Abbott & Costello Vol. 3, Halloween, Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields Titles COMING (1 Viewer)

[John Hodson]

Seconded; we've become a little spoilt in the last couple of years haven't we? If these had come out on DVD three years ago, I think we'd all be saying how terrific they all look.

Rich, I have 'bad' in my collection. These are not 'bad'.

If it helps, I posted this elsewhere, about the other two Universal noirs:

Two more: Criss Cross and Black Angel, the first two Universal films in the Universal Noir Collection (the other two originally being part of the Paramount catalogue which Universal now owns).

From 1946, Black Angel features that rare beast, the sympathetic Dan Duryea character, and a cracking cast that includes the ever marvellous Peter Lorre (boo, hiss...) and noir staple Broderick Crawford. The transfer is a little better than The Big Clock, but not by much. There's alot of grain and the contrast seems a little out of whack. I know it's meant to be a dark thriller, but not this dark. On the plus side there's little evidence of damage, few speckles and the audio track is in decent shape. Love the opening shot; Duryea on Wilshire staring up at a tall apartment block. The camera swoops upwards, homes in on one particular window, through the ubiquitous blinds, down from the ceiling and voila! I'm hooked...

JUst two years later came Criss Cross but it might as well be a 100. The transfer is excellent, nice contrast, lots of detail - light years away from Black Angel. The Universal logo is different too; BA employs the logo Universal used from the '30s, CC is not much different from the one in the '70s. This just double underlines not only the better transfer but also the style of director Robert Siodmak, all tight, sweaty close-ups getting you right in among the action. Daniel Fuchs screenplay has some wonderful interplay between gangster (that's more like it) Duryea and his hencemen; the dialogue is resonant of (and, of course, precedes) Scorsese. It's good fun picking out a veritable army of character actors among the cast, Burt Lancaster, hot off The Killers, is a different actor to the one that walked through that same year's Sorry, Wrong Number, and Yvonne De Carlo is dark and sultry, a million miles away from Lily Munster. Full marks too, to Miklos Roza's score, which just screams noir. Brilliant.

Buy 'em while they're hot (and cheap...)

 

[Rodney]

I watched The Big Clock, and I am very happy with my purchase. Could the video be better? Most definitely, but the presentation is much better than any VHS tape I have seen. The beginning shot looks dark, and does display that shimmer effect. If that is from Macrovision, shame on them!
It would be nice to know what condition the film was in. Maybe this is the best we can hope for for this catalog title.
For comparison's sake, this is a presentation just above Roan material, and hence much better than Madacy or Alpha. I hope no one who likes film-noir would hesitate to pick "The Big Clock" up.

 

[BarryM]

Rodney, I too just watched "The Big Clock" (one of my faves...brilliant Laughton performance...) and I thought the video quality was dark and murky.

With no extras other than the trailer, Universal now seems to be the studio putting out the least classic titles and not doing a very good job, either.

Gee Whiz, they're holding all of the pre-1950 Paramount titles.......

No Mae West
No Dietrich
No Paramount Marx Bros
No "Million Dollar Legs"
No "If I Had A Million"
No Paramount W.C. Fields
No "Big Broadcast of 1932"
No early Crosby titles

It's a darn shame that WB doesn't own those rights....they'd release all of the above and do it right.

I hope someone at Universal reads this....

 

[Robert Crawford]

For those interested in film noir, you might want to check out the following thread which is having an in-depth discussion about film noir.

Official Film Noir Discussion Thread





Crawdaddy

 

[Keith M.]

So when is Double Indemnity being released??? Amazon has it listed, but it sounds like it has been cancelled...


Any information is greatly appreciated...

 

[Sebastian_A]

I watched This Gun For Hire last night, and darn, that was sexy! (well, Veronica Lake that is)

And: I really enjoyed the picture quality - sharp and detailed, I thought that was absolutely alright with that low price tag.

Go get it, it's the one and only, ultra-hot and sizzling VERONICA LAKE!!!

S

 

[John Hodson]

Keith, Amazon is listing a 'Monarch Home Video' release which (and I hope I'm wrong) looks to me like a very dubious attempt by this company to release a scruffy PD copy of this fine film and either attempt to cash in on Universal's postponement of this title, or at worst, to fool people into thinking they've still gone ahead and released it.

No-one knows right now what's going on right now and Universal aren't telling; we all hope that it means that they are prepping the SE the movie deserves, or have (in our dreams) handed it to Criterion who will get the job done to everyone's satisfaction. Either way, I wish they'd not keep us in the dark...

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Looks like Universal.com just updated their site to include some catalog DVD releases for November, most notably the W.C. FIELDS COMEDY COLLECTION and the MARX BROS SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION (both street on 11/09, MSRP on each is $44.98, listing of specific titles/extras on each set is currently unavailable), plus Howard Hughes' HELL'S ANGELS (streets on 12/07, MSRP $10.98) in December:

http://homevideo.universalstudios.co...11%2F01%2F2004

More W.C. Fields on DVD is always a good thing.

 

[Tommy G]

At long last! Yipee! Duck Soup on DVD!!!!!

 

[Amy Mormino]

Its interesting that the W.C. Fields and Marx Bros. collections list one movie per disc, unlike the Monsters and Abbott & Costello sets which have a few movies per disc. The price is also higher for the Fields and Marx sets.

Could Universal be moving in a new direction and not putting several movies on a disc? There weren't substantial complaints on the A/C and Monsters sets about reduced audio/visual quality, but perhaps the elements needed less work or something for the Fields/Marx sets. I'll miss the lower prices, but if that's what it takes to do it right in A/V quality, then no complaints from me.

 

[Derek_McL]

Great news on Fields and the Marx Brothers if its confirmed.
The Fields' set seems a bit expensive compared with the Abbott and Costello sets at $59.98 for five films but its great for classic film comedy fans like myself. I wonder if the titles will be available individually ? They all seem to be on separate discs in a box. The set includes according to the Universal site :

The Bank Dick (1940) : presumably the same transfer as the Criterion ?
My Little Chickadee (1939)
You Can't Cheat An Honest Man (1939)
Its A Gift (1934)
International House (1934)

I'm a little disappointed there is no Never Give A Sucker An Even Break (1941) among others but I'm still delighted by this.

The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection includes their five Paramount films plus a sixth disc of "bonus materials". Same price $59.98.

 

[Brian PB]

Universal's site says these will be in a Digipak box with outer cover, so it's highly doubtful that they'll be sold separately.

I have been waiting for years for Fields' masterpiece, It's a Gift, to be released on DVD. But since I own the CC version of The Bank Dick, and the other three films in the set are decidedly mediocre, it doesn't seem like a great bargain to me. I'll wait to see if there are any extras, but I don't expect there will be. 60 bucks seems like a rip-off.

 

[John Hodson]

Marx and Fields of course (pity multi-region users who bought the R2 Marx set, sans The Cocoanuts and the bonus disc - I had a feeling this would happen).

But is anyone else stoked by the prospect of Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels? Don't mess this one up Universal!

 

[Rob Willey]

I've been looking forward to this one for a long time, but given my disappointment with the transfer on The Big Clock, I will probably rent it first.

Rob

 

[PaulP]

http://homevideo.universalstudios.co...?childId=34933

Nobody seen this? Looks interesting, a 6-disc/5-film set. I'm guessing in a fold-out case.

Disc 1: Duck Soup
Disc 2: Horse Feathers
Disc 3: Monkey Business
Disc 4: Animal Crackers
Disc 5: The Cocoanuts
Disc 6: Bonus Materials

 

[Al (alweho)]

They probably saw the WB Tarzan & Marx sets and they decided the marketplace would pay a little more for these long desired titles/stars. It would be difficult to ask that kind of pricing for Don Knotts or the vast majority of the Monsters pictures.

Plus they can always cut the price on them should they not sell as well, Universal hasn't been shy about doing so for DVD in the past (i.e. Schindler's List SE, Mummy 2-packs, Jurassic packages). Raising prices after an initial release in this WalMart world we now live in would be impossible.

 

[Derek_McL]

Sorry for being dim but what is a digipak box with outer cover ? I take it that means the discs don't have their own cases ? How thick would it be in terms of standard DVD boxes ? I asked about individual purchase on the Fields set because one title has been available for quite a while and it helps UK customers avoid dreaded customs charges !

 

[Bert Greene]

As a big Fields fan, I'm rather underwhelmed by the line-up. I always far preferred the older Paramounts, like "Tillie and Gus," "Man on the Flying Trapeze," "The Old-Fashioned Way," and such. Certainly much better than the Universal "Chickadee" and "Honest Man," which were rather banal. Plus, of all the Universals 'not' to include, they avoid my favorite of the quartet, "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." Pretty exasperating. I'd hoped Fields would get complete, chronological sets like Abbott and Costello. His work certainly deserves it. I'll probably stick with my old off-air videotapes for the time being. The Marx Bros. set sounds fairly imperative, though.

 

[StevenFC]

Marx Brothers; W.C. Fields; That's Entertainent; Monster Legacy second wave and Star Wars. And most likely a Warner's Gangster collection--all coming this year! That's it, the release list for '04 is complete. And I imagine we'll see all the W.C. Fields that were mentioned earlier released sometime in '05. I'm now completely satisfied for this year.

HAPPY-HAPPY JOY-JOY!!!

 

[John Watson]

Speaking of other Fields films, I once saw POPPY on TV.

Would like to see that again some day.

I'll defintely go for this collection, tho it will mean double dippin on THE BANK DICK