20th Century Fox's 'Film Noir Classics' DVD Series

I have very limited experience with Film Noir, most of which I gained during film school. However, I did like what I saw and have made a few blind purchases from the Studio Classics line.

Bring on the Film Noir line! I have no wishlist, so these will all be blind purchases for me!

Nils,
Thanks for your great lists of Studio Classics and the Warner 2-disc SEs. Great great work!

I think the thread's a great idea, but I don't think Peter made any specific reference to Laura Nils?

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So many films, so little time...

Excellent!

On the Criterion edition of PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET, there is a trailer (in CinemaScope) for HOUSE OF BAMBOO that looks absolutely gorgeous. BAMBOO is a transposed remake of THE STREET WITH NO NAME. That would make a terrific double feature!

I don't see how Whirlpool & House of Bamboo are less likely to be released as some of the others, or are you just going by the rating on IMDB (IMO, not an accurate reflection of merit or appeal)? In fact, Whirlpool is being released in the UK on DVD.

I love all of those filmes. Fallen Angel, Hangover Square, I wake up screaming and others are most buys. I'll sure buy the entire collection as I am doing with the Studio Classic Line. And I really hope they'll do the same kind of restoration as they do with the Studio Classic ones.

Great job Fox!!!!

I for one will buy every single Fox Film Noir title, just as I'm buying every single Fox Studio Classic title. Assuming the pricing is the same (around $15 at retail, sometimes less online), it's really a no-brainer for fans of this genre (like me). Bring 'em on!

To the extent one might consider "Slattery's Hurricane" a
noir, I would like to see this title added to the
original wish list compiled by Nils.

I'm with Craig (above)!!!

These would all be blind purchases for me!!!

"'Bring 'em on' indeed!!!

Count me along with Craig and Scott. I will DEFINITELY purchase ALL of the Fox Film Noir Classics!!!

Well, it's not Fox, but I happen to know from my job in home video that Jacques Tournier's film noir classic "Out of the Past" will be coming before the end of the year from Warner.

Now THAT would be great news. Aside from Laura there are none on this list that I want as much as Out of the Past, and unfortunately, as far as I can tell, there's only speculation that Laura will be part of this, and still no word from Peter or anyone else at Fox as to what happened to that title. I hope it is indeed coming (under whatever banner), but I worry about it since there's no official word.

LAURA has been popping up lately on the Fox Movie Channel, along with a really cool bonus... An hour-long TV adaptation from 1955, featuring a different (but no less distinguished) cast including Robert Stack and George Sanders. Though it's no match for the theatrical version, it's quite entertaining and would make a GREAT DVD supplement!

I've never seen Hangover Square, but I'd buy it just to hear Herrmann in action. His piano concerto from that film is magnificent.

I have loved the Fox Studio Classics line, and have purchased them all. Their Noir line would be a no brainer. Count me in!! Fox has very quickly become my favorite studio!
Todd

A few more to add to the wish list:

MAN HUNT (1941)
SWAMP WATER (1942)
MOONTIDE (1942)
SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT (1946)
THIEVES' HIGHWAY (1949)
THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL (1951)
INFERNO (1953)
VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955)

I'd love an official announcement on Laura . If your info on not being part of Fox Studio Classics is correct Nils, I hope that the extras are carried over into the Noir series; and since I'll be buying every last one of these, I hope that this series will have something in the way of extras.

Tim

Nils, here are all the Fox titles I could come up with. As you can see, only 3 have been released. I'd bet $10 bucks that House Of Bamboo will be one of the upcoming Criterion releases... and to echo Charles' comments from the Pickup On South Street extras, the trailer for HoB looks absolutely beautiful.

I will personally buy each and every one of these if/when they are released.

13th Letter, The (1951) - 20th Century Fox
Backlash (1947) - 20th Century Fox
Blueprint for Murder, A (1953) - 20th Century Fox
Boomerang! (1947) - 20th Century Fox
Brasher Doubloon, The (1947) - 20th Century Fox
Call Northside 777 (1948) - 20th Century Fox
City of Chance (1940) - 20th Century Fox
Cry of the City (1948) - 20th Century Fox
Dark Corner, The (1946) - 20th Century Fox
Don't Bother To Knock (1952) - DVD 20th Century Fox
Fallen Angel (1945) - 20th Century Fox
Fourteen Hours (1951) - 20th Century Fox
Girl in 313 (1940) - 20th Century Fox
Hangover Square (1945) - 20th Century Fox
Hot Spot (1941) - 20th Century Fox
House of Bamboo (1955) - 20th Century Fox
House of Strangers (1949) - 20th Century Fox
House on 92nd Street, The (1945) - 20th Century Fox
House on Telegraph Hill, The (1951) - 20th Century Fox
I Wake Up Screaming (1941) - 20th Century Fox
Inferno (1953) - 20th Century Fox
Kiss of Death (1947) - 20th Century Fox
Laura (1944) - 20th Century Fox
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) - 20th Century Fox
Man Who Cheated Himself, The (1950) - 20th Century Fox
Manhunt (1941) - 20th Century Fox
Moontide (1942) - 20th Century Fox
Niagara (1953) - DVD 20th Century Fox
Night and the City (1950) - 20th Century Fox
Night Without Sleep (1952) - 20th Century Fox
Nightmare Alley (1947) - 20th Century Fox
No Way Out (1950) - 20th Century Fox
Other Woman, The (1954) - 20th Century Fox
Panic in the Streets (1950) - 20th Century Fox
Pickup on South Street (1953) - DVD Criterion
Plunder Road (1957) - 20th Century Fox
Road House (1948) - 20th Century Fox
Seven Thieves (1959) - 20th Century Fox
Somewhere in the Night (1946) - 20th Century Fox
Strange Triangle (1946) - 20th Century Fox
...aka Strange Alibi (1946)
Street with No Name, The (1948) - 20th Century Fox
Swamp Water (1942) - 20th Century Fox
Thieves' Highway (1949) - 20th Century Fox
...aka Collision (1949)
...aka Thieves' Market, The (1949)
Third Voice (1960) - 20th Century Fox
Violent Saturday (1955) - 20th Century Fox
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) - 20th Century Fox
Whirlpool (1949) - 20th Century Fox

DVDBeaver.com has posted reviews with screenshots of R2 PAL releases by BFI of Where the Sidewalk Ends, Fallen Angel, and Whirlpool.

http://www.reviews.dvdbeaver.com/

Would this have any bearing on if or when Fox may release these for R1?

Any more news on the Fox noir list?

Obviously LAURA is one of the main reasons for asking, but the list of titles included throughout this thread are uniformly exciting so I certainly hope these start appearing soon.

Press release courtesy of davisdvd.com reveals first five titles for WARNER Noir Collection (these were mentioned in the HTF chat). Where's Fox's version?:

FIVE OF THE HARD BOILED GENRE'S GREATEST HITS IN...

THE FILM NOIR CLASSIC COLLECTION

The Asphalt Jungle, Murder My Sweet, The Set Up, Out of the Past, Gun Crazy

All New DVDs Digitally Remastered for their Warner Home Video DVD Debuts


Burbank, CA (April 14, 2004) -- Murder is for keeps and happy endings are for saps when Warner Home Video (WHV) introduces The Film Noir Classic Collection on July 27th -- all-new DVD titles including John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle, Murder My Sweet, The Set Up, Out of the Past and Gun Crazy. Titles will be available in both a five-disc set, for $49.92 SRP, or individually for $19.97 SRP.

The DVDs feature commentaries from directors Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese and actor James Whitmore as well as other film noir experts Alain Silver, Jim Ursini and Glenn Erickson.

Film Noir: Shadows. Lies. Private Eyes.

The term "'Film Noir" was first used by French critic Nino Frank in a 1946 essay in which he singled out Murder My Sweet as a quintessential noir film. Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard later popularized the genre with their "Nouvelle Vague" films of the 1960s. Eddie Muller, author of three acclaimed books on Film Noir, says, "For many movie-lovers, Noir is all about style: kanted camera angles, dense shadows, a romantic, doom-laden atmosphere, always in shimmering, high-contrast black and white. In truth, that's what most people think of as Noir - rain-slick streets, guys in fedoras, dames in slinky gowns slipping into glistening Packards… Film Noir is the flip side of the all-American success story. It's about people who realize that following the program will never get them what they crave. So they cross the line, commit a crime and reap the consequences."

The WHV Film Noir Classic Collection

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Nominated for four Academy Awards and long considered a noir classic, John Huston’s heist film about a million-dollar jewelry store burglary stars Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore and features an early appearance by Marilyn Monroe in just her seventh film. The DVD bonus material includes an introduction by John Huston, commentary by USC Cinema History professor Drew Casper with James Whitmore and the theatrical trailer.

Murder, My Sweet (1944) Starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor, the film captures perfectly the sharp wit and style of Raymond Chandler’s novel Farewell, My Lovely, about a gumshoe Philip Marlowe searching for a missing moll named Velma. Renamed so American filmgoers wouldn’t mistake it as a Powell musical; it turned the actor’s career around, helping him to shun his choir-boy image. Edward Dmytryk directed. The DVD extra content includes commentary by film noir expert and Prime Suspects producer Alain Silver and the theatrical trailer.

The Set-Up (1944) Robert Wise directs noir icons Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter in the movie, set in boxing’s palooka world, about a down-on-his luck fighter who thinks he’s one bout away from the big payoff. The DVD bonus material includes commentary by Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese.

Out Of The Past (1947) Another definitive noir classic (remade in 1984 as “Against All Odds” with Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward) about a trio to reckon with – a troubled PI (Robert Mitchum), a drop-dead beauty (Jane Greer) and a moneyed mobster (Kirk Douglas). Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, the private eye hired to find mobster Whit Sterling’s (Douglas) mistress Kathie (Greer) who had shot Whit and absconded with $40,000. The film winds up in Acapulco…where the luscious Kathie makes Jeff forget all about Sterling. The DVD extra content includes commentary by film noir expert Jim Ursini.

Gun Crazy (1949) Peggy Cummins and John Dall star in this cult favorite, shockingly dark and brutal for its time, directed by Joseph H. Lewis. A searing forerunner to Bonnie and Clyde, the film tells the story of a gun-obsessed twosome who meet at a carnival, run off to get married and then commit a string of daring robberies across the country. The screenplay was adapted by MacKinlay Kantor from his magazine article and was co-written by the blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, credited under the name Millard Kaufman. The DVD bonus material includes commentary by film noir expert Glenn Erickson.


The Film Noir Classic Collection

$19.97 SRP (per title)

$49.92 SRP (collection)

Street Date: July 27, 2004

The pricing on these Warner box sets (see also Tarzan, Marx Bros.) makes it just about impossible to pass them up. Five classic noirs at about $7 a pop (assuming Amazon's standard 30% pre-order discount)? I am so there.

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, but please forgive me if I missed it:

In Barrie Maxwell's column yesterday he confirmed that "Laura" would be in one of the first waves of Fox Noir titles (but not necessarily in the first wave if I interpret this correctly):

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His entire article can be found here.

Mr. Maxwell is one my favorite columnists on DVD matters and he does his usual excellent job with this one.

Steve

I didn't see this posted elsewhere, but please forgive me if I missed it:

In Barrie Maxwell's column yesterday he confirmed that "Laura" would be in one of the first waves of Fox Noir titles (but not necessarily in the first wave if I interpret this correctly):

\

His entire article can be found here.

Mr. Maxwell is one my favorite columnists on DVD matters and he does his usual excellent job with this one.

Steve

Nils... couple others we can scratch or move to the on-deck circle; Night and the City & Thieve's Highway - both to be released in February by Criterion. Mondo Digital is reporting that Anchor Bay will be releasing Kiss Of Death (1947) sometime in 2005.

Fox Wave 2, scheduled for June 7th, is supposed to include House of Bamboo, Nightmare Alley and Street with No Name. Wave 3 is tentatively set for September 6th and supposed to include The Dark Corner, The Lodger, and Hangover.

Are these going to be numbered like the Fox Studio Classics series? If so, I might pick all of them up instead of just the titles I'm really interested in.