The Woody Allen Collections

[Ribs]

First set pushed back to September 26th.

Also, here's the art for the first two individual releases:

[Orlac]

Seems the set is limited.

[Der Spieler]

[Calvin]

Seeing as there's a new 4K restoration of Manhattan premiering at Venice, I wonder if MGM's insistence on Arrow using the existing discs of that and Annie Hall is in the expectation that they're going to reissue them themselves with newer transfers?

[rapta]

Seeing as there's a new 4K restoration of Manhattan premiering at Venice, I wonder if MGM's insistence on Arrow using the existing discs of that and Annie Hall is in the expectation that they're going to reissue them themselves with newer transfers?

Might be wishful thinking though. There are some MGM/Fox masters we've still yet to see issued over here (A Fistful of Dynamite being one, off the top of my head), so if they do release it, it might just be across the pond.

It could always turn out that Arrow are offered the new 4K transfer, but I doubt it at this stage. You may be right, but then again it's only one of 6 films in the first set, which will have the booklet as an extra whereas even a 4K-restored disc of Annie Hall will come with no extras.

[Ribs]

I don't think Annie Hall has been restored as far as we know - the only benefit to it getting a new disc is the possibility of some improved encoding as well as the subtitle fix. Given we've gotten this close to the release any hope Arrow may have been able to negotiate/rectify this has pretty much gone on my part (though a more hopeful person might think the three-week delay could imply new negotiations occurring rather than the likely production/distribution issues); considering the likely December release of the second set, I do hope they're able to make an earnest attempt to get this new restoration despite the earlier contracts we know mandated the old discs.

[MichaelB]

What argument, earnest or otherwise, would you use on MGM to persuade them to authorise a course of action that would effectively render their own individual release worthless?

I'm afraid cold hard reality trumps wishful thinking almost every time in this business - because it very much is a business.

[Ribs]

Er, well, it'd still be their own, individual release, to exist in perpetuity whilst a better release is bundled together in a limited capacity for devoted fans who are otherwise finished buying versions of Manhattan to double dip on?

I don't think it's an especially substantial or convincing argument and the point in time for such discussions has surely passed by now and what little hope there was anything could have changed has turned into an impossibility.

[MichaelB]

There was never any hope of anything better than Arrow being able to author their own disc from MGM's existing master - and even that possibility was squished fairly early on.

But, to be fair, the existing Manhattan disc is pretty good.

[Orlac]

Just to clarify....has Arrow been able to fix the issues on Annie Hall, or have they been forced to leave it alone?

[MichaelB]

As per their contract with MGM, they will be releasing exactly the same disc.

[Orlac]

Thanks!

[FrauBlucher]

Beaver on Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask

[MichaelB]

...and Love and Death.

[FrauBlucher]

Beaver on Sleeper. Another solid review for the Allens.

[Ribs]

As expected, Volume 2 coming in December:

Arrow Academy s second Woody Allen collection covers 1979-85, during which he made many of his best-loved films. These begin with Manhattan, a sublime Gershwin-scored Panavision love-letter to his home city, and end with The Purple Rose of Cairo, a wistfully affectionate romance about the cinema s past that also doubles as a hilariously fantastical farce.

In between there s the Felliniesque, fascinatingly self-analytical Stardust Memories; the bucolic romp A Midsummer Night s Sex Comedy (the first of thirteen films starring Mia Farrow); the technically and conceptually astonishing Zelig, in which a human chameleon bears witness to many of the 1920s and 30s cultural and political upheavals; and the perfectly-formed Broadway Danny Rose, a comedy about a theatrical agent who gets mixed up with the Mob.

By now, Allen was working with a tightly-knit regular team: cinematographer Gordon Willis, designer Mel Bourne, editor Susan E. Morse and producer Robert Greenhut worked on nearly all of these, achieving an enviable consistency of style at a time when American cinema was moving away from the notion of the auteur director.

Collection includes:

Manhattan (1979)
Stardust Memories (1980)
A Midsummer Night s Sex Comedy (1982)
Zelig (1983)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Exclusive to this collection: Manhattan and a hardback book featuring new and archive writing on all the films.

Weirdly, they are individually releasing Stardust Memories, Sex Comedy, and Zelig all in December. Which means theoretically, assuming the next two are in January, we could see Volume 3 as early as February!

Also, here's Beaver on Interiors.

[dda1996a]

This is a much more exciting and interesting collection for me, with Purple Rose my fabourite Allen and everything else except Midsummer being some of my favorite Allens, but I'm still not sure about that price. Why is Purple Rose not getting an individual release? I thought only Manhattan and Annie Hall weren't being individualy released

[The Narrator Returns]

It and Broadway Danny Rose will presumably be released separately in January/February.

[dda1996a]

I still haven't decided if having extra-less Blu rays worth it or not as much as I like them

[Ribs]

Beaver goes Bananas

[Calvin]

Is there a breakdown of the Vol. 1 book contents anywhere?

[Rayon Vert]

Also, here's Beaver on Interiors.

Not the best film in the bunch, but the one I'm looking forward to most in terms of a thus far unavailable upgrade. The image on the MGM DVD was quite dark. I'll be looking out for Another Woman in volume 3 for the same reason.

I'm assuming Husbands and Wives won't be part of Volume 3 because it's Sony - anyone have an idea if this will get a blu release eventually? My favorite Woody film, and the last undisputable classic before the decline... If both H&W and Play It Again, Sam eventually get upgrades, I'll be very happy.

[The Narrator Returns]

I'm assuming Husbands and Wives won't be part of Volume 3 because it's Sony - anyone have an idea if this will get a blu release eventually? My favorite Woody film, and the last undisputable classic before the decline... If both H&W and Play It Again, Sam eventually get upgrades, I'll be very happy.

We don't know if one is in the works, but given that Grover Crisp just worked with Allen on the Manhattan restoration, I would not be very surprised if they worked on that (and maybe, God willing, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Sweet and Lowdown) next.

[FrauBlucher]

Really, Crisp is a Sony guy. Did Manhattan become a property of Sony?

[hearthesilence]

Allen has a close ongoing relationship with Sony due to his new work, so perhaps he decided to tap into their man's expertise.