Columbia/Sony releasing several Classic Westerns on 4/5/05 (1 Viewer)

[Charles H]

Didn't Barre Maxwell also mention that THE STRANGER WORE A GUN was coming from Columbia in April--with two Capra films?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

They haven't officially announced anything beyond April 5 at this point.

 

[John Hodson]

Phew! DVD Answers has updated it's specs (see the link in the first post of this thread) to read 'The film itself will be presented in anamorphic widescreen...'

Good job too; looks worthy of a double dip to me, so one order for The Professionals SE (and Jubal, The Desperadoes, The Violent Men and Texas) now in...

 

[Joe Caps]

today, DVD planet has the Violent Men listed as widescreen, MONO>
this film is stereo and the laserdisc I produced had the original stereo track on it.

 

[Jeff_CusBlues]

Silverado is an excellent movie. Extrodinary talent and a great story make this one a buy for sure. I was always amazed at the sound of the gun shots in this movie and I've only seen it on cable. The DTS soundtrack should be amazing. It has some of the greatest lines.

"This aint' right. And I'm tired of what's not right."

"I don't want to kill you and you don't wanna be dead."

Classic!!!

 

[Mario Gauci]

John,

Thanks a lot for bringing the upcoming release of a SE DVD of THE PROFESSIONALS (1966) to our attention.

I’ve watched this terrific action-packed Western a couple of times in the past via my full-frame VHS and therefore I’ll definitely upgrade now that this release is on its way. I’m certainly glad that Columbia has proven me wrong because I never thought they’d do it given that it’s already available as a barebones disc.

Anyway, the fact that THE PROFESSIONALS is indeed something special is borne out by all the major awards (listed below) it was nominated for at the time of its original release and which are not commonly bestowed on this type of genre picture:


•Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards
•Best Adapted Screenplay (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards
•Best Motion Picture Drama – Golden Globes
•Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Directors Guild Of America
•Best Written American Drama (Richard Brooks) – Writers Guild Of America


Featuring a great cast (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Ralph Bellamy and Claudia Cardinale), beautiful camerawork and a typically fine Maurice Jarre score, the film is highlighted by Richard Brooks’ witty script and Burt Lancaster’s boisterous performance. It’s worth noting here that Brooks had already directed Lancaster towards his only ever Academy Award in ELMER GANTRY (1960) and that the former made two other excellent Westerns in his career – THE LAST HUNT (1956) and BITE THE BULLET (1975).

While THE PROFESSIONALS rarely crops up when classic Westerns are discussed, I’d say it lies somewhere between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) – where a bunch of “experts” on the fringes of the law are recruited for a seemingly impossible mission – and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) – where these same people realize they’re getting on in their years and ultimately find themselves out of touch with the times they’re living in.

As for the rest of the Westerns being released around the same time, I’ve only watched THE VIOLENT MEN (1955) and JUBAL (1956) and, while they’re good Westerns in their own right, I too echo other posters’ feelings about the Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott Western cycle needing to be on DVD; I’ve watched all but two of them – SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (1956) and THE TALL T (1957) – and would love to have them in my collection.

 

[Bert Greene]

Glad to see "Lust for Gold" coming out. That's an old favorite. Quite a violent film for 1949.

But what's the deal with releasing things like "Bonanza Town" (1951), a short Durango Kid b-western, as single releases? This is at least the second one Columbia has put out this way. For the price, they should at least make double-feature discs out of them. I like b-westerns, but gee whiz, this is too expensive for a single 55-minute film.

 

[Rick Spruill]

This really is great news. I couldn't tell you how many times I've almost bought this movie. Now, I'm very glad to have waited. Thanks for the news.

 

[Doug Bull]

I pray that "The Violent Men" will contain the original Stereo Track that was on the Laserdisc.

The Movie contains one of Max Steiner's better scores, which sounds fantastic in Stereo.
My old laserdisc has a bit of laser rot towards the end, so a replacement DVD in Stereo would really be a blessing.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Most of the time I just read and then delete the various press releases that pop through my inbox. Someone else always posts 'em here anyway. But I just got one that had me quite happy indeed! Read on:

 

[Keith I]

Hopefully it will be the correct aspect ratio, unlike the improperly-framed first version that was released which I ended up with! (I'm sure it will be correct; just bringing up that past incident.)
-

 

[Scott Weinberg]

While I was happily typing away regarding the just-announced Silverado Gift Set, another Wild West-related press release from CTHE splatted into my bin. I've never seen these ones, but I suspect they're titles that some of you may adore. (I'll be seeing them for myself soon enough!)

 

[Scott Weinberg]

True enough, but maybe this will help you feel a little bit better:

 

[BrandonJF]

Sony did re-release it in the correct aspect ratio. I was glad I waited.

 

[Ira Siegel]

Thanks for the heads up, Scott. I hope these are released as a boxed set.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

I hope that OAR bit is a typo on CTHE's part; JUBAL was filmed in Cinemascope.

 

[Tino]

NOT!

I believe this was the film that didn't revive the Hollwood western. It was a boxoffice flop iirc. Still loved it though and will double dip.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Made about $32m in 1985. Surely not a blockbuster, but not a total flop either. Plus it's obviously gained a lot of fans over the years.

But yeah, I'd agree that the whole "movie that revived the western" thing is a more than a little overstated. (Pale Rider grossed over $40m the same year.)

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Oh yeah. Lust in the Dust also came out in 1985. It almost grossed $750,000!

AND 1985 also gave us Rustler's Rhapsody! That one made just over $6 million!

Apparently 1985 was the year of the Western!

 

[Tim Glover]

Love this film. Thanks for sharing this Scott. Only decision is to get this sure to be improved Superbit version or wait about a year or so and get the Blu-Ray version????