For the elite home video enthusiast
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Each month I update the "Movies Issued on LD but not on DVD" report. As of Update 258 (April 22, 2916) this report includes 1,807 movie titles. While this question seemed straight forward when DVD first came out, the issue of "only issued on LD" has become more clouded. Prior to the LD format, home video was dominated by the VHS format. For the home video enthusiast the LD provided superior PQ and digital sound. The LD was typically the best version of the movie for home video that could be obtained at reasonable cost. Therefore if a movie had not been issued on DVD then the LD version was the best version available.
Over the past few years marketing developments have made this presumption questionable:
Internet commerce such as Amazon and E-Bay have made DVDs published only in Europe and Asia more available for casual buyers than had been the case.
Streaming services such as Amazon Prime have made classic movies available in higher quality presentations. These include movies that have never been issued on DVD or on any home video format.
The Internet has fostered a boot-leg industry whereby unlicensed copies of classic moves on DVD-R can be purchased. This is not strictly legal but rare titles can be located if you look hard enough.
I expect to continue to update the "Not on DVD" list with the qualification about a movie on the list that it has not been issued on DVD (or MOD version) licensed version for sale in the USA. That does not rule out the possibility that a high quality version of the movie:
Could be available from a streaming service.
Could have been issued on DVD legally in Canada, Europe, Asia or another country.
Could be available in a boot-leg format on DVD-R.
Movie titles can be changed on the packaging when titles are reissued. Italian movies often have long lists of aka titles. Movie titles can also have title transliteration issues such as (Ten Little Indians vs. 10 Little Indians or the M*A*S*H versus MASH). These aka issues can result in some titles being carried on the "Not on DVD" list longer than necessary due to a title discrepancy. I correct these cases when I can identify them.
Movies can be reissued for the home video market with additional scenes. These can be called the Director's Cut or the Un-rated or the Un-Censored Version. As far as the "Not on DVD List" goes, the modified version of the movie, if issued on DVD, knocks the movie off of the list.
Tom Orlofsky
Last edited by modorlofsky (2016-04-18 14:16:16)
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I would add that some movies have also appeared along with a DVD or Blu-Ray release as an extra and sometimes it is not obvious that the extra is there unless you read the print on the back of the package. This has particularly been the case where the featured film in the release is a remake of an older film. The original film from an earlier time could be included as an extra. An example is "Mystery of the Wax Museum" being included as an extra with "House of Wax" (DVD and Blu-Ray). The catalog updates occasionally miss cases like this.
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