Warner, think about the following RETAIL releases (collective thread)

First of all I have no idea whether this "please release" thread is welcome or not? Before the software update there was a collective thread for all studios but this seems to be gone. So, if this thread is not welcome, just close it.

But in the wake of the Archive program it's probably a good way to express some suggestions and wishes for potential retail releases. This sould not lead into another anti-Archive thread. I think one has to tolerate their decision even though one doesn't like them.

But I think this thread might be a good way for requests and suggestions regarding upcoming retail releases of classic titles. We do know, the guys over at Warner are reading this forum and maybe we can influence their decisions and plans positively by bringing some titles to DVD that were originally planned for the Archive.

Nonetheless, we have to be realistic. The good old days with 2 or more boxsets a month are over and I don't think there will be a change in 2010 but I do believe, the market is still strong enough for one classic retail set released every two or three month and Warner has still some big titles waiting for a re-release or DVD/Blu-ray premiere.

Here are my requests:

I'd love to see a final: "The Humphrey Bogart Signature Coll. Vol. 3" with the following titles:

- The Two Mrs. Carrolls
- Conflict
- Battle Circus *
- Chain Lightning *
- *

Titles marked with * can be exchanged with some of his earlier films. I think: The Oklahoma Kid, King of the Underworld, The Wagons Roll at Night, It All Came True, The Great O'Malley might have a chance for a spot in an upcoming Bogey set, while such titles like Racket Busters, Men Are Such Fools, Swing Your Lady, Isle of Fury etc. might turn up as Archive titles.

My next request:

Please, give us more "Bette Davis Coll." There are enough big titles for at least two more sets.

My next request:

Film Noir, oh boy, I love Film Noir and I'm really looking forward to Vol. 5 that's probably getting released sometime in 2010 but as with "Bette Davis". You, Warner, are sitting on such a massive pile of Noir titles and even though you already put several of them into the Archive, think about a Vol. 6 or Vol. 7. One customer is guaranteed, moi. :)

My next request:

"Forbidden Hollywood". I hope these sets sold well - I do think they sold well because Universal put out one themed set as well and that's a good sign - and there are plans for more Volumes. I don't have to say that there are still several unreleased titles that can be labeled Pre-Code.

Last but not least:

Keep working on the stuff, mentioned in this year's chat. Please release the "Jean Harlow Set" in 2011 and don't forget "Greed", "The Devils" or "The Magnificent Ambersons".

My 52 box sets are waiting for brothers and sisters ;)

 

Edited by MLamarre - 11/3/09 at 3:24pm

SURVIVING PICASSO

I think there is room for another musicals box set including:

THE GREAT CARUSO
LILI
THE GLASS SLIPPER
LOVELY TO LOOK AT
SUMMER HOLIDAY (with possible outtakes)
MEET ME IN LAS VEGAS

I would buy all of these hypothetical releases.

THE WIND
THE CROWD
THE BIG PARADE
Weren't these in the works?

The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils, The Devils.........

#1

Hollywood Legends of Horror Vol #2

• Kongo (1932)
• West of Zanzibar (1928)
• Svengali (1931)
• The Mad Genius (1931)
• The Beast With Five Fingers (1946)
• He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

#2

Film Noir Volume #5

• Desperate (1947)
• The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)
• Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)
• The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
• The Threat (1949)
• The Window (1949)
• The Verdict (1946)
• Rogue Cop (1954)
• Armored Car Robbery (1950)
• Out of the Fog (1947)

#3

Dark of the Sun (1968) a.k.a. The Mercenaries

#4

The Sea Wolf (1941)

#5

The Devil's Doorway (1950)

#6

The Hanging Tree (1959)

#7

The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)  - a double feature disc with She (1965) would be even better

Edited by Jim_K - 9/27/09 at 6:57am

King Vidor's   Northwest Passage
Mervyn Leroy's  No Time For Sergeants

A while back NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS was supposed to have a dvd release with I believe commentary by Andy Griffith.  Also, whatever happened to the dvd release of LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA?

BREWSTER McCLOUD while Altman/Court/Kellerman are still(?) around. 
THE DEVILS
oh-and thanks, BOB-add SHE
please.

And WARNER, how about DVDs of the REMASTERS of CONTACT, 2010, MAD MAX 2, MATRIX etc
you will sell 2-3-5 times as many on DVD as you will BR based on anecdotal evidence-a pal or 2 in the biz-oh-and a Q1,2 2009 sales pie chart I just saw on VIDEO BUSINESS; (And past weekly EG/VIDEOSCANS, sales charts which mysteriously dropped from public view in March-let me guess why.....)
In fact i am surprised you are still pushing BR and kissing off guaranteed substantial extra DVD sales/profits
It aint gonna fly AND Christmas 2009 aint gonna save ya-that much is clear
What ARE you thinking/smoking?
IF I were a major stockholder, heads would roll
Edited by Mark_TS - 9/27/09 at 1:30pm

Not Altman. 

And as THE VERDICT and SHE are available from the Warner Archive I wouldn't count on them getting an "official" release.

Got too much time this evening and because of this I went through the Beaver's list of Noir/noirish movies and picked up those Noirs that might have a chance for a retail release. The list contains of 38 titles, enough for at least three more sets and some of the movies included in the list can be used for star-themed sets as well. Don't know whether these are all controlled by Warner but I think so:

 

Armored Car Robbery
(The Beast with Five Fingers (The Peter Lorre Collection))
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
(Beyond the Forest (Bette Davis Collection Vol. 4))
Born to Be Bad
The Breaking Point
The Clay Pigeon
Cornered
(Conflict (Humphrey Bogart Signature Vol.3))
Cry Danger
Deadline at Dawn
Desperate
The Devil Thumbs a Ride
Follow Me Quietly
The Fugitive
High Wall
Johnny Angel
Journey into Fear
The Locket
(The Mask of Dimitrios (The Peter Lorre Collection))
Nobody Lives Forever
Nocturne
Out of the Fog
(The People Against O'Hara (Spencer Tracy Collection?))
The Phoenix City Story
Riffraff
Rogue Cop
Stranger on the Third Floor
A Woman's Secret
Talk About a Stranger
They Won't Believe Me
(Three Strangers (The Peter Lorre Collection))
Tomorrow Is Forever
(The Two Mrs. Carrolls (Humphrey Bogart Signature Vol.3))
The Woman on the Beach
The Window
While the City Sleeps
When Strangers Marry

"The Phoenix City Story" aired on TCM a couple of nights ago - nice letterboxed print.


 

I second the suggestion for a Musicals box, ideally including Summer Holiday, Yolanda and the Thief, I Love Melvin, and Thousands Cheer (for those of us unable to purchase the Warner Archive edition.)

Of your list, I'd most like to see the following - though I have to admit I'm more than cynical that any of these will ever see proper release...



ROBERT TAYLOR NOIR DOUBLE-FEATURES  (two-disc digipak)

Rogue Cop  -  High Wall

The Bribe  -  Johnny Eager

Bonus: Commentaries - Theatrical Trailers


ROBERT TAYLOR SIGNATURE COLLECTION  (five double-feature discs)

Escape  -  Above And Beyond

All The Brothers Were Valiant  -  Three Comrades

The Crowd Roars  -  A Yank At Oxford

Flight Command  -  Stand By For Action

Lucky Night  -  Party Girl

Bonus: Taylor Documentary - Vintage Warner & MGM Cartoons - Theatrical Trailers
 

ROBERT TAYLOR CLASSIC WESTERNS COLLECTION

Devil's Doorway
Westward The Women
Ride, Vaquero!
The Last Hunt
Stand Up And Fight
Ambush
Billy The Kid

Bonus: Commentaries - Theatrical Trailers


PETER LORRE SIGNATURE COLLECTION

The Beast With Five Fingers
Stranger On The Third Floor
The Mask Of Dimitrios
The Verdict
Three Strangers
Strange Cargo

Bonus: Lorre Documentary - Commentaries

(there's also "You'll Find Out" from 1940 but apart from it's a-list cast co-starring Karloff and Lugosi, it's a terrible movie)



RKO B-NOIR FILM COLLECTION  (five double-feature discs)

Armored Car Robbery  -  The Devil Thumbs A Ride

Follow Me Quietly  -  Desperate

The Threat  -  The Window

Roadblock  -  The Tattooed Stranger

They Won't Believe Me  -  The Clay Pigeon

Bonus: RKO-Pathe Screenliners; "Teenagers On Trial" - This Is America; "Street Of Shadows" - Documentary on B-Noirs/Poverty Row - b/w Warner Cartoons - Commentaries



FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL. 6  (four double-feature discs)

While The City Sleeps  -  Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

The Phoenix City Story  -  Cry Danger (does Warner actually own this title?)

Cornered  -  The Locket

He Ran All The Way  -  The Breaking Point

Bonus: Commentaries - Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies Shorts



FILM NOIR COLLECTION VOL. 7  (five double-feature discs)

The Two Mrs. Carrolls  -  Conflict

Out Of The Fog  -  Nobody Lives Forever

The Woman On The Beach  -  Berlin Express

Born To Be Bad (more melodrama than noir, but classic Nicholas Ray)  -  A Woman's Secret

Johnny Angel  -  Nocturne
 

Bonus: Commentaries - Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies Shorts





Fat chance, most likely...

These will all probably turn up on overpriced interlaced barebones DVD-R in the next year. 




Edited by MarcoBiscotti - 9/28/09 at 8:25am

Great ideas! Hope Warner is reading!

I hope so, too and Marco's Noir sets sound really great. Hope, at least some of those titles mentioned here will get a traditional release.

Not that this will ever happen, but I'd love to see a Richard Barthelmess collection.

The Patent Leather Kid
The Dawn Patrol
The Last Flight
Central Airport
A Modern Hero

I suppose they'll all be relegated to the Archive, though, at some point.  Alas.

A few more fantasy releases...


WARNER CLASSIC WESTERNS COLLECTION, VOL. 2  (five double-feature discs)

The Badlanders  -  Iron Mistress

Blood On The Moon  -  Ramrod

Tribute To A Bad Man  -  The Oklahoma Kid

Wichita  -  Stranger On Horseback

The Outiders  -  The Burning Hills



WARNER CLASSIC WESTERNS COLLECTION, VOL. 3  (five double-feature discs)

The Big Sky  -  Along The Great Divide

The Hanging Tree  -  Charge At Feather River

Westbound  -  Station West

Day Of The Evil Gun  -  The Sheepman

Best Of The Badmen  -  Return Of The Badmen



WARNER CLASSIC WESTERNS COLLECTION, VOL. 4  (five double-feature discs)

Rancho Notorious  -  Strange Lady In Town

Collorado Territory  -  Silver River

Lone Star  -  Accross The Wide Missouri

Fastest Gun Alive  -  Advance To The Rear

Badman's Territory  -  Gunfight At Commanche Creek



WARNER CLASSIC WESTERNS COLLECTION, VOL. 5  (six double-feature discs)

Stars In My Crown  -  Great Day In The Morning

Gun Glory  -  The Moonlighter

Rachel And The Stranger  -  Roughshod

The Wild North  -  Texas Lady

Seven Angry Men  -  Tension At Table Rock

The Command  -  Bullwhip


Edited by MarcoBiscotti - 9/28/09 at 8:39am

Never Let Me Go, The Devil Makes Three, When in Rome, The Black Hand, Man with a Cloak, The Barretts of Wimpole Street  (both versions), Payment Deferred, Stand By for Action, Scandal at Scourie, The Miniver Story, The People Against O'Hara, The Iron Petticoat, Sea of Grass, Keeper of the Flame, The Hucksters, Edward, My Son, Cass Timberlane, The Show-off (both versions), Merton of the Movies (and Make Me A Star), The Iron Petticoat, Perfect Strangers, Cry Terror!, Julie, The Decks Ran Red, Ring of Fire, The Strip, Glory Alley, Home Before Dark, B.F.'s Daughter, A Life of Her Own, Night into Morning, Golden Dawn, Madam Satan, The Squaw Man, Dynamite, Desperate Search, Plymouth Adventure, Kismet (1945), Going Home, Slither, Wild Rovers, Tovarich, Buddy, Buddy, The Secret Fury, The Lusty Men, Tomorrow is Another Day, The Charge at Feather River, Yellowstone Kelly, The Gold of Seven Saints, Fort Dobbs, The Miracle, So Big (all versions), The Scapegoat, All at Sea, The Catered Affair, June Bride, Merry Andrew, The Voice of the Turtle, Of Human Bondage (all versions), Blood on the Moon, Devotion, The Cobweb, Two Weeks in Another Town, The Reluctant Debutant, I Dood It, Excuse My Dust, Mayerling, The Fixer, The Split, The Outfit, Cairo, Cool Breeze, The Lawbreakers, Slither, The Sun Comes Up, Challenge to Lassie, Hills of Home, That Forsythe Woman, Julia Misbehaves, Too Much Too Soon, The Secret Garden, The Unfinished Dance, The Big City, Never a Dull Moment, The Hoodlum Saint, Red Danube, Key to the City, Night Must Fall, Two Sisters from Boston, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Island of Love, Remains to be Seen, Kind Lady (both versions), The Great Caruso, Slander, Right Cross, The Girl in White, Gabriel Over The White House, The Wet Parade, The Phynx, 80 Steps to Jonah, and Raintree County.

I am hoping that someday Warners will do a two-disc special edition of Cabaret.

I do miss the Warner boxsets and special editions. Having nothing the past 6 months is really sobering.

If we can not get "The Devils" on DVD through Warner Bros. can we at least get a reasonable reason why?

Or at least a reason why we can not get a reason????

Come on George F. please, at least throw us a bone! - and not one of Oliver Reed's charred remains (Vanessa Redgrave had other uses for that )

No one seems to want to come forward with an explanation except it's coming - but so's 2020 (and honestly there are worst things daily on Jerry Springer for the kiddies to see and hear)
Edited by Greg_M - 9/28/09 at 12:35pm

It'd be nice, and I'd buy virtually everything listed here, but other than rereleases (ANOTHER Wizard of Oz, anyone?) my guess is that Warner is done issuing catalogue titles on proper DVD.  Sony will get my money instead.

I agree. I think Warner has decided to follow the cheap dvd-r route. That makes it simple for me as I am in Canada, so no more Warner purchases for me. At least with some Warner-MGM titles there are other options, like other region discs. I just purchased the Region 2 disc of the 1939 Wuthering Heights, as well as the blu ray of Wizard of Oz without all the junk.

Even though the current situation is bad we do know from Barrie Maxwell's Classic Coming Attractions column that they are still working on retail releases:

The 10 movies Film Noir Vol.5 and the fourth Errol Flynn set and maybe they surpise us in a positive way next year.

Therefore, I haven't lost faith, yet.

The 1939 Wuthering Heights belongs to MGM through their contract for the Samuel Goldwyn films and not controlled by Warner's (yet).  With the dire financial news from MGM this week, hold on to that Region 2 disc for that will more than likely be the closest to a Region 1 release in several years.  Target and Wal-Mart are both offering the Wizard of Oz Blu-ray with out the box of junk (or treasure depending on your view point).  Not sure if these are offered in Canada or not.

Hey Marco

I am with you on those western collections.  From your mouth to George's ears, please.  I am setting aside the money for all five collections.

It could work if they released them similar to Universals's Classic Western Round-Ups sets of a few years back that retailed for cheap and were a great bargain. The difference is that those were all mostly b-grade matinee oaters starring Audie Murphy, Randolph Scott, etc in their entertaining but mostly lesser efforts. Warners is still sitting on some a-list pictures by a-list name directors and leading actors that could easily turn a modest profit if properly marketed. Unfortunately I believe that this entire thread is a pipe dream as the Warner Home Video of three years ago is no more. If they simply released anything at all in the way of catalog titles, that would be something. I have no hopes and the archives have killed off any anticipation for many titles I'd once wished to see released. It's too bad really.