MGM Turnaround?

well, maybe all the bitchin' is finally paying off.

a number of sites are now reporting that MGM is taking Escape from New York off the market. why? too many people have been pissed-off over the bare-bones release. MGM is supposedly planning a special edition release for 2002

this, and their recent "not-quite-official" announcement over the special ed release of Buckaroo Banzai has me wondering if we all shouldn't start bitchin' a little more and a little louder. maybe they will do justice to TCM2 and Pumpkinhead?

I dunno... DVD File's review of the "Rocky" set (I know, non-horror, sorry) says they rehashed the Rocky 2 and Rocky 4 discs for the set - and so the 4 disc still doesn't have.........

take a guess........

SUBTITLES for the Russian parts.

I've stuck up a little for MGM sometimes on these threads, but their quality control is getting hard to defend.

Banzai was ALWAYS going to be a special edition - from the first time it was announced. Any site that claimed the push-back was due to a switch from a bare bones release to a SE was making a misinformed assumption. I don't know what the real reasons for the delay are - but it was not to make it a SE. You don't suddenly pull together a complete SE just by adding a few extra months (depending on the contents of course).

As for why it's going to be an SE, don't thank MGM - thank all the Team Banzai fanatics who did a premptive strike. It was not MGM's idea - and knowing their quality control, I'm not getting my hopes up either way. They have shown they will just as easily ruin a SE. Hmmm... weren't there a few subtitles in this movie....

As for EFNY, this was the most disgusting act of blatant consumer deception I have ever seen in the DVD market. They full well had the ability to do an SE from the start, but decided to release a bare bones disc first without telling anyone the SE would come later. Makes me sick - and I didn't even buy it. If anything, this shows they are getting worse. At least they warned people in the case of "The Princess Bride". No longer any such consideration.

MGM has not cared. MGM does not care. MGM is showing no signs that they will ever care. Plenty of people blindly giving them money for anything they shovel out, so why should they care?

[mutleyhyde]

Subtitles... sigh. I watched The Living Daylights dvd this past weekend, and when the big Russian pipeline worker chick distracts the systems monitoring dude by coming on to him so James can send the Russian general on his way to freedom through the pipeline, she quickly zips up her uniform and, I swear, says something to the effect of "what kind of girl do you think I am!?!" after the general has gone. She says it in Russian, and without subtitles, it's just like, wtf?? Totally ruins the humor. Maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely will be checking out my vhs copy I still have. I could swear it was there before.

[Paff]

You're not insane. There originally were subtitles in that scene. I know 'cause I just watched the movie myself about 2 weeks ago, only on Laserdisc. Looks and sounds fantastic. I someday want to have all of the Bond movies on DVD, but there's some I'm only gonna buy for the extras. For the movies, I'll probably stick with my old LDs. Sad.

Banzai was NEVER going to be a special edition. from the first time it was announced by MGM, or anytime thereafter - until this recent news. it had been intended from the start to be a 'Contemporary Classics' release. the special edition talk was pure speculation in the forums.

it looks to me as though MGM is making some sort of effort - however small or misguided. if fans of the film persuaded MGM to do a special edition, the fans should by thanked. but so should MGM. telling MGM to go fuck themselves now that they are finally responding to all the complaints is not the message to send.

[rhett]

That Rocky box set is just sad. Yet another case of forcing consumers to buy the same film more than once in order to get Rocky III or V on DVD. It is obvious MGM did not give two shits about supplements, because I am sure they could have got Stallone to easily do more than just a 40 minute interview on the making of Rocky, seeing as a.) He wrote all 5 films, b.) Directed 3 of them, and c.) Has had more box office bombs than Arnie lately. I guess sequels II to V must not have been "broadly appealing" enough to the consumer...

Big deal, they are making an SE of Banzai. How do you think a small 80's film like that is going to turn out when they can't even get their major releases right...

Originally posted by Paff:
You're not insane. There originally were subtitles in that scene. I know 'cause I just watched the movie myself about 2 weeks ago, only on Laserdisc

The original DVD version of "Living Daylights" was missing subtitles - you had to mail the disc in for a replacement.

I recall the scene you're talking about, but I don't remember the subtitling. Maybe you have the old edition?

I wrote MGM a - to borrow a phrase - strongly worded letter about this (not nasty), but I don't expect to ever hear back. Told them they cost themselves my money.

I just read DVDfile's review of the Rocky box set and it is quite sad, but this kind of shoddy work is to be expected from MGM. MGM has a knack for putting out special editions that they have done virtually no work on and this is just another example.

Only three of the films have new transfers while the rest have been recycled from 1997 and the new transfer of Rocky sounds mediocre at best (bravo MGM). I have no confidence in MGM's ability to put out a good Special Edition.

Hey MGM take a look at some of Warner's DVD releases (like the Superman box set) and get it fucking right for a change.

Banzai was NEVER going to be a special edition. from the first time it was announced by MGM, or anytime thereafter - until this recent news. it had been intended from the start to be a 'Contemporary Classics' release. the special edition talk was pure speculation in the forums. it looks to me as though MGM is making some sort of effort - however small or misguided. if fans of the film persuaded MGM to do a special edition, the fans should by thanked. but so should MGM. telling MGM to go fuck themselves now that they are finally responding to all the complaints is not the message to send.

Nope. MGM always said this would be an SE. It's been a long time now, so I don't have links to the various postings any more, but I remember them quite well. It was more than just forum rumors.

And even if this was not originally planned as a SE, it still wouldn't have been MGM's idea to change it - it would have been due completely to fan pressure.

As far as I'm concerned, MGM is bad either way. It shouldn't take constant fan pressure to have them put effort into their products. They should do it from the start like the better studios do.

If we must hound MGM for every single damn title, I'd rather they just be out of business - especially if they will just keep screwing up subtitles anyway.