BURNING QUESTION

The news that Warners has unlocked its vault and is making available more than a hundred of its films, many that have been unavailable for viewing except by rare TV airings, was greeted with tremendous Huzzahs by many film fans and collectors.

For many of us who are habitual collectors of the latest classic offering, the announcement -- on Warners' online discussion at home theater forum --wasn't quite the epiphany you'd expect, but instead one of cautious optimism. Optimism weighted down with fresh wounds of distrust and disappointment, hammered home by the Fugitive muzak fiasco that continues to smolder despite a half-decent attempt by Warners to belatedly recognize their error.

But let's not go there.

Instead, let's focus on the production of this catalogue which has been labeled the Warners Archive. It's the obvious step forward in a market where so many of the highly demanded films have been processed and repackaged in so many editions that the proprietor has milked the machine, created some cynicism in the marketplace, and appeared to hit the wall.

On-demand production makes sense in so many ways when you're dealing with an aging market, a deteriorating (or sorely in need of rehabilitation) product and the always encroaching reality of technological redundancy.

If Warners is able to provide these films in their best-available condition, make it affordable while also producing a DVD-R that will stand the test of time, we have to give them credit for being at the forefront (somewhat) of this marketing move.

They own the product; now, instead of dealing with a multi-competitive distribution division, they sell the products directly to the users. There is no more inventory, and as they've noted, there will be no more 'discount bins' with $5 discs for the bargain hunter. Of course, the pricing eliminates a portion of the available market, who cannot cough up $20 per old movie.

What bothers me, and is more of a regret than an anger, is that it signals the end of (for a great portion of classics, as I don't see the true profit rationale behind them continuing providing multi-pressing of actual DVDs with multiple extras for mass consumption) the Tyrone Power Matinee Idol collection, the Film Noir series and Western Classics from any studio, as the return from those efforts will be marginal when compared to the less effort, better return of direct-marketing of (high calibre, they promise) dvd-r's.

The list of nearly 150 titles that are already available here include enough Gable movies for a couple of box sets- Love On the Run, Men in White, Chained, Betrayed, Forsaking All Others and Bhowani Junction; a possible Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy collection featuring Christopher Strong, The Actress, Break of Hearts and The Little Minister; and a few hard-to-find movies from Cary Grant's career. Titles that would typically be released as stand-alone options would include (besides a few of the already named) Abe Lincoln In Illinois, Bright Leaf, Convicts 4, Payment on Demand, The Money Trap and Wichita. None of these will receive dedicated, pure DVD releases and likely will never be made available that way. There is much talk about how Warners will also use this form to release a considerable piece of its TV legacy, too, although it leaves one to question how and for how much.

It was to happen sooner than later; classic movies are a finite resource, and as those who covet and collect them dwindle and die, the ability to reap the benefits so too dwindles and dies. The source and cost of producing 'extras' like commentaries, making-of vignettes and additional related attachments has out-stripped the returns, according to this latest decision.

You can't begrudge Warners for making this move, and for Fox and Universal to soon follow, because what they own is a product. Modern technology beckons that they get it to market sooner than later, at a good return. Just as real estate has seen its value take a serious hit in the current market, classic films, for differing reasons, is also poised to be more cost-prohibitive and a greater financial risk to produce as a mass-market effort. In someways, this trend mirrors what happened in Hollywood at the end of the old studio system collapsed; the old-fashioned way of doing business gave way to a bold, new manner, where choice was both the reward and the punishment. There is no going back -- the Criterions and Timeless companies may be able to withstand this change, but in the end they too will have to bend to survive, since they do not own the product.

The good ol' days are gone. That joy of unwrapping a new DVD, debating whether to watch the extras or just admire the pristine quality that often required painstaking and expensive restoration of the film itself, will be like the comfortable memory of a needle dancing on vinyl. It may be copied, but cannot be replicated.

At some point I may eventually buck up and buy some of these Warners films; right now I find the cost and questions of the quality (as seen here) to be reason enough to hold off. But I am mourning what appears to be the end of a good ride. Goodnight Mrs Calabash, where ever you are...