Warners announce Bette Davis Collection (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

Crawdaddy

 

[RafaelPires]

Thanks Crawdaddy,
With that information you just made my day!

 

[Marc^H]

For the box set crowd (like me), it just looks like bad business:

If you love Davis, you probably already own THE LETTER and NOW VOYAGER. And it would be tough to actually buy this as a gift for someone, for the same reasons.

Same with the Crawford set. Does anyone who likes Crawford not own THE WOMEN or MILDRED PIERCE?

BUT, Warner certainly stands to make some money on the single title releases this time around. Basically they make more profit margin per title if the titles sell individually, right?

I can't even find a store here in NYC that has the "Comedy Classics" box set. But everyone has the single titles in stock.

Maybe the chains don't like the box sets so much? Just a thought.

 

[Steve...O]

The repackaging of certain titles makes me curious if Warners has noticed their box sets cannibalizing their standalone titles. In my personal case, I regularly buy their box sets for their outstanding content and value. However money doesn't grow on trees so I haven't bought some of the standalone releases (like "The Letter"). I welcome this Bette Davis set because it will allow me to catch up on some worthy titles. However I can readily see how people who buy a lot more DVDs than I do are justifibly upset.

Perhaps Warners is sensing that consumers who aren't willing to spend $14.95 for a single title are more likely to spend $40 for a box set of 5 or 6 films?

Steve

 

[John Hodson]

Full details of the box contents at thedvdforums here, including confirmation of what we hoped on Dark Victory:

Dark Victory (1939)
Although previously released at the dawn of DVD, a new presentation of Bette Davis's bravura, moving, but never morbid performance as Judith Traherne, a dying heiress determined to find happiness in her few remaining months, has been fully-restored from the original negative for this DVD re-issue. Dark Victory remains a three-hankie classic and was Davis' biggest box-office hit yet, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Actress and Original Score.

DVD Special Features include:
* New Digital Transfer from Restored Picture and Audio Elements
* Commentary by Film Historian James Ursini and CNN Film Critic Paul Clinton
* New Featurette 1939: Tough Competition for Dark Victory
* Theatrical Trailer
* Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

 

[Charles H]

Any word on the "fate" or what Warners intends to do with the 1929 Paramount production of THE LETTER? It is my understanding that the rights issue has been cleared up but too late for inclusion on the original January release of the Davis version.

 

[Rob Willey]

I'll probably pick up Dark Victory and Now Voyager, the others I can take or leave. Too bad they didn't include All This and Heaven Too or It's Love I'm After.

Rob

 

[Garysb]

Quote" Any word on the "fate" or what Warners intends to do with the 1929 Paramount production of THE LETTER? It is my understanding that the rights issue has been cleared up but too late for inclusion on the original January release of the Davis version"


I don't know about the DVD but the 1929 version is going to be shown on April 7 at the Film Forum in New York City. Per their website
Quote"

The Letter New 35 MM Print
1929) Unseen apart from incomplete 16mm prints, this first screen adaptation of the Somerset Maugham play about adultery and murder on an Indonesian rubber plantation stars legendary Broadway actress Jeanne Eagels (in the role played by Bette Davis in 1940), with Herbert Marshall — husband in the later version — as her lover. Of three surviving Eagels films, it's the only one with sound; she died of a drug overdose the same year.

Hope that means it will be on DVD soon

 

[Frank M]

Does Warner release the Bette Davis Collection only in the United States and not in Canada ? At Amazon.ca the box is listed as IMPORT. Three canadian shops (Amazon, dvdsoon, dvdboxoffice) list instead of the collection a three-disc-pack with the old Jezebel, The Letter and Now, Voyager DVDs for May 31.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

^ Frank, Im gonna be REALLY pissed if that's the case with yet ANOTHER release from WB!

What's so difficult about securing distribution rights over here?!

I'm planning on driving up to Burlington later in the week because I'm sick of waiting for the Comedy Classics Collection and want to replace my single-disc Easter Parade. Ridiculous huh?!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I just realised that the Steve Mqueen box is also listed as an import title under Amazon.ca... what the hell gives?!?!


I really hope somebody gets the oppurtunity to address this issue at the upcoming chat, why on earth would Warner Bros. sacrifice half of their potential market over not licensing certain films or features. It's so damn frustrating!

 

[Patrick McCart]

It may just be out of their control. Remember that a lot of their films have tricky rights issues. For example, Warners doesn't even handle RKO films in R2. On the other hand, Warner Bros. handled The Passion of the Christ in Canada, while Fox handled the DVD in the U.S.

Heck, there's also the issue of titles they distribute for smaller companies... for example, while they distribute Castle Hill films like Stagecoach, Foreign Correspondent, and A Face in the Crowd... Castle Hill has licensed films to Pioneer and Criterion (the John Cassevetes films).

 

[Roger Rollins]

Patrick is correct. Before one were to jump to conclusions, realize that WB may only be doing the best that it can due to rights restrictions.

Although Canada is not effected, due to prior licensing agreements, WB does not have rights to the RKO library in many international territories (save for a few countries), and they will not regain those rights for some time.

Second of all, there is no way Warner would INTENTIONALLY
exclude its Canadian consumers from its marketing intiatives. If such things occur, it could only be a matter of rights issues.

As I look at the McQueen set, I can't find any picture that wouldn't be owned by WB in Canada, so it makes no sense that the McQueen box would be available there as well as the U.S.

 

[Nick Eden]

So I guess we are saying that it is The Star in the Bette Davis boxset which maybe causing difficulties outside of USA (i.e. in Canada)?

Over here in the UK the rights to RKO titles (at least on home video) are held by Universal. An earlier thread above seemed to imply that this is maybe a temporary issuing of rights and that in due course the ownership of the titles will come under Warners. That is interesting. Is this the case all over the world, with the RKO titles controlled by different companies for now, but due at some point to come under one owner (Warners)? If this is the case, what is the time frame for this happening?

 

[Roger Rollins]

RKO licensed much of its international rights for a LONG time (30? 40 years?) back in the '70s....I don't think Warner Bros. will be getting all the rights back for many years.......

Just a hypothesis on my part from what I have been able to garner from research on the subject going through old trade papers, etc.

 

[DavidBC]

I was just looking on Amazon.ca, and the Bette Davis set (along with the Joan Crawford one) are no longer listed as imports. Admittedly, amazon can be kind of back-and-forth on these things, but it is definately a good sign for us Canadians!

 

[Jeff_HR]

I'll be buying 2 of the titles in the Box, but not the Box set itself. I have NO interest in "The Star" & I already have "The Letter" & "Now Voyager" from earlier.

 

[Miguel M Santos]

Any reviews of this yet?

 

[DavidBC]

Can anyone read the writing on the bottom of the spine of the box on the dvdtimes site?


I'm pretty sure the Crawford one says "It's all about the men!"

 

[Brent Avery]

I could have bought both the Crawford and Bette Davis boxsets on Friday but already alloted my budget on other releases so I'll have to wait until the 15th - but I can say that all 5 films are included in the Bette Davis set:

The Star
Mr. Skeffington
Dark Victory
Now,Voyager
The Letter

Would have been nice to go over them and give some idea of their overall quality - the place I shop at wanted me to take some off their hands as they were getting swamped with titles and were running out of space to store them. I wanted to help them out but what can you do?