Thursday January 7, 2010
Netflix will not make Warner Bros. DVDs available to subscribers until 28 days after release. As a result, Warner Bros. expects to make more money from new-release DVD sales, and in return will provide DVDs to Netflix at a lower cost. In the near future, Netflix may strike similar deals with other studios, possibly including Universal and 20th Century Fox. Netflix claims it will use cost savings from such deals to increase the number of titles offered via streaming, but these titles don't include new releases. The Netflix change comes about as part of the studios' efforts to maximize profits. However, Blockbuster and Redbox have different arrangements and as of now aren't planning to delay their rentals of new DVD releases.
Sources/more on this story: Netflix Media Center; Bloomberg via Business Week; The Business Insider
Wednesday January 6, 2010
Sugar is an atypical baseball movie, but it's also a peculiar immigrant's story, and above all, it's the tale of a young man struggling to find his place in the world. Although Sugar is fictional, it feels authentic Read more
Sugar DVD Cover Art - © Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Monday January 4, 2010
The new DVD releases include Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, The Final Destination and Riding Giants. You can also take a look at additional releases of interest and next week's movies on video/DVD.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs DVD Cover Art - © Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Monday January 4, 2010
A masterpiece of world cinema, Ashes and Diamonds was initially released in 1958. The movie was co-written and directed by Andrzej Wajda, who in the year 2000 was given an Academy Award for "five decades of extraordinary film direction." Ashes and Diamonds tells its story with a rare combination of strong narrative and poetic lyricism. The film's star is the charismatic and intense Zbigniew Cybulski, who has been dubbed the Polish James Dean. Read more: Ashes and Diamonds DVD review
Ashes and Diamonds DVD Cover - © The Criterion Collection