Warner Film Noir Collections

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Ashirg · #151 Post by **Ashirg** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:46 pm

Because Paramount found out they no longer own home video rights to them. Lionsgate got it.

chaddoli · #152 Post by **chaddoli** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:26 pm

Right. And given that Six Moral Tales was licenced from Lions Gate (right?), does this mean that somehow, somewhere we might see a Johnny Guitar with the CC label?

Ashirg · #153 Post by **Ashirg** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:47 pm

Six Moral Tales was licensed from Wellspring. Kicking and Screaming was from Lionsgate.

shearerchic · #154 Post by **shearerchic** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:23 pm

FuManchu wrote:any info on the release date of vol. 4?

IN JULY like all past sets.

hangthadj · #155 Post by **hangthadj** » Sat Dec 30, 2006 4:27 pm

Late to the party, but I just got this boxset for Christmas.

So far I have watched On Dangerous Ground, His Kind of Woman, and that Bringing Darkness into Light bonus disc.

On Dangerous Ground is definitely a standout. I saw this just about a week after seeing In a Lonely Place for the first time and now want to see anything and everything Nicholas Ray did. And my word, was Robert Ryan fantastic in this. I feel everytime I watch a well known noir it seems my definition may grow a little bit more. With On Dangerous Ground for instance, almost the entire second half is shot outside of the dark city. Some of it in just sparse snowy country landscapes, but it never really lost that noir feeling. (At least maybe for me until that final scene).

And then take, His Kind of Woman. First off, Mitchum is amazing, again. And he delivers one of his greatest lines, "I was thinking bout taking my tie off, wondering if I should hang myself with it..." But the first time through this, I found the second half, and specifically Vincent Price's character a bit too cartoonish. I thought I was disappointed in it, but it stuck in my mind after the viewing and I was looking back on it with more appreciation than I had when I watched it the first time. When I watched it again, I couldn't help but be having a great time. Maybe not a classic noir in formula, but still a very enjoyable film.

I haven't seen anyone really mention the Bringing Darkness into Light bonus disc yet and was wondering peoples thoughts on that. To me it just seemed like everyone saying the same thing for a good hour or so, but if nothing else the clips of old noirs put another 10-12 films into my Netflix Queue.

Harold Gervais · #156 Post by **Harold Gervais** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:25 pm

The New York Times did a piece on Muller's Noir City 5 today and in the piece mentioned a scoop. This year's Warner noir box set would have two titles featuring Robert Mitchum....which would seem to say the line-up for the set has changed a little bit. The only film that imdb shows as having Mitchum is Where Danger Lives so maybe I'll get The Big Steal this year after all.

Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt, Nights Are Noir in Fog City

[quote]Film noir is enjoying something of a second golden age at the moment. In addition to the San Francisco festival, the Film Forum in New York City offered a major noir series last year, and studios like Warner Brothers and Fox have ratcheted up their noir reissues to such an extent that many films that never made it out on VHS are appearing on DVD. Just last week Warner Home Video released 1952's â€œAngel Face,â€

ByMarkClark.com · #157 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:22 am

chaddoli wrote:does this mean that somehow, somewhere we might see a Johnny Guitar with the CC label?

After waiting for years to see the first Western join the CC, JOHNNY GUITAR would be a terrific choice.

tryavna · #158 Post by **tryavna** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:06 pm

davidhare wrote:Just be forewarend Big Steal is a very minor Siegel and not in any conceivable way a Noir, despite the flawless casting. Hughes really shat on Greer by giving her the worst hairstyle in movie history, and the whole pic (with Mitch sleepwalking again thru every scene without Jane) is totally routiine "Caper" stuff. Totally minor. AMusing, but minor.

I agree with David that The Big Steal is one of Siegel's minor films and that it barely, if at all, qualifies as noir. It's a lot of fun if you catch it in the right mood, though. For silent-movie buffs, however, the major attraction may be that it features Ramon Novarro in his biggest (and possibly best) post-1930s role -- after he'd gained some weight and switched over to Latino character-actor roles a la Gilbert Roland.

There's lots more Noir out dere folks!! Stranger on the 13th Floor. The Verdict. The Unsuspected. Blahblahblah.

I'd love to see The Verdict or, indeed, any of the Greenstreet-Lorre pairings. That one, Mask of Dimitrios, Three Strangers, et al would make for a most appealing box set.

ByMarkClark.com · #159 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:23 pm

I would be all for a Lorre & Greenstreet Collection.

Multi-Region · #160 Post by **Multi-Region** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:32 am

Harold Gervais wrote:The New York Times did a piece on Muller's Noir City 5 today and in the piece mentioned a scoop. This year's Warner noir box set would have two titles featuring Robert Mitchum....which would seem to say the line-up for the set has changed a little bit. The only film that imdb shows as having Mitchum is Where Danger Lives so maybe I'll get The Big Steal this year after all.

On the other hand, the recent R-2UK release of The Big Steal was a colorised tranfer...

souvenir · #161 Post by **souvenir** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:25 pm

I watched Mystery Street recently, from a recording off TCM, and it's a nifty little film. The first twelve or fifteen minutes are perfect, then it turns into a more straightforward procedural. It's still a solid Sturges-directed, Alton-lensed effort, but I don't think the remainder of the movie improves on the early scenes with Jan Sterling. A little creepy to see the prominent use of the victim's bones, and interesting to see very pre-CSI forensic work. I also thought it was nice to have some diversity, with Ricardo Montalban, getting to play an ethnically neutral character, as a police lieutenant handling his first murder outside Boston.

Harold Gervais · #162 Post by **Harold Gervais** » Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:47 pm

Multi-Region wrote:
Harold Gervais wrote:The New York Times did a piece on Muller's Noir City 5 today and in the piece mentioned a scoop. This year's Warner noir box set would have two titles featuring Robert Mitchum....which would seem to say the line-up for the set has changed a little bit. The only film that imdb shows as having Mitchum is Where Danger Lives so maybe I'll get The Big Steal this year after all.
On the other hand, the recent R-2UK release of The Big Steal was a colorised tranfer...

Well, if it is The Big Steal, I can't imagine Warner going the colorized route...or at least I don't want to imagine it. The previous film noir boxes have been released in July, so we should be hearing some kind of announcement fairly soon.

Caligula · #163 Post by **Caligula** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:02 am

[quote]Warner Film Noir Collection Vol. 4 in July

Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 4 on 31st July 2007. The next Film Noir collection sees legendary Hollywood tough guys and femme fatales once again colliding, this time in ten smoldering suspense classics, all new to Region 1 DVD. Presented as Double Features titles include Act of Violence/ Mystery Street; Crime Wave/ Decoy; Illegal/ The Big Steal; They Live By Night/ Side Street; and Where Danger Lives/ Tension.

The new movies, which have all been digitally remastered for this collection, star film noir icons Robert Mitchum, Edward G. Robinson, Robert Ryan, Van Heflin, Ricardo Montalban, Claude Rains and Farley Granger, among others. The five-disc collection, will be available for $59.92 SRP and single titles will sell for $20.97 SRP.

About the collectionâ€¦

Act of Violence (1948)/ Mystery Street (1950)
This grim melodrama stars Van Heflin as former World War II pilot Frank Enley, a respected contractor and family man, whose wife is played by Janet Leigh. When his troubled, crippled bombardier (Robert Ryan) shows up with a gun and a score to settle, it becomes apparent that perhaps neither man is what he seems to be. Director Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal) guides a searing Act of Violence, â€œthe first postwar noir to take a challenging look at the ethics of men in combatâ€

Gigi M. · #164 Post by **Gigi M.** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:40 pm

Artwork

TheGodfather · #165 Post by **TheGodfather** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:00 pm

This sounds like a real must have. July is gonna be an expensive month...

sevenarts · #166 Post by **sevenarts** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:22 pm

Looks fantastic, I'll definitely be grabbing that. I just hope they fix the non-progressive transfer issues from the last box.

amnesiac · #167 Post by **amnesiac** » Sat Apr 21, 2007 12:49 am

For those who are lazy and don't wish to click on the link to the artwork...

HerrSchreck · #168 Post by **HerrSchreck** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:23 am

This box kicks ass inna major way. All we need is a nice string of silent releases (say NEW BABYLON, the missing Murnaus & Langs & Leni's, some more Bauer, maybe Sternbergs silent catalog) and 07 could be a shoo in for the top 3 best years in dvd-dom.

Ashirg · #169 Post by **Ashirg** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:40 am

rohmerin · #170 Post by **rohmerin** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:56 am

Spanish subtitles? I don't undestand the new WB strategy without Spanish subtitles. Is all confirmated? Do I pray? Do I cry?

Belmondo · #171 Post by **Belmondo** » Thu May 17, 2007 7:02 pm

ACT OF VIOLENCE aired on TCM tonight and I thought it was terrific. (So did my wife and she generally does not care about film noir.) Most experts on the noir style take the position that World War II was an extremely important influence, and this one addresses it directly with a plot that develops through events that happened during the war and now come back to haunt a happily married family man. You can't run and you can't hide, but we are glad you tried, because those dark city streets and train stations provide the kind of cinematography we were hoping for, and Van Heflin and Robert Ryan both succeed in reversing our expectations.

Edit: Yikes! I guess you have to take the bad with the good. After praising ACT OF VIOLENCE (above), I just watched WHERE DANGER LIVES on TCM. No spoilers here, but just how many preposterous plot twists do we have to endure before concluding that we - not the protagonist - are the ones being played for fools. The set up and opening scenes are reminiscent of ANGEL FACE but director John Farrow is no Otto Preminger. Farrow gave us Mia, but Otto gave us movies. And, before you tell me that THE BIG CLOCK and HIS KIND OF WOMAN were great examples of the genre, you better see this one, which will sour you on the rest. I wonder if the commentary by Ursini and Silver will have the courage to conclude that this is film noir at its most implausable extreme.

Harold Gervais · #172 Post by **Harold Gervais** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:42 pm

The man directed what, 47 movies? How does not liking one of them detract from the others? So you didn't like Where Danger Lives, how does that make The Big Clock not a great example of film noir? Personally I think you have your order wrong. I don't really care all that much for His Kind of Woman but think Where Danger Lives is pretty terrific. I don't know. It is one thing to dismiss one movie but it is another to dismiss a person's body of work because of one movie you didn't care for. And for the record, Otto Preminger had his share of stinkers as well.

Belmondo wrote:Yikes! I guess you have to take the bad with the good. After praising ACT OF VIOLENCE (above), I just watched WHERE DANGER LIVES on TCM. No spoilers here, but just how many preposterous plot twists do we have to endure before concluding that we - not the protagonist - are the ones being played for fools. The set up and opening scenes are reminiscent of ANGEL FACE but director John Farrow is no Otto Preminger. Farrow gave us Mia, but Otto gave us movies. And, before you tell me that THE BIG CLOCK and HIS KIND OF WOMAN were great examples of the genre, you better see this one, which will sour you on the rest. I wonder if the commentary by Ursini and Silver will have the courage to conclude that this is film noir at its most implausable extreme.

ByMarkClark.com · #173 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Thu May 31, 2007 8:47 am

I watched CRIME WAVE again last weekend, on 16 mm, at a friend's house. After two viewings, this film is rocketing up my list of favorite noirs. It's tightly plotted, tense throughout, sumptuously photographed and peppered with excellent, quirky supporting performances. Just a tremendous movie, and certainly one of the gems of the upcoming set.

Ashirg · #174 Post by **Ashirg** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:36 am

Slant Magazine

DVD Savant reviews two

Belmondo · #175 Post by **Belmondo** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 11:51 am

Savant's reviews always reflect admiration and respect for what a filmmaker is trying to do, but the Slant Magazine piece is more provocative in concluding that we have to take "the bad with the good".
When the box is released in a couple of weeks, we can all make up our own mind, but I'm ready now:
When you have ten noirs, many of which have been impossible to find, and ten "worthwhile commentary tracks" by "film experts", and a list price that averages at about six bucks a movie; then please take my money.
I'm sure it is true that some of these will always remain B movies for very good reasons, but I have gained plenty of insight from various commentary tracks, and the noir style is always a delight.
I saw WHERE DANGER LIVES on TCM a couple of months ago and in my post (above), I also concluded that you have to take the bad with the good, for which I took a couple of hits. Looks like Slant agrees with me, so anybody want to change their mind?
Didn't think so.