What's new

THE GOLDEN DAYS OF M-G-M …are over (1 Viewer)

M90GM

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
128
Real Name
JUSTIN
It seems that there is minimal market demand now for the many great MGM classics apart from the already released “in demand” titles – the mega hits like Mrs Miniver, Mutiny, Postman, Dorian & The Women…with GWTW & Oz. The Warner transfers on blu ray are nothing short of spectacular but I am resigned to being happy with my dvd’s of Random Harvest, Gaslight, Dr Jekyll, Valley, Boys Town, Blossoms, Waterloo, Test Pilot, Captains, Maytime, San Francisco …lost gems many of which are “lost” to most Archive members amidst a stack of B & C and old lost irrelevant (from a sales & critical angle) titles…reading the threads here it is clear these titles are today out of favour ….I have little chance of generating any interest have I?

Continue reading...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Alan Tully

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
4,627
Location
London
Real Name
Alan
I could add a lot of titles to the OP's list, all those swashbucklers, westerns,, Marx Brothers, Tarzan, Boom Town, but it's not just MGM, it's all golden age cinema. I'm sure a lot of young people couldn't recognise some huge old time stars, that's just the way it goes. But things even themselves out, it's our generation that can afford the kit (& have the room) to see these films.
 
Last edited:

Thomas T

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2001
Messages
10,288
Classic film lovers are an aging breed and dying off. As physical media is slowly but surely turning into a niche market while downloading and streaming become the viewing norm among millennials. When a few years ago, a photo of Jean Harlow was shown on the quiz show Jeopardy and none of the millennial contestants rang in because they didn't know who she was (but they knew math equations and obscure island nations), it was clear that the "Golden Age" was dead. Those investing in 4K TVs want to see Marvel and DC movies, not Mrs. Miniver. Yes, yes, I'm sure some HTF member will chirp in with "But I want to see Mrs. Miniver in 4K UHD" but you're not the norm.
 

Keith Cobby

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
4,511
Location
Kent "The Garden of England", UK
Real Name
Keith Cobby
I continue to be surprised at some of the titles which have been released on blu-ray (23 Paces) and those to come (Lisbon) and also those which haven't (Three Musketeers, High Society, 80 Days etc) but I have absolutely no expectations for classic/golden age titles on UHD. Maybe some of the top tier (Casablanca, Gone with the Wind etc) will eventually be released but blu-ray is the end of the line for us. I am very satisfied with that.
 

Mysto

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Messages
2,592
Location
Florida
Real Name
marv long
Many (most) of the films I love were released before I was born (and I'm a pretty old guy). There are always new fans to the golden age of movies. The problem is that the number is a small percentage and for the studios, it's all about the numbers. There will always be fans - but will there be media to support us is the question.
 

RichMurphy

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Messages
881
Location
Somewhere, VA
Real Name
Rich
On a related but probably off-topic issue, I often wonder what the viewership of Turner Classic Movies is. While Music Choice and SiriusXM have minimized movie music over the years, TCM keeps on rolling along. If TCM goes out of business because of a lack of viewer interest, I know it's time for the glue factory for me.
 

Richard V

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
2,962
Real Name
Richard
I recommended the great book Fade Out, The Calamitous Final Days of MGM by Peter Bart. Also check out the documentary MGM, When the Lion Roars (1992) hosted by Patrick Stewart.

Let me suggest the book Final Cut, another great read, on how one movie (Heaven's Gate) literally ruined one the best studios ever, UA.
 

Angelo Colombus

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
3,408
Location
Chicago Area
Real Name
Angelo Colombus
Let me suggest the book Final Cut, another great read, on how one movie (Heaven's Gate) literally ruined one the best studios ever, UA.
Have that one too and United Artists, Volume 1 & 2 by Tino Balio....I hope UA does come back to it's good ol days of being a great studio.
 

M90GM

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 15, 2009
Messages
128
Real Name
JUSTIN
Nice to know there's one of you ...together we would not justify the costs ...perhaps the rest are silent. I thought I would revive my thread on MGM greats to see if there was any interest ..looks like it is minimal. Pity that George at Warner cannot generate interest in the MGM library by highlighting them, as they're stuck in a mass of titles, half of which is B grade or outright rubbish. BUT - Warner have given us virtually every single MGM release including short B grade program fillers.

And yes thanks to all - I have the books. I am a one eyed M-G-M fan.
 

Craig Beam

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2000
Messages
2,181
Location
Pacific NW
Real Name
CraB
I just discovered that I don't have the Dr. Jekyll double-feature DVD that Warner released back in 2005. Snagged one for ten bucks on eBay.
 

Andrew Budgell

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2002
Messages
2,280
Location
Ontario, Canada
Real Name
Andy Budgell
Nice to know there's one of you ...together we would not justify the costs ...perhaps the rest are silent. I thought I would revive my thread on MGM greats to see if there was any interest ..looks like it is minimal.

Don't be discouraged. The MGM films are discussed at the HTF regularly and I think there are many of us here who would like to see these films released, myself included. Here are some I'd love to see: National Velvet (and more Elizabeth Taylor in general), Marie Antoinette, Gaslight, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Random Harvest, Dinner at Eight, The Thin Man series, Waterloo Bridge, Lassie Come Home, Pride and Prejudice, David Copperfield, Little Women (1949), Bringing Up Baby, Romeo and Juliet (1936), the Andy Hardy films, more Garbo... Anna Karenina, Queen Christina, Mata Hari, Camille, etc., the Show Boat films, The Good Earth, The Great Ziegfeld, more Judy Garland, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Fred and Ginger, Busby Berkeley, etc.

Hopefully some of these are in the pipeline from WAC, or even Criterion.
 
Last edited:

Richard M S

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 2, 2005
Messages
1,051
I would definitely buy any of the above films on bluray. Hopefully Criterion will make so much money on their release of The Breakfast Club, especially after the attention given to it yesterday by Molly Ringwald's fascinating - (and overdue, IMO) New Yorker reappraisal that Criterion leases a lot more black and white MGM classics.
 

BRAD1963

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
590
Real Name
BRAD
At this point all we could hope for is the continuation of WAC and the Criterion Collection for classic MGM and WB titles. Warner and Shout seem to have an agreement in place also. But unless the studio initiates an agreement with someone like Twilight Time or Kino, the only options will be streaming or downloading.


.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,815
Messages
5,123,844
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top