Warner Catalog Titles on BD/UHD

[Roger Ryan]

bought the DVD years ago, and still haven't watched it(!), but I believe there are good elements already available for this one, as opposed to Ambersons being cut up and released truncated, it has its problems getting its 'definitive' release...

I suspect the issue with AMBERSONS (apart from the lawsuit that kept Warner from releasing it during the first half of the last decade) is that there may be issues in simply finding decent elements for the film as released. I don't think anyone was expecting to find footage that was cut from preview prints, only to find the best material to represent the 88 min. studio cut on disc. Not finding elements better than what was already in hand may be the reason AMBERSONS is quietly coming out on DVD instead of Blu-ray. Once we see the picture quality in September, it should be easy to determine whether a future HD release is even probable.

It is good to hear that "classic" films are faring a little better these days on Blu-ray, which may help older titles get re-releases on the format.

[AfterTheRain]

Wow, Warner Brothers is bringing this to Blu-ray and not The Magnificent Ambersons? No question, I'll buy it (The Bad Seed is actually the film that turned me on to classic cinema at the age of 13), but really? That cover art stinks too. I wish they'd bring back the old VHS artwork.

Or at least port over the DVD artwork.

[swo17]

Pee Wee's Big Adventure coming Oct 4!

[eerik]

From DigitalBits:

The good news is that George reports that WHV has some 40-50 catalog titles planned for release on Blu-ray in 2012 alone. By the way, George also told us that he's been quietly working on converting House of Wax and Dial M for Murder for true Blu-ray 3D release probably in 2013! As you may know, both of these films were released in 3D theatrically back in the day via the old red/green anaglyph 3D process.

[Jeff]

50 catalog titles on Blu-ray in 2012 would be something like a return to form. Of course it's not quite as impressive when you consider that Peter Becker and Jon Turrell release 50 amazing catalog titles on Blu-ray per year with their staff of 40 people, and Time Warner has $67 billion and 32,000 employees.

Also, this, from an article Domino linked in the Soderbergh B-Sides thread:

Warner Bros. will release [End of the Road] on Blu-Ray in October as part of their re-discovered cinematic treasures series

Hopefully the start of a "Not Quite as Awful as We Were the Last Couple of Years" campaign.

[med]

Maybe this means Blow Up back in print and on Blu?

[Gregory]

Looks like the Mildred Pierce miniseries will be coming out in late November, so a Blu of the original film would be nice to piggyback on that release. But if Warner doesn't announce it pretty soon, I'll assume they missed the boat, as they already did in getting it out in time for the miniseries premiere on HBO earlier this year.

[felipe]

50 catalog titles on Blu-ray in 2012 would be something like a return to form.

How many they released/will release in 2011? Something around 20?

[eerik]

50 catalog titles on Blu-ray in 2012 would be something like a return to form.

How many they released/will release in 2011? Something around 20?

Here, I was bored. January to June, USA only, films only:

1. My Dog Skip (2000)
2. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
3. Malcolm X (1992)
4. The Color Purple (1985)
5. You've Got Mail (1998)
6. Pleasantville (1998)

7. 10 (1979)
8. Network (1976)
9. All the President's Men (1976)

10. Excalibur (1981)
11. Soylent Green (1973)
12. King of Kings (1961)

13. Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry (2005)
14. Scooby-Doo: Aloha Scooby-Doo! (2005)
15. Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
16. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
17. Arthur (1981)
18. Arthur 2 (1988)
19. Mortal Kombat (1995)
20. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

21. Gods and Generals Director's Cut (2003)
22. Gettysburg Director's Cut (1993)
23. Papillon (1973)
24. Wild Wild West (1999)
25. Maverick (1994)
26. Barry Lyndon (1975)
27. Lolita (1962)
28. Grand Prix (1966)

29. Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
30. Any Which Way You Can (1980)
31. Firefox (1982)
32. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
33. AC/DC: Let There Be Rock (1980)
34. Superman III (1983)
35. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
36. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
37. Point Break (1991)
38. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

[swo17]

Or here

[knives]

From DigitalBits:

The good news is that George reports that WHV has some 40-50 catalog titles planned for release on Blu-ray in 2012 alone. By the way, George also told us that he's been quietly working on converting House of Wax and Dial M for Murder for true Blu-ray 3D release probably in 2013! As you may know, both of these films were released in 3D theatrically back in the day via the old red/green anaglyph 3D process.

I wonder if non 3D versions will be released and if the '30s version of House of Wax will be a 1080p extra.

[willoneill]

3. Malcolm X (1992)

Did this actually come out? I thought it got cancelled.

[felipe]

50 catalog titles on Blu-ray in 2012 would be something like a return to form.

How many they released/will release in 2011? Something around 20?

Here, I was bored. January to June, USA only, films only:
38. The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

So, by the end of the year Warner will have probably released more than 50 films in 2011.

[felipe]

3. Malcolm X (1992)

Did this actually come out? I thought it got cancelled.

It was postponed indefinitely.

[eerik]

There were some legal issues with the soundtrack of Malcolm X if I remember correctly, but the discs were pressed and some of them even made it to the stores.

List of upcoming catalog titles from thedigitalbits.com:
The Postman Always Rings Twice (TBA 2011)
A Streetcar Named Desire (TBA 2011)
Meet Me in St. Louis (TBA 2011)
The Right Stuff (2012)
Camelot: 45th Anniv. UCE (2012)
Casablanca: 70th Anniv. UCE (2012)
Singin' in the Rain: 60th Anniv. UCE (2012)
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane: 50th Anniv. UCE (2012)
Lethal Weapon 1-4: 25th Anniv. UCE (2012)
Lolita: 50th Anniv. SE (2012)
Full Metal Jacket: 25th Anniv. SE (2012)

[matrixschmatrix]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

[Roger Ryan]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

The only thing that could justify this release would be to include all 18 hours of on-set footage that his daughter shot (alright, I would settle for a decent two-hour best-of). This is a taste of what can be seen in the footage.

For those who have only heard about Kubrick's eccentric reputation, the footage shows a man definitely in charge, but relaxed and able to have some fun. I like how, by the mid-80s, a very light British accent has started creeping into his Brooklynese!

[JPJ]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

And a third blu release of Casablanca??I like blu-ray as much as anybody but I'm sure if ultra blu-ray(or whatever it's supposed to be called)ever comes out Warners would be more than happy to sell their most popular titles to collectors once again!

[jwd5275]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

I was always under the impression that there was something wonky about the aspect ratio on the current Blus of Full Metal Jacket. Would it be too much to hope that they may have fixed this?

[felipe]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

But it has seen only one blu-ray edition, right? The Kubrick boxset features the same edition that's available as a stand-alone.

[willoneill]

But it has seen only one blu-ray edition, right? The Kubrick boxset features the same edition that's available as a stand-alone.

No there was an earlier bare-bones edition near the beginning of the blu-ray era. It had the white cover scheme similar to Barry Lyndon and Lolita.

[Roger Ryan]

Oh my God, another Full Metal Jacket rerelease? Is that a record for Blu?

I was always under the impression that there was something wonky about the aspect ratio on the current Blus of Full Metal Jacket. Would it be too much to hope that they may have fixed this?

What is "wonky" about the aspect ratio exactly?

There's no question that the Blu-rays have been cropped from the full-frame DVD editions, but this was done across the board for the Blu-rays of Kubrick's last three films. Essentially, the current versions more closely represent what was seen in theaters during original release as opposed to the full-frame versions that Kubrick thought would look better on 4:3 TVs (When I saw FULL METAL JACKET theatrically in '87 it was close to the standard 1.85:1 projection).

Having said that (and I really don't want to stir up the old aspect ratio controversy again), I supposed a 25th Anniversary edition could issue the film in both 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 versions similar to what MOC is doing with the TOUCH OF EVIL release. However, I really doubt Warners would bother doing this.

While I don't have the details on this, wasn't the transfer used for the first Blu-ray of FULL METAL JACKET really disappointing and Warners ended up remastering it only about a year later?

[matrixschmatrix]

Yeah, that first rerelease was pretty necessary- the original blu was garbage, and they actually added some decent features. I just question a third release- obviously, there are a huge number of major movies that haven't seen one release on blu, and moreover it could easily be a fourth buy of the movie for anyone who bought that box set.

I wonder if it will be a 'rerelease' the way Clockwork Orange was, where they keep more or less the same encode.

[felipe]

Considering what they did with Clockwork and Goodfellas, the anniversary edition will probably use the same encode.

[matrixschmatrix]

Oh, damn, I didn't know Goodfellas was the same until just now. I'm going to go get the older release for $8 from the record store.