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Star Wars: TPM NOT on DVD in 2000
FlyveHest writes "The rumour posted yesterday about Star Wars : The Phantom Menace being launched on DVD sometime early next year has been retracted by Newsaskew, the same people that posted the rumour the first time around. Someone obviously did a little too much Sherlock Holmes work, and drew some conclusions based on LucasFilm changing VHS distributors from a company that doesn't produce DVDs to one that does."
It's 100% fact that it was posted here yesterday. Does that count?
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
hahahaha. You got all hoity toity and then you admitted liking The Matrix. You sir, have no credibility.
Damn straight I liked the Matrix. Forget the obvious reasons--you've heard them, Descartes, kick ass graphics, whatnot.
It's the little touches--the polish--that made that movie what it was.
Remember the scene with the women in the red dress? Betcha didn't notice that the entire crowd was composed of identical twins and triplets--the concept being, Mouse needed to duplicate people in order to create a crowd. Gee, nobody notices, but it's there, and it gives another edge of loneliness once you realize just what that means.
What about the reuse of numbers throughout the movie? Or the fact that the movie has a surprising amount of symmetry, more than you'd expect(sometimes obvious, like the movie beginning/ending in an apartment with a specific number, sometimes less so).
The point is, Matrix was probably one of the more memorable movies in some time, and even if it wasn't, the creators of the movie have shown their fans far more respect than "Independant Filmmaker" Lucas has.
If I lose credibility in your eyes for being of this opinion, oh well.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
I defended The Matrix in another post, but the bottom line is that The Matrix could dwell in the ranks of Ishtar and Planb 9, and I'd still take note of the fact that while Lucas seems to be going out of his way to bleed the Star Wars license out of every red cent, the folks behind the Matrix have seen fit not only to *gasp* actually release what consumers want in time for Christmas, but *also* commission a wide range of stories and comics taking place in the Matrix universe and place them online, free for anyone to read.
I see nothing much left in the Star Wars universe but pretty graphics and dollar signs. There's much more potential to be found with The Matrix.
Our opinions differ. I'll survive.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
If he chooses not to release on DVD, that is his perrogative. I don't care what his reasoning is. If he doesn't want to release on DVD because he thinks Satan wrote the DVD standards, then so be it.
Allow me to provide an analogy.
I went to my bank today with my paycheck(it finally arrived; just in time for Christmas!). I told 'em I needed the funds from the checks available immediately--I couldn't wait two days, because then I'd be shopping on Christmas.
"Do you have an account with us?"
"Of course."
"Would you like your money in large bills or
small?"
I actually just wanted to have the money available on my check card, so I could run to Fry's and imbibe some obscene amount of raw tech. No problem--the teller told me she'd talk to the manager, and make sure the funds went through.
Now, you know? My bank really had no obligation to do anything beyond cash my checks according to the policies I agreed to when I opened my account. That's their job--to hold my money, and give me electronically mediated access to it when I need to withdraw some amount to pay for something.
But, you know what? They did more. They've actually given me surprisingly good service every time I've called upon them. They've gone above and beyond what I'd expect, and I've got myself a 40GB Hard Drive and a 8x Yamaha Burner sitting in my 2.2.14pre16 Linux box(had to upgrade the kernel to support the drive) right now because of their service.
I don't have to do business with Bank of America. I've even heard of other people having far less positive experiences than I. But they've been good to me, so I'll stick with them.
George Lucas, on the other hand, appears to have an autocratic and idiosyncratic grip on what he will and will not provide for the consumer. And that's fine. That's his right. But I'm going to enjoy his movies less, enjoy the universe and all the synergy he can shove down my throat less, because he doesn't see fit to meet the needs of his customers.
This isn't like Open Source. We're paying Lucas quite handsomely for the services he provides. BofA could have left me hanging until tommorow, or even till Christmas Eve, before they would have given me access to my funds. Lucas has chosen to leave his fans hanging until at least some time well after Christmas before he'll fulfill their request for a DVD version of TPM, very literally not in the same century or even millenium that the movie was released in theatres. BofA impressed me. Lucas, I am sad to report, failed to even surprise me.
But that's fine. That's his right. It's also my right to become progressively less and less interested in the increasingly contrived Star Wars universe, and more and more intrigued by the world the Wachowski brothers have created.
That's how it works. As a consumer, I vote with my dollars. And my dollars are going elsewhere.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
I don't see what any of the above has to do with the DVD release of TPM. Lucas didn't start the rumor. Don't blame him if some people will believe/repeat anything they hear.
Quick clarification(it's an important one):
I'm not disappointed in Lucas denying the rumors--nothing wrong with eliminating falsehood. I'm disappointed that I'm sitting here, half a year after Phantom Menace was released, and the originator of the most stringent audiophile standard(THX) won't even correct the rumor with an official release date.
Hell, he won't even confirm that there will ever be a release date, except for maybe, some time in the future, when all three movies in the trilogy are released.
I'm not pissed at the rumor. I'm pissed that the situation existed for such a basic rumor to even spawn. And, yes, he has every right to release TPM on any media he damn well pleases. However, I'd rather patronize a vendor who meets my needs. The man who spread THX can surely understand why I'd rather watch the Matrix DVD than TPM VHS.
Bad service is bad service. Just because it comes from George Lucas doesn't make it any more forgivable. In fact, it probably makes it even less--The Buck Stops With Him.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
Your bank analogy is poor.
;-)
I prefer "my balance is neglible"...
You have no tangible relationship with Lucas.
Ah, but this is not entirely correct. Average it out--an individual of a given interest level can be presumed to purchase x dollars of Star Wars goods over a period of y weeks, thus generating z revenue for George Lucas.
There is no contractual obligation for this consistent flow of dollars, but there's a relationship there. That I have a temporary contract with my bank is meaningless--I can close my account at any time, just like I can choose to lower my interest level in All Goods Star Wars.
Just because you want a TPM DVD for Christmas does not mean that he needs to accomodate you.
Nope. He doesn't. But I don't need to go buy the VHS version, or for that matter be all too happy with the enterprise as a whole. Remember--my bank had every right to reject my request, just like I had every right to close my account, or fail to recommend them to my friends, or whatnot.
Perhaps a better analogy is a supermarket--fail to stock the Mountain Dew that I crave, and not only will I go elsewhere to find Mountain Dew, but I'm going to think less of that supermarket and will be much less likely to return there in the future.
The man probably has many reasons for not releasing a DVD:
1) Plans to rerelease in the theatre
He plans to release in VHS, therefore irrelevant.
2) Doesn't want to put out a DVD months after being released in theatre
Too bad. Consumers don't expect having to wait nine months to buy a movie. The industry standard is, what, four to five months, with the release date announced long in advance?
Lucas refuses to follow the industry lead? Fine. I refuse to look forward to the video release of the movie. I did, however, look quite a bit forward to buying the Matrix DVD, and I wasn't alone.
3) Wants to put out a quality DVD without being rushed
What's he doing, hand-encoding the frames?
4) Has concerns about DVD's ability to protect his IP
Compared to what, VHS?
I just don't understand where you sense of entitelment is coming from.
Consumer Entitlement is the basis of the entire capitalist economy. Customers feel they deserve X. If they're not getting X, they go to another provider who actually does provide X. The original provider thus loses money/influence/power/whatnot, and either goes out of business or fulfills the consumer entitlement.
It's that simple.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
The way I see it, Lucas is saving me money. If he releases TPM on DVD next April, I will buy it. If he releases the next two separately, I will buy those as well. Then, when he decides to do a big box set of all 6, I will buy that too (I'm a completist collector, I have both Pan and Scan and Widescreens version of the original trilogy on both VHS and LD). This way, I just buy the one big box set and save myself some dough.
Look, I don't want to wait. I'm exercising my right to complain that George Lucas is not heeding the wishes of his customers, and I'm praising the Wachowski brothers for exceeding my expectations with their continual support of their film.
Lucas isn't saving you anything. You're losing time. It is a reasonable expectation of the movie industry to release their films for home consumption within a reasonably close timeframe--around three to six months. Lucas has violated this standard consumer expectation. Furthermore, it's unheard of for product to have no announced release date at this point of the movie's life--Lucas is violating this too.
I'm not asking or looking for a top-down boycott/lawsuit/whatever BS is out there. It's pretty simple economics--this provider is not meeting the needs of its customers. While there is an existing penalty to "switching interests"(Star Wars as Vendor Lock-In! Whoa!), I think the presence of far more consumer friendly media players will have its effect on Star Wars.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
Go with the flow, Mr. Lucas. You're just one director, one movie studio in all of Hollywood (and in all of the world!).
Beyond that, he's one director who should know better, in the one movie studio that brags about it's ability to make its own choices. You can't on one hand have so much responsibility for the entire home theatre industry and in the other ignore the desires of that same industry!
I suppose Lucas could choose to release a copy of TPM spoken in Navajo Crypto Slang. That doesn't mean it wouldn't piss everyone off.
I mean, he's acting like TPM was a much better movie than it honestly really was. The flick excelled in pretty much the one department(graphics and sound) that he's choosing to ignore in his home release. It boggles the mind.
--Dan
OK, this is getting ridiculous.
Aspects of the tragic human tendancy to continually return to an abusive mate are beginning to show up here--a (now retracted) headline story about how maybe, possibly, somehow George Lucas's Audience might actually be granted an ever-so-precious DVD home release of Star Wars, The Phantom Menace, within a year of the original theatrical debut(ooh!).
Oh! My word! He's so great! What a wonderful, selfless, giving man, always willing to take that extra step*BZZZZ* Youch! Damn Pizza Hut chick with a blaster...
C'mon, people. Being jerked around is being jerked around. Lucas is more of an audiophile than most of us combined--for crying out loud, THX. He knows who his fans are. He knows why he's able to fund the entire production of his movies(flicks?) based on the licensing of toy rights alone.
If any film studio was treating its customer base the way Lucas was, the Slashdot community would be up in arms. As is, we truly cannot comprehend how the film industry's ultimate indepedent, a shining symbol of individuality in a land of second guesses and conditional green lighting, could behave in ways more exactingly greedy than the biggest, most cynical corporate mogul could ever imagine. Consumers have purchased--often redundantly--millions of Episodes, Trilogies, and Special Editions, yet we're left in such baited breath that Slashdot posts two stories in three days about how "Oh, we might get DVD...oh wait, who knows if we'll ever get it. Oh fooey!"
Mr. Lucas, this is not the way you respect your customers. This is the way you alienate them. But that's fine, because you know what? This summer, I watched a movie that engaged me technically, that appealed to my philisophical intelligence, that asked questions that were left unanswered. At the end of the movie, not only did I remember each of the character's names but I cared about who they were and why they were. The effects blew me away, both in their originality and in their execution. And you know what the best part was?
No bullshit. No games. Just the top selling DVD thus far. The Matrix has all the magic that George Lucas once tried to honestly sell. Maybe he can do a turnaround--I've made mistakes in my life, publically admitting here the tragedy I see in the fall of Lucas may end up being one of them. Redemption's a good thing. But it's not the end of the world if he doesn't find it. While Lucas was out complaining about all the fans, the Wachowski brothers were hard at work updating www.whatisthematrix.com.
You want to know what the future of engaging your audience looks like? Ask the Wachowski Brothers. They understand.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
on the whole, Slashdot does a great job of dispelling rumors. We are the new model of journalism because we don't take anything the media says for granted, we find out ourselves.
...until 'A Very Wookie Christmas' is released on DVD before he releases TPM on DVD. ;P
--
then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel is just a freight train coming your way
Doesn't it seem like we're all a little quick to believe this. Lucas has said he doesn't like DVD really... what, did we think that the DVD Encryption hack would make him like it MORE?
Only after VHS is right and truly dead will he convert, although god knows why. I can't figure out why he doesn't want to make more money.
-- IANAEG - I am not an elder god.
Your dvd copy won't deteriorate the way your vhs one will.
Some people have better sound equipment hooked up to their computers than to their TVs and would benefit from this assuming they don't already have a vcr hooked up to the computer yet.
Hack value speaks for itself.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
and I would have gotten away with it, too - if it hadn't been for you kids, and your dog...
oh wait... that's Scooby Doo... not Sherlock.
"It's tough to be bilingual when you get hit in the head."
And just what the hell good is a DVD copy of a VHS cassette?!
--GnrcMan--
Screw Lucas. Go spend the money on 'Dune', or 'Apocalypse Now', ' Night Of The Living Dead' or even 'Roman Holiday'. They're all better films than PM. Why everyone is so worked up about a 'delayed' release date for The Phantom Menace is beyond me. Now, the delay on the Trilogy is inexcusable. They are truly masterpieces, and I am honored to own them on cap-disc.
.sig: Now legally binding!
DVD may take over VHS in the future, but it won't be in the near future. People already have lots of their movies on VHS tapes, and DVD doesn't allow you to record your tv shows to watch later. I think it'll be like the cassette tape and the CD. The only thing I use cassette tapes for anymore is to create workout tapes from my CDs, since CD players are cheap now and I have one in my car and a couple in my house. I have a CD burner that I could create mix CDs with, but it's generally faster to make a mix tape, and I need variety, so I tape over the previous tape when I get tired of those songs.
With VHS and DVD, you've got a medium that if it gets a scratch, you've got a ruined $30 movie. Video tape is encased in the hard plastic, and about all that can really happen is it melting in a hot car or the tape getting eaten by the player. You can fix the tape, and even tape it back together, and you just have a little tiny glitch in the movie, but the rest is still viewable. With a DVD, it becomes a useless coaster.
When people start buying only DVDs and only very few people are left who still buy VHS tapes, will we get to the point where DVD will take over. To fully take over, we need a recording medium, and I don't think DVD will cut it. We need something that allows you to record over last night's tv show that you already watched. Maybe once those hard drives get popular.....
I don't really care about the Star Wars trilogy. They were OK. JarJar was annoying, and I don't really want to watch them 101 times. Let Lucas be on his high powerful horse and not release Star Wars to his fans. There are other movies to watch and spend money on.
The rumour posted yesterday
I thought everything reported here was 100% FACT!
I feel so used. :(
More race stuff in one place,
than any one place on the net.