The Woody Allen Collections

Discuss releases from Arrow and the films on them.

Moderator: yoloswegmaster

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#151 Post by The Narrator Returns » Sat Feb 18, 2017 2:19 am

Dylan wrote:
The Narrator Returns wrote:I have the third set in my hands now, and can at least say that Richard Ayoade's piece in the book "about" Crimes and Misdemeanors is a hoot. If nothing else, I will never look at Vilmos Zsigmond the same way again after reading Ayoade's description of him.
Do you mean Sven Nykvist? And just curious, can you elaborate at all on what Ayoade says of the cinematographer?
The piece (which is entirely comedic) is told as a "letter" from Ayoade to Allen reminding him of the time they met on the set of Cassandra's Dream (his only talk in it about Crimes and Misdemeanors comes from Ayoade asking Allen fawning questions about it in the second half of the piece). This is the part I was referring to.
When you said "Will you please go now?", was there not the faint glisten of a tear in your eye? Though it could have been allergies. I seem to attract pollen. Or maybe Zsigmond had swung a lamp the wrong way. I don't care how adept he is with muted palettes, that crazy Hungarian sure can be clumsy!

User avatar
Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#152 Post by Ribs » Sat Jun 20, 2020 1:07 pm

Is there any chance in the world that Academy licensed the Annie Hall and Manhattan’s 4k restos and might be prepping UHDs? Kino said someone has licensed them several years ago and it’d make sense if it was Arrow (esp. bc they could do US + UK) but I’m curious if “the zeitgeist” has just stopped remastered BDs from coming from whoever it was altogether seeing as it’s been quite a long time since we heard they had been licensed.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#153 Post by domino harvey » Sat Jun 20, 2020 1:10 pm

Arrow (and now Shout) seem zeitgeist proof based on their releases, so I wouldn’t think they’d hold back for that reason. That they can’t throw in a bunch of extras and tchotchkes to justify charging a stupid amount for their UHD seems to me to be the bigger hurdle

User avatar
Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#154 Post by Ribs » Sat Jun 20, 2020 3:41 pm

I mean, seeing as they’re leaning into “very expensive book” as their latest premiere extra and that’s the one extra Allen is okay with, I kind of think the stars seem aligned for success? Just have, like, a whole monograph on each. A duograph?

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#155 Post by Calvin » Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:05 pm

UHDs of Annie Hall and Manhattan with hardback screenplays certainly does feel like something Arrow would do.

Did MGM restore any of the other Allen films or did they stop after those two?

User avatar
dustybooks
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:52 am
Location: Wilmington, NC

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#156 Post by dustybooks » Sat Jun 20, 2020 8:43 pm

Those are the only two classic Allen titles I didn't track down a few weeks ago when Twilight Time shuttered (on the theory that they were the two most likely not to completely disappear from home video availability) so I would be very much in the market for releases of this kind.

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#157 Post by tenia » Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:39 am

IIRC, the new 4K restorations were already available when Arrow was prepping their boxsets but something/someone preventing them to use them and force them instead to use the older pre-existing HD masters.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#158 Post by Calvin » Sun Jun 21, 2020 10:03 am

It wasn't just being forced to use the pre-existing masters but having to use MGM's already-released discs, which prevented them from correcting the subtitles on Annie Hall. I think the logical conclusion at the time was that MGM were preparing to release the new restorations of Annie Hall and Manhattan themselves, but the noise around Allen in recent years has perhaps made them change their plans.

Arrow would probably be influenced by the sales figures on these sets more than any controversy. In theory, with them now licensing some titles from Sony and the old Kaleidoscope DVDs going OOP, the rest of Allen's 90s output could be available to them to put together another set.

User avatar
Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#159 Post by Ribs » Sun Jun 21, 2020 10:52 am

tenia wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:39 am
IIRC, the new 4K restorations were already available when Arrow was prepping their boxsets but something/someone preventing them to use them and force them instead to use the older pre-existing HD masters.
I don’t think this is right - if memory serves the new restorations only became “released” and did brief runs in Fall of 2017 for Annie Hall (Manhattan was a little later) (these sets began in 2016). MGM just didn’t want Arrow putting out a “superior” release that would cut into their existant SKU or something like that.

What I recall is during the spring of 2018 Kino Insider said someone other than themselves had gotten the license for the new restorations but I was just wondering why they appear to... not be appearing.

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#160 Post by tenia » Sun Jun 21, 2020 2:11 pm

Annie Hall's 4K restoration played at the 2017 Berlinale in Feb 2017 and played in the UK and the US in April and May 2017. The Arrow set with Manhattan and Annie Hall was released in Dec 2016. That's why I suppose that, if made available to Arrow, the set could have used them from a chronological point of view though of course, I might be wrong and the restorations were actually finished in Jan 17 or later.

Which is what I meant : the current zeitgeist isn't the only reason why there hasn't been a remastered BD yet. It might be the main reason now, though, but there most likely was a window for it in late 2016 - early 2017.

User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#161 Post by hearthesilence » Sat May 08, 2021 2:58 pm

What's the best Match Point Blu-ray to get if you need something English friendly? I'm looking for something affordable, but I want to avoid non-removable subtitles (reportedly seen on the French release) and any anomalies like a different and inferior encode.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#162 Post by swo17 » Sat May 08, 2021 3:24 pm

I'm happy with the Australian version for this and Scoop

User avatar
Rayon Vert
Green is the Rayest Color
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:52 pm
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Woody Allen Collections

#163 Post by Rayon Vert » Sat May 08, 2021 3:31 pm

Same here for the Australian.

Post Reply