*** Official Warner Archive DVD Review Thread - Page 10

My copy from TCM is 85 minutes, and the American Film Institute catalog lists the film as 85 minutes.  So I think you're OK.

I recently purchased THE VALLEY OF DECISION (1945) from the Warner Archive. This drama stars Gregory Peck and Greer Garson and a fine supporting cast. Set in 1870's Pittsburgh, it's a love story set against the backdrop of the management vs. labor struggles of the steel industry.

I was generally pleased with the picture and sound quality. There are a number of speckles and imperfections, but nothing distracting. The image is generally clear and detailed, with good contrast. I had watched it on TCM a couple of years ago, and I think this looks a little better than that did.

A very good movie. Recommended. Here are a few screen shots (captured with VLC):

 I received a small boatload of Archive titles last week. I only have seen a few all the way through, but spot-checked the others.

The Irwin Allen TV movie collection. All the films look and sound superb. Looks like recent transfers to me. Colorful, sharp and although the films are corny and predictable, they really bring back that era of television for me. They look DVD ready and just about 100% better than the recent BAD RONALD that I thought looked terrible. 

THE VERDICT (1946) I love this film and had hoped for a Peter Lorre/Sydney Greenstreet pressed/restored set, but that ain't going to happen. It is only okay in my opinion. Being an old transfer, it is dark, kind of dupey-fuzzy looking and doesn't do justice to the moody photography.

BERLIN EXPRESS  Nice surprise. For an unrestored RKO title, it is sharp with great contrast that really shows off the superb lighting and photography. 

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST Nice looking. I guess typical for MGM of that period as far as transfer quality. Looks and sounds good.

MAMMY As Robert Harris said elsewhere, this is superb. Hard to believe a 1930 film looking this good. They did wonders with the color sequences by inserting sepia where the color was missing. They did it flawlessly. Even has Overture and Exit music. 

and finally TORCHY BLANE series. Old tranfers, but very watchable. Things get a bit better the newer the film. I would say they look just a hair less than the Nancy Drew set, which was pressed, but didn't look like new transfers to me. 

On the whole a good purchase and I was able to avail myself to discounts, so it didn't hurt my pocketbook that much. 

Oh, and off topic, TCM ran the 1953 version of THE DESERT SONG yesterday. It was miles better than the old VHS edition. I am still hoping for a pressed set with the 1943 version. But it really looked sharp with that technicolor look.

As far as the Chaney titles that were just released, the big disappointment is with HE WHO GETS SLAPPED (1924). No restoration work was done on it whatsoever. The print is jittery, scratchy, soft, poor contrast. I remember seeing a print of this at the MOMA and it looked really good, unlike here; again, a big disappointment. THE UNHOLY THREE (1925) is disappointing too; almost on the same level as HE WHO GETS SLAPPED. The rest of the titles are ok, with good picture quality and not as much print damage. Bottom line, there isn't much reason to get these if you've already taped them off TCM.

 

If they ever had a second Chaney set in mind, going by the prints in these Archive releases, not much work was done for it.

Edited by jdee28 - 11/10/10 at 10:27am

I enjoyed the Torchy Blane series also.  They were all fun films and I have just finished the Brass Bancroft Of The Secret Service Mysteries Collection and they were all fun too.  The way they begin and play out, I would expect if Warner's ever made a chapterplay they would much like these titles.  Ronald Reagan playing a Secret Service Agent, history does play in strange ways.
 

Are you guys following this still? As more and more titles come out (wbshop is showing 1135 titles now), my interest grows from zero to mild to fairly piqued. First of all, a couple of titles that I like are already out of print and sadly I did not buy them. The excellent 1983 TV movie Special Bulletin went OOP only a year after release, but fortunately I have a VHS. And the 1985 Phoebe Cates TV movie Lace II went OOP only after a few months. Anyone know why Warner pulled them? So far I have only bought one Warner Archive DVD, the 1988 TV movie Jack the Ripper, and the picture and sound quality are actually pretty good, decidedly better than the UK Region-2 DVD by Anchor Bay/Fremantle. Also, I noticed a lot of titles have been given new and more attractive cover designs, but the content should be the same, right? Also, anyone knows the specs of those Windows media download versions?

It saddens me that A-films like Gaslight and Unsinkable Molly Brown are now relegated to the Archive series. It is also DISTURBING, as pointed out already, that Warner is charging $20 each for these low budget items. With Criterion Eclipse, another "tier 2" line of DVDs, I pay $50-60 for 5-6 pressed discs which comes to only about $10 per disc. I would have bought Stranger on the Third Floor if it weren't for the high price. A new region-2 DVD from Odeon Entertainment came out recently and this review says it is from the same source as the Warner Archive edition, but it is much cheaper - only 5 pounds at Amazon UK, so I considering getting it.
Edited by kevin_y - 8/6/11 at 4:44pm

The covers change but the content doesn't. I wasn't aware that it had pulled some of their TV titles other than the rumored-to-be-remastered DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, perhaps it only had the rights for a limited time.
Edited by Bob Cashill - 8/6/11 at 5:33pm

FYI on JACK THE RIPPER, it's getting a blu-ray release in Germany come October.