Quote:

Let's hope they get the color right on Black Bart. The cinematography is the only really good thing in the movie! The colors are wonderful.
 

 

I received Knock on Any Door from Sony Germany yesterday. The disc features the soundtrack in DD 2.0 Mono in English & German and there are optional English and German subtitles. The disc is encoded to regions 2,4,5 and has no bonus features. The picture quality is good and the master has only some minor damages (white dots, some scratches) - nothing to worry. I added two pictures:

 

The one title I was most excited about in the German releases from Sony was The Burglars with Omar Sharif, Jean Paul Belmondo and Dyan Cannon with a wonderful Ennio Morricone score but it looks like the film's English track is not included, just the German and French language tracks with no English subtitles. Apparently, its aspect ratio has been compromised as well Ah, well, perhaps it will show up in the Sony classics on demand line.

Of those Sony titles, I have Knock on Any Door, Genghis Khan and Berserk on their way to me - I know the last two are no great shakes but I kind of like them. Good to hear KOAD has a decent transfer.

Yes, the transfer of this looks really awful but this seems to be the only bad title of this batch.

 

Koch's new releases in July and August:

 

July:

 

Deep End (1970) - Jerzy Skolimowski DVD/Blu-ray - 07/29/11

Taking Off (1970) - Milos Forman DVD/Blu-ray - 07/29/11

 

August:

 

Yellow Sky (1948) - William A. Wellman Blu-ray - 08/26/11

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - William A. Wellmann DVD/Blu-ray - 08/26/11

 

Anyone see the 1927-1929 Box yet? I heard they rescored the silents with the Beau Hunks performances of the Leroy Shields scores. 

 

 

Watched this DVD of The Burglars over the weekend.  It is a 4:3 non-anamorphic letterbox transfer that is fairly decent, much better than the Alfa Digital version that came out a few years ago.  There is a French audio track and a German audio track, but contrary to the info on the cover there are indeed English subtitles!

 

What's most interesting, however, is comparing it to the Alfa Digital English Language version.  In that version, it's obvious that the actors were all actually speaking English while they were shooting.  In this newer DVD version, you can see that most of the dialogue scenes are comprised of different takes with the actors speaking French.  So, in essence, this is an alternate version of the film that, in many ways, plays better, since most of the actors and the director came from France.  Also, the endings of the two versions are very different, with the French version offering much more clarity.  So, if Sony ever does release this here in the US, it won't be the same version that is now out in Europe.

 

I just received two DVDs from Spain. The Mississippi Gambler (1953) with Tyrone Power and The Visit (1964) with Ingrid Bergman. I should have done more research on The Visit because it was shot in the CinemaScope format but the transfer is pan and scan thought the title credits are 2.35. Bummer! Mississippi Gambler is a soft looking transfer that could use some restoration work but it's eminently watchable. 

Livius, could you post the list you've made in your last post, in the Odeon DVD thread in this folder as well please. Thanks.

Yesterday's tweet from Eureka!/MoC is very exciting and sorta beats Criterion to the punch with directly mentioning ISLAND OF LOST SOULS:

mastersofcinema Not to go on all fours. That is the law.

Then, Optimum's QUATERMASS & THE PIT gets released on blu-ray on September 27th! Good stuff going on later this year!

Fantastic news regarding Island of Lost Souls. :)

 

Btw. Koch Media Germany needs some help. They plan to release Don Sharp's Rocket to the Moon (1967) in its original British Theatrical Version - the UK-DVD is shortened but they don't have a complete English soundtrack yet and are looking for a complete one. They want to use the Studio Canal master, that was also used for the British DVD and a copy of the German Theatrical Version to recreate the original cut of the movie. If someone owns a longer English speaking Version that is longer than the UK DVD or knows where to get a longer version, just drop a line. :)

Fritz Lang's Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is getting a UK release on July 18 - Amazon UK have it up for pre-order.

Thanks for the info. Pre-ordered the disc and some of Odeon's upcoming titles.
Exposure's home page is up again and it seems they're also working on Secret Beyond the Door.

Some screen shots of Koch's Black Bart release:

 

 

 

Some more can be found here:

 

http://www.imagebanana.com/view/k1tosj2b/Bart1.jpg
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/91kyoijv/Bart2.jpg
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/c4hp6sq1/Bart4.jpg
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/41ck8gws/Bart6.jpg
http://www.imagebanana.com/view/qyfb020t/Bart7.jpg

 

 

 

 

The Visit in its OAR, anamorphic and with removable subs.  Sold by Amazon.de.

Edited by jcb07 - 6/25/11 at 12:00pm

Just purchased WIND ACROSS THE EVERGLADES from Wild Side/Classics Confidential;France.
Its a beauty of a transfer (Full screen) film was never a scope release.
The bad news is the subs are "forced" i.e. non removable by remote control.
The good news is the DVD is encased into an 84pp Hardbound Book!
The book is all in French but is packed with photos,press ads,lobby cards.
This did not come cheap (24 Euros) but in my opinion well worth it.
Film also reproduces a letter from Nick Ray saying how unhappy he was with the final cut
of the film.Despite Rays objections to key scenes being cut;whats up on the screen is
outstanding. The film pre-figures films like "The Wicker Man" and "Deliverance" with its theme
of outsiders in a strange primitive society. Its Eco message was years ahead of its time.

Does anyone out there in HTF land know about this public domain German imprint
"Vergessene Western" They seem to be putting out lots of P.D. Westerns many which
have been released elsewhere. Their version of "Sitting Bull" is Widescreen and I think this
is the only version issued that way. The transfer is OK not great.
They have released Allan Dwans "The Restless Breed" anyone know if its an OK transfer?

Personally I would avoid the "Vergessene Western" releases. The company that offers the discs is a bit dubious because in Germany PD doesn't exist and it's rather questionable whether the titles are licensed correctly. Furthermore they are not known for great quality prints.

Now for something completely different. The following Odeon Entertainment discs are available for pre-order at Amazon UK and will be released in August:

My Forbidden Past (1951) - 08/08/11
The Set-Up (1949) - 08/08/11
My Brother's Keeper (1948) - 08/08/11
The Big Sky (1952) - 08/08/11
Quality Street (1937) - 08/15/11
Vivacious Lady (1938) - 08/15/11
Best of the Badmen (1951) - 08/15/11
The Seekers (1954) - 08/15/11
Experiment Perilous (1944) - 08/22/11
Edited by Marcel H. - 7/7/11 at 11:24pm

Just to follow up on Marcel's post, UK etailer MovieMail have a few more Odeon titles listed:

 

The Falcon Out West for September, and what look like full collections of the Oland and Toler Charlie Chan movies from Fox, using the Fox restorations.

Edited by Livius - 7/12/11 at 4:10am

I asked Odeon via Facebook about their plans for The Falcon and the Saint and they answered this:

I'm hoping that Odeon release In Name Only on DVD. It's an RKO title starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Kay Francis and Charles Coburn and it has a sequence that - let me be polite and tactful - prefigures a similar set-up in The Apartment. It also has a closing door moment that anticipates a famous closing door moment at the end of The Searchers.

I've never understood why this movie has been neglected except by bootleggers and public domain specialists.
Edited by Robin9 - 7/19/11 at 11:32am

In Name Only has been released by Universal in the UK but, as far as I know, only as part of this huge 18-disc Cary Grant box set.

I didn't know that! Marcel, thank you. Have you seen this disc? Is the picture quality good?

I did a search on Amazon-UK for "In Name Only" and got a few matches including:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B001VGO5PI/ref=sr_1_2_olp?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1311078564&sr=1-2&condition=new

 

This also has "Once Upon a Honeymoon"  - this via "sellers"

 

I've today received an email from Movies Unlimited advising that, among other movies, In Name Only will be released as an Archive title in mid-August.

Robin, I haven't seen the UK disc of In Name Only. I'm sorry.

There seems to be some new kids on the Spanish block;or new to me at least;called
Vertice Cine.
They have a very professional looking website and would seem mostly to feature
current films.
Having said that they have just released 4 vintage RKO Victor Mature titles

DANGEROUS MISSION
THE LAS VEGAS STORY
GAMBLING HOUSE
AFFAIR WITH A STRANGER

The cover art looks very attractive and professional and all DVDs bear the RKO logo
so I would assume the quality to be very good.
All 4 titles are currently up for order with Starscafe.

I do wish Odeon Entertainment would use packaging including artwork from the original
posters/press ads instead of their usual bland "generic" house style.I am sure they would
sell a load more DVDs this way.

I have several Odeon DVDs including North West Mounted Police, Walk The Proud Land, Fallen Sparrow and Blackbeard The Pirate and they all have the original poster artwork in the inside sleeve. I've xeroxed them and slipped them under the keepcase front and -voila!- original poster artwork cover!

http://www.thecinemascopecat.blogspot.com