# Yikes! Tron (1982) is selling for $219.99! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615 "2010-12-02T02:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/21 "2010-12-02T13:12:12Z")
I’m mystified…TRON was a pretty panned movie-the special effects (for the time) were OK, but the story was boring and stupid. As was mentioned, it will be re=released in a cleaned up format. Of course, some people will pay big $ for an Edsel-what does that prove? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/22 "2010-12-02T20:22:21Z")
I still have my DVD of TRON. Of course my interest was that the CGI was done using a Perkin-Elmer 8/32 computer. I actually worked for Perkin-Elmer and Concurrent Computer after the computer division was spun off. It was also one of the first computers to run Unix. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollongong\_Interdata\_UNIX,\_Level\_6](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollongong_Interdata_UNIX,_Level_6) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/23 "2010-12-02T20:42:43Z")
I’ve got the DVD. I also have a VHS of it taped off of PBS from the late 80s/early 90s. I haven’t tried to watch it in ages, so I’m not sure if it’s still functional. I’ll sell it for $100. I think it also has like Silent Running on it or something like that. Bonus! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/24 "2010-12-02T21:01:40Z")
Hmmm, I’ve been checking my video stores recently and they have Tron but the copies are always out. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/25 "2010-12-02T21:56:21Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I’m mystified..TRON was a pretty panned movie-the special effects (for the time) were OK, but the story was boring and stupid. It is a very boring film. I think their brave attempts at something completely new hindered the storytelling. They showcased too many effects, and that stretched the paper-thin story too far. And now, in fast paced super-editing 2010, it’s even more dated. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/26 "2010-12-04T02:57:46Z")
Looking ahead to the movie, I borrowed the VHS copy of the movie from our local library… for free! And it was worth only slightly more than I paid for it. Some interesting SFX for its day, but a dull story. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/27 "2010-12-04T03:13:00Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I’m mystified..TRON was a pretty panned movie-the special effects (for the time) were OK, but the story was boring and stupid. As was mentioned, it will be re=released in a cleaned up format. > Of course, some people will pay big $ for an Edsel-what does that prove? Ebert gave it four stars. I distinctly remember people raving about it. Admittedly, I didn’t think it lived up to expectations, but saying it was universally panned is just wrong. It’s the sort of film that has a huge cult following. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/28 "2010-12-04T03:56:51Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > People just bought all of the cheaper copies already, so the only copies that remain are the too-high-to-buy copies. Exactly. We don’t have any proof that a copy of Tron has been sold for two hundred dollars. We only know that somebody is offering to sell a copy of Tron for two hundred dollars. Like GuanoLad, I have hundreds of DVD’s that are for sale for eight hundred dollars each. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/29 "2010-12-04T04:03:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Exactly. We don’t have any proof that a copy of Tron has been sold for two hundred dollars. We only know that somebody is offering to sell a copy of Tron for two hundred dollars. I just did an eBay search for recent completed listings for the 1982 edition of Tron. Going price seems to be around $35-45. Not bad for an old VHS tape, but nowhere near $220. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/30 "2010-12-04T04:16:28Z")
(Or, what **Student Driver** already mentioned. D’oh.) ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/31 "2010-12-04T05:09:34Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > (Or, what **Student Driver** already mentioned. D’oh.) No, yours is new info. I only looked at laserdisc sales in reference to **jasg** ’s question. I’m honestly surprised that the VHS is going that high, since it is actually the _worst_ version of all of the home video versions that have ever been released, and time hasn’t been too kind to the replayability of older tapes. The completed listings for DVDs are kind of shocking. Not $200 shocking, but it looks like $50 to $60 is the most common range for the 2-disc edition, and there are a fair number of sales \> $100, including one successful BIN for $150. Seems that new/sealed are the ones generating the big bucks, while opened copies are lower. Some poor vendor had several new copies up at BIN prices of $12, and missed out on the uptick in selling prices. The first single-disc edition looks like it’s going for $30-50. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/32 "2010-12-04T14:17:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Isn’t Tron on a Disney label? Those so and so’s are always manipulating the market by pulling stuff back and not selling it. I hate those “buy it while you can commercials they do”. 😛 This ain’t new for Disney. Back (way back), Disney would release the major cartoons every seven or eight years, cycling them around. That way, you’d get a whole new crop of youngsters coming to see SNOW WHITE or PETER PAN or whatever. So, it’s the same principle. People who don’t currently have kids may not care about the PINOCCHIO DVD release; but in (say) seven or eight years time, they may want one. Thus, they get better sales from limiting availability. It was Walt’s idea, and they’ve stuck to it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/33 "2010-12-04T15:01:54Z")
It was the Avatar of its day. I enjoyed it the last time I saw it, but that could have been 10 or more years ago. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/34 "2010-12-04T15:12:22Z")
My pet theory is that, anticipating a large number of people wishing to view the original Tron before going out to see the new movie, Disney has conspired to make all rental copies and most sale copies generally unavailable, so no one will see them, realize just how terrible of a movie it really is, and lose their desire to see the new film. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Cowboy\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy_Moe)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/35 "2010-12-04T15:26:56Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > My pet theory is that, anticipating a large number of people wishing to view the original Tron before going out to see the new movie, Disney has conspired to make all rental copies and most sale copies generally unavailable, so no one will see them, realize just how terrible of a movie it really is, and lose their desire to see the new film. > **[The Mysterious Case of the Missing 'Tron'](https://www.newsweek.com/mysterious-case-missing-tron-69051)** > > Has anybody seen "Tron" lately? Not the new "Tron: Legacy"—with its reported $170 million budget, it's impossible to miss all the billboards—but Disney's original 1982 film. Interesting article, seems to back up you theory that Disney thinks the originol sucks and doesn’t want people viewing it. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/36 "2010-12-04T21:13:46Z")
Odd, none of the sites reporting box-office stats mentions that Tron was released _twice_ to theaters; the second release came because the arcade game and home console games became quite popular _after_ the initial release. Supplements on the Archive Edition and special edition DVD claim the movie ended up breaking even through its second release. I will admit that it’s been a cult classic rather than one of Disney’s shining stars, but Disney has never hidden the franchise from view. It was included in Disney’s 75th Anniversary marketing campaign, keeps getting released on home video, is included in the Kingdom Hearts game series, had video game sequels a few years ago, and… most tellingly… _they’re releasing a sequel to it this month_. That’s not something a studio would do if they wished the original didn’t exist. The article also doesn’t mention that the 2002 DVD was the _second_ DVD release; the original was released in 1998 and stayed in print until 2001, which goes some way to explain why a remastered edition might not be a top seller. Remasters/later special editions rarely sell as well as original releases. For a movie that the studio supposedly intends to hide, they sure go out of the way to release it on the major formats-- I know of at least three VHS editions up through 1998, two laserdiscs through 1996, two DVDs through 2002 with a third in the works. Hell, it was one of the few Disney films to get a release on Sony’s UMD format. Do we assume by its current absence in the markey that Disney thinks the original sucks despite having released it over and over and releasing its sequel as their big Christmas movie, or do we assume that it’s the standard “Disney vault” crap they pull with any movie they consider “classic,” to build excitement for limited-window home video releases? I’m going with the simpler, latter explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615/37 "2010-12-18T17:03:01Z")
Here’s an article on the enduring appeal of _Tron_; about halfway down, it refers in passing to the difficulty of finding it on videotape or DVD nowadays: [The legacy of 'Tron' - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/16/tron.go.irpt/index.html?hpt=C2) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yikes-tron-1982-is-selling-for-219-99/562615.md?page=1)