*** Official Warner Archive DVD Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Richard M S]

I don't have any specific examples, but I still cannot help thinking that some of the films released via this program were meant for the "regular" Warner DVD release and hence were re-mastered, but due to the economy's collapse found their way here instead.

 

[Mark Pytel]

In response to Chuck's post about the weird effect that he was getting on Dream Lover.
It is not just you. I noticed this same effect on Countdown...very much so...the credits..which are red almost look like they have a unique effect to make a zebra pattern on the credits...this is not supposed to be there.
And I noticed it on Enemy of the People although not so much.
Also pay attention to the opening video commercial for the archive....the effect is there as well whenever red is on the screen.
All of the b&W films I got looked fine.
But the color ones all have this weird effect whenever red is present.

I contacted WB on this and they said that no one has mentioned about this before. They are sending me two new discs free thinking that maybe I got bad ones. The girl did say that if it is still doing it it may be then how the discs are being made. She really didn't know that much since she was just customer service.

I contacted allied vaughn to ask them about the discs and hopefully I will get a response.
The quaility of the transfers is fine...but that compression leaves a lot to be desired.
I suggest we all contact WB and ask them to contact allied vaughn and tell them that they are making making the disc improperly.
-Mark

 

[Simon Howson]

This is a very old problem. It is caused by Allied Vaughn using a very old MPEG2 encoder, and not deinterlacing the content. There is a very lengthy explanation from a long time ago here. It is sad that this is even an issue on DVDs being released in 2009, irrespective of the source material. It can and should be fixed during the encoding process, it is to WHV's discredit that it wasn't taken into account before authoring the first lot of DVDs.

 

[KELLYBOY]

Just watched THREE SAILORS AND A GIRL, and although the color might not have been on par with SO THIS IS LOVE, I was pretty satisfied with the look of this DVD. Unlike another comment, I did not find any flickering or edge enhancement and at times the colors were quite vivid. Reds sometimes tend to be oversaturated and this does not bother me as I have seen this on many HDNET color telecasts. The screen caps don't do the film justice. Sound quality was quite good. I am wondering if inconsistencies in watching this films and maybe others have to do with what TV or DVD system one is using. BTW, the notes on this DVD are quite laughable. They state "cameos from real life Broadway legends George Abbott, Moss Hart and Ira Gershwin." These three legends are played by actors impersonating these people.

Other films viewed:

BHOWANI JUNCTION: I found the print to be quite gorgeous. Also the screen caps posted don't do this film justice either. The stereo sound is also very good. A very satisfying presentation.

ON BORROWED TIME: This DVD opened with the old Turner logo and there seemed to be flickering on the credits. Did not see this once the film began. However this 70 year old film is showing its age. There were some scratches and the B&W image is on the softer side. But this was not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this beautiful fantasy. I am happy this one finally made it to DVD.

 

[Jay E]

Again, as somebody else asked, could everyone please state what hardware you are using to view these...thanks!

 

[JohnMor]

It also affects Heart Beat in the few scenes set in jazz bars, with red lighting. The red light reflecting on Nick Nolte's face makes it look like you're seeing him through bevelled glass. Very distracting. Luckily, there's only a couple of those scenes in the film.

 

[KELLYBOY]

INTERRUPTED MELODY: One of my favorite films from the 50s. Although I have the laser, I was looking forward to the DVD release and I was not disappointed. I found the quality of this DVD to be almost flawless in Eastman Color and sound. Oscar nominee Eleanor Parker is quite superb as opera diva Marjorie Lawrence. Its hard to believe Parker is not actually singing the arias but the voice is in fact Eileen Farrell. I watched the film on my 52" Mitsubishi DLP and Toshiba DVD player.

 

[Adam_S]

Except the Big House is the sort of film you expect WB to release during their annual vault mining of feb/march oscar oriented releases. nominated for best picture, first female screenwriter to win an oscar for screenwriting (and then the only one to win for more than fifty years, iirc), controversial in its day as well. But without a new telecine, that's the best a relatively important film will look on home video. to get a better idea of how it might look you'll have to luck into a theatrical screening of it. It'd have been a good title for the first controversial classics set, though it's not as strong as any of those films, but it's at the level of commerciality as Fury or I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

THANKS MARK! I'm so glad someone else can confirm this! I can't imagine it looking worse than on DREAM LOVER. Those huge pixilated images are directly from the disc and it REALLY looks like that. Unbelievable. I really hope they fix this issue on future encodes....

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I was quite pleased with my copy of Doc Savage Man of Bronze.

 

[Jeff Swindoll]

Erm, when did Vivid Entertainment start an Archive service?

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[Skweeker]

"Countdown" to my eye looked acceptable: like a typical "unrestored" movie of its vintage. I did not see any artifacts in red areas, as some have reported.
The disc will be a must for Altman complete-ists!
"A Lion is in the Streets" has occasional print damage, and has "cigarette burns" (sprocket holes). The color seems a touch faded, too. It reminds me, as to quality, of some of the old pre-recorded studio-made VHS tapes that I had in my collection. But still very "watchable".
Nice to have some more 'late' Cagney on dvd. And that Anne Francis is plenty hot! But her part is too brief... (OT: So what's the holdup on Shake Hands with the Devil?)

 

[GlennH]

Some comments on the program, Countdown, and The D.I. here:

Warner Archive DVDs: A hands-on evaluation | Crave - CNET

 

[Matt Hough]

Two or three weeks ago, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY had a review of PRIVATE LIVES (1931) and was pretty negative about it.

I watched it last night. True, it's got a fair amount of dirt and debris especially in the first half of the film and the audio is definitely hissy, but I watched THE DIVORCEE from the FORBIDDEN HOLLYWOOD Vol. 2 the other night (basically the same period of Shearer's film career), and it didn't look appreciably better than PRIVATE LIVES. The EW review complained about the softness of the image. Frankly, I was rather pleased it was as sharp as it was. Again, no worse than THE DIVORCEE.

 

[Colin McGuigan]

It should be pointed out though that the price of The Divorcee works out at $7-$8 (for a proper pressed disc too) compared to $20 for Private Lives.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is for reviews not to discuss pricing.





Crawdaddy

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I meant Doc Savage which is a Warner title. Okay?

 

[Mike Kuhns]

I've watched four of the six movies in my most recent order. As others have mentioned, (1)THE MONEY TRAP looks very good, and (2)THE BIG HOUSE is in poor condition. I think the problem with THE BIG HOUSE is in the source material rather than the transfer. It's a fairly significant film of its genre, and it would be nice to see it restored.
(3)THE OKLAHOMAN, widescreen enhanced in color, looks quite good, comparable to WESTBOUND and WICHITA, which were included in an earlier order. It's an entertaining Allied Artists western which replaces my old VHS copy.
(4) CANYON RIVER, also widescreen enhanced in color, does not fare as well. It starts out okay, but over the course of the 80 minute running time, the image quality deteriorates to the point where it looks no better than your average old movie recorded from television (aside from being widescreen); and some of the stock footage of cattle stampedes looks worse yet. It's not that great a movie either, unless you're a real western buff. Have you ever noticed that George Montgomery's cowboy hats always have a much wider brim than those worn by other Hollywood cowboys?

 

[CineKarine]

I have received 4 Archive titles and have 2 more on the way.

If you consider small displays preposterous, you can skip this review right now or have a good laugh, your choice...

I have a standard DVD player/recorder, a brand new tube TV perfect for the all the Academy ratio films I watch, a Sony amp and PSB speakers.

So far I have watched Three Comrades and it looks considerably better than the home video VHS I have or the DVD-R a friend burned for me off TCM. I thought both sound and picture were much superior and picture much sharper too. I could not be more delighted - one of my all-time favorite films.

I also watched Three Sailors and a Girl - the only copy I had was an old faded, washed-out TV print with commercial breaks, so there is truly no comparison to be made. It totally obliterates my old VHS. (I even found out my old TV-taped copy had been very briefly edited!) The colors are very rich and beautiful and ditto the sound. Hearing Jane Powell and Gordon MacRae sing is one of the greatest pleasures I can think of.

So naturally, not having a highly sophisticated high def set-up, everything looks great, which makes me happier than ever that I did not listen to friends and family last year who were pressuring me to get a widescreen flat screen. I guess that makes me an anachronism in more ways that one.