Errol Flynn boxset for April 12th (1 Viewer)

[Ruz-El]

I'll probably blind buy this as well, I'm pretty much in the same boat as Miss Randi.

How do these compare in quality to Adventures Of Robin Hood?
If they're have as fun as Robin Hood, this should be a real hoot!

 

[Alistair_M]

I did a search on the moviesunlimited website and it looks like the films will be available individually. Thats good for us Brits as the boxset is usually too expensive to get through customs without penalties. I've not seen any of these films so based on my trusty Leonard Maltin's movie guide, I'll probably import:

Sea Hawk
Captain Blood
Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

 

[John Hodson]

The way Warners price their box sets, it will probably be available on-line for as little as £22-£24 (possibly less), even nabbed by customs it's only going to be around the £30 mark - and there's not a dud there. That's incredible value for us on this side of the pond, where they would probably ask around £40-£45 for a similar release.

You will only kick yourself if you don't get the whole set (and it's probably the only way to get The Adventures of Errol Flynn)) Alistair; trust me...

 

[george kaplan]

This is just one man's opinion, but based on what I've seen, I'd say:

The Sea Hawk & Captain Blood are.

Dodge City isn't.

 

[Charles H]

DODGE CITY was the inspiration for BLAZING SADDLES and the Technicolor should be awesome. Although it is inconsistent with the Flynn box set, it would be great to see TOO MUCH, TOO SOON--the Diana Barrymore bio--with Flynn doing a surprisingly good job as his good friend John Barrymore.

 

[John Hodson]

I saw Dodge City as part of a Flynn western series on TCM over Christmas, and besides being great fun the three-strip Technicolor print was excellent - and I'm expecting much better from the forthcoming Warners disc.

Dive Bomber was rumoured to be part of the set, but it's inclusion in the Warners/TCM vote was the big hint that they'd decided against it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm another big "Dodge City" fan. The film has some of my favorite character actors like Big Guinn Williams, Alan Hale Sr., Victor Jory and Frank McHugh. I've always wished that "Virginia City" was filmed in Technicolor too. Hopefully, that title might be part of another Flynn boxset release sometime down the road.

 

[Armin Jager]

Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk are besides Robin Hood THE essential Flynn films and the latter is stunningly directed by Curtiz whose visual style dominates the film. Both films exist in shorter release versions which are unfortunately regularly shown in German TV, don't know about USA, but that's another good reason to buy the Warner Box which surely will show the full versions.
Dodge City is a bit episodic, I've seen the movie three times but always forget the story, the underrated Virginia City is a much stronger dramatic film.
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is rather boring. The play isn't uninteresting, but it gets repetitive, Flynn isn't very convincing, Davis looks (purposely) atroucios and overacts shamelessly.
They Died with Their Boots On has a very good reputation, I haven't made a private Walsh retrospective yet .

Anyway, all Warner boxes so far offer enough masterpieces to justify the purchase of the whole box .

 

[Jim_K]

I'm really debating over getting the box or just picking up the two titles I've been waiting for, Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk. Both of which I agree are the two essential Flynn titles (along with Robin Hood of course).


They Died with Their Boots On is fairly entertaining if you can buy into the way Custer is portrayed.

Not really a fan of Dodge City, I also prefer Virginia City as a Flynn Western.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex sounds familiar though I remember nothing about it. Might've caught part of it on TCM a long time ago.

However, that Flynn bonus disc would be nice to have.

Ah.....decisions, decisions. What to do.

 

[Matt Stieg]

Anyone know if The Sea Hawk will include the silent 1924 version as a bonus?

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

Great news. Thank you, Warner!

Any word on "Against All Flags"?

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

The Sea Hawk is the best film I've ever seen. Period. I saw it when I was eight, taped off of the CBC late night movie with my family's newfangled VCR. I subsequently wore out that tape, then wore out the tape I bought, and then spent five years trying to find the LaserDisc, which I've watched probably a hundred times in the intervening years.

Watching The Sea Hawk makes The Princess Bride, especially Christopher Guest's performance, much funnier.

Having never seen the shorter cut, I'm curious as to whether it will be included on the disc. I don't think it'll be any great loss if it isn't, I've just always wanted to see it. (The older CBS/Fox LaserDisc is supposed to contain the shorter cut, and I've kept my eyes peeled for it for the last decade or so, but without any luck.)

 

[John Hodson]

From am1001aa at thedvdforums.com :

Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk, They Died with their Boots On, Dodge City

Five DVD Debuts Plus a Brand-New Feature Length Documentary Available Only With the Collection Featuring Commentary from Co-Star Olivia de Havilland April 19 from Warner Home Video

Burbank, Calif., January 25, 2005 - April 19 will mark the DVD debut of five all-time favorite films from Errol Flynn - whose combination of natural athleticism and magnetic good looks made him one of the most popular and highly paid stars of the '30s and '40s. Now, Warner Home Video (WHV) is giving a whole new generation the opportunity to experience the man Entertainment Weekly named one of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Sea Hawk, They Died with their Boots On and Dodge City. Each DVD, which includes the abundant extra bonus features for which WHV has become so well-known, is priced at $19.97 SRP/$14.95 MAP. Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection, a six-disc set, also includes an all-new feature length documentary The Adventures of Errol Flynn (exclusive to this gift set), and will be available at $59.92 SRP. Orders are due March 22.

The Actor
Jack L. Warner, one of the studio's four founding Warner brothers, said of Flynn, "He was all the heroes in one magnificent, sexy, animal package." The actor became an overnight sensation when Warner brought him on as a last-minute replacement for Robert Donat for the pirate epic Captain Blood in 1935. From then on, whether as a buccaneer, nobleman, or frontier legend, he thrilled audiences and stole hearts during a career that encompassed more than 50 films.

Born Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn in Tasmania, Australia on June 20, 1909, Flynn was the son of respected marine biologist, Theodore Thomson Flynn (whom he credited with his life-long love of the sea) and Marrelle Young, a descendent of Fletcher Christian, of HMS Bounty fame, who Flynn later played onscreen. A rebellious child, more athletic than academic, he was expelled from almost every school he attended. His introduction to acting came through an Australian film producer who saw his photograph and had him cast as Christian in a small film In the Wake of the Bounty (1933). After a brief stint in London, Warner Bros. brought him to America.

The Captain Blood role quickly established Flynn as the era's replacement for Douglas Fairbanks and he was cast in everything from swashbucklers to light comedies to westerns.
The public, men and women alike, loved him best in romantic adventures as a man of action who won ladies' hearts. His co-stars included Bette Davis, Alexis Smith and Olivia de Havilland. He made a total of eight films with Miss de Havilland, including one of his best remembered, The Adventures of Robin Hood.

In real life, Flynn's off-screen adventures were as colorful as those on-screen. He became constant tabloid fodder, and, although married three times, Flynn was notorious for nonstop drinking and womanizing. His profligate lifestyle resulted in three statutory rape trials (from which he was eventually acquitted), and a new catch phrase, "in like Flynn." Ultimately this lifestyle took its toll, and the Hollywood heartthrob died of a heart attack four months after his 50th birthday.

Captain Blood (1935)
Errol Flynn shot to stardom as Peter Blood, a 17th-century physician who turned pirate after escaping unjust political imprisonment. It was a role the handsome, sea-loving Tasmanian was born to play, and he shaped it into Hollywood's archetypal image of the adventurous hero. That he also became a romantic idol and a vision of gallantry in love is due in large part to his ideally cast co-star: radiant Olivia de Havilland in the first of their eight films together. Directed with panache by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), scored with flair by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and featuring Basil Rathbone and Lionel Atwill as villains to remember, Captain Blood becomes a ride on the high seas of unparalleled enjoyment.

Captain Blood will have the following extra content:

* Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1935 with:
* Newsreel
* Musical Short Johnny Green and His Orchestra
* Comedy Short All-American Drawback
* Cartoon Billboard Frolics
* 1935 Trailer Gallery
* New Featurette Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler Is Born
* Audio-Only Bonus: Lux Radio Theater Production from February 22, 1937 starring Flynn & de Havilland
* Languages: English & Français

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
Bette Davis and Errol Flynn made The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex fascinatingly public, striking sparks in this lavish Technicolor tale of the ill-fated love between the aging Elizabeth I and the dashing Earl of Essex. Thoroughly unglamorous here - eyebrows and hairline shaved, face painted chalky white - double Academy Award® winner Davis exudes such intelligence, energy and ardor that her romance with the decades-younger Essex (Flynn at the peak of his remarkable good looks and athletic verve) is completely believable. Based on Maxwell Anderson's play Elizabeth the Queen and directed by Michael Curtiz, the film was nominated for five Oscars® (Best Art Direction, Color Cinematography, Scoring, Sound Recording and Special Effects).

The extra features included on the DVD are:
* Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1939 with:
* Newsreel
* Musical Short The Royal Rodeo
* Cartoon Old Glory
* 1939 Trailer Gallery
* New Featurette Elizabeth and Essex: Battle Royale
* Languages: English & Français

The Sea Hawk (1940)
Cannons thunder, blades clatter and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's incomparable music swirls and flourishes in The Sea Hawk. In one of his best roles, Errol Flynn plays Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe, who commandeers a 40-gun galleon, endures captivity, and then boldly escapes to warn England of Spain's armada. Working on his 10th of 12 movies with Flynn, Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) masterfully directs the film's blend of royal intrigue and derring-do heroics - made on a then-lavish $1.7-million scale that included construction of two full-sized ships. The film was stirringly topical in its day. When Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson) exhorts her country to maintain fighting readiness against tyranny "now and forever," audiences knew forever had come: Hitler had launched his World War II air siege of England.

The Sea Hawk will contain the following bonus content:

* Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1940 with:
* Newsreel
* Short Alice in Movieland
* Cartoon Porky's Big Fish
* 1940 Trailer Gallery
* New Featurette The Sea Hawk: Flynn in Action
* Languages: English & Français

They Died with their Boots On (1941)
The 7th Cavalry Regiment, Gen. George Armstrong Custer says, rides "to hell or to glory. It depends on one's point of view." The point of view of Raoul Walsh's spectacular They Died with their Boots On decidedly favors glory. Errol Flynn portrays the famed cavalryman in this hoof-and-thunder chronicle tracing his career from dandyish West Point plebe to Civil War hero to frontier legend immortalized by the Battle of Little Big Horn. Olivia de Havilland, sharing the marquee with Flynn for the eighth and final time, plays Custer's devoted wife Libby. And composer Max Steiner's stirring music trumpets gallantry and sacrifice.

They Died with their Boots On will contain these bonus features:

* Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1942 with:
* Newsreel
* Military Short Soldiers in White
* Cartoon A Tale of Two Kitties
* 1942 Trailer Gallery
* New Featurette They Died with their Boots On: To Hell or Glory

Dodge City (1939)
Where cattle drives end, trouble begins. Thirsty, trigger-happy cowmen pour into Dodge City, where might too often makes right. There ought to be a law in this corrupt, bullet-riddled town. Once trail boss Wade Hatton (Errol Flynn) pins on a badge, there is.

In his first of eight Westerns, Flynn is as able with a six-shooter as he was with a swashbuckler's sword. He confronts lynch mobs, slams outlaws into jail and escapes (along with co-star Olivia de Havilland) a fiery, locked railroad car. Hailed for Flynn's sagebrush debut, its vivid Technicolor look and spectacular saloon brawl that may have employed every available stunt person in Hollywood, Dodge City later gained another distinction when it inspired Mel Brooks' cowboy parody Blazing Saddles.

The extra content in Dodge City will be:
* Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1939 with:
* Newsreel
* Academy Award®-Winning* Drama Short Sons of Liberty
* Cartoon Dangerous Dan McFoo
* 1939 Trailer Gallery
* New Featurette Dodge City: Go West, Errol Flynn
* Languages: English & Français

Each DVD will be presented in a format preserving the aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition and will include subtitles in English, French and Spanish. All are in Dual-Layer format.
BONUS DISC (Available only in the Errol Flynn: The Signature Collection)

The Adventures of Errol Flynn (2005)
Acclaimed, Emmy-Award winning documentarians Joan Kramer and David Heeley (Bacall on Bogart, The Spencer Tracy Legacy, The John Garfield Story, Katharine Hepburn: All About Me) cast their sights on the amazing Flynn life story with this new feature length documentary, available exclusively as part of the Errol Flynn Signature Collection. Narrated by Ian Holm, the film traces Flynn's journey from his Tasmanian childhood to the heights of Hollywood celebrity. Along the way, he goldmines in New Guinea, sails the world, reports on wars, stands trial, goes broke and chases (and catches) far too many beautiful women. Film clips, home movies and interviews that include fascinating commentary provided in 2004 by eight-time Flynn co-star Olivia de Havilland highlight this insightful look at a real life that - often tragically - out-glamoured reel life.

Ooooh mama!

 

[Amy Mormino]

I'm so glad that they're putting the "Warner Night at the Movies" brand onto this box set. Perhaps it will be a feature on all their box sets now.

Having the Trailer Gallery be by year is a great idea. After all, there already was a fine trailer collection of Flynn movies in the Robin Hood set and any true Flynn fan already owns that.

Does anyone like The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex? It strikes me as the weak link in this set.

 

[Eric Peterson]

Ditto!

I'm squirming with excitement over this release. I just read Errol's auto-biography last summer, but sadly have only seen Robin Hood & Captain Blood. It looks like I will now have a chance to remedy this situation.

 

[Will Krupp]

I LOVE Elizabeth & Essex!! Granted it MAY be more at home in a DAVIS set than a FLYNN set, but I'll be thrilled to have it either way.

Gorgeous Technicolor and stunning production design...I can't wait!

For my money I would have chosen BOOTS as the weak link, but then it's all really a matter of opinion.

 

[ChrisPearson]

At least on the sets that are all Warner (and not MGM or RKO) in any case.

 

[Vincent Matis]

No commentary? Weird considering past Warner sets...

A must-buy anyway of course !

 

[John Hodson]

DVD Times now has full details and delicious artwork here.

 

[Haggai]

Maybe they passed on commentaries for these since all of the movies have the same star, most of them have the same director (all Curtiz films except They Died With Their Boots On, which was Raoul Walsh), and they already have a bonus documentary disk on the star. Commentaries might not have added much in the way of new information, at least not enough to warrant the effort and expense of putting them together (which might not be all that much, but it isn't nothing).