by Jeff McNeal, editor - The BIG Picture
August 4, 1998
In the early sixties, the United States had become involved in a war with Vietnam. We lost a popular President to an assasin's bullets. The Civil Rights movement was in full-stride. In short, the country was going through difficult, tumultuous change. In 1964, The Byrds had a hit with Turn! Turn! Turn!
The lyrics to the popular song, as you may already know, were taken directly from the bible. Whether you're a Christian or not, there's no arguing that the wisdom of the words rang true with a troubled nation. For some of us, the song still carries poignant and powerful message. A time to build up, a time to break down... A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together.
The time has come to stop the tearing down -- and gathering stones, many of which have been hurled towards Paramount and 20th Century Fox since DVD's rollout in March, 1997. The name calling and stone-throwing intensified when Paramount and Fox steadfastly shunned DVD,instead clamoring for endless residuals through Divx. Believe me, I wrote my share of stinging posts, too.
Now, for whatever their reasons, Fox and Paramount have finally announced titles, dates and prices.
A lot of people are still in the stone-throwing mode. Sure, the titles announced aren't the blockbusters we were hoping for -- and I think a lot of the DVD faithful are resentful of the high prices that Fox and Paramount have announced, also. This is perfectly understandable. Fox and Paramount have effectively been saying kiss our ass, consumers, for a year and a half, and now they want to stick it to us with higher-than-established prices. Greedy? Maybe, maybe not. Arrogant? You bet. Instead of eating humble pie as the majority expect they should, these studios have jacked us around and are actually adding insult to injury with tepid DVD support and ludicrous pricing.
Who in their right mind is going to pay thirty-five bucks for the lame squeeze-'em-for-one-last-time before-the-franchise-is-dead Home Alone 3? Not me! And I hope not many. And this brings me to the point of my editorial.
A time to heal. Turn! Turn! Turn!
Let's stop the bitching and do the talking with our wallets. Long ago, I vowed that by stringing me out for so long, Paramount and Fox had earned the low-priority on my DVD shopping list. Whatever they release had better be something I want -- and the quality had better be comparable to the best that Warner or Columbia has to offer -- or no deal, amigos. Gone are the days of buying almost anything because our choices were so limited. Nope. Paramount and Fox are going to have to earn my dollars. Period.
You can count on Bob Banka and I to provide the last word on image and sound quality when these discs are released. We'll tell it to you straight -- for better or worse. I implore you to demand quality content from Paramount and Fox. I believe that they have earned our closest scrutiny and time will tell soon enough if they deserve a good portion of our discretionary income.
But hey folks, let's dial down the harshest rhetoric -- you know, the sophomoric expletives and the screw you attitude that many early DVD proponents adopted as a defense mechanism to the utter rejection we felt when Fox and Paramount openly embraced Divx and metaphorically flipped us the bird. The bottom line is we were right -- they were wrong and they're extending the olive branch. Sure, it's a rather paltry branch, stripped of its ripest olives (I like metaphors, too) -- but it's a victory for open DVD nonetheless -- and the final nails in the coffin for Divx (a certain Fox executive's wish notwithstanding). So let's be gracious winners, shall we?
I say -- let's back off the poison darts a bit and make Fox and Paramount earn our money, for this is where the real message of our contentment, or lack thereof, will be measured.
Welcome aboard Paramount and Fox. Please don't disappoint us any more than you have already. I think you owe us at least that much. And let's see RSDL and 16:9 enhanced discs right out of the chute. At the prices you're asking, we should be receiving reference quality content with every title you produce.
Let the games begin.
That's my opinion -- what's yours? Post your comments in The BIG Picture Forum.
Jeff McNeal, Editor
The BIG Picture
PREVIOUS EDITORIALS
DVD: In search of standards
DVD Quality Control: Who's watching the gate?
Chipping Away at DIVX: One blow at a time.
DVD Video Retailers: Where's the beef?
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