Warner Bros. To Unleash Their Massive Archives For OnDemand DVD Service; Semi-Forgotten Films To See The Light Of Contemporary Day

Just the other day, Russ from Chud and us were having a discussion, lamenting films not available on DVD that weren't great, but still should be available to the public even as curiosities at the very least. We both agreed however, putting the time and effort to release a film on DVD that the public might barely buy might not be the best business strategy and so many of these films would probably languish unseen other than their theatrical run and now hard-to-find VHS copies. It sucks for those that would ideally like to see any director's entire oeuvre, good or bad.

During our conversation, as an example, we specifically pointed to Francis Ford Coppola's 1969 feature, "The Rain People," that was his last small, "indie" film before he rose to prominence with 1972's "The Godfather" and never looked back. It's not a great film, and it's highly uneven (with a vague New Wave-ish bent), but it does feature watchable performances by James Caan and Robert Duvall before they became marquee named actors and some interesting moments and cinematography here and there. Coppola fans would definitely love to see it (we snagged a VHS copy a few years back).

This is a long winded way of saying: ask and ye shall receive. Warner Bros. has decided to open its vault and tap their vast archive for an "on-demand operation, offering films and TV titles whose limited sales potential have prevented a traditional retail release." <-- Exactly what we were talking about. WB have some 6,800 film titles to choose from so that means thousand of long-forgotten classics, like Coppola's 'Rain People' for example, will soon be available. The possibilities are really endless, but AICN has a good list of a few they're excited for including Alan J. Pakula's weird 1986 film, "Dream Lover." They can all be found over at the Warner Archive.

We can only hope all the movie studios follow suit so cinephiles can at least have the opportunity to see even the greatest misfires or satisfy their cinematic curiosity with a picture that's not been readily available for ages. [Variety]