Samuel Goldwyn Library

[willoneill]

I also thought Best Years of our Lives was coming out on blu-ray. In fact, I had pre-ordered it from Amazon.ca. But when I checked this morning, the release date had been changed to November 5th, 2013. So that's not a good sign.

[captveg]

Getting a DVD release now does not prevent a BD release later in the year. Calm yourselves.

[Matt]

One would generally hope for simultaneous releases, though, or at least an announcement of the forthcoming BD. I have a still-unwatched Olive DVD of Despair that mocks me with this every time I look at it.

[willoneill]

Getting a DVD release now does not prevent a BD release later in the year. Calm yourselves.

Hey, I'm cool as a cucumber. But the blu-ray was set for January 15th, and now it's been bumped 10 months. I'd say something's up.

[Fred Holywell]

One title that is conspicuously absent from that list is Preminger's Porgy and Bess. It was the last film that Goldwyn produced. Columbia distributed it in 1959, but it's been confirmed that their rights expired long ago. All this time I've assumed it was still part of the Goldwyn library (and was thus under MGM's control), but obviously that was not the case. I know that the Gershwin estate has been able to suppress it due to their ownership of the opera. Did they buy up the distribution rights to the film as well?

A copy of the Porgy and Bess bootleg video has just been removed from YouTube due to a "copyright claim by Warner Bros. Entertainment".

Hmmm, an interesting development, perhaps.

[Ashirg]

All of the DVD releases announced for January have been available at Costco stores in October for $7.99. I picked up Wuthering Heights.

[atcolomb]

I also thought Best Years of our Lives was coming out on blu-ray. In fact, I had pre-ordered it from Amazon.ca. But when I checked this morning, the release date had been changed to November 5th, 2013. So that's not a good sign.

I thought Costco would be selling the blu-ray of Best Years in January so let see what happens but it will have a wide release at sometime in the future.

[JonasEB]

Perhaps the Goldwyn people just wanted a bunch of titles reprinted as soon as possible?

The Warner DVD of Best Years on the shelves right now probably features the same transfer used on the MGM and the 1997 HBO DVDs, so the source may not even be an HD master (ditto the others.) Warner's going to have to do a new one (and this will surely get a big deluxe edition.) Hans Christian Anderson was probably the only thing they had ready in HD.

[Gregory]

According to the Beaver comparison, the MGM transfer was different from (and slightly inferior to) the one on the earlier HBO disc. I hope Warner will create something markedly better results.

[JonasEB]

The MGM is a different encode but it's from the same master.

[rockysds]

The Bishop's Wife Blu-ray - November 5th.

[domino harvey]

Yes yes yes yes there is a god!

[Finch]

The Best Years Of Our Lives Blu-ray on Nov 5th, no specs yet

[domino harvey]

Two of the best films of the 40s out on Blu on the same day, what a fantastic Fall treat

[Matt]

Both with Gregg Toland cinematography that ought to look stunning in 1080p.

[rockysds]

Regular dvd of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on December 10th, presumably to tie in with the new Ben Stiller version. Was sorta hoping for a blu-ray of this, but I'll take it.

Also: Vidor's Stella Dallas, same date.

[rockysds]

Good news!

Big surprise on new DVD of King Vidor's STELLA DALLAS '37: Henry King's entire 110-minute 1925 version (without music). The 1925 version is billed as a "vintage featurette'' on the box.

[Ann Harding]

Wow! The 1925 Stella Dallas a "vintage featurette"! Great news, thanks for passing the information.

[domino harvey]

Ball of Fire, Dead End, and the Little Foxes are coming back into print on DVD in July

[felipe]

Are these titles big sellers or is Warner contractually obligated to release them on pressed discs? Because I could totally see these titles just being release through the Archive any other day of the week.

[domino harvey]

The Princess and the Pirate and the Westerner coming back into print on DVD only in October

[rockysds]

The Adventure of Marco Polo, Arrowsmith, Enchantment, Raffles 1930 + 1939, They Shall Have Music & The Winning of Barbara Worth MOD through Warner Archive.

[domino harvey]

The Winning of Barbara Worth and the Adventures of Marco Polo were in the Gary Cooper MGM collection (with Vera Cruz et al) and Arrowsmith and Enchantment were also pressed releases on DVD. They Shall Have Music and the Raffles films are I believe new to disc. Boo to Warners, yet again though

[knives]

I'm pretty sure Adventures of Marco Polo wasn't unless you're thinking of a different MGM set with those two other titles.

[domino harvey]

Ha, you're right, it wasn't, but they used a cover design that it matches those films in the box! Well I'll be!

EDIT: Internet search reveals MGM released four Gary Cooper titles simultaneously with this packaging: Ball of Fire, the Wedding Night, Casanova Brown, and the Adventures of Marco Polo, and Marco Polo's the only one I never picked up, probably because I thought it was already in the Gary Cooper box!