Great Universal Franchise Collections - but too bad for previous buyers

I know Univeral is on this group's s-list for their forced DVD commercials,
but I like the direction they are going in for their ultra low priced boxed
sets in the coming weeks. The ones I am referring to are the "Franchise
Collections":

Smokey And The Bandit (Pursuit Pack) - 3 movies for 19.98 street date 1/20

American Graffiti (Drive-In Double Feature) - 2 movies for 19.98 street date
1/20

Airport Collection: The Terminal Pack - 4 movies for 24.98 street date 2/10

The Adventures Of Ma And Pa Kettle #1 - 4 movies for 19.98 street date 2/10

Best Of Abbott & Costello #1 - 8(!) movies for 24.98 street date 2/10

Hudson/Day Romance Collection - 3 movies for 29.98 street date 4/6

Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection - 5 movies for 26.98 street date 4/27

Dracula: The Legacy Collection - 5 movies for 26.98 street date 4/27

The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection - 4 movies for 26.98 street date 4/27

There's a screw in it for me, as I already acquired Smokey and the Bandit 1
& 2 and the first three Airports, so I will have to get the entire boxes if
I want to add the final sequels. I had just ordered More American Grafitti
from DDD the day before I found out about the Graffiti box, so thank
goodness I was able to return that for a refund.

I am now also thankful for the fact that I missed out on the expensive
Universal Monster double feature DVDs, as the new boxes make the previous
editions obsolete. Their value is currently plummeting on eBay. I have the
previous single feature discs, but their many extra features make the
duplication worth it.

The Abbott and Costello set is especially excellent, as, by my count, there
are only 25 A & C Universal films not yet on DVD. With this one, they will
only have to release two more sets to complete the series.

I wonder what other franchises Universal is eyeing for this type of
marketing? Ones that occur to me include:

Francis the Talking Mule

(as previously discussed) the other Universal Monsters - Invisible Man,
Creature FTBL, Mummy, Karloff/Lugosi team-ups

50's Universal Monsters - (as seen in the laserdisc sets) - Tarantula, Mole
People, Monolith Monsters, etc.

Jaws Collection

Tremors Collection

The Psycho Sequels (could throw in episodes of "Bates Motel" for good
measure)

"McHale's Navy" ('64) with "McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force" (or throw in
also Munster Go Home and The Gong Show Movie for a TV On the Silver Screen
Collection)

The individually released Don Knotts series

Sets for Mae West, W.C. Fields & The Marx Bros (not sure who holds the video
release rights to these at this time)


Anyway, I am happy to see DVD producers finally seeing that this media is a
good way to release large amounts of material in one package for a low
price. I wonder if it was the TV box sets that led the way for this new
trend.

djskyler

> Jaws Collection

Not to be an elitist bit it would be a shame to throw the first one into a
set with the sequels.

> The Psycho Sequels (could throw in episodes of "Bates Motel" for good
> measure)

See above.

ominousspiritous

I don't think so - most of the supplements will not be on the new editions, so
the older ones will still be valuable.

drsd2kill

It seems "ominousspiritous" wrote in alt.video.dvd in article
<OgROb.99512$I06.438733@attbi_s01>:
>
>> Jaws Collection
>
>Not to be an elitist bit it would be a shame to throw the first one into a
>set with the sequels.

What's wrong with being elitist?

Some things _are_ better than other things, and it is not democracy
but folly to pretend otherwise.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cortland County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
DVD FAQ: http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html
other FAQs: http://oakroadsystems.com/tech/faqget.htm

Stan Brown

"djskyler" <> wrote in message
news:W1POb.13178$. com...

<<I am now also thankful for the fact that I missed out on the expensive
Universal Monster double feature DVDs, as the new boxes make the
previous editions obsolete. Their value is currently plummeting on
eBay. I have the previous single feature discs, but their many extra
features make the duplication worth it.>>


The prices may be slipping on eBay, but the high Amazon prices are
holding steady.

Take _Bride of Frankenstein_, for example:


$74.50
Like new Seller: marky1960 (Safe buying guarantee)
Rating: 4.8 stars over the past twelve months (32 ratings).
Seller has 36 lifetime ratings.
Availability: Item usually ships in 1-2 business days.
Comments: Rare DVD. MINT Condition! From my personal collection.


$99.98
Like new Seller: tito_or (Safe buying guarantee)
Rating: 4.4 stars over the past twelve months (32 ratings).
Seller has 37 lifetime ratings.
Availability: Item usually ships in 1-2 business days.
Comments: Factory sealed. Out of print. Monsters collection edition.
First Class upgrade at no extra cost!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...247970-5808605

Scot Gardner

"djskyler" <> wrote in message news:<W1POb.13178$ .com>...

> I wonder what other franchises Universal is eyeing for this type of
> marketing? Ones that occur to me include:

I'd like to see a box set of their Sherlock Holmes series. I know a
batch of those are in public domain, but that means Universal could
release them as well alongside of the Sherlocks they still own the
rights to. That would be a nice set.

Paul

On 19 Jan 2004 16:13:02 GMT, (drsd2kill) wrote:

>I don't think so - most of the supplements will not be on the new
>editions, so the older ones will still be valuable.

And the O.P. acknowledged that when he said:

"I am now also thankful for the fact that I missed out on the
expensive Universal Monster double feature DVDs, as the
new boxes make the previous editions obsolete. Their value
is currently plummeting on eBay. I have the previous single
feature discs, but their many extra features make the
duplication worth it."

-- jayembee

jayembee

"Paul" wrote in message
news: om...
> "djskyler" wrote in message
news:<W1POb.13178$ .com>...
>
> > I wonder what other franchises Universal is eyeing for this type of
> > marketing? Ones that occur to me include:
>
> I'd like to see a box set of their Sherlock Holmes series. I know a
> batch of those are in public domain, but that means Universal could
> release them as well alongside of the Sherlocks they still own the
> rights to. That would be a nice set.

Good one, I forgot about that series!

djskyler

>I'd like to see a box set of their Sherlock Holmes series. I know a
>batch of those are in public domain, but that means Universal could
>release them as well alongside of the Sherlocks they still own the
>rights to. That would be a nice set.

Universal no longer owns these. The good news is that they have recently been
restored and released on DVD by MPI. The reviews I saw were positive.

JimReid56

(Paul) wrote:

>"djskyler" <> wrote:
>
>>I wonder what other franchises Universal is eyeing for this
>>type of marketing? Ones that occur to me include:
>
>I'd like to see a box set of their Sherlock Holmes series. I
>know a batch of those are in public domain, but that means
>Universal could release them as well alongside of the
>Sherlocks they still own the rights to. That would be a nice set.

Already on the marketplace. MPI is releasing the entire series -- both
the Fox and Universal entries, though the two Fox titles are being
released last. Two sets of four films each are already out. The rest
will be out shortly.

-- jayembee

jayembee