Who Wants a Custom DVD From Warner Bros?
Filed under: Classics, Tech Stuff, Distribution, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing
Offering custom, burn-to-order DVDs seems like such a no-brainer that it's a wonder no one has come up with it before -- but Warner Bros has done it first, and that's what counts. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is opening its archives and offering film fans the chance to order old films that have never been released on DVD before. The Warner Archive currently offers 150 films from Warner Bros, RKO, and MGM. They're all $19.95, and they'll be adding 20 titles a month, hoping to have 300 films and television shows available by the end of the year. It's not quite as good as offering them up for instant watch, but it's a brilliant way to reintroduce some lost films to the public. It's also rather eco-friendly ... there won't be hundreds of unwanted copies of Wichita being dumped in a garbage bin if it's made to order.
There's some pretty cool stuff to pick from already ... my fingers are itching at all the Clark Gable and Cary Grant selections, wondering if The Abdication is as good as it sounds, and laughing at the truly hideous poster art so many of them have.
Warners hasn't forgotten about new technology either -- they'll also be launching an iTunes podcast called The Golden Age of Hollywood that will feature archival footage. I hate to sound cheesy, but this is the kind of preservation the Internet was meant for. It's nice to see a studio taking advantage of it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-23-2009 @ 3:12PM
ML said...
Best. News. Ever! Thanks for passing it along. Hope other studios jump on the bandwagon.
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3-23-2009 @ 3:25PM
Chelsea said...
If this means I can finally get my hands on Bill Gunn's STOP or the semi-forgotten animated feature TWICE UPON A TIME, count me in.
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3-23-2009 @ 4:16PM
Dan said...
This is pretty unbelievably badass.
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3-23-2009 @ 6:56PM
Gina said...
Wonderful idea!
Reply
3-24-2009 @ 12:43PM
Peter Martin said...
Sony announced a deal with Hewlett-Packard to offer the same type of service more than a year ago, but as far as I know, nothing has come of it. Bravo to WB for making it happen.
If this takes off, even in a little way, I'm hoping that other studios will follow suit. At that price point, it's well-positioned for collectors and film buffs looking for some legendarily unavailable titles.
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3-23-2009 @ 8:53PM
The Regula said...
Excellent Idea, a studio has actually done something right, and it makes perfect sense. I hope other studios start this too, there are a lot of 80's movies that I cant find on dvd so this is great.
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3-24-2009 @ 4:30AM
Peter M. said...
I'm glad to see at least one studio that appreciates the cultural value of their back catalog, and as such is working to make it available to the public even when profits will not be massive. As the owner of a site that has been rescuing and making available lost and forgotten movies for several years, we welcome Warner Brothers to our world, and hope that they can see the joy these movies can bring to folks who thought they would never have a chance to view them again. http://yammeringmagpie.com
BTW- Amazon has been working with smaller companies producing DOD tiles on their website. My company approached several other studios with this idea for catalog releases, and met a lot of indifference. This reminds me of 1998/1999 when I had a record label distributed through EMI/Caroline and we approached them about digital distribution. This was before Napster. No one was the least bit interested or concerned. I started working with Goodnoise, which became Emusic, and after Apple adapted our model for iTunes the rest is history.
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