Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[Ribs]

Really starting to feel like somebody put a brick on the accelerator with how oddly stacked with good stuff the lineups have been for three months going now…

[domino harvey]

Angel with Dirty Faces will be released in December

Completely inexplicable that this wasn’t upgraded years ago with the rest of the first gangsters box

[dwk]

Weren't there rumors that Angels with Dirty Faces was held up because of some legal issue?

[Maltic]

Time to dust off Naremore's book on acting, with its chapter on Cagney's performance

[captveg]

Weren't there rumors that Angels with Dirty Faces was held up because of some legal issue?

Not a rumor - was outright stated as the holdup by Feltenstein on the WAC podcast a couple years ago.

Now, if only they could get around to The Roaring Twenties

[domino harvey]

Now, if only they could get around to The Roaring Twenties

They do love finishing earlier DVD boxes, so I bet it happens assuming the elements allow it— though I forgot that first volume had that one too!

[hearthesilence]

Now, if only they could get around to The Roaring Twenties

I thought that was coming imminently when they did Public Enemy but that was years ago. I saw both not too long ago - Cagney's glorious in both but The Roaring Twenties has so much more going for it as a film.

[TMDaines]

HMV are still motoring along releasing many of these in the UK in their specially packaged Premium Collection. We’re getting The Shop Around the Corner in time for Christmas!

[dwk]

Not a rumor - was outright stated as the holdup by Feltenstein on the WAC podcast a couple years ago.

Now, if only they could get around to The Roaring Twenties

Thanks. The only reason I said rumor is that I couldn't remember where I had seen/heard that it had legal issues.

Speaking of rumors, isn't The Roaring Twenties rumored to be with Criterion.

[Ribs]

George Feltenstein made another appearance on the Let’s Get Physical podcast, and discussed working on a 4K release for next year of an older film that previously was released on Blu without its original mono, which seems considering its anniversary extremely likely to be Singin’ in the Rain.

He also said that after many years the feature films owned by HBO now fall into the remit he has control over and the process has begun to begin the process leading to releasing some of those, the first priority being the Hitcher.

[FrauBlucher]

If there is a title that makes a lot of sense for Warner to do a 4K UHD upgrade it is Singin’ In the Rain. It does sound like they are going to be very picky on what Classic Hollywood titles get an upgrade.

[L.A.]

CineSavant reviews for:

• Mad Love
• The Ghost Ship + Bedlam

[captveg]

He also said that after many years the feature films owned by HBO now fall into the remit he has control over and the process has begun to begin the process leading to releasing some of those, the first priority being the Hitcher.

Bring on the 4K UHD of ¡Three Amigos! (1986)

(In all seriousness, I would buy it)

If there is a title that makes a lot of sense for Warner to do a 4K UHD upgrade it is Singin’ In the Rain. It does sound like they are going to be very picky on what Classic Hollywood titles get an upgrade.

Anything pre-80s is likely to be VERY strong evergreen titles when it comes to 4K UHD upgrades. Singin' in the Rain seems the most obvious, but I'm thinking the other staples - Casablanca, Bonnie & Clyde, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Deliverance, Ben-Hur, etc - are the only ones to expect over the next couple years, sprinkled in among the more frequent 1980s-2010s catalog 4K UHD releases.

[domino harvey]

He also confirmed that after many months packed with releases, the two announced titles for December are it for the month

[beamish14]

He also said that after many years the feature films owned by HBO now fall into the remit he has control over and the process has begun to begin the process leading to releasing some of those, the first priority being the Hitcher.

Head Office and Ricochet would be amazing. The latter has only been out on an atrocious non-anamorphic disc.

[therewillbeblus]

I don't feel like scouting the blu-ray.com forums any longer than I already have, but does anyone have a pulse on the quality of shorts on Tex Avery vol. 3? I really liked the first volume, but found the second incredibly underwhelming content-wise. Curious if there are gems saved for the third volume that'll make it a worthy pickup

[FrauBlucher]

bluray.com

Warner Archive's Tex Avery Screwball Classics, Volume 3 marks a nice rebound from the somewhat fumbled second volume, at least from a technical perspective: under the circumstances these shorts look outstanding, and they fact that they're all presented uncut is another cause for celebration.

[swo17]

I don't feel like scouting the blu-ray.com forums any longer than I already have, but does anyone have a pulse on the quality of shorts on Tex Avery vol. 3? I really liked the first volume, but found the second incredibly underwhelming content-wise. Curious if there are gems saved for the third volume that'll make it a worthy pickup

For what it's worth, I consider these to be the top-tier Avery films, by volume:

1
Bad Luck Blackie
Red Hot Riding Hood
Screwball Squirrel
The Screwy Truant
Symphony in Slang

2
The Cat That Hated People
Dixieland Droopy
Magical Maestro

3
Blitz Wolf
Deputy Droopy
King-Size Canary
Little 'Tinker
Northwest Hounded Police
Rock-a-Bye Bear

[therewillbeblus]

Thanks swo, that's just the push I needed

[ianthemovie]

I'll second the recommendations for Blitz Wolf and King-Size Canary from Volume 3. Joe Adamson and Jonathan Rosenbaum have also singled out Little 'Tinker. Señor Droopy is considered by many to be a classic, though I don't remember finding it very special. (I haven't picked up Volume 3 yet but I'm hoping to get it for Christmas.)

Raymond Durgnat had this to say about Slap-Happy Lion, which I'd say has me sold (I haven't seen it before): "[Its premise] is given astonishing virulence by Avery's visual ideas...There are incongruities within incongruities...The terrifying and the ludicrous splendidly alternate... People often find this cartoon emotionally upsetting, not because it isn't funny, but because it's vivid too, and they are mesmerized with horror even as they laugh."

[L.A.]

CineSavant’s review for The Naked Spur

[hearthesilence]

I loved Homesteader Droopy when I was a kid.

Spoiler

"Moo-moo! Ba-ba! Moo-moo! Ba-ba!"
"What's a moo-moo, ba-ba?"
"SHEEP STUPID!"

There's also a surreal one where a sheep or a lamb (or goat?) eats the floral pattern off a curtain - like, the curtain manages to stay completely still while the vegetation printed on it gets slurped up. I'll have to find out which short that is.

[captveg]

If there is a title that makes a lot of sense for Warner to do a 4K UHD upgrade it is Singin’ In the Rain. It does sound like they are going to be very picky on what Classic Hollywood titles get an upgrade.

Bill Hunt is saying his sources have confirmed a 2022 4K UHD release of Singin' in the Rain (and The Lost Boys).

Also, The Green Mile has gone up at some retailers for a 4K UHD release in early 2022.

[FrauBlucher]

If there is a title that makes a lot of sense for Warner to do a 4K UHD upgrade it is Singin’ In the Rain. It does sound like they are going to be very picky on what Classic Hollywood titles get an upgrade.

Anything pre-80s is likely to be VERY strong evergreen titles when it comes to 4K UHD upgrades. Singin' in the Rain seems the most obvious, but I'm thinking the other staples - Casablanca, Bonnie & Clyde, Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Deliverance, Ben-Hur, etc - are the only ones to expect over the next couple years, sprinkled in among the more frequent 1980s-2010s catalog 4K UHD releases.

I think in terms of Classic Hollywood, (1930s, 1940s & 1950s) I suspect that the color films have the best chance to get a UHD upgrade. The B&Ws from that era will probably have a harder time. Casablanca because of it's status is the top candidate, but I can also see WB sending it Criterion's way. I can't really think of any other B&W film WB would do all they can to upgrade, at least early on. Maybe if the format picks up things could change. It will be interesting to see what they do with Gone With the Wind

[ShempTCat]

I think in terms of Classic Hollywood, (1930s, 1940s & 1950s) I suspect that the color films have the best chance to get a UHD upgrade. The B&Ws from that era will probably have a harder time. Casablanca because of it's status is the top candidate, but I can also see WB sending it Criterion's way. I can't really think of any other B&W film WB would do all they can to upgrade, at least early on.[/i]

What about King Kong as a B&W UHD upgrade from WB?