laureatedvd.com

[Ali]

Since there are other companies in the US doing the same thing that you are (ie releasing high quality DVDs of classic films - most notably of course Criterion) do you think you could try not to produce duplicates of their work? While the Criterion Charade is now OOP, I have this version and so have stayed away from your release. I do hope to purchase some Laureate DVDs at some point - more Bunuel would be appreciated (but obviously not Descreet Charm, Diary, Obscure Object or Belle de Jour).

Keep up the good work

ali

[Ken Barnes]

Dear Ali,
Thanks for getting in touch. We have only been operating a few months ( our first releases were in March,2001) and our current titles are based on what is available to us. When we started our DVD project of CHARADE, I was not aware of the Criterion version, which I now understand is available only in the USA NTSC and Region 1 territories. And since ours is in PAL and with no regional restrictions, in this sense we don't overlap.

But as for future releases, I'll bear your suggestions in mind. We would like to get into doing some of the European directors but everything depends on contractual conditions and availability. You will note, in our new releases, that we have Frank Capra's MEET JOHN DOE. While this film is widely available in the USA, ours is the FIRST to receive a
deluxe special edition treatment as well as intensive restoration plus numerous original extras including exclusive interview material with the director. Early reaction indicates that this Laureate version is the best DVD rendering of this film to date. If you like Capra's work, you may care to check this one out.

Once again, thanks for your support and for your kind interest.
Regards
Ken Barnes

[ali]

The point I was trying to make is that a lot of film and DVD enthusiasts will have already purchased the disc from the States. This becomes particularily apparent the more obscure the film title - its fans will have most likely already purchased a disc which is very likely to at least equal your output.

On another issue, have you clearly labelled the fact that your discs are in PAL 60 format? I'm fairly sure that there are a significant number of televisions still in use that do not support the increased refresh rates of this format.

ali

[Moderator]

see:

http://anotherserver.co.uk/laureatedvd/viewtopic.php?p=70#70