Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[ryannichols7]

Ha, I read "Fred and Ginger" as "Ginger and Fred." Oh well.

seriously, this is the most bizarre obscurity that I'm convinced WB and Criterion both totally forgot existed. should've been a no brainer for the Fellini box, and given that even stuff like Fellini: A Director's Notebook is on BD but not his final collaboration with his two biggest actors (and well, y'know, his wife) is ridiculous to me

As part of MOMA's Fellini retro last December, a 4K restoration of "Ginger and Fred" was shown. So I wonder if it's still in Warner's plans?

on one hand, I would be really shocked if they didn't license that to Criterion. but on the other, would Criterion have passed on it as they didn't feel it was "essential" Fellini? that's good to know there's a 4K restoration out there, great tip and gives me some hope

[dwk]

I am sure Criterion said they tried to get Ginger & Fred for the box set but couldn't. I just can't remember where I saw that (an email posted on reddit or another forum? A report from some event? Beats me.)

[criterionsnob]

I’m pretty sure Ginger and Fred used to be one of the thumbnails on the Criterion Channel app start page. I assumed they had the rights and will eventually release it.

[captveg]

No November releases, but two announced for December:

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Per George Feltenstein, while there were less than 25 releases in 2022, 2023 should have around 50 as they build the program back up.

[beamish14]

No November releases, but two announced for December:


The Night of the Iguana (1964)

There has been debate about the length of that film upon its original release, so I’m really curious to see what WB does with it

[domino harvey]

There’s no reason to believe it will be any different than whatever was in their Williams box already. Great announce though

[beamish14]

There’s no reason to believe it will be any different than whatever was in their Williams box already. Great announce though

The Archive did change their tune on Reflections in a Golden Eye after claiming on social media that the revised multi-color version was what John Huston wanted when they announced their DVD. The Blu-Ray thankfully includes both versions of it.

[FrauBlucher]

Very nice announcements. I'm confident WAC will do right by The Night of the Iguana. Hopefully I didn't jinx it

[domino harvey]

Can you direct me to some of the debate on the length?

[FrauBlucher]

Can you direct me to some of the debate on the length?

Beamish will have to direct you to any such discussion

This was sent by Feltenstein to be posted on the HTF

There will be no WAC new releases in November. Rather than have everyone waiting and guessing what the new November titles will be, I thought it made sense to communicate this to you, and ask that you pass this message on publicly through HTF, if you so desire. This year has been a disappointment in terms our number of releases due to many internal issues within the company. That's the bad news.

Now, the good news: Although we often have skipped December releases in the past, we will have two new releases early this December, and they couldn't be more different. Both are new HD masters from 4K scans off the original camera negatives. They are ATTACK OF THE 50 FT. WOMAN (1958) and THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964). Then, come 2023, the WAC releases currently in the works number over 50 new film titles, and there will be more BD classic animation and hopefully some new TV content. 2023 will look much more like 2021 did, with a plethora of exciting releases.

I'm sending this to you, as I want our consumers to know what's going on, and I thought you could post about this and it would serve to get the word out.

[beamish14]

Can you direct me to some of the debate on the length?

Whoops. I think I had confused an issue with the length of the copy shown on TCM with its theatrical release. I may also have been thinking of another Tennessee Williams adaptation, Last of the Mobile Hot-Shots, which was possibly re-edited to get an R rating, although there is painfully little information on that film’s production

[domino harvey]

All good, thanks for clarifying

[FrauBlucher]

They hit it out of the ballpark yet again

bluray.com... Mark of the Vampire

[Stefan Andersson]

Review of the 1931 Jekyll & Hyde:
https://www.hometheaterforum.com/commun ... ay.377239/
Thread includes a discussion about correct aspect ratio for the film (see various posts).

[Gregory]

Looking back through the collection, this is a list of the film noir releases from approximately the past five years:

While the City Sleeps 2018
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt 2018
The Set-Up 2019
Crossfire 2021
They Won't Believe Me 2021
I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes 2021
The Window 2021
...and that's it? Seven in five years—and yes, I understand the more recent setbacks discussed above. With the ramping up of releases that they're now promising, can they ever figure out how to cater to the demand for the vast library of film noir they own?
WHV's five noir DVD sets represent more the kind of quality noir that I thought we'd have seen more of on Blu-ray by now (as opposed to something like I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes). Here's how slow upgrades of those particular titles have been progressing (with the WAC or CC upgraded ones in bold):

Volume 1
Out of the Past 2014
Murder, My Sweet 2015
Gun Crazy 2018
The Set-Up 2019
The Asphalt Jungle Criterion released 2016

Volume 2
Crossfire 2021
Born to Kill
Clash by Night
Dillinger
The Narrow Margin

Volume 3
On Dangerous Ground 2016
Border Incident
His Kind of Woman
Lady in the Lake
The Racket

Volume 4
They Live by Night Criterion released 2017
Act of Violence
The Big Steal
Crime Wave
Decoy
Illegal
Mystery Street
Side Street
Tension
Where Danger Lives

Volume 5
Armored Car Robbery
Backfire
Cornered
Crime in the Streets
Deadline at Dawn
Desperate
Dial 1119
The Phenix City Story

[FrauBlucher]

Oh My....Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.... bluray.com....This looks stupendous and WAC have some nice extras for this. This is a must own

[RIP Film]

I’m guessing that 17 minutes of previously censored footage was also on the DVD releases

[Roscoe]

I’m guessing that 17 minutes of previously censored footage was also on the DVD releases

Yes. The old DVD of Mamoulian's film had the Restored Version. What's interesting is that the material removed wasn't always "censorable" -- it wasn't pre-Code naughtiness that got snipped necessarily. The whole opening first-person camera sequence (which had nothing objectionable in it, except a clumsy moment where a grip is clearly visible reflected in a pane of glass) was cut, and the film began with Jekyll in the carriage arriving at the college.

[FrauBlucher]

KL Insider's take on WAC Here...

Outside of the no-brainer classics, I don't think they really have an idea of what sells and what doesn't. Their releases are all over the place, as if they throw a bunch of titles against the wall and see what sticks.

Can't say I disagree. But surprised by his sabre rattling

[domino harvey]

Basically

[Ribs]

He clearly doesn’t understand that for WB the releases are not the primary revenue stream for these restorations - just a way to get some return as they restore titles destined for “the Library” on streaming. Don’t blame him for his tone as George F. has fairly clearly implicated the Kino model as not being good for the movies, putting out tons of titles in OK shape instead of making sure every release is basically unimpeachably the best it’ll ever be.

[therewillbeblus]

It also feels like a case of the pot calling the kettle black

[yoloswegmaster]

[FrauBlucher]

While I feel they both underwhelm at times (maybe KLSC more often) with their release choices, if I have to pick sides, I will take WAC based on the supreme quality of their restorations.

[Finch]

Do we know for sure the current KL Insider is not a new guy? I haven't read the thread on the other forum all that often prior to this year, but I think the KLI who flipped their middle finger at everyone for the incorrect color space of Silence of the Lambs' first 20 minutes (which, to be fair, was MGM baking that into their 4k source which they handed over to KL) feels like a totally different person to the KLI who's posted for much of the year. The former was so contemptuous of his customers that I don't think it credible he could have changed his attitude so much for the better.

And I agree, WAC are consistently better on the presentation of the films. I do wish Kino (and for that matter, Shout, after the lousy master they received for Platoon) pushed back harder on MGM for the quality of the masters that the boutiques forked money over but I'm not an industry insider and for all I know, MGM wouldn't allow anyone to review the files upfront.