Samuel Goldwyn Library

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ianungstad
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Samuel Goldwyn Library

#1 Post by ianungstad » Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:14 pm

WB signed a distribution deal to take over the distribution of the Goldwyn library. (MGM previously had the contract). Hopefully they do a good job with the films.

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knives
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Re: Assorted Warner Blus

#2 Post by knives » Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:50 pm

I see many archive titles in its future.

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Jeff
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Re: Assorted Warner Blus

#3 Post by Jeff » Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:38 am

Yeah, there was a time when this would have been exciting news, but these days, it means 90% end up in the archive. From the press release, here are the acquired titles:
SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS LIBRARY:
THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO
ARROWSMITH
THE AWAKENING*
BALL OF FIRE
BARBARY COAST
BELOVED ENEMY
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
THE BISHOP’S WIFE
BULLDOG DRUMMOND
COME AND GET IT
CONDEMNED
THE COWBOY AND THE LADY
CYNARA
CYTHEREA*
DARK ANGEL*
DEAD END
THE DEVIL DANCER*
THE DEVIL TO PAY!
DODSWORTH
EDGE OF DOOM
ENCHANTMENT
THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES
GUYS AND DOLLS
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
HIS SUPREME MOMENT*
IN HOLLYWOOD WITH POTASH & PERLMUTTER*
I WANT YOU
THE KID FROM BROOKLYN
THE KID FROM SPAIN
KID MILLIONS
THE LITTLE FOXES
THE MAGIC FLAME*
THE MASQUERADER
MY FOOLISH HEART
NANA
THE NIGHT OF LOVE*
ONE HEAVENLY NIGHT
OUR VERY OWN
PALMY DAYS
PARTNERS AGAIN, WITH POTASH & PERLMUTTER*
POTASH AND PERLMUTTER*
THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE
RAFFLES
RAFFLES (1930)
THE REAL GLORY
THE RESCUE*
ROMAN SCANDALS
ROSEANNA MCCOY
THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
SECRETS
A SONG IS BORN
SPLENDOR
STELLA DALLAS
STELLA DALLAS (1925)*
STRIKE ME PINK
TARNISH*
THESE THREE
THEY GOT ME COVERED
THEY SHALL HAVE MUSIC
A THIEF IN PARADISE*
THIS IS HEAVEN*
TWO LOVERS
THE UNHOLY GARDEN
UP IN ARMS
WE LIVE AGAIN
THE WEDDING NIGHT
THE WESTERNER
WHOOPEE!
THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH*
WOMAN CHASES MAN
WONDER MAN
WUTHERING HEIGHTS

*silent film

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domino harvey
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Re: Assorted Warner Blus

#4 Post by domino harvey » Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:48 am

Fucking hell, there goes any chance of Guys and Dolls getting a Blu-ray treatment ala West Side Story-- why are Warners spending money to just dump previous actual discs into their Archives? Sigh X 1000

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knives
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#5 Post by knives » Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:58 am

Guys and Dolls looks like one of the few actually Warner desirable titles though so if any of these titles are going to get Blued it's probably that and the Wyler's. I can't imagine what else they think they can sell from that group that more than the archive audience would snatch up.

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Jeff
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#6 Post by Jeff » Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:06 am

L.A. Times wrote:Jeff Baker, executive vice president of theatrical catalog for Warner Bros. home entertainment group, said many of the films will be released as part of packages the studio is already marketing under the brand of its sibling television network Turner Classic Movies. Warner has already released packs of movies, many starring or directed by such well known names as Kirk Douglas and John Ford, in Turner Classic Movies collections for less than $20.

"The theatrical catalog business has been resilient," Baker said. "Our business in catalog is virtually flat, which is outpacing the market."

Warner will start releasing films from Goldwyn's library on DVD late this year. Among the first will be "Guys and Dolls," "Wuthering Heights" with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant.
Home Media Magazine wrote:“Generally speaking, we’re not interested in acquisitions,” said Jeff Baker, EVP and GM of theatrical catalog for Warner.

The studio made an exception March 30, when it licensed 74 titles from The Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Family Trust, covering nearly every film from producer Samuel Goldwyn, including some that have never seen a home entertainment release....

Baker said many of the Goldwyn films would be included in future TCM Turner Classic Movie DVD collections, which feature four films in one packaged, grouped by actor or theme. Others, “where practical in terms of restoration,” Baker said, can expect a Blu-ray Disc release. And others, particularly the 14 silent films included in the deal, would likely see a release via Warner Archive, the studio’s DVD manufacture-on-demand service, Baker said.
Deadline wrote:UPDATE: Warner Bros has added one more Goldwyn-produced title, John Ford’s 1937 drama The Hurricane starring Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, and Raymond Massey. That brings the deal total to 74 films.

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knives
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#7 Post by knives » Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:22 am

What the hell on the silents? Couldn't they package them in the TCM packs too or how about as extras on the sound films they're releasing? Stella Dallas is right there for you.

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souvenir
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#8 Post by souvenir » Sat Mar 31, 2012 2:17 am

I think I'll hang on to my MGM release of Ball of Fire. That's preferable to either a DVD-R or a flipper disc.

Jonathan S
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#9 Post by Jonathan S » Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:30 am

I don't think we'll ever see at least half the silents on that list. According to the Silent Era directory, most of them are lost. Mrs Goldwyn famously ordered the destruction of her husband's silents, except The Winning of Barbara Worth, which she thought worth preserving because Gary Cooper was in it. (A few survived in other hands - Stella Dallas exists only in 16mm according to Silent Era.) It is thought that lawyers drew up that list for licensing, whether prints are available or not.

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Jeff
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#10 Post by Jeff » Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:07 am

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?

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Ashirg
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#11 Post by Ashirg » Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:04 pm

Here is what wiki says:
Goldwyn's lease of the rights was only 15 years, and after they expired, the film could not be shown without the permission of the Gershwin and Heyward estates, and even then only after substantial compensation was paid. Despite repeated requests, the Gershwin estate repeatedly refused to grant permission for the film to be seen. As a consequence, the film has never been officially released on video or DVD, however bootleg videos, made from a 35mm anamorphic release print, circulate among collectors, preserving 115 minutes of the original 138-minute whole.

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Jeff
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#12 Post by Jeff » Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:08 am

Figured it was something like that. I wonder if that means that Goldwyn is still the distributor with the Gershwin estate's consent or that the Gershwin estate itself owns the distribution rights and can license to whomever they want. After it was canonized by the Library of Congress last year, there was some discussion about a restoration and release. Perhaps the new Broadway production will renew interest.

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Feego
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#13 Post by Feego » Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:50 pm

Jeff wrote:
Home Media Magazine wrote:Baker said many of the Goldwyn films would be included in future TCM Turner Classic Movie DVD collections, which feature four films in one packaged, grouped by actor or theme.
This may be my "Duh!" question for the day :oops: , but does this mean these sets will be released exclusively through TCM/Movies Unlimited.

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knives
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#14 Post by knives » Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:57 pm

No thankfully, several of these TCM sets have already been released and can be picked up anywhere. Just type TCM Classic into the amazon search bar for example.

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lubitsch
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#15 Post by lubitsch » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:05 am

As somebody who researched Wyler a lot I carry great hopes for the things to come from this deal. While MGM bravely released a few less known, but worth seeing films from this package (e.g. The Wedding Night), the Wyler were not only without extras, but also party of infuriatingly weak quality (Dodsworth or even The Best Years of our Lives). Despite Warner's decline into DVD-R territory they apparently produced a few fine transfers for the Archive and the Wyler's look to be even real DVDs so maybe something fine comes along. These films beg for commentaries because the staging lends itself so well to analysis, I'd pay money to do one for them :D.
And hopefully These Three finally gets a release, strange that it never materialized at MGM.

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu

#16 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:47 am

Guys and Dolls Blu November 6!

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swo17
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu

#17 Post by swo17 » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:38 am

domino harvey wrote:Guys and Dolls Blu November 6!
Let's just hope it isn't heavily cropped like the most recent DVD release.

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eerik
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu

#18 Post by eerik » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:05 pm

Hans Christian Andersen is released on the same date. Both in digibooks. These are the first two from the recently acquired Goldwyn library.

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knives
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Re: Warner Catalog Titles on Blu

#19 Post by knives » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:21 pm

I'm pleasantly surprised especially with the later as it suggests some daring.

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Jeff
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#20 Post by Jeff » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:55 pm

Very happy to get both of these on Blu. The best news is the "Coming Soon: More Masterworks from the Samuel Goldwyn Archive" notice on that sellsheet that eerik linked to at HTF. I'm glad to see they're actually exploiting the library and not just letting it sit. Based on the earlier comments from Warner, I would guess that at least pressed DVDs of The Bishop's Wife and Wuthering Heights are up next. We'll see if Warner truly has any balls or not, if they release those black and white Academy ratio films on Blu. Bring on Ball of Fire Blu-ray!

Jameson281
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#21 Post by Jameson281 » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:07 pm

Since Warners has had the Goldwyn titles for a short period, my guess is they're using the MGM masters for GUYS AND DOLLS (not the cropped one Sony made--MGM redid it after that DVD) and HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON.

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warren oates
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#22 Post by warren oates » Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:46 pm

Jeff wrote:Bring on a Ball of Fire Blu-ray!
If only! Ideally they'd put this on a disc with the self remake A Song Is Born. It would certainly be a way to add value and context to a release like this and make it seem more collectible.

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Jeff
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#23 Post by Jeff » Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:06 am

Warner is releasing Wuthering Heights, The Bishop's Wife, The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Pride of the Yankees on standard DVD only on January 15.

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domino harvey
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#24 Post by domino harvey » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:07 am

Fucking Hans Christian Anderson gets a Blu-ray and those last three don't? H8 u, Wrnrs

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Saturnome
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Re: Samuel Goldwyn Library

#25 Post by Saturnome » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:26 am

Some of them were scheduled for Blu-Ray or I'm mistaken? Such as The Best Years of Our Lives? In Canada at least, according to Amazon.

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