Blu-ray Wish List, Year by Year (2 Viewers)

[benbess]

1924: The Saga of Gosta Berling 1925: The Big Parade 1926: A Page of Madness 1927: Napoleon

When I was a teenager in Southern California Coppola sponsored some fully orchestrated shows of Napoleon. I wish I had gone! That was 30 years ago, and I still regret it. Couldn't find anyone to go with me, but I should have just gone by myself.

 

[benbess]

1928! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_in_film I know Charlie Chaplin's Circus film should be there. Isn't this one great? I wonder why it's more obscure than his other films? And what about A Woman of Paris from 1923. That's still in it's own way a worthy film if there's a good print or negative....

 

[Matt Hough]

Chaplin himself seems to have had very little regard for The Circus. If I recall correctly, he doesn't even talk about it in his autobiography. He was going through a nightmare of personal problems at the time of its production, and it seems the production of it was a constant strain on him.


Apart from City Lights, it's my favorite Chaplin film.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I'd be happy with anything from Warner - Greed, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Ben-Hur, The Big Parade, The Crowd, The Wind, etc.

 

[benbess]

Chaplin himself seems to have had very little regard for The Circus. If I recall correctly, he doesn't even talk about it in his autobiography. He was going through a nightmare of personal problems at the time of its production, and it seems the production of it was a constant strain on him.  Apart from City Lights, it's my favorite Chaplin film.

Yes, City Lights can still make me cry at the end. What about early Chaplin? A "quadruple" feature of some of those early films would be great--what about The Pilgrim, The Kid, Shoulder Arms, and a Dog's Life all on one disc. I know there are many other worthy shorts too...I'm sure restoration would be expensive. But worth it.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, the dream would be to have the whole of Chaplin in high definition. With Kino bringing so many of Buster Keaton's films to HD now, it's a shame the wait for Chaplin is so long.

 

[benbess]

Yes, the dream would be to have the whole of Chaplin in high definition. With Kino bringing so many of Buster Keaton's films to HD now, it's a shame the wait for Chaplin is so long.

But if we wait maybe Criterion will do these films. And they are more likely to actually restore the films, aren't they? I shouldn't have doubted it, but I was surprised at how much my daughter loved Modern Times. I can't wait to show her the rest. But having them restored helps to make it seem fresh and new, and like there's nothing between her and the enjoyment of the film...

 

[Martin Teller]

1928

 

[benbess]

Love those posters! I haven't seen any of those three, but I'd sure like to...

 

[benbess]

1929!

 

[Martin Teller]

1929:

 

[Matt Hough]

The Broadway Melody, of course. I would hope Blu-ray might make it a bit sharper. Seems like the last time I watched the DVD, I was startled by its softness. I haven't watched it on my latest equipment, so maybe it would look better.

 

[benbess]

What about these? I saw Cocoanuts long ago and I thought it was funny...

 

[benbess]

1930... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_in_film We're getting All Quiet soon....Probably the wonderful recreated bits from The Aviator are all we need of the loopy Hell's Angels. Two strip Technicolor Whoopee....? Does it survive? Is it any good as a film?

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, I'd want all of the Marx Bros.' movies, but none of their Paramount outings are in very good shape, and The Cocoanuts is really a victim of its age. I wonder if Blu-ray wouldn't make all the visual flaws too distracting to watch.

 

[Charles Smith]

And not to digress, but which existing DVD of The Cocoanuts is more worth having -- the Image or the Universal? -- or is the quality identical on both?

 

[ajabrams]

1930... We're getting All Quiet soon....Probably the wonderful recreated bits from The Aviator are all we need of the loopy Hell's Angels. Two strip Technicolor Whoopee....? Does it survive? Is it any good as a film? [ Yes "Whoopee" exists in Technicolor and was previously released on both tape and laserdisc. It looks terrific and remains a very entertaining film. We really need it and the rest of the Goldwyn Cantor films to be released . And also put me down for a vote on a BD of "Hell's Angels" -- there's really some spectacular stuff in that film and it's historically important as well.

 

[benbess]

aja: Thanks for your comments. Hope we get more of these...

 

[Matt Hough]

The Universal is the newer transfer of the two releases of The Cocoanuts, but I didn't find a thimble's worth of difference between the Image and the Universal. Again, haven't watched either on my latest A/V equipment, but the film is so old, and there is only so much they can do to make films this damaged presentable again for high definition.

 

[benbess]

1931 City Lights! Also I assume we might see Frankenstein at some point? Other films from this year? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_in_film