Warner Archive Announcements Thread (9 Viewers)

[Alan Tully]

Sales are far from low, in fact they are quite good.

These TV shows and films have a great nostalgic factor, collector's love them, and WAC is the perfect vessel to present them. Warner controls 100 years of assets, and they are trying to cover all bases, and their choices reflect quite a bit of feedback from fans (these forums). They release what they have available to them by Warner.

Yeah, take no notice of me. I’m just venting my own personal frustrations over releases of films I’ve never heard of (ditto TV series) in a dying market, & thinking of all the films & better known TV series that will never get a release before it all ends. I know I’m in the minority here.

 

[Nick*Z]

They release what they have available to them by Warner.

If that were the case, we'd already have the complete DALLAS on Blu, not to mention The Merry Widow (1934) which debuted at the TCM film festival in 2019 in a stunning restoration that absolutely blew the audience away, but then, somehow, never found its way to hi-def thereafter.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Let's remember that whatever is released by Warner Archive, the decision-making process is completed by a committee of people. It's not just George Feltenstein as I'm sure some of those folks are higher on the pay scale than Mr. Feltenstein. Prominent among those committee members has to be some financial people which doesn't bode well for many of us. When I worked in the corporate world, my distaste for "bean counters" was strong and since retirement, it hasn't abided because I think most of those folks have a lack of vision and imagination when it comes to the marketplace.

 

[RichMurphy]

... When I worked in the corporate world, my distaste for "bean counters" was strong and since retirement, it hasn't abided because I think most of those folks have a lack of vision and imagination when it comes to the marketplace.

Not only do I agree, but I would point out that many of these financial types also obsess with counting "beans" (e.g., the Warner Archive) while not giving a critical eye on the bigger items on the menu (e.g., the latest $200M DC Comics extravaganza, or [HBO]Max).

Also, I believe George Feltenstein pointed out in one of his podcasts that every 2023 release of the Archive was profitable. I doubt any of them earned millions of dollars, but any good baseball manager would be happy with consistent singles and doubles and not obsessed with getting home runs with every at bat.

 

[Astairefan]

One thing I'd like to point out that is being missed/ignored. So far, all of the catalog TV series that WAC has released on Blu-ray are relatively short-lived (in terms of length). Nick*Z has brought up  Dallas several times. I'd to know how he expects WAC to release that (or any other similarly long-lived shows). That show very likely can NOT be done as a complete series release (at least, not by WAC). Now, I've never seen the series (nor do I intend to), so I don't quite know the exact breakdown of episodes per season. But a quick glance online shows a grand total of 356 episodes over 14 seasons. If they're only doing 5 hour-long episodes per disc (again, ignoring the breakdown of episodes per season), then that's slightly more than 70 total discs for the series (which is better than 7 times the size of Colt .45, which is currently WAC's biggest and most expensive set on Blu-ray). Even at 6 episodes per disc (which might be pushing it), that would still be 60 discs. We are at a point in time where there is only one replication plant, which is struggling to keep up with demand (which apparently isn't quite enough to open or restart another plant). As such, a set of that size would likely be the only release we would get from WAC for SEVERAL months if we did get it (it's an exaggeration, but not as much of one as I wish it was). Is it completely out of the realm of possibility that such a set could happen? No, but it really doesn't feel like the best way to go. So if you can't accept season sets for some of those shows, then you're essentially shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Robert Crawford]

One thing I'd like to point out that is being missed/ignored. So far, all of the catalog TV series that WAC has released on Blu-ray are relatively short-lived (in terms of length). Nick*Z has brought up  Dallas several times. I'd to know how he expects WAC to release that (or any other similarly long-lived shows). That show very likely can NOT be done as a complete series release (at least, not by WAC). Now, I've never seen the series (nor do I intend to), so I don't quite know the exact breakdown of episodes per season. But a quick glance online shows a grand total of 356 episodes over 14 seasons. If they're only doing 5 hour-long episodes per disc (again, ignoring the breakdown of episodes per season), then that's slightly more than 70 total discs for the series (which is better than 7 times the size of Colt .45, which is currently WAC's biggest and most expensive set on Blu-ray). Even at 6 episodes per disc (which might be pushing it), that would still be 60 discs. We are at a point in time where there is only one replication plant, which is struggling to keep up with demand (which apparently isn't quite enough to open or restart another plant). As such, a set of that size would likely be the only release we would get from WAC for SEVERAL months if we did get it (it's an exaggeration, but not as much of one as I wish it was). Is it completely out of the realm of possibility that such a set could happen? No, but it really doesn't feel like the best way to go. So if you can't accept season sets for some of those shows, then you're essentially shooting yourself in the foot.

I don't see Warner financial people signing off on such a project today with the physical media distribution infrastructure so fractured that high volume sales aren't possible to recoup their costs.

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

I could only see Dallas and other Lorimar shows ending up on streaming (where it would do well if marketed right). It's unfortunate that the detective shows are possibly tied up because of clearances. The releases however of Colt. 45 and The Alaskans, show that if available and cleared they will try and complete the genre shows they produced. I guess all we can do is show faith and keep supporting them.

 

[ahollis]

Let's remember that whatever is released by Warner Archive, the decision-making process is completed by a committee of people. It's not just George Feltenstein as I'm sure some of those folks are higher on the pay scale than Mr. Feltenstein. Prominent among those committee members has to be some financial people which doesn't bode well for many of us. When I worked in the corporate world, my distaste for "bean counters" was strong and since retirement, it hasn't abided because I think most of those folks have a lack of vision and imagination when it comes to the marketplace.

Exactly. I retired because of the bean counters trying to make a dime when they left the quarter on the table.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I could only see Dallas and other Lorimar shows ending up on streaming (where it would do well if marketed right). It's unfortunate that the detective shows are possibly tied up because of clearances. The releases however of Colt. 45 and The Alaskans, show that if available and cleared they will try and complete the genre shows they produced. I guess all we can do is show faith and keep supporting them.

I agree with that most likely scenario.

 

[Broomy]

Would it be out of the realm of possibility if they just did a season or two of something the length of Dallas every quarter maybe? I’d love to get Dallas and ER on Blu-ray and would gladly buy them this way.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Would it be out of the realm of possibility if they just did a season or two of something the length of Dallas ever quarter maybe? I’d love to get Dallas and ER on Blu-ray and would gladly buy them this way.

Only Warner can answer that question as to its feasibility and their current monthly output.

 

[filmfreak]

Whenever Act of Violence is released I would want Mystery Street too so I can retire the DVD as they were paired together. Pretty much why I am not into double features these days. I still have the DVD of Side Street which was part of a Farley Granger double feature with They Live by Night. Hey George, release Side Street please !

These were all released as the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 Box Set. (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)

They seem to be picking and choosing select titles to release from previous Volumes and it makes sense that they would eventually try to re-release all of these on Blu Ray.

 

[David Weicker]

Would it be out of the realm of possibility if they just did a season or two of something the length of Dallas every quarter maybe? I’d love to get Dallas and ER on Blu-ray and would gladly buy them this way.

While that is a possibility, it would then run into the other kind of idiot - the ‘complete series collector’.
The constant internet whining about being ‘forced’ to buy individual seasons, only to be ripped off when the full series is released after they are all out would be huge.
Never mind the complaints if the program stops half-way through.

 

[Kevin Antonio (Kev)]

While that is a possibility, it would then run into the other kind of idiot - the ‘complete series collector’.
The constant internet whining about being ‘forced’ to buy individual seasons, only to be ripped off when the full series is released after they are all out would be huge.
Never mind the complaints if the program stops half-way through.

A while back the extras podcast had Mr. Andrew Klyde as a guest, and he echoed those sentiments. Classic shows usually released in complete boxsets on Blu-ray don't make back what it cost to produce them. The release of Star Trek on Blu-Ray by Paramount just recently broke even after a near decade. One of the reasons Bonanza ( one of the most popular shows ever) was never released on Blu-ray was because of that. We are lucky Warner Archive is giving us two complete shows on Blu with the possibility of more to come.

 

[TheSteig]

View attachment 220915

These were all released as the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 Box Set. (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)

They seem to be picking and choosing select titles to release from previous Volumes and it makes sense that they would eventually try to re-release all of these on Blu Ray.

I used to own that DVD box set until half the movies froze up and wound up having to get the Warner Archive MOD releases.

 

[roxy1927]

I'd prefer Knots Landing. When you think of all the many many releases we want from Warner I think many of us will have gone to our reward before they'd have a chance to be released. And anyway how many years before the only possible access is through streaming? Everyone I know streams. Of course I want it in my hands like music recordings, I must have the lps or cds, but what percentage of people feel this way anymore?

 

[Garysb]

Would it be out of the realm of possibility if they just did a season or two of something the length of Dallas every quarter maybe? I’d love to get Dallas and ER on Blu-ray and would gladly buy them this way.

The problem with releasing season sets of a long running show is the more seasons released, the less copies they sell. From DVD days that lead to many series being incomplete until a boutique label such as Shout finished the series. In some cases it was many years between when the first and final seasons were released. I think Warner Bros. would have to lease long run TV series to Kino like Universal did with Monk and Columbo. Though they had far fewer episodes than Dallas or Knots Landing. Long running shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza only made it to DVD. The MTM shows such as Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Hill Street Blues etc. not only did not made it to blu ray, their streaming versions are SD only even though shows like Mary Tyler Moore have been remastered.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I had hoped that after releasing the 6 Thin Man films, the TV series would follow. Not all at once, but say an initial volume of 12 episodes.

 

[filmfreak]

I used to own that DVD box set until half the movies froze up and wound up having to get the Warner Archive MOD releases.

You just confirmed my greatest fear that DVD and Blu Ray discs don't actually last the 80-100 years that everyone says and really only last less than 20.

 

[jayembee]

You just confirmed my greatest fear that DVD and Blu Ray discs don't actually last the 80-100 years that everyone says and really only last less than 20.

I'm not worried. In another 20 years, at least one of two things (if not both) are likely to be the case: (1) disc players won't be made anymore, and (2) I'll be singing with the Choir Invisible.