VHS: ENDANGERED SPECIES STUDIOS LOOK TO DVD; LIMIT PRODUCTION OF CLASSICS IN OLD FORMAT.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

MGM released a new print of Mel Brooks' classic ``The Producers'' on DVD last month but movie lovers still hanging onto their beloved VCRs were out of luck: the 1968 film that went on to become the hottest musical on Broadway won't be put out again on VHS.

The situation is part of a growing trend that has some studios dramatically cutting down on production of older VHS titles that may or may not yet be available on DVD, a format that is now firmly ensconced in more than 40 million U.S. households and growing.

``Every month we get a list from the studios of what is not going to be available anymore,'' said Irv Slifkin of Movies Unlimited, a major mail order distributor based in Philadelphia. ``Sometimes we are given the opportunity to buy up some of these titles and sometimes we're not.''

As a result, Slifkin's company and others like it have had to keep on their toes to try and snap up discontinued VHS titles so they can keep them stocked. In addition to ``The Producers,'' other new DVD releases such as ``Get Shorty,'' ``Shot in the Dark'' and ``Trouble With Angels'' also did not get new VHS distribution.

MGM officials declined to comment on the decision to re-release ``The Producers'' on DVD only or on discontinuing scores of other older titles on VHS such as ``The World of Harry Orient'' and ``Two for the Seasaw.''

The studio will continue to produce new releases like ``Barbershop'' and children and family titles in both formats and will also continue to make available about 200 of the more popular classic titles from their library available in VHS format.

Fox Home Entertainment is stressing the DVD format in the launch of its Fox Studio Classics label which bowed last week with DVD versions of ``All About Eve,'' ``How Green Was My Valley'' and ``Gentleman's Agreement'' which are all loaded with extra material including commentary, theatrical trailers and photos.

``The logic behind it is that these are film lovers' films and DVD is a true film lover and collectors medium,'' said Steve Feldstein, Fox's executive vice president for marketing and public relations.

The classics label is a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Academy Awards with a best picture winner or nominee being released each Tuesday with such upcoming titles as ``An Affair to Remember,'' ``Zorba the Greek'' and ``Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing.'' While the emphasis is on the restored DVD versions, they will still be available on VHS although without any extras.

``VHS is still an incredible marketplace but a lot of the people who want these films have made the transition to DVD,'' Feldstein said. ``That said, we still release these movies on VHS but to truly enjoy the restorative process and research done for the extra material to put on these movies, the better experience of it is on DVD.''

It's also getting harder to rent classic films or older movies on VHS. Blockbuster Inc., the nation's largest home video rental chain, has transformed its stores in the past year to increase its inventory of DVD and video game selections leaving far less shelf space for VHS titles, particularly those that are not one of the newer releases.

``We are certainly extending our DVD collection of older classical titles as they become available,'' said Blockbuster spokesman Blake Lugash. ``We are not building our VHS library anymore, we are really just maintaining those libraries whereas we are growing our DVD library.''

But Lugash said that if a customer is looking for a particular title on VHS, their local store will try and locate one for them from another store or by special order if the title is not on moratorium.

But for businesses like Movies Unlimited, there is a fight to not leave loyal customers out in the cold as more and more people make the transformation to DVD - especially since 70 percent of its sales are in VHS.

``The industry is closing its doors on a format that is owned by millions of people,'' Slifkin said. ``They are basically saying you can't get a movie that's been out for 10 to 15 years, you can't go out and buy it new anymore. We have to try and get what we can. It has changed the whole nature of our business. Once they are gone, they are gone.''

The company's Web site, www.moviesunlimited.com, now has a special section featuring movies on VHS that have been discontinued as part of its listings of more than 50,000 titles.

The endangered list includes plenty of movies featuring Oscar-winning performances such as ``Cabaret,'' ``Elmer Gantry,'' ``From Here to Eternity'' ``Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,'' ``Kramer vs. Kramer,'' ``Marty,'' Moonstruck,'' ``Sergeant York'' and ``The Unforgiven.''

Others include such classics as: ``The Grapes of Wrath,'' ``The Lion In Winter,'' ``The Pink Panther,'' ``Born Yesterday'' and ``His Girl Friday,''; six different Abbott and Costello films; and the musicals ``The Sound of Music,'' ``The Wizard of Oz,'' ``Thoroughly Modern Millie,'' ``Bye Bye Birdie,'' ``Can-Can'' and ``Jailhouse Rock.''

``We've been in this business for 25 years and have a very loyal clientele, people who collect movies,'' Slifkin said. ``By suddenly telling these people that with the format they were used to buying was kind of a shock to their systems.''

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SOURCE: Movies Unlimited

Jon Gerung/Staff Artist