Lubitsch Musicals box set by Eclipse (Criterion) in February (1 Viewer)

[JohnRa]

Yes, this is great news! And "Wings" would please me even more.

 

[CineKarine]

Really looking forward to this set! Both those who loves musicals and those who love pre-codes will be in sheer cinematic heaven I think. The Beaver has some screen shots on his site and there is also a review on DVDTalk. I can hardly wait!!! I can finally get rid of my old TV-taped copies!

 

[haroldS]

Now that the collection has been released, I presume it meets the expectations of the people who have commented about the set. It has received favorable reviews by Leonard Maltin, Mike La Salle in the S.F. Chronicle and on NPR's FreshAir. While it is only February, any comments about the set being on any of the 2008 Top 10 DVD or Box Set lists?

 

[Matt Hough]

A set was requested for me to review, but Criterion was not forthcoming, sad to say.

 

[Rob_Ray]

I picked it up last week. It's a bare-bones set, with each film on its own disc, no extras and and some of the dullest artwork you'll ever find.

But it's the films themselves that count and each one is gloriously transferred, with film grain reflecting the films' age but with shimmering black and white photography and that wonderfully crisp early Paramount sound. As with the old laserdisc transfers, "The Smiling Lieutenant" looks the best, probably since rights problems kept the negatives untouched for decades.

My only complaint, and its a mixed one, is with "One Hour With You." The laserdisc used UCLA's restoration print, with many tinted scenes and exit music. The print here is a beautiful, digitally cleaned-up black and white print with no exit music.

 

[John_S]

I'm very happy with the set- it'll certainly be on MY top ten list!

 

[PMBen]

I only have one problem with the Lubitsch set. I watched One Hour with You several times on a 35mm print from a restoration done by UCLA (which I think is the source for the DVD as well). The image wasn't plain black & white film in that print: it was tinted like some films of the silent era (blue for exterior night scenes, brown for interior scenes etc.) I guess this is the way the film was originally shown and I wonder why Criterion decided to eliminate the tinting and make the image on the DVD just black & white.

 

Otherwise, beautiful collection.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Interesting - you could probably send an email / post a question on Criterion's Facebook page and they'll respond with some kind of answer.