Is there a reason that this is not on DVD/Blu-ray?
Is there some kind of rights issue? What's going on?
shareProbably a rights issue. Sometimes when there are restorations, it complicates the rights of all versions.
share
MovieChat Forums > Greed (1925) Discussion > Is there a reason that this is not on DV...
Every so often I try searching for the four hour version since I first seen it about 15 years ago.
shareMGM put out the "Silent Classics" VHS, running a little over two hours. TCM put out the 75th Anniversary Restoration VHS, running about the same. Apparently, TCM plays the longer version on television periodically. HOW CAN THIS BE SO INACCESSIBLE IN PHYSICAL FORMAT? Sorry for the caps, but Jeez, it's only one of the biggest landmarks of cinema... you'd think it would be worth keeping up with the media changes. This isn't a movie to watch of friggin' Youtube (which I love), but should be re-released as a theatrical event, with a pristine, as restored as possible, Blu-ray/DVD combo release. What could be standing in the way? Greed, perhaps?
shareThere are no rights issues. Warner owns the film, and has been selling the 4-hour "Greed" on iTunes for $9.99 since 2009:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/greed/id318535582
But releasing a film on physical disc is much more costly and that is why studios are reluctant to do it. Warner said if "The Big Parade" DVD/Blu-ray sold well, they would release "Greed" on disc. That was over a year ago. My guess is "The Big Parade" didn't sell very well, so "Greed" is still not on disc.
The handwriting's on the wall, people. Online videos are BIG business and studios are less and less inclined to release discs. Go to iTunes, Vudu, Netflix, Warner Archive Instant, etc., and check out all the movies that are available online and yet not on disc. I have seen classics in HD such as Disney's "So Dear to My Heart", "Peyton Place", Hitchcock's silents "The Ring", "Manxman", and many others that are not on Blu-ray, and yet available to view in high-definition online.
Convenient that WB only put out The Big Parade in a Digibook, which jacks up the price by $10-$20. Sounds like they approached the Blu-ray release with some trepidation. Of course, the higher price scares off a lot of customers who are unwilling to pay $20+ for a Blu-ray release that doesn't feature a lot of extras.
Why doesn't WB approach Criterion about releasing Greed? A two-disc Blu-ray release would retail for $49.99. Criterion would do the release properly with all the bells and whistles. And since Criterion has become a brand name, plenty of people would buy it based on the label's street cred.
Criterion's released most of the Chaplin films and a couple of the Harold Lloyd comedies and The Phantom Carriage.
It's absolutely a joke that Greed is only available via iTunes. It's one of the dozen or so silent films that could safely be called a masterpiece.
A lot of deserving films don't have any video releases also. We need to resign to the fact that not all films are going to get releases. Be thankful that "Greed" is at least on iTunes in 480p resolution, same picture quality as DVD, and, only costs $10. "The Big Parade" is on a sub-$10 DVD also, and the Blu-ray is not that expensive. You obviously haven't bought those barebone $30+ Twilight Time Blu-rays. The bottom line is films like "The Big Parade" and "Greed" are not going to have a lot of buyers even if they cost $5. The price isn't what matters here; it is the demand. In 2004, Warner had an online poll where voters picked 5 out of 20 films to be released on DVD, and "Greed" ranked only 9th in the voting:
https://web.archive.org/web/20050212230346/http://www.tcm.turner.com/MovieNews/Index/0,,82731,00.html
Twilight Time is the absolute worst. Limited copies, astronomical prices.
I'm sorry, but if Criterion can find a market for obscure titles that no one but the buffest movie buff has heard of, then there's a market for "Greed" in hi-def. I suspect it's a more recognizable title than "The Big Parade," which is a great movie - but it hardly carries the legendary status of Von Stroheim's masterpiece.
The guy downthread that suggested Warner Archive release it has a point. It kills me to see how much garbage gets released on Shout and Olive, yet we don't have major works by Hitchcock, Ford, and Welles in 1080p. Maybe someday.
They could at least release it through The Warner Archive. Many lesser films are being released that way. C'mon Warner, get your act together and release Greed.
shareI'd love it if Greed (among many other silents) were given a proper DVD. I've only seen clips of Greed on various documentaries. Unfortunately, a lot of studios just don't care about the older tv shows and movies, especially silents, in their vaults. So many great films and TV shows just languish in a vault somewhere.
I know silent films are definitely considered a niche market, but I just can't rationalize why a studio that makes hundreds of millions of dollars can't put out a few silent films a year and take a small financial hit.