reviews come in....

Studio: Warner Bros.
Screen Aspect: 16 X 9 FULL FRAME
Packaging Type: Amaray Case

what the hell is 16x9 full frame?

jmj713

There are quite a few unreleased Cary Grant films, which is very cool. But I won't be buying DVD-Rs. Maybe WB will release another Cary grant box with these lesser-known works.

gcbma

The Wall Street Journal featured an article about this today (3/23/09):

Time Warner Taps Film Archive
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123775656542907583.html

jmj713

Looking at some of the videos, it looks like these are unrestored. So, for twenty bucks, thanks but no thanks.

JOE29

USA Today has an article about these discs also.
Sorry, I don't have the link.

rw2516

Probably where the image is 1:78 with side bars as part of the picture. Can't be stretched. Anchor Bay has done this.

A friend read the USA Today article and told me WB is doing this because they can't get stores to stock catalog titles. Eventually every film in their library will be available as burn on demand.

I wonder if we'll see catalog title releases from the major studios just dry up altogether. If titles already on DVD start going out of print, moving to burn on demand, wonder what effect will have the value of the originally released pressed copies.

mdnitoil

You're still going to see major catalog releases get pushed out to the various vendors. I don't care what kind of website Warner has, they'll never be able to push as many copies of title X as they can by going the traditional distribution route. Also, their website won't ship outside the U.S., so all those sales disappear as well. It would take a couple of years and some monster sales for Warner to conclude that this should become a primary distribution channel. Now, for the iffy stuff that they've already digitized, this makes perfect sense to convert that effort into some dollars.

Paul1957

Here's the USA Today article:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...terstitialskip

tylergfoster

As I commented earlier, if this means WS versions of titles like Frantic, Funny Farm, Grumpy Old Men, Fearless, etc....I'd be happy.

Tim Tucker

At least WHV is trying to find a way to get niche titles out to collectors. If this is what it takes for it to be feasible, I'm OK with it.

islandclaws

I think this is a fantastic idea. I really hope they start adding more titles from the 60's and 70's, especially horror. Since most of these would probably be released with only a trailer, if that, I don't mind not having any bonus features. As long as anything I order is OAR, I'm fine with it.

Paul1957

Warner Home Video is going to have an online chat tonight at Home Theater Forum and they will announce some new titles. Article in the NY Post and WHV Head honcho George Feltenstein, some of what he said:

http://blogs.nypost.com/movies/archi...rner_webs.html

He was particularly happy to recently discover a good widescreen transfer of Budd Boetticher's much-requested "Westbound,'' his only Randolph Scott western not available on DVD. George said that two of my most wanted titles, Michael Curtiz' "Mission to Moscow'' and Wilhelm Dieterle's "The Last Flight,'' will "probably'' be available next year. Hooray! ("Portnoy's Complaint'' is coming too).

The titles in the Warner Archive program are burned rathan than pressed like WHV's regular discs, but George says tests show these discs, burned with a oropietary technology, "are as durable and playable as pressed discs. They're not like discs you burn on your home computer.''

My Other Self

I wonder if this means I can get Police Academy 3 & 4 and Spies Like Us in OAR finally.

NoirFan

In the meantime, Netflix has it as an instant view here.

SPRBD

Interesting. I'd like to here more about that. I still don't know why they can't press these discs. Small print runs shouldn't be that expensive -- and they're charging $20 and skipping the middleman.

g

They are simply grossly overpriced. I hope at some point they'll be available for rental. The whole process of price cuts through the marketplace that happen for other dvds may never come for these.

Lipid

I cannot wait until someone here bites the bullet and orders one or another site does a review. I'm curious as to the packaging. I know the USA Today article said they'll be the same cases in store but who knows how cheap it will all look.

I'm also curious as we all are about the transfers. I wonder if longer films will be dual-layered DVDs or if these are all single layered?

g

They should do a program like film movement where they automatically send you one a month and have a price of 9.99 a month or better.

BillWatkins

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/chat/warner09.txt

Transcript of tonight's chat with Warner. They provide official answers to many questions raised here concerning the Archive.

Surfinhank

The bullet has been bit: I have no self control, ordered 5 titles. When I saw "Voices" I let out an audible gasp. I've been wanting that movie on DVD forever. I'll try to post some answers for you when they arrive (unless somebody beats me to it).

Silverscreenvid

Similar bare bones catalogue titles from the major distributors come out with street prices from $10-15 (and sale prices often in the $5-10 range), so I can't see paying $20 for any of these, especially if the quality is iffy and they haven't made any effort to restore or clean up the picture. I have over 2000 titles on DVD already so it's not like I have to see any of these movies.

I would think that Netflix would buy up a few of these individual titles to make them available for what demand there is. If so, I'd think about getting the bottom level Netflix membership to be able to see the titles I wanted. I know you won't see them at Blockbuster or other B&M rental stores.

Pizza

This burning-on-demand DVD-Rs is an ugly trend in my book. I will not support it.

Boba Fett

I read the USA Today article and I think they're rushing into this, to eliminate the legitimizing of the bootleg market, which was mentioned a couple of times in the article. Even if they are DVD-Rs, fans can't cry and say "I bootlegged them because Warner isn't selling them," now.

chuckd21

I thought I read that you could also download these titles from the site and burn your own disc at a reduced price ($14.99)?