Offering custom, burn-to-order DVDs seems like such a no-brainer that it's a wonder no one has come up with it before -- but Warner Bros has done it first, and that's what counts. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is opening its archives and offering film fans the chance to order old films that have never been released on DVD before.

The Warner Archive currently offers 150 films from Warner Bros, RKO, and MGM. They're all $19.95, and they'll be adding 20 titles a month, hoping to have 300 films and television shows available by the end of the year. It's not quite as good as offering them up for instant watch, but it's a brilliant way to reintroduce some lost films to the public. It's also rather eco-friendly ... there won't be hundreds of unwanted copies of Wichita being dumped in a garbage bin if it's made to order.

There's some pretty cool stuff to pick from already ... my fingers are itching at all the Clark Gable and Cary Grant selections, wondering if The Abdication is as good as it sounds, and laughing at the truly hideous poster art so many of them have.

Warners hasn't forgotten about new technology either -- they'll also be launching an iTunes podcast called The Golden Age of Hollywood that will feature archival footage. I hate to sound cheesy, but this is the kind of preservation the Internet was meant for. It's nice to see a studio taking advantage of it.