It was only a matter of time.
Warner was first to throw their hat into the studio on-demand ring, introducing a wide array of famous and not-so famous films available in the DVD-R format.
The Warner formula for mixing much-desired and almost-forgotten movies is being adapted by Sony for their Columbia Pictures on Demand rollout.
And that’s a good thing for movie and TV lovers alike.
Among the Columbia Pictures titles that have been asked for on DVD for years have been the historical epic Genghis Khan (1965), with Omar Sharif, Eli Wallach and Stephen Boyd; A Song to Remember (1945) with Cornel Wilde as Frederic Chopin, Merle Oberon as George Sand and Paul Muni as Prof. Joseph Eisner; the powerhouse familial drama I Never Sang for My Father (1970) with Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman; the true-life serial killer thriller 10 Rillington Place (1971) with Richard Attenborough; and the Sherlock Holmes-meets-Jack-the-Ripper mystery A Study in Terror (1965).
As for the obscurities, Sony has rolled out the likes of Duffy (1968), a stylish heist escapade with James Coburn and James Mason; Footsteps in the Fog (1955); No Greater Glory (1934), Frank Borzage’s little seen anti-war allegory; and Birds Do It (1966), with a flying Soupy Sales.
Soupy Sales in Birds Do It
Sony has promised a variety of titles, from classics to foreign to independent to TV. And they have already made good on their promise of consistency: Following the initial 100 titles announced, the studio has just added new entries, including the all-star Britcom The Wrong Box (1966); Mark of the Gorilla (1950), a bizarre Jungle Jim adventure in which Johnny Weuissmuller’s adventurer tries to halt Nazis dressed as gorillas; and Screaming Mimi (1958), billed as the “striptease murder case,” and starring Anita Ekberg and Gyspy Rose Lee.
Like the folks at Warner, it seems like the archival division of Sony is making something for everyone available to film fans.
While one can easily applaud the studio’s efforts, movie collectors must remember the limitations in the on-demand world. First, they are in the DVD-R format, which means they are not guaranteed to play in all DVD players. Except for an occasional trailer, there will likely be no extras with the films. And the print quality is likely to vary from film to film. Also, audio and videophiles have already expressed displeasure over the possibility that Blu-ray release for these rarities would be remote.
Screaming Mimi Available On DVD-R
Warner has remedied the tech questions regarding print quality in some instances, remastering some of the archival releases they put out. We’re not sure if Sony will do the same at this point.
So, if movie mavens want something extra with the favorites they add to their permanent library, they will have to live without them.
For years, Sony had lagged behind the likes of Warner, Fox and even Universal with bringing their library to DVD light. This, of course, will change immediately. The depth of the studio’s archives is nothing to sneeze at. A few years ago, they began to excavate some of their coveted library with crackerjack collections devoted to film noir, Hammer horror, the Randolph Scott / Budd Boetticher westerns, William Castle horror favorites and compendiums focusing on such contract stars as Jack Lemmon, Kim Novak and Rita Hayworth.
Rather than licensing their titles to Criterion or other smaller outfits like Universal, Paramount and Fox have done, the studio had decided to keep strict control. Lately, though, where some of the much-sought after material in their library will wind up now remains something of a mystery. Throwing a wrench into the proceedings is the fact that for the first time within memory, Sony has recently put a highly touted release—their much-delayed, seven-film America Lost and Found: The BBS Story—into Criterion’s able hands.
From what we have discovered from the first Columbia archival batches is that there’s no shortage of eclecticism. Meatballs 2? Hart to Hart TV movies? Everything’s Ducky with Buddy Hackett? Seems like the studio wants to give Warner’s Archive program—which has put out shorts collections, obscure noirs and westerns, TV movies and TV pilots—a run for their money in terms of being offbeat.
Word on the street is that other studios are soon to follow, beginning with Fox sometime in early 2011.
Hey, if it leads to the release of Fire Sale or The Seven Minutes, we’ll have no complaints.