More old favorite films becoming available

Back in the mid-1980s, as the home-video market was booming and VHS was still fairly new and exciting (read your history books, kids), the No. 1 most-requested title that had not yet been released was E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.

After debuting in theaters in 1982 and becoming the biggest movie hit of all time, renters/buyers were naturally looking for it to arrive on home video.

Three years later a 1985 theatrical re-release only served to tantalize video fans and collectors all the more.

At last, in 1988, E.T. was released on VHS and laser disc but it was a practical motive rather than the clamor of film fans that made it happen.

E.T. had earned the dubious distinction of being the most pirated movie of all time, and it was reasoned that only a home-video release could circumvent that problem.

That little anecdote is probably hard to believe for young people whove grown up seeing their favorite movies on home video within a few months of seeing them in movie theaters.

But today, fans of certain films are still looking for them, including titles that should and could have been on DVD long ago.

One that I wrote about a couple of months ago is The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Orson Welles second directing effort after Citizen Kane, and which is equally exalted by those who rank such things.

Ambersons was finally released on DVD for the first time in mid-September but with a catch. You have to buy an even more expensive Blu-ray box set of Citizen Kane to get it. And then only through the online Amazon store.

Fans are justifiably frustrated. The Blu-ray Kane set is expensive all by itself ($64.99), but Ambersons adds another $15. Most who want it would gladly pay $15. But many find the Kane box out of reach. So we continue to wait.

Hey, its 2011. So where are all those movies that were supposed to be so easily accessible by now?

The sad truth is that while the studios continue to re-issue and reformat the same old ultra-popular titles over and over for anniversary editions, box-set editions, Blu-ray editions and whatever other new, unimaginable format needs rejiggering in the future lower-tier titles will continue to be kicked to the corner.

But there is hope.