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Stooges DVD Release Info ????

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DianaStoogeFanNYC:
Hello fellow Stooge fans, Does anyone know if there are going to be any DVD release of Stooge movies or shorts in 2005 ?? I checked the Sony pictures website and they list future releases up till March with no Stooges listed. They are releasing the Stooges on DVD at a painfully slow pace. Have you noticed that when the shorts were originally released on DVD you would get 5 OR 6 shorts on a disc, then they got stingy and gave only 4 shorts on the last disc ! they gave less Stooge for more money. I just discovered this website...I think its very organized and helpfull. Larry Fine has got charisma.

BeAStooge:

--- Quote from: DianaStoogeFanNYC on December 30, 2004, 06:46:21 PM ---Hello fellow Stooge fans, Does anyone know if there are going to be any DVD release of Stooge movies or shorts in 2005 ?? I checked the Sony pictures website and they list future releases up till March with no Stooges listed.

--- End quote ---

Sony/Columbia is currently reeling from the sales bomb known as colorization.  Their basic quandry is...
"Why are the Stooges popular?  The films are in black and white.  Nobody like black and white.  Our 20-to-30-ish year old marketing execs say so.  So we colorized some, but they didn't buy those discs.  Even though we overpriced the DVDs for the value, and everyone knows that Stooge fans are just kids who don't know the value of a dollar... why didn't they sell?!  Let's hire some more 20-to-30-ish marketing think tankers to figure this out."

And that's where Columbia currently stands, quagmired, with Three Stooges DVDs.


--- Quote ---Have you noticed that when the shorts were originally released on DVD you would get 5 OR 6 shorts on a disc, then they got stingy and gave only 4 shorts on the last disc ! they gave less Stooge for more money.

--- End quote ---

In 1998, 6 shorts for retail $24.95 was reasonable.  "Stingy" hit the fan in 2000, when the exploding DVD market defined 2 hours (6 Stooge shorts fall slightly short of that benchmark) of DVD programming at $19.95.

In 2003, the other stuidios were selling 2 hours (w/o bonuses) at $14.95... so, Columbia reduced its suggested retail to $19.95, and reduced Three Stooges programming content by 20 minutes.

The 2003 and 2004 DVD market was defined by TV and film franchise collector sets.  That's where Columbia should be with the Stooges right now... they'd be making a six figure profit.  But, the studio has no f-'n clue.

Complicating things at the moment is Sony/Columbia's purchase of MGM.  They're salivating over their new film library acquisition, which includes the post-1985 MGMs, the majority of '30s-current UA films (which includes most of the Samuel Goldwyn and Monogram/Allied libraries), Orion and Polygram Studios' films, and a handful of other independent distributor properties that MGM purchased since the late 1980s.  In my opinion, Sony will spend 2005 marketing its new acquisitions.  It's own Columbia films will take a back seat for at least a year.

And the Three Stooges will continue to be an underestimated & undervalued asset, under-marketed, and generally shit upon.

locoboymakesgood:
You've got to be kidding me. I've invested *so* much money on these DVDs, and here they are letting us rot without any plans for future releases.

I think I'm going to be sick.

DianaStoogeFanNYC:
Thanks BeAStooge for the update. You are right about "boxed sets" being the way to go !! Just look at "the Honeymooners" ..you can now buy the entire 39 classic episodes for only 40 bucks !! And Universal Studios gave Abbott and Costello fans a real bargain when they released boxed sets that each contain 4 full length movies for only 20 bucks. Compared to other studios, columbia and sony have little respect or love for vintage comedy. I am just going to try to buy what Stooge films I need on VHS online if available. Another alternative is to record them from TV..I am still waiting for the cost of DVD recorders to go down. AMC has some stuff coming up, but I do not get that channel. I just bought a new VHS copy of snow White and the 3 Stooges for $8.69.  I might buy " Hercules and the 3 stooges" .

BeAStooge:

--- Quote from: DianaStoogeFanNYC on December 31, 2004, 12:18:53 AM ---And Universal Studios gave Abbott and Costello fans a real bargain when they released boxed sets that each contain 4 full length movies for only 20 bucks.

--- End quote ---

You may want to turn those discs over and play the other side... Universal's A&C sets are 8 movies for only 20 bucks.

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