Columbia Classics DVD-R Site Launches

A few days ago I mentioned the rumor that Columbia would be jumping into the "on demand" DVD-R market alongside Warner Archive and other programs.

Columbia has now launched its Screen Classics By Request website.

There are some interesting titles in the initial lineup, including Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons in FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG (1955), Gary Merrill and Nancy Davis in CRASH LANDING (1958), Rosalind Russell and Melvyn Douglas in THE GUILT OF JANET AMES (1947), and Irene Dunne in OVER 21 (1945). Columbia did a nice job with the cover art of many of the DVDs.

Given the many possibilities from Columbia, however, it seems like a rather dry opening list. We'll have to see what they release in the future and whether the Columbia DVD-Rs will play reliably on all DVD players, which has not always been the case with the Warner Archive discs. It will also be interesting to see how quickly titles are added to the Columbia site.

Hopefully this new "by request" program will not eliminate Sony's production of more Columbia sets with extras; there have been several nice releases in recent months, including the Bad Girls of Film Noir volumes.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the title of greatest interest to me is actually a TV-movie, THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF DR. MEG LAUREL (1979). I'm glad that more of the excellent TV-movies and miniseries of the late '70s and '80s are gradually becoming available to new generations of viewers.

Monday Update: Lou Lumenick hears a rumor that Fox will be joining the "manufactured on demand" business next year. It's sad that Fox's beautiful DVD sets seem to be a thing of the past, but perhaps this will be good news for those of us wanting hard-to-find films like CENTENNIAL SUMMER (the top film on my Fox wish list) and other movies starring Jeanne Crain, Loretta Young, Linda Darnell and others.

September 20th Update: Columbia Classics films will be sold by Deep Discount.