MovieChat Forums > Crescendo (1972) Discussion > DVD now available directly from Warner's...

DVD now available directly from Warner's webpage!

posted 15 years ago by simonhowson
10 replies | jump to latest

Warner Home Video is now selling this film on DVD directly from their webpage:
http://www.wbshop.com/Crescendo-+MOD/1000088153,default,pd.html?cgid=ARCHIVE

[–] onnanob2 15 years ago

Yes, I saw it on the Warner Bros. site, but the price of $19.95 is a bit steep. This movie gets mixed reviews, which are mostly on the more negative side. I've never seen "Crescendo," and I don't want to pay that much for a film I might not care for...even if it is from Hammer. I'd snatch it up if they'd lower the price.

[–] onnanob2 15 years ago

More comments I'd like to make: I don't think this new trend of burn-on-demand will be as prosperous as hoped if they keep the prices high. From what I understand, and I could be wrong, the materials used to make these burn-on-demand discs aren't as favorable as the materials used for mass manufacturing. I would think these burn-on-demand discs would/should cost less if this is true. I believe there is also the question of longevity concerning burn-on-demand discs versus the long life of mass manufactured discs. I have read there was initially more demand for offered titles than Warner Bros. expected, but will there be a constant, steady business for their on-demand titles if the prices remain as they are? I know there are two titles I would like to purchase, but I haven't jumped at the chance to buy them due to the pricing versus the fact that I haven't seen either film.

[–] Sandoz 15 years ago

I've read some reviews for these Archive releases, and WB is so cheap with them that not only do they not include barely minimal extras like a trailer, or some notes, but they don't even go to the trouble of putting chapter stops or menus on the discs...you basically put the disc in and the film starts playing, that's all folks.

Like you said, onma, I could live with this frugality if the price was reasonable, but $19.99? plus, I assume, postage costs?! GTFOOH!

And it's REALLY pissing me off that I suppose it's the outrageous pricing that's keeping Netflix from aquiring some of these titles (I checked for this film, Freebie And The Bean, and The Rain People, and they don't have any of them).

I really hate it when post-apocalyptic films leave out the whimsy...

[–] onnanob2 15 years ago

You are so right! I think there will always be bootlegs available for "Crescendo," and some of the other Warner Archives' titles due to the price difference.

A burned DVD-R is a burned DVD-R no matter where it comes from. Mention a factory pressed DVD, and it's a different story (at least with me).

I was told these DVD-Rs from the Warner Archive cost more for shipping, because they use UPS or FedEx. I also heard they charge sales tax. I have never paid sales tax on any of my past online purchases, no matter where they were shipped from!

[–] phasedin 15 years ago

Well I took the jump-only because I've been thinking about this film for months & love Hammer mysteries. I decided to go for it-though I agree the price ($19.95 per movie) is way to high for a DVD-R that's unrestored & no extras. I ordered 2 movies, this one along with Paul Simon's "One Trick Pony" (which I can't believe is not available as a regular DVD release), and paid the price of the discs along with the cheapest shipping option available, which is $5.95 for the 2 discs. Yeah, it is kind of steep.

[–] Sandoz 15 years ago

Rather than continue to bitch about this, I took some initiative and called Netflix Customer Service to inform them that there is such a thing as "Warner Brothers Archive Releases" (of which Crescendo is one of), and also that they do not have them for rent AND that they do not even list them as being available on disc.

My one voice is just a spit in the wind, but if more people call or write them about these titles, perhaps they'll wake up and see that their customers desire these...

[–] saltsan 14 years ago

I don't think Netflix will get involved since they're DVD-Rs. They won't play on some computers (I tried one on my desktop and it wouldn't play.) It's better than nothing. I'd convince your local public libraries to buy these. Most are open to suggestions and then you could literally check them out for free.

[–] AlanBryan2112 14 years ago

The only thing that keeps me buying from the Warner Archives are the sales every 3 months or so where all the films are $11 and the shipping is FREE.

Twice now, I've taken advantage of this and purchased 10 movies for 110.00 now.

I got Rancho Notorious, Freebie and The Bean, She (Ursula Andress) and 7 others.

Sign up for their newsleter and wait for the sales. That's what I do.

[–] Coolestmovies 13 years ago

I'll second this!

People who bitch about Warner archive have NO IDEA the number of sales they have throughout the year. In fact, you can get most titles in the archive for $10 each if you simply keep abreast of what they're doing. Your best bet is to simply REGISTER with the site and sign up for the free announcements, which these days come fast and furious as more and more fantastic (and not so fantastic) movies are added to the site. A month or so before Christmas 2010, they had an awesome deal where you could order ANY five discs in the archive for $50, but what they didn't explicitly tell people was that a previously available $20-off-$100 coupon code was STILL IN EFFECT. This meant if you bought 10 movies at $10 each, you got an additional $20 OFF, plus free shipping, for a grand total of $8 each. Now THAT's a fantastic deal. I cleaned house, and got 20 movies (including CRESCENDO!) for $160. UnREAL!

I can only hope all the moaners have long since mended their ways and accepted the fact that this will soon be the ONLY way to get deep-catalog movies on disc-based media. In fact, in all likelihood, many lesser titles that Warner released on "proper" DVDs will likely get transferred to the archives at some point in the future, once Warner's extant supply of bargain bin DVDs either dries up or cannot possibly attract any more buyers and ends up getting remaindered and recycled.

If the Warner, Universal, Sony and MGM archive services have taught me, it's that a) it pays BIG TIME to wait for a sale and b) conventional DVD is nearly DEAD. And when the day comes that streaming/downloading is the norm, you can rest assured that Warner and the other companies will just need to flip a switch on the archive and hundreds of titles that were never available on ANY format in the past 30 years will suddenly be available to all. I for one can't wait. ;-)

Oh, and by the way, the Archive edition of CRESCENDO is the international version, with Stephanie Powers' and Jane LaPortare's nude scenes INTACT!

[–] Sandoz 13 years ago

If the Warner, Universal, Sony and MGM archive services have taught me, it's that a) it pays BIG TIME to wait for a sale

I've been monitoring the Universal and Sony MOD discs for well over a year now hoping they'd have a sale equivalent to the Warner half-off sales but I've seen nothing of the kind. "Half-off" is the only way I'll consider buying any of these discs. At $18-20 bucks a discs, they're not worth it, but at half those prices I will break down and purchase ones I've really wanted good copies of for a long time. So Coolestmovies, care to enlighten us if Universal and Sony have had sales of this sort, because I've yet to see one?

I can only hope all the moaners have long since mended their ways and accepted the fact that this will soon be the ONLY way to get deep-catalog movies on disc-based media

It may be the only way to get these films ONCE on disc-based media, but it's far from the last. All you need is a supply of ten or so Warner Archive titles to turn a snowball into an avalanche and start trading copies of what you have with other collectors who have the other titles you want. Ten quickly turns into twenty, and twenty into forty, etc...

conventional DVD is nearly DEAD. And when the day comes that streaming/downloading is the norm...

Convential DVD will never be "dead" for any film that was released as software (which is probably 99% of all films that are either classics or well-known). And many DVDs will be sought after just because they have extra features on them, which so far I've heard not a peep of being made available when you download and stream the film from places such as Netflix, for example.

A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to smash your computer with a hammer?