Press Release Warner Archive Collection Press Release: Cabin In The Sky (1943) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Coming to Blu-ray January 30th!
NEW 2023 1080p HD Master from 4K Scan of Preservation Elements!
CABIN IN THE SKY (1943)
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Subtitles: ENGLISH SDH
Audio Specs: DTS HD-MA 2.0
Aspect Ratio 16x9 1.37:1 with Side Mattes
Product color: B&W
Disc Configuration-BD 50
Directed by Vincente Minnelli

Cast: Ethel Waters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, Rex Ingram

Special Features: Feature commentary by Evangela Anderson and Eva Anderson (Wife and Daughter of Eddie "Rochester" Anderson), Fayard Nicholas, Black Cultural Scholar Todd Boyd, Film Historian Dr. Drew Casper and Interview Excerpts of Lena Horne; Vintage Pete Smith Specialty "Studio Visit"; Audio-only bonus: Louis Armstrong "Ain't it the Truth" Outtake; Original Theatrical Trailer.

Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong—head an exciting cast of musical legends in this musical fantasy as temptation pulls a man toward Satan . . . and his loving and God-fearing wife fights for his eternal soul. Seriously injured in a barroom brawl, Little Joe Jackson (Anderson) hovers between life and death, dreaming that he is the centerpiece of an epic struggle between Heaven and Hell for his soul: On his side are the prayers of his loyal, pious wife, Petunia (Waters) battling on the side of darkness is Lucifer Jr. (Rex Ingram) and his most powerful weapon, the beautiful and seductive Georgia Brown, played to the hilt by a stunning Lena Horne. Based on the hit Broadway musical which starred Waters and Ingram, the film is best remembered as the feature directorial debut of the great Vincente Minnelli.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

See on Amazon

 

[ahollis]

Very happy with this announcement.

 

[Garysb]

The reason the Pete Smith Specialty "Studio Visit" is included with this release is because it includes the out take of Lena Horne singing "Ain't It The Truth" from "Cabin In The Sky". I believe this short is the reason the out take still exists and that it's use in 'That Entertainment III" came from this short as opposed to being " found in the vaults " as implied in that documentary.
The song was later used in Lena Horne's Broadway musical, "Jamaica" in the 1950's .

 

[lark144]

The DVD was fairly mediocre. Can't wait!

 

[DigniT@DigniT!]

THRILLED!

 

[Broomy]

Day one for me here. Surprised we’re getting no cartoon short (Red Hot Riding Hood would be a perfect choice for this release) but everything else looks terrific.

 

[Daniel_BB]

I am still unable to order this blu ray on Amazon. I get the message: currently unavailable. I am really surprised as this blu ray will be available in three weeks (January, 30th, 2024).

 

[Robert Crawford]

I am still unable to order this blu ray on Amazon. I get the message: currently unavailable. I am really surprised as this blu ray will be available in three weeks (January, 30th, 2024).
View attachment 208703

It's not the only January 30th release from WA in which the link has gone live yet.

 

[[email protected]]

It's not the only January 30th release from WA in which the link has gone live yet.

And I don't understand that, since Deep Discount, MovieZyng, Oldies, and Movies Unlimited all have these available for pre-order.

 

[Robert Crawford]

And I don't understand that, since Deep Discount, MovieZyng, Oldies, and Movies Unlimited all have these available for pre-order.

I understand it because we’re talking about Amazon. They do this crap all the time.

 

[Garysb]

Per IMDb:

"The film was to be released in black and white. But Vincent Minnelli thought that it may look better in sepia. They tested a section of the film in sepia and all agreed to process the film in this color. In 2018, the George Eastman Museum screened a restored sepia-toned print of the film. "

As there has been no mention of a restored sepia-toned disc I assume the blu ray will be black and white.

Here is the trailer in B&W

 

[jayembee]

The DVD was fairly mediocre. Can't wait!

Is there any other way for mediocre to be?

 

[Broomy]

Per IMDb:

"The film was to be released in black and white. But Vincent Minnelli thought that it may look better in sepia. They tested a section of the film in sepia and all agreed to process the film in this color. In 2018, the George Eastman Museum screened a restored sepia-toned print of the film. "

As there has been no mention of a restored sepia-toned disc I assume the blu ray will be black and white.

Here is the trailer in B&W

Didn’t know this, it’ll be a shame if it’s not released in sepia tone but I feel it would’ve been mentioned in the press release?

 

[Jay_Z_525]

I received the disc today and did a quick scrub through it. This looks really beautiful- just what you’d expect.

I do find it interesting, though, that the commentary runs during the old, standard definition transfer. Don’t know why they’d have included both versions and not just the commentary track.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I received the disc today and did a quick scrub through it. This looks really beautiful- just what you’d expect.

I do find it interesting, though, that the commentary runs during the old, standard definition transfer. Don’t know why they’d have included both versions and not just the commentary track.

They've done this beforehand on other Blu-ray releases that had previously DVD releases with commentaries. I think it's a sync issue so that they didn't have to do a new commentary.

 

[Jay_Z_525]

They've done this beforehand on other Blu-ray releases that had previously DVD releases with commentaries. I think it's a sync issue so that they didn't have to do a new commentary.

Goes to show how often I listen to the commentary. Which I should because I always enjoy them.

 

[sbjork]

The running time is different with the new restoration. Not by much, but it's now 99:04 instead of 98:39 with the old one. Probably just the cumulative effect of extra frames here and there with the edits, but I didn't compare them directly. The commentary actually isn't super screen-specific, so it probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but they probably did do it that way to make sure that things line up.

More importantly, it's an absolutely gorgeous disc, and a vast improvement over the DVD. Maybe still not quite flawless, but damned close. No, it's not sepia toned, but it's lovely black-and-white cinematography from Sidney Wagner. I never saw the sepia toned print that the Eastman Museum ran a few years ago, but I have seen some scenes in sepia, and I honestly prefer black-and-white. It was shot with straight B&W in mind, with Minnelli pushing for sepia as an afterthought.

Speaking of afterthoughts, I went and saw the black-and-white version of Godzilla Minus One last weekend, and then came home and watched Cabin in the Sky. I'm not any more of a fan of converting color films into black-and-white than I am of colorizing B&W films, especially since it looks just as artificial to my eyes. Watching the real B&W cinematography in Cabin in the Sky the same day threw that artificiality into sharp relief.

Tl;dr: buy this disc.