Universal partners with TCM on MOD
PHYSICAL: DVD manufacturing-on-demand service TCM Vault launching Oct. 31
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/28/2009
OCT. 28 | PHYSICAL: Universal Studios Home Entertainment has partnered with Turner Classic Movies on a new manufacturing-on-demand service, which will launch on Oct. 31 with a series of horror films never before released on DVD.
Featured movies will hail from Universal’s library, many of which have previously aired on the TCM TV network. The service, dubbed the ‘TCM Vault Collection Presented by Universal,’ is accessible at the Web site TCM.com.
The TCM Vault, which presses and ships discs upon order, marks the second extensive MOD offering from a major studio. Earlier this year, Warner Home Video bowed its Warner Archive Collection, which similarly offers DVDs of titles that have not yet been released. Titles offered had been deemed too niche to warrant a wide, traditional retail release.
TCM plans to promote the TCM Vault offerings by running featured films on its TCM TV network near their MOD debut. Select DVDs will be introduced by TCM host Robert Osborne and will contain bonus features.
Bowing on Halloween, Universal’s TCM Vault will launch with five scary classics: Murders in the Zoo (1933), Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942), The Strange Case of Dr. RX (1942), The Mad Ghoul (1943) and House of Horrors (1946). The entire five-film set will be available for $49.99, but the DVDs will be priced at $19.99 individually, the typical price for individual DVDs in TCM Vault. The $19.99 tag is the same price Warner Archive uses.
TCM is set to air Murders in the Zoo, about a man who uses animals to kill his wife’s lovers, on Oct. 31.
In the TCM Vault pipeline is Remember the Night (1940), with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, bowing Nov. 22 for $19.99. TCM will air the film on Dec. 6 and Dec. 24.
On deck in January are three Cary Grant films: The Eagle and the Hawk (1933), The Devil and the Deep (1932) and The Last Outpost (1935). Pricing is not yet available.
“Universal is very proud of its prestigious collection of Hollywood screen gems,” Universal president Craig Kornblau said. “Like us, TCM is dedicated to honoring Hollywood’s golden age. This collaboration presents the perfect opportunity to share Universal’s rich cinematic legacy and celebrate vintage works with classic film fans.”
TCM host Osborne added, “Many terrific films have been unavailable on home video for too long, especially the holiday classic Remember the Night. TCM and Universal have worked hard to restore them digitally and provide historical context, bonus content and behind-the-scenes information, something DVD collectors are sure to appreciate.”
