Upcoming Releases

[edgeciff]

Like the Audrey Hepburn titles Paramount has gotten lots of mileage from WHITE CHRISTMAS. Last year they reissued it with a CD of the score. This is possibly the fourth time out for this film. The only thing that would make me "double-dip" would be if Paramount reissued this as a BR disc. Since they are releasing ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE in BR why not WHITE CHRISTMAS.

[HollywoodGolightly]

I'd assume they either don't have an appropriate HD transfer ready, or they don't want to have two holiday movies on blu-ray available at the same time, to avoid having both titles competing for shelf space and customer attention.

[filmlover]

> {quote:title=HollywoodGolightly wrote:}{quote}

> I'd assume they either don't have an appropriate HD transfer ready, or they don't want to have two holiday movies on blu-ray available at the same time, to avoid having both titles competing for shelf space and customer attention.

 

Studios being thoughtful about customer's money? I - don't - think - so. Come Christmas time, like on Halloween, the stores will be crammed with seasonal material.

[HollywoodGolightly]

> {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote}

> Studios being thoughtful about customer's money? I - don't - think - so. Come Christmas time, like on Halloween, the stores will be crammed with seasonal material.

 

I didn't say they didn't want money. I just thought they wouldn't want one title to cannibalize sales of the other. That's just a wild guess, though. Maybe they don't think having both titles out at once would hurt sales of either one, maybe it's just they don't have a good HD transfer ready.

[edgeciff]

Its hard to know what Paramount is thinking regarding Blu Ray. Why the Jimmy Stewart film is coming out on BR first and not one of the other classics in their library is beyond reason. I think both would sell well during Xmas time since there aren't enough classic out yet. I'm sure Paramount will reissue WHITE CHRISTMAS several more times. It almost looks like once a year for this title. And the new extras don't look all that hot. They are not even doing a feature on Vera-Ellen. Personally, I am still waiting for THE AFRICAN QUEEN in BR which would probably sell better than these two classics that have been reissued over and over and over again.

[HollywoodGolightly]

Well, like I said, it's hard to know whether something Paramount does is more of a business decision (no matter how bizarre the logic) or a technical decision (because a transfer that's good enough for a nice DVD may not look so good if released on blu-ray).

 

I remember someone from WHV saying in an interview that there were certain classic movies they could release on DVD right now, but that they'd not look good on blu-ray at all, because they would need additional and expensive restoration.

 

So, who knows, it could be a business decision, or due to technical reasons, or both.

 

You never know how some of these home video executives think.

[HollywoodGolightly]

In the UK, Optimum has announced the blu-ray release of Time Bandits on Oct. 5. (No word on whether it will be region-locked, but Optimum BD releases usually are).

 

[HollywoodGolightly]

Grapevine Video, known for its hundreds of rare and hard-to-find titles on DVD-R, has released its third commercially pressed DVD - Ladies of the German Cinema. The single disc double feature has two rare German films 1921: *Sappho* starring Pola Negri and *Backstairs* (A.K.A. Hintertreppe) starring Henny Porten.

[HollywoodGolightly]

Here's a photo of the inside contents of Paramount's upcoming Forrest Gump 15th anniversary "Life is Like a Box of Chocolates" boxset (available in DVD and BD):

 

[audreyforever]

Finally It's been given the special treatment. However, I've never been a fan of those big, clunky box sets for one movie, because I don't know where to put them in my DVD collection.

[HollywoodGolightly]

In his Classic Coming Attractions column for today, Barrie Maxwell has some interesting tidbits, some of which have not been mentioned here before.

 

Aside from the previously announced November releases from Criterion,

In other Criterion news, *Stagecoach* (1939, from the UCLA restoration) is indeed the title that was hinted at earlier this summer in an edition of the Criterion newsletter. It's likely coming in December. Another newsletter hint is for a 25-disc set of Akira Kurosawa titles coming in early 2010 on honour of the 100th anniversary of Kurosawa's birth. The Josef von Sternberg silents *Underworld* and *Docks of New York* are coming sometime in 2010 too. Criterion is apparently also in discussions to acquire rights to the Charlie Chaplin library.

 

And while the "Bad Girls of Noir" collection from Sony has already been mentioned, I don't think we'd heard about this other DVD boxset:

Another of Sony's planned 2010 releases will be *Icons of Suspense*, to include *Stop Me Before I Kill* (1961), *Cash on Demand* (1961), *Never Take Candy from a Stranger* (1960), *Maniac* (1962), *The Snorkel* (1958), and the great Joseph Losey-directed *These Are the Damned* (1962) - all with the longest, most original restored versions possible.

 

In regards to WHV, aside from the previously-announced moratoriums,

In other news, Warners has lost the rights to *Foreign Correspondent* and *The Long Voyage Home*, effective August 27th. Film noir fans will be glad to know that the previously-promised fifth volume of titles is definitely a go for a pressed DVD release. The format will be 10 films on 5 DVDs with commentaries and other extras included. Titles have not yet been revealed and exact release timing has not been finalized either.

 

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/barriemaxwell/maxwell090809b.html

 

Also:

 

*L?on (The Professional) Blu-ray for November*

 

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has officially announced the Blu-ray release of Luc Besson's *L?on* (also known as 'The Professional'), starring Jean Reno as a hitman who becomes the guardian of a 12-year-old girl (Natalie Portman, in her first starring role). The Blu-ray will hit store shelves on November 17, and will include both the theatrical and the extended cuts of the movie.

 

Special features include:

 

* 10 Year Retrospective: Cast and Crew Look Back

* Jean Reno: The Road to Leon

* Natalie Portman: Starting Young

* Fact Track

[filmlover]

I believe that Maxwell's column on the whole should be seen since there are a great deal of new announcements within the old news, not just the few picked below:

 

Available now from AC Comics is the 1951 Columbia serial *Mysterious Island*. Its presentation is on two DVD-R discs. The company has also recently released Republic's Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe on two DVD-Rs. The release contains the first 6 half-hour episodes of the 12-episode TV series of the same name that appeared in 1955. This is not a serial although it reflects Republic's serial capability via the extensive use of stock serial footage.

 

Alpha has released 41 titles this summer with 22 appearing on July 28th and the rest on August 25th. Most are from the 1930s and 1940s with a few familiar silents included. The offerings are quite top-heavy in westerns this time out with a number of double bills for the likes of Roy Rogers, Bob Steele, and Tom Keene along with single titles for Johnny Mack Brown, Ken Maynard, William S. Hart, and Reb Russell. Larger collections of Buster Crabbe (12 films) and Kermit Maynard (6 films) are also featured. A further 22 titles are set for September 29th. See the new announcements database for the complete list of titles.

 

In somewhat of a departure for Criterion, the company will release *The Golden Age of Television* on November 24th. The 3-disc set will include 8 live TV dramas from the 1950s - *Marty (1953), Patterns (1955), No Time for Sergeants (1955), A Wind from the South (1955), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956), Bang the Drum Slowly (1956), The Comedian (1957),* and *Days of Wine and Roses (1958*). Supplements will include commentaries by at least four of the original directors, interviews with various cast and crew, and a booklet of extensive liner notes. *Downhill Racer* (1969, with Robert Redford) will also be a November release, coming on the 17th. New interviews with several original crew members are to be included, as will be an AFI archival piece with the director. In other Criterion news, *Stagecoach* (1939, from the UCLA restoration) is indeed the title that was hinted at earlier this summer in an edition of the Criterion newsletter. It's likely coming in December. Another newsletter hint is for a *25-disc set of Akira Kurosawa titles* coming in early 2010 on honour of the 100th anniversary of Kurosawa's birth. The Josef von Sternberg silents *Underworld* and *Docks of New York* are coming sometime in 2010 too. Criterion is apparently also in discussions to acquire rights to the *Charlie Chaplin* library.

 

On October 6th, Fox will be issuing *The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season Five* as a three-DVD set containing all 24 episodes.

 

*The Judy Garland Show: Volume 2* is set for a September 22nd release. These are single disc releases from Infinity Entertainment, each containing two shows from the Garland TV series. A total of 13 volumes are planned, with the first having come out at the end of July.

 

Kino will release the 1984 Marlene Dietrich documentary by Maximilian Schell - *Marlene* - on October 6th. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature at the time. Kino will also release a Blu-ray edition of Buster Keaton's *The General* on November 10th. It will contain the same bonus features included on last year's two-disc DVD release (three choices of musical score; a video tour of the authentic General, presented in association with The Southern Museum; a tour of the filming locations, presented by John Bengtson, author of ?Silent Echoes?; behind-the-scenes home movie footage; filmed introduction by Gloria Swanson; filmed introduction by Orson Welles; and a montage of train gags from throughout Keaton's career).

 

Lionsgate will re-release *The Men* (1950, with Marlon Brando) on November 3rd. Only the packaging will be new.

 

MPI will have *Here's Lucy: Season Two* on November 3rd.

 

Paramount will have *Chinatown: Centennial Collection* on October 6th, *Hawaii Five-0: The Seventh Season* on October 20th, followed by *Mannix: The Third Season* and *The Fugitive: Season Three, Volume One* on the 27th. *Mission Impossible: The Final TV Season* is set for November 3rd. That date also will bring *White Christmas: 55th Anniversary Edition*. There's no indication that there will be a new transfer, although one is needed. The 2-disc release will have 6 new featurettes plus the previously released bonus material (including commentary by Rosemary Clooney). November 10th will bring *The Untouchables: Season Three, Volume Two*. It's nice to see progress continuing on making this series available, and the imminent arrival of the first seasons of *One Step Beyond* and *Bonanza,* but how about first speeding up completion of two western series that appear to be languishing - Rawhide, and particularly Have Gun, Will Travel!

 

Sony's *William Castle Film Collection* is now set for an October 20th release. As expected, it will be an 8-film, 5-disc set containing three titles new to DVD - *13 Frightened Girls, The Old Dark House,* and *Zotz!* The other 5 films are: *13 Ghosts, Homicidal, Strait-Jacket, Mr. Sardonicus*, and *The Tingler*. All titles are from the 1959-1964 period and also included is the documentary Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story. *The Samuel Fuller Collection* (the 3rd release in Sony's partnership with the Film Foundation) has also been confirmed with a release date of October 27th. It will contain *It Happened in Hollywood (1937), Adventure in Sahara (1938), Power of the Press (1943), Shockproof (1949), The Crimson Kimono (1959), Underworld U.S.A. (1961),* and *Scandal Sheet (1952).* Special features in the seven-disc set include four new featurettes with contributions from Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson, and Tim Robbins among others. *The Three Stooges Collection: Volume 7 (*1952-54) is coming on November 10th. It will be a two-disc set containing 22 shorts. Included are two that will be presented in both 3D and 2D (Spooks, Pardon My Backfire) and others in widescreen as originally shown. The two 5-title film noir sets previously mentioned in past editions of this column are now planned for a November release by Sony, exact date yet to be announced although the 3rd seems likely. The expected *Rita Hayworth Collection* is set for an early-2010 release. Also of interest to Columbia fans will be a planned release of *The Bad Girls of Noir* in early 2010. It will contain 6 titles: *Over-Exposed* (1956, with Cleo Moore), *The Glass Wall* (1953, with Gloria Grahame), *One Girl's Confession* (1953, with Cleo Moore), *Two of a Kind* (1951, with Lizabeth Scott), *Bad for Each Other* (1953, with Lizabeth Scott), and *The Killer That Stalked New York* (1950, with Evelyn Keyes). Another of Sony's planned 2010 releases will be *Icons of Suspense*, to include *Stop Me Before I Kill (1961), Cash on Demand (1961), Never Take Candy from a Stranger (1960), Maniac (1962), The Snorkel (1958),* and the great Joseph Losey-directed *These Are the Damned* (1962) - all with the longest, most original restored versions possible.

 

Timeless Media will be releasing *Wagon Train: The Complete First Season* on November 17th. It will contain all 39 one-hour episodes in a special limited edition 10-DVD tin.

 

As part of its otherwise un-noteworthy promotion of a multitude of already-available horror titles for the coming Hallowe'en season, Universal will give a wide release to the *Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive* on September 15th. Previously only available as a Best Buy exclusive, the set includes five titles: *The Black Cat (1941), Man Made Monster (1941), Horror Island (1941), Night Monster (1942),* and *Captive Wild Woman (1943).* Interesting as some of these may be, most don't compare to the frustratingly un-released Island of Lost Souls, The Uninvited, or Murders in the Zoo. What is Universal waiting for? Who knows, perhaps their 100th anniversaries. The Legacy Collection edition of *The Wolf Man*, previously set for a mid-September release, has also been delayed until the new year. This is presumably related to the delay of the release of the new theatrical remake. Much better news is the forthcoming release on November 3rd of *The Claudette Colbert Legacy Collection* as part of the Universal Backlot Series. It will be a three-disc set containing six films: *Three-Cornered Moon (1933), Maid of Salem (1937), I Met Him in Paris (1937), Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938), No Time for Love (1943),* and *The Egg and I (1947).* Supplements will include the Colbert featurette previously contained on this spring's Cleopatra anniversary disc and trailers, and based on the track record, The Egg and I (the only title in the set previously available on DVD) will likely sport a new transfer. Universal also plans a November 24th release date for *Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 4,* including all 36 episodes. A bonus featurette Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock will also be included.

 

VCI's release of its restored version of *A Walk in the Sun* (1945) has been delayed from August 25th to November 24th. Increased time for the restoration work and the inclusion of a new featurette are the stated reasons. Meanwhile, VCI will release *Summer Storm* on October 20th. Originally a 1944 UA release, the film stars Linda Darnell and George Sanders. It was directed by Douglas Sirk and an interview of author Bernard Dick concerning Sirk will be included as a supplement. Also coming on the 20th is *Darn Good Westerns: Volume 2,* containing *Deputy Marshal* (1949, with Jon Hall), *Outlaw Women* (1951, with Marie Windsor), *Three Desperate Men* (1951, with Preston Foster*), Shotgun* (1955, with Sterling Hayden), *Massacre* (1956, with Dane Clark), and *Four Fast Guns* (1959, with James Craig). Coming on November 3rd is *Buck Rogers: 70th Anniversary Edition -* a restored and remastered version of the 1939 serial. There are no details on supplementary content as yet.

 

Virgil Films has announced an October 20th release for *The Donna Reed Show: Season Three*. The set will contain 38 half-hour episodes on four discs.

 

The Looney Tunes Golden Collections are no more, but there will be a Volume 7 of the *Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection*, coming from Warner Bros. on October 13th. This two-disc set will contain 26 cartoons, but all have been previously released on the first three volumes of the Golden Collections. The studio will offer a wide release to the 2008 documentary series *You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story* on October 20th. Until then, it is only available as an Amazon exclusive. Warner Blu-ray plans not already reported in previous editions of this column include *Logan's Run* (1976) on November 10th. And there are apparently Blu-ray releases of *Doctor Zhivago* (1965) and *The Exorcist* (1973) in the works for 2010 (celebrating the 45th anniversary of the former), in anticipation of which, Warners is instituting a moratorium on existing versions of the titles for the last four months of this year. In other news, Warners has lost the rights to Foreign Correspondent and The Long Voyage Home, effective August 27th. *Film noir* fans will be glad to know that the previously-promised *fifth volume of titles* is definitely a go for a pressed DVD release. The format will be 10 films on 5 DVDs with commentaries and other extras included. Titles have not yet been revealed and exact release timing has not been finalized either.

 

In *Warner Archive* news, August is bringing 28 new classic releases in several categories. No specific date seems to be associated with them. Silent Classics will include 8 MGM classics: *Across to Singapore* (1928, with Joan Crawford), *The Boob* (1926, with Joan Crawford), *West Point* (1927, with Joan Crawford), *Speedway* (1929, with William Haines), *A Lady of Chance* (1928, with Norma Shearer), *The Patsy* (1928, with Marion Davies), *Desert Nights* (1929, with John Gilbert), and *The Viking* (1928, with Donald Crisp). Westerns include 6 titles from the 1950s and 1960s: *Return of the Frontiersman* (1950, with Gordon MacRae), *The First Texan* (1956, with Joel McCrea), *Gunfight at Comanche Creek* (1964, with Audie Murphy), *King of the Wild Stallions* (1959, with George Montgomery), *The Plunderers* (1960, with Jeff Chandler), and *Quantrill's Raiders* (1958, with Steve Cochran). TV Movies of the Week will be represented by *Don't Be Afraid of the Dark* (1973, with Jim Hutton), *Bad Ronald* (1974, with Scott Jacoby), and *The Bermuda Depths* (1978, with Connie Sellecca). Cult Classics include *From Hell It Came* (1957), *The Terminal Man* (1974, with George Segal)), and *Dealing ? or The Berkeley-to-Boston Forty Brick Blues* (1972, with Barbara Hershey). 60s Comedies include *Mary, Mary* (1963, with Debbie Reynolds), *Never Too Late* (1965, with Maureen O'Sullivan), *A Majority of One* (1962, with Alec Guinness), *Any Wednesday* (1966, with Jane Fonda), *Not with My Wife You Don't* (1966, with Tony Curtis), *Kisses for My President* (1964, with Fred MacMurray), *Hot Millions* (1968, with Peter Ustinov), and *How Sweet It Is!* (1968, with James Garner). Reports have also surfaced of two collections of shorts being available - a 5-disc set of *Our Gang* (1938-1942, 52 shorts) and a 6-disc set of *Joe MacDoakes* (63 shorts), and each at $20 - but as is common with the Archive site, titles unofficially announced seem frequently to appear and then disappear until the official announcement arrives. These two releases may be intended as official September releases that have mistakenly been allowed to appear early.

 

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/barriemaxwell/maxwell090809b.html

[filmlover]

Warner Bros. has announced that John Wayne's *The Green Berets* will be released on Blu-ray on Jan. 5, 2010 with the only extra being "The Filmmakers: The Making of the Green Berets".

[HollywoodGolightly]

Infinity Entertainment has announced *The Judy Garland Show - Holiday Special* with an October 20th release date. The 51 minute "glittering celebration" features such classic hits as ?Consider Yourself,? ?Steam Heat,? ?Little Drops of Rain,? ?Where is Love?? and ?Wouldn?t it be Lovely??

[filmlover]

Rumored at various times, Disney has now stated some good Blu news:

 

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have formally announced the Diamond Collection, which represents 14 of the most beloved and historic animated films the studio has ever made. Each title will be thoroughly restored for the highest level of picture and sound. Additionally, each Blu-ray will feature ground-breaking special features that promise to push the limits of Blu-ray.

 

...

 

The first title to be released will be the October 6th Blu-ray release of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', after which two titles will be released each year from the collection. For 2010, 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Fantasia and Fantasia 2000' have been scheduled for Blu-ray release. The remainder of the titles - 'The Lion King', 'Bambi', 'Cinderella', 'Lady and the Tramp', 'The Little Mermaid', 'Peter Pan', 'The Jungle Book', and '101 Dalmatians' - will be released sometime in 2011-2015, completed by re-releases of 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Pinocchio' as part of the Diamond Collection.

 

 

Disney promises that each title will be remastered from the original negative (when available) for a pristine 1080p picture and stunning 7.1 soundtrack. As with all special Disney releases, these titles will only be available for a limited time.

 

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=3395

[HollywoodGolightly]

Most of those classics, except perhaps Fantasia, were originally released in mono, up to the 50s or 60s, and plain stereo after that, if I remember correctly. I am not sure they really need 7.1 sound for anything other than a marketing selling point. I just hope you can still choose listening to the original soundtrack, just as it was when the movie was first released to theaters.

[filmlover]

from blu-ray.com:

 

The German branch of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has announced...for release on Blu-ray on November 20...'Rob Roy' and 'Tora! Tora! Tora!'.

 

 

Special features are as follows:

 

 

Tora! Tora! Tora!

 

? Day of Infamy

 

? History through the Lens: Tora! Tora! Tora!

 

? Picture galleries

 

o Behind the scenes

 

o Production

 

? Fox Movietone News shorts

 

? Theatrical trailer

 

 

No special features have been listed for 'Rob Roy'.

 

(By the way, this is the Liam Neeson version, not the Disney one. And there is no word yet if they will be region-free.)

[HollywoodGolightly]

The last time I posted information about the upcoming blu-ray release of The Professional (Leon), word was that the new BD would include both U.S. and international versions; however digitalbits.com is now reporting that the blu-ray will only include the U.S. theatrical version.

[HollywoodGolightly]

One of the biggest limited edition sets to come along in a while is the D23 Membership Exclusive Limited-Edition Walt Disney Treasures Premium Collection DVD Set, containing a massive 54 discs, which include nearly all of the Disney Treasures set which have been previously been sold individually. Many of the sets are OOP.

 

The set will sell for $500, exclusively through the Disney store, and will be shipped on Nov. 1st. It includes an exclusive lithograph and the run is limited to 3,000 copies.

 

[filmlover]

Here?s an update on The Prisoner TV complete series coming out on Blu. It is making its way to Blu-ray via two different editions. The one for the U.S. will be released through A&E on 5 discs and will look like the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown at this time what the extras will be, if any.

 

 

 

The Blu-ray for the UK is being released by Network and will be 6 discs (and those who have seen the DVD versions say the Network DVD was better picture quality). Here is the cover art for the box set:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The extras for the UK will be:

 

? 6-disc Limited Edition Box Set

 

? 'Don?t Knock Yourself Out' - feature-length documentary which is the most comprehensive look at the production of ?The Prisoner?, told by those involved in its creation

 

? Restored original edit of ?Arrival? with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs? complete and abandoned score

 

? Production Crew audio commentaries on seven episodes

 

? Trailers for all episodes

 

? Archive textless material, including the title sequence with clean themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs and Robert Farnon

 

? Commercial Break Bumpers

 

? Behind-the-Scenes footage including much previously unseen

 

? Script and Production Documentation PDFs

 

? Image Galleries with Music Suites

 

? Exclusive book on the making of the series by TV historian Andrew Pixley

 

? 5.1 sound mixes on all episodes

 

? Plus much more!

 

 

(from www.moviemail-online.co.uk)

 

 

 

 

 

The UK version releases on September 21 and the U.S. version releases October 27. The UK version is region 2 locked, and it is believed the U.S. version will be region 1 locked.

 

Message was edited by: filmlover

[HollywoodGolightly]

Mike Siegel's Passion & Poetry - The Ballad Of Sam Peckinpah (Special Edition) has finally been released on DVD, reportedly in a region-free PAL version, in Germany. It sells for about 20 Euros:

 

http://www.amazon.de/Passion-Poetry-Ballad-Peckinpah-Special/dp/B002B8F1EY

 

The hard-to-find documentary is in English with optional German subtitles.

[filmlover]

An early look from Eureka of the inside of the *Sunrise* Blu-ray case and the booklet that will be coming with it. it was originally intended for the booklet to be about 100+ pages but they are deciding to go with the smaller 20-pg. booklet and put the rest of the articles online.

 

 

Also, Eureka has their Masters of Cinema series wonderful-looking catalog available on a PDF here: http://www.eurekavideo.co.uk/moc/MoC_CATALOGUE_2009_web.pdf. There's a nice layout for Sunrise near the very beginning.

[HollywoodGolightly]

dvdreview.com has posted the cover art for the Karloff & Lugosi Horror Classics DVD boxset from WHV that streets on Oct. 6:

 

http://www.dvdreview.com/news/viewnews.asp?id=11346&cflag=1

[filmlover]

Robert A. Harris, who is quite well known for film restoration (he's the one who wants to raise money for the restoration of "The Alamo), has had an early look at the Wizard of Oz Blu-ray. Sounds great! Two weeks to go:

 

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some quality time with actress Margaret Hamilton in 1989 at the Telluride Film Festival, and since then I've always had difficulty equating that sweet lady with the green-faced witch in The Wizard of Oz.

 

Viewing the film on Blu-ray this evening, I realized that neither Ms. Hamilton, nor Ms. Garland, nor any of the other members of the cast and crew had ever had the experience that you are about to have -- viewing The Wizard of Oz via WB's new Blu-ray. I made some comments a few days ago over at Blu-ray.com answering a query in regard to whether certain "restorations" were actually restorations. My basic premise being that if a clean negative or set of negatives (for Technicolor) survive, then what is being created is more in line with a supervised lab order.

 

This is not the case here, where 4k scanning has been performed upon the original negatives of reels 2A - the end of the film, and like scanning of a surviving fine grain master of reels 1A and 1B, which make up the black & white sequences. The original negative of the black & white units was lost to fire some years ago. When a film is as beloved (and used) as The Wizard of Oz, there's going to be quite bit of housekeeping to be performed.

 

But let's go back a few years. The original elements of The Wizard of Oz were scanned in 2k for the creation of a standard definition DVD release which forms the basis, as far as extras are concerned, of what is about to be released in Blu-ray.

 

Many home video and asset management groups would be happy enough to sit on their laurels.

 

Not Warner Bros.

 

The surviving elements were once again shipped from their home in Rochester, NY, deep in nitrate vaults coddled over by George Eastman House, back to Burbank, where they once again had images harvested.

 

Only this time in 4k.

 

With all work being performed in 4k by MPI, WB's crack digital unit, hidden away on the back lot.

 

What you'll see on the Blu-ray of The Wizard of Oz is the sharpest, highest resolved and most visually and aurally perfect representation of the film...

 

Ever!

 

And then we move to audio, which used the same mixes used on the earlier version, original cleaned-up mono, as well as a 5.1 stereo mix derived from a myriad of surviving elements. Only now in Dolby True HD uncompressed.

 

Allow me to be quite honest. I've never seen a 1939 print of The Wizard of Oz, so I have no idea what it looked like. I have on GWTW, but that may well have been a totally different artistic animal. I mention this because I'm unable to tell you whether this replicates the original experience. But that really isn't the point with them film.

 

Going directly to the bottom line, you're about to see something that audiences in 1939 never saw. Sharper, perfectly registered, and more consistently colored than anything that has ever existed.

 

Buy it. Enjoy it. Support film restoration in doing so. And after you screen your new acquisition bend slowly toward Burbank and bow deeply, thanking Jeff Baker, George Feltenstein, Ned Price and the gang at MPI for the gift that they have created for you.

 

Seriously. How often are you going to find a studio that goes back to square one and re-performs an entire visual restoration because they feel they can eek just a tiny bit more out of the original elements to preserve the film again, and create a Blu-ray that can not be bettered!

 

This is a cinephiliac's nirvana.

 

Extremely Highly Recommended!

 

RAH

[HollywoodGolightly]

Coming from Robert A. Harris, that is indeed a very high compliment for the folks at WHV.

 

I noticed you didn't credit your source, but surely it must be from the Home Theater forums?

 

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/292926/a-few-words-about-the-wizard-of-oz-in-blu-ray