In a couple of hours my wife and I are headed to see the new Tron movie with some good friends of ours. Unfortunately, not everyone has seen the original Tron movie, but how hard could it be to find given the vast array of digital options available to us? Apparently, very, very hard.
Between iTunes, Amazon Unbox, Netflix and OnDemand Cable, I thought for sure we’d be watching the original in a matter of moments — think again. So I picked up the phone and began doing something I haven’t done in at least two years — I began calling Blockbuster videos (yes, there are some that are still open). “I’m looking for the original Tron movie” — the response? “Good luck!” I called at least 10 local video stores, both mainstream and boutique with no luck.
Looking on Amazon.com to see about buying it I come to find that if you want to buy it new it will cost you $200 and used only $90 for the dvd. Seriously??!?
I’m sure there’s a master plan here to release both together after the new Tron Legacy movie, but given the long gap between the 1982 release of the original and the one being released this week, I can’t believe the opportunity they are passing up to sell on both ends. Tron lovers would certainly be willing to spend money renting or buying the original prior to release and then buying the collector pack afterwards as well. They could probably make even more money re-releasing the original, releasing the Movie, releasing Tron Legacy on dvd, then releasing a collector pack (like they seem to be doing with Lord of the Rings – one at a time, then with extended footage, then the pack, then the pack with extended footage, then the short version on blue ray, and now everyone’s waiting on the extended pack in the blue ray edition). Annoying? Certainly. Profitable? You bet.
Timing is everything in movie releases. From the time of year it hits the theatres, to releasing around other hit movies, to world events taking place, to dvd release, to special editions, to putting things back in the “vault” (Disney’s favorite thing to do). They have definitely missed a huge opportunity with Tron — not only in DVD sales, but also in theatre attendance by people unlucky enough to miss the original and who are unwilling to watch the sequel out of order.
