Severin launches Blu-ray with Inglorious Bastards
INDIE FILM GUIDE: Company plans more high-definition releases
By Cindy Spielvogel -- Video Business, 9/14/2009
SEPT. 14 | INDIE FILM GUIDE: Severin Films has successfully entered the Blu-ray Disc market thanks to its July 29 release of The Inglorious Bastards, the original 1978 film that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s current Inglourious Basterds theatrical hit.
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Bastards, which also was released on standard DVD, was ordered in large quantities by such stores as Best Buy and Walmart, Daft said.
Severin has just released a second title on Blu-ray, the teen sex comedy Screwballs, which also is available on DVD. It’s among the Blu-rays being discounted by e-tailers such as Amazon, which is offering the Blu-ray version at a lower price than the standard DVD.
Severin is planning two other Blu-ray releases this year. On Sept. 29, the company will release on Blu-ray and DVD Eagles Over London, a World War II epic from Bastards director Enzo Castellari. The title will have extras featuring Tarantino. It will be followed by the Blu-ray and DVD release of sci-fi/horror cult film Hardware on Oct. 13.
Because Blu-ray authoring and replication is expensive, Daft said Severin will be selective in choosing which titles to release on the format until costs come down.
And with DVD in decline overall, he said the company will concentrate on acquiring higher-profile titles that make sense to release on both formats, getting away from genre titles.
“Moving forward, all of our new acquisitions will be mastered in high-definition, and we will simultaneously release on both DVD and Blu-ray if it makes financial sense to do so,” Daft said.
Severin’s titles are distributed by WEA’s Alternative Distribution Alliance, which absorbed former distributor Ryko earlier this year.
The change “overall went as smoothly as we could have hoped,” Daft said, acknowledging that there was a transition period. One of the better outcomes of the move was that ADA now has a dedicated video staff, he said.
In addition to Blu-ray growth, Daft said the company is exploring options for video-on-demand and other digital avenues.
Just as it launched the company’s Blu-ray business, Inglorious Bastards will be Severin’s debut cable VOD title, coming to Comcast and Time Warner subscribers around Thanksgiving.
