WHV Press Release: Camelot 45th Anniversary Blu-ray Book

Sweet!
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

 

 

Should look pretty good, hope the sound isn't out of sync like the DVD (it was off quite a bit)

I am positively dreading this release.

Warners, over the years has made such a botch of this film.

did you know that NEVER has Camelot been released widescreen on home vid with the correct soundtrack?
The only version of Camelot to hav the correct soundtrack is the old pan and scan laserdisc.
The first letterbox laser used a temp track mix.

The dvd has used a remix, for which Warners was told, (by the origial mixer on the fim, Dan Wallin) that they did not have all of the correct materialsto remix this film.

The original mix is a four track mix. It would be nice if Warners would search for this before they release the blu ray.

What is arong with remix? So much. Wrong vocal takes on songs, wrong background mus,c wrong balance between underscore and dialogue - you name it.
Notice that the dvd has a music only track and this does not.
Wonder who would do the commentary? Richard Harris is dead, I doubt Vanessa Redgrave cares, and Franco Neros engish was never very good.

Well, they've had time to do it right. It was announced two years ago as coming in 2012. If it's wrong, it's not because it was a rush job.

Yeah, my engish, she no good neither. I have no idea who'd do the commentary. It doesn't sound like something Vanessa Redgrave would ever do, although it might be fun for them together, seeing as they finally got married after all those years.

I think Warners will probably give us a good remastered transfer, but I also dread the soundtrack! Lord, I hope they do not use that mess of a soundtrack they used on the old dvd.

No mention of an isolated music track as on the DVD.

I see WB is using the cover art from the last DVD release (which was voted among the ugliest DVD covers ever)

Considering the original iconic poster art for the film won the illustration of the year award back in 1967 (see above post #4)

Why wouldn't they use it for the Digital book?

 

Again, no one at WB seems to have ever taken an art class or has any kind of a clue

Warner actually produced a new bonus feature for this! More than they did for Excalibur.

It does have that HBO mini-series cover look and is unacceptable in my point of view also. 
 

 

It was on Starz.

Too bad about that cover art the poster is great.

 

Sad thing is, Warner used to use the original poster art for DVDs of classic films during the "glory years" when they were putting out their 2-disc Special Editions and all of those great classic box sets (and they still use original art for the Warner Archive series). It's beyond me why they changed to the CP (Crappy Photoshop) style of cover.

 

what could have been

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by GMpasqua - 1/16/12 at 9:39pm

Could someone please explain the point of the bonus "soundtrack sampler" cd? WB seems to be doing this with their major musical releases (it's also on "Meet Me In St. Louis"). It seems to me that if someone wanted a cd of the soundtrack they would want it complete -- not just a few songs. Does WB think this will make people want to buy the complete soundtrack? Considering the vocal abilities of this cast, I'd sooner stick with the B'way cast album anyway. Just wondering....

Interestingly, the bob Peak Art was NOT used for the original roadshow poster.
when the film was cut by half an hor and put into general release, then and only then , was thePeak art first used on a poster.
the peak art was on the souvenir book, the music folio, the soundtrack album, eveywhere but on the poster art.

What also ticks me off is the fact that not only do these not add anything new, but they are shorter than the ones that have been commercially available for decades. Especially in cases where elements exist to create more comprehensive versions.

 Joe, the Bob Peak art was used for the roadshow release poster.  For the general release they used the poster with the tinited photos (I'll post them later) for the 1973 re-release they used a modifed verision of the original roadshow poster (I'll post those also)

 

 

 

When I was a kid, I wore out my LP of Camelot listening to Burton, Andrews, and Goulet singing those wonderful songs. Than I saw this movie and I asked "what were they thinking?" Technically this is a well done movie. It would have been nice if Guenevere and Lancelot could sing.

BTW, was Nero a box office draw at the time? I had never heard of him before. Why else would they cast him in the role?

Franco Nero was definitely not (and never was) a box-office draw in America. He's gorgeous, and I'm assuming Joshua Logan was using that as the primary consideration for casting Lancelot. They hired Gene Merlino to dub Franco's singing voice, but he's a lightweight compared to Goulet's singing voice.

Dear Greg. Love you dearly, but that is a fallicy.

Camelot is the film I have seen more times in a theater than any other. Saw it much times during roadshow and NEVER did the theater have a popster of
bob Peak art anywhere. . Not ever.

Joe, you may be right, I wasn't only 3 when the film opened, and I do know you have seen this film in a theater more than anyone else I know. 

 

I have one sheets that say "Enter a new world of entertainment" (Was this from the Roadshow?) I also one sheets from the 1973 re-release - the poster is the same except it says "Re-Enter a new world of Entertainment"

 

I also have the general release posters which have the small tinted photos.

 

The DVD has a doc on the premiere which may show a poster but may not.

 

But I did not see the film in 1967.

 

 

When I saw the film in 1978 at the Warner, the theater used a lot of the same lobby displays they used in 1967 (It opened at the same theater)

 

I do remember the restrooms had engraved glass bars which read "Kings" "Queens"

I thought that was cool - but I was 14

 

I also remember when Arthur arives at the castle the horse Redgrave was riding had a double image effect due to the curved screen the RKO Warner had at the time.

 

They did run the film with the intermission

 

 

Finian's Rainbow also opened at the Warner and they used the displays as for it's 78 run

 

 

 

 

In Joshua Logan's autobiography he and Alan J. Lerner did not get along starting with this film and a lot of cast choices were Lerner's and Jack Warner.  While Logan does not excuse himself from some of the problems that are in the film, he is pretty blatant that he was over ruled on a lot of decisions.  What is even more outstanding is that Logan went on and could not give a reason to himself why he ever agreed to direct Paint Your Wagon with Lerner producing.  He said his problems that started with Camelot were only worse with Wagon and it seemed that Lerner only wanted him to direct Wagon to make his life miserable. 

 

But I do believe that Logan was a much better stage director than a film director and he does seem to blame many problems on someone else including the color changes in South Pacific. 
 

 

Logan has directed some really good films (I love "Fanny") but Logan was the "Director" in the 50's and 6o's and most of those dricetors did not have the pull directors like Spieberg and Sorcesse had in the 70's.  Logan was called in to fix "Mister Roberts" and "Picnic" is fine - but the casting wasn't up to Logan - Columbia wanted the older William Holden.

 

"South Pacific" is a fine film, it was the top earner in 1958 so that says something - but times have changed since 1958 - and the color filter topic has become a bore.  Lerner was completely at fault for the failure of "Paint Your Wagon" (Logan was going to be replaced during filming - yet the actors give entertaining performances - the script and the singing were the problems with PYW

 

One must remember neither Richard Burton or Julie Andrews were interested in doing the film of "Camelot" (Other wise they would have been cast since they were among the top grossing film actors of the 60's).  Robert Goulet was never a screen presence and stuck with Broadway and touring compaines

 

Jack Warner may have cast Richard Harris, but Logan brought Redgrave and Nero ...who else could have played these roles around 1966 when filming began?

Picnic is a great film and is coming 1/17 to Blu-ray through Screen Archives; Logan directed. Do yourself and favor and order this one (assuming Sony's mastering is good which I understand that it is.) Yes, William Holden is old for the part, but the role does have a certain "dissipated youth" quality which he projects very well. The ensemble cast is terrific (KIm Novak, Rosalind Russell, Cliff Robertson, Susan Strasberg, Arthur O'Connell, many other great stars). One of my favorite films.

South Pacific is one of my all-time favorites, holds up very well, and is amazing on Blu-ray (filmed in Todd-AO 70mm). The color effects come through very well on film or Blu-ray on a good system, not so well on older video technologies. Logan did a great job of preserving the original play (which he directed on Broadway) and still opening it up with the Kauai locations. This is a problem that has vexed many stage productions, and it is handled masterfully here. All original songs are included, with one added that had been cut from the Broadway version. Mitzi Gaynor and France Nuyen are wonderful, still in love with them both.

Paint Your Wagon is deeply under-appreciated I think. Hoping for it on Blu-ray.

Camelot is a mess, but IMHO the original play is a mess too; great music and lyrics, bad book. The movie fails to have any magic, the sets and costumes are terrible (but won Oscars). If I buy it it will be because I am a sucker for Blu-ray catalog.

Fanny is a very nice film but unhappily does not use the Broadway score. The music is used as the underscore in the film. Great location photography, great story, good acting. I saw it recently and it holds up. Would be nice on Blu-ray.

Some of the problems with many of the Broadway film adaptions filmed up to the mid 60's has been the "chorus"

 

On stage the "chorus" backed up the singers and usually stood in a line and spoke a few lines of dialog.

 

On film it looks un-natural to have a bunch of guys standing around waiting to sing behind the star

 

"South Pacific" is a good example. The "chorus" before "Nothing Like  Dame" is just there.  Men are just standing in formation until the song starts ("Annie Get Your Gun" is another example when Howard Keel sings  "My Defenses are Down") this doesn't happen in non musical films

 

Logan did a great job of eliminating the chorus in "Camelot" and "Paint Your Wagon" where the chorus can be heard as back up even though they are not present in any scenes.

 

I like the sets and costumes in "Camelot" which was the first film to present King Arthur without the red and green tights that Errol Flynn wore in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and featured in many other med-evil films (though some of "Camelot's" costumes look they came out of 1966's mod era)

Being a huge fan of camelot, went through all of the procudtion files on the film at USC.

Logan cast Richard Harris.
Logan did not want Julie Andrews, who he thought tooprim and proper and could not 9imagine anyone fighting a kingdom for her.

Lerner rewrote the script forthe film. He thought a problem with the play wis that Act one was too lighthearted and act two too much of a quick downer.

that why he strted the film as a flashback. the audience would then know that something bad had already taken place.

South Pacific - Logan wanted the color filters, but the tests that were made were a subtle, very light color shift. When Logna left the film during post production, Fox pumped up the color very hgh on the color changes. Not logans fault.

Paint Your wagon - doesnt really ues the broadway score or story. Did Paddy Chaefsky really write this? did he need the cash. The new songs by Previn are really terrible. I think the film is a piece of junk.

So they hire an actor who can't sing and dub in an inadequate voice? Then hire an actress who can't sing and don't dub her at all. Hollywood logic I guess.

Gene Merlino did a lot of studio work in Hollywood (I believe he is listed on the "Grease" soundtrack also)

I would hardly call Gene Merlino's voice inadequate

 

Franco Nero played opposite Richard Harris in "The Bible" (Caine and Able) I think it was Harris who recommended Nero to Logan and the rest....

Logan's daughter saw Redgrave in a film and recommended her to Logan, Redgrave had just done "Blow Up" and was among the new up and coming Hollywood stars

 

Who would you have cast? Ann-Margret? She could have been very believe able as the sexy queen - though she wouldn't have paired well against Harris and "Camelot was a "Tall" picture Harris, Redgrave, Nero all 6 foot or over, unlike a "short" picture ("Tom Cruise films" where most actor can not be over 5'8") and Ann-Margret was only not very tall, most other star actresses of the 60's couldn't sing either