Aussie (R4) Releases in March- Darby, Crockett, Muppets....

[Loomis]

BVHE has announced its list of titles for March and it is quite impressive.

March 3 will see and Recess: All Growed Down (with 3 bonus episodes).

March 17 Darby O'Gill & The Little People; Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (which I think is essentially a movie version of the first 3 episodes that appear on the US version of the Walt Disney Treasures set, with linking segements); Muppet Treasure Island: Special Edition; Old Yeller ( a cut-down version of the US Vault); the previously announced Pirates of the Caribbean (see full details on site) and Treasure Island.

March 31 sees Annie; George of the Jungle 2; Geppetto; Hocus Pocus; Kim Possible: Secret Files; A Knight in Camelot; The Lizzie McGuire Movie; Tuck Everlasting; and my favourite, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime With Roo.

http://www.bvhe.com.au/news

[Mr arrow]

YAAAY !! Finally Darby on DVD!! (I know you've been hangin out for this gem as well Loomis!!!) But you know this puts us in a bit of a dilema, You know the're supposed to be a much rumored and much anticipated (BY ME ANYWAY) Vault Disney style special edition in the works just waiting for a release announcement date in the U.S..... However Im guessing our aussie release will not be of the s.e. variety. That said I know Ill be buying it because the wait has been too long..

If you like Darby-then
Glad to see they are finally dusting of The Gnome Mobile for release (at least in the states anyway) next year. It is a great companion film to Darby if you havnt seen it, (maybe not as atmospheric) but both were directed by Robert Stevenson and well worth a look-if only for the fact that buena vista have kept it under lock and key for about 20 years!!!

Thanks for the good news Loomis --oh and I like that green arrow dude!!

[Loomis]

It is a dilemma, Mr Arrow.
However, given no exact release date is about for the US release, I will definitely get this. It is one I have been waiting upon for a long time. I've not seen the Gnome Mobile, but so many people rave about it on this forum that I guess I will have to at some stage.

Similarly, the release of the Crockett movie raises doubts as to whether we will ever see the Treasures sets released Down Under. Mind you, the same was assumed for the UK market with the release of the Fables and Everybody Loves... discs, but they are getting Mickey & SS Treasures in May. So who knows what strange marketing ploy is going through the minds of Disney?

Anyways, things are looking up for Disney releases in Oz for 2004 at any rate...

(And I'm glad someone finally noticed my GA avatar - are you a fan? is that the source of your name?).

[Mr arrow]

Loomis how right you are..if you knew buena vista like I knew buena vista!!....Unpredictable is one word that springs to mind although there are a multitude of titles that will probably never see the light of day here because of market research stastitics, though I was presently surprised to see Melody time Finally got the green light...And every now and then they seem to do a lucky dip into the vaults and pull out the odd obscure title; for instance "Devil and Max Devlin" hasnt been seen by anyone in over 20 years, but we get it feb 4!! So who can tell with these guys!!

Im glad we're are getting Crocket in its theatrical version, though I do own the treasures discs and they are absolutely fantastic as well of course.


Re name 'Mr Arrow' well I can give you a clue - I plummeted down a black hole on the way to a certain planet filled with treasure!!

Though I am certainly aware of the arrow that is green!!!

[Jake Lipson]

Erm...why exactly is Tuck Everlasting bowing on DVD in March '04 in AU? It was released to theaters in the US on October 11, 2002, and then to Region 1 DVD on February 25, 2003. Granted, according to the IMDb, the Austriallian theatrical release wasn't until March 20, 2003, but still, that's over a year-long theatrical-to-video window (3/20/03 to 3/31/04.) The US Disney seems obsessed with speedy video turnarounds, so what's up with this extra-long one? Does BVHE AU have these long turnarounds often?

[2099net]

I think it had a Rental window in Australia.

[Jake Lipson]

Ah. So theatrical to rental to sell-through DVD. Odd, but it makes sense as some other movies do it (although that's usually for VHS only and only lasts a couple months. For example, Catch Me If You Can was originally rental-priced on VHS when released in May 2003, but the VHS had undergone a sell-through price drop by September. Minority Report had a six-month rental window on VHS: when released December 16, 2002 the VHS was rental-priced $107,99, but it underwent a sell-through drop to $14.99 on June 3, 2003.)

[2099net]

Most of the rest of the world has rental only DVD releases, including the UK.

However, most of the UK studios are now releasing rental and sell-through DVDs on the same date - just at different prices. This started with Warners, but now Fox and Columbia do the same. I think Beuna Vista have started doing this as well.

At the time Blockbusters refused to carry Warners discs, until they realised that they were not going to change Warners' mind and were only hurting themselves... not Warners.

This is because in the UK when you buy a disc, you do not "own" the film, you simply purchase a licence to view the film (that's why there's conditions like not charging for the showing, and only being able to be played at home for personal use in the small print). So the studios can draw up two licences, one for personal use only and one for renting use only and charge different prices. If a rental outlet rents a disc where the licence states it is forbidden to do so, they are breaking the law and will be fined. I think US law is somewhat different.

Personally I wouldn't mind if we still had 6 month rental windows. There's always new discs coming out, and unlike some people I don't need to own a film as soon as possible (although I inevitably do).

[Loomis]

Personally I wouldn't mind if we still had 6 month rental windows. There's always new discs coming out, and unlike some people I don't need to own a film as soon as possible (although I inevitably do).

Heh... I keep telling myself that "They'll be around for a while". Then I go and preorder everything. I already have Davy, Darby and Roo on order from this lot (speaking of which, I recommend http://www.empiredvd.com.au highly, as they not only have all of these up for preorder already, but they also have free shipping in Australia (and some good international rates I believe).

As for the rental window on Tuck, it did come out some time ago to rent on DVD (Auguest/Septemeber I think). Some releases are quite slow, but we do get some perks. As you can see from the above list, we are getting some things not available in the US, plus dts soundtrack on films such as Finding Nemo. We also get other things early (such as the Herbie box set). So I guess it works both ways. I still can't work out BVHE AU though....

[Panchito]

That's good news about Muppet Treasure Island

Any idea if this is going to be a W/S release. Unfortunately this movie was released in P&S format in region 1. I really can't understand this move.

Here's hoping we see the W/S version released in Australia.

[2099net]

The European release is widescreen. I would expect Austraila to be the same (you normally get duel encoded R2/R4 discs)

[Loomis]

The European release is widescreen. I would expect Austraila to be the same (you normally get duel encoded R2/R4 discs)

Yeah, while that fact is not advertised by Disney on the packaging (nt many companies beyond the BBC seem to do this anyways), you can usually rest assured that the Aussie version is dual coded and as such, that means we will be getting the same version as the UK.

[Disney Guru]

;Thanks For SHaring This Info. Even Though I Live In The USA I Have A Region Free DVD Player. I WIll For Sure Be Buying Darby O Gill.

[Panchito]

Thanks for the information on the Muppets Treasure Island.

[Loomis]

That's good news about Muppet Treasure Island

Any idea if this is going to be a W/S release. Unfortunately this movie was released in P&S format in region 1. I really can't understand this move.

Here's hoping we see the W/S version released in Australia.

To confirm, Muppet Treasure Island will have the following specs:

Region 4
Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1
Screen Aspect: Widescreen
No. Disks 1
Captions English and Closed
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Subtitle Languages: English, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish
Audio Languages: English, Spanish
Special Features:
- The Tale Of The Story Beyond The Tail
- Treasure Island Sing-Along
- Hidden Treasure Commentary

So yeah - same as the UK one...

[windupgamecat]

is because in the UK when you buy a disc, you do not "own" the film, you simply purchase a licence to view the film (that's why there's conditions like not charging for the showing, and only being able to be played at home for personal use in the small print). So the studios can draw up two licences, one for personal use only and one for renting use only and charge different prices. If a rental outlet rents a disc where the licence states it is forbidden to do so, they are breaking the law and will be fined. I think US law is somewhat different.

In Australia, the Australian Video Retailers Association successfully sued Warner Bros for this trade practice and proved in court that it was illegal.
For some reason the British equivalent body didn't do the same, and so now they're getting walked over by every video distributor around. I haven't seen any statistics, but I can't imagine that it's not decimating their video rental industry over there.

G.

[Disney Guru]

BVHE has announced its list of titles for March and it is quite impressive.

March 3 will see and Recess: All Growed Down (with 3 bonus episodes).

March 17 Darby O'Gill & The Little People; Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (which I think is essentially a movie version of the first 3 episodes that appear on the US version of the Walt Disney Treasures set, with linking segements); Muppet Treasure Island: Special Edition; Old Yeller ( a cut-down version of the US Vault); the previously announced Pirates of the Caribbean (see full details on site) and Treasure Island.

March 31 sees Annie; George of the Jungle 2; Geppetto; Hocus Pocus; Kim Possible: Secret Files; A Knight in Camelot; The Lizzie McGuire Movie; Tuck Everlasting; and my favourite, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime With Roo.

http://www.bvhe.com.au/news

Another great post from Loomis. I am really glad about these releases.

[2099net]

is because in the UK when you buy a disc, you do not "own" the film, you simply purchase a licence to view the film (that's why there's conditions like not charging for the showing, and only being able to be played at home for personal use in the small print). So the studios can draw up two licences, one for personal use only and one for renting use only and charge different prices. If a rental outlet rents a disc where the licence states it is forbidden to do so, they are breaking the law and will be fined. I think US law is somewhat different.

In Australia, the Australian Video Retailers Association successfully sued Warner Bros for this trade practice and proved in court that it was illegal.
For some reason the British equivalent body didn't do the same, and so now they're getting walked over by every video distributor around. I haven't seen any statistics, but I can't imagine that it's not decimating their video rental industry over there.

G.

Well I agree with the UK ruling - why should blockbuster be able to buy a DVD for £15 and rent it out untold times and get all the profit themselves? It's only fair that if they indend to do this they pay more money for the disc in the first place. How would you like it if you spent time and money making a film, only to "sell" a couple of hundred copies to Blockbuster, who then rented them out to millions of people and you didn't see and extra penny. It's just not right - Blockbuster are cashing-in on someone else's work and effort without making any effort themselves.

Blockbuster do not "own" the movie because they bought the DVD. In fact, if you look at the small print on the disc or opening screen it says cannot be "exchanged, resold or hired". I belive the licence agreements in Australia say the same. So how can it be illeagal? Blockbuster presumably read the licencing agreements before purchasing the discs, and have managed to get away with breaking them for years.

[windupgamecat]

Well I agree with the UK ruling - why should blockbuster be able to buy a DVD for £15 and rent it out untold times and get all the profit themselves?

If the studios were willing to present an equitable method for profit share, I would be utterly overjoyed, but they don't. This two-tier pricing model has not been established because it was fair. It was established because it maximizes the profits for the studio.
It is technically illegal to charge different prices to different people for the same profit. This isn't a "rental tax" (which we have in Australia, btw). It's the legal equivalent of a distributor charging me fifteen quid for a copy of Pirates Of The Caribbean and then charging you sixty because you're going to loan it to your friends. We're both consumers. We're both purchasing identical profit. The distributor is overcharging one of us in a blatant restriction of free trade.

And every study, example and statistic shows that video rental *contributes* to a DVD's sales and does not take away from it at all.

Blockbuster are cashing-in on someone else's work and effort without making any effort themselves.

Other than the effort of giving Disney, Warner, et al, several hundred million a year, of course...

Blockbuster presumably read the licencing agreements before purchasing the discs, and have managed to get away with breaking them for years.

They never broke the law! It's legal for a video library to rent out product. What isn't actually legal is for a corporate body to deliberately restrict free trade and charge different prices to different people for the same product. This is actually against the law, and yet they get away with it because there isn't a dedicated enough body in the UK to challenge it.

G.

[Loomis]

March 17 Darby O'Gill & The Little People; Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (which I think is essentially a movie version of the first 3 episodes that appear on the US version of the Walt Disney Treasures set, with linking segements); Muppet Treasure Island: Special Edition; Old Yeller ( a cut-down version of the US Vault); the previously announced Pirates of the Caribbean ... and Treasure Island.

Ok, these are the titles that were meant to come out this week here.

Number of items actually spotted? 4.

Pirates is obviously everywhere, and a few places have the Muppets and Old Yeller discs...
...but I went through about 3 major chains (HMV, Sanity, Borders) before finally spotting the one I was actually looking for - Darby O'Gill - in Myers. I didn't pick it up, however, because it is presented in 1.33:1 full frame, which is not the OAR, I believe?

Hopefully the US one due out later this year will be a little more impressive.

And marketed better.