The Cat And The Canary (1939) - Is R2 DVD a Bootleg? (1 Viewer)

[MarcoBiscotti]

Can anyone tell me if the R2 release selling on Amazon is legit?


Similarly, has anyone done a comparison between the R1 Anchor Bay release of Dead of Night and the R2 Optimum 'Ealing Studios Collection' release? Are the same transfers sourced? Is there a clear winner between the two?

Thanks!!

 

[Page]

If you're speaking about the DVD that was released by Orbit Media Ltd., then, yes, it is legit. I bought it and watched it and unfortunately it was one of the worst looking DVDs I have ever seen. Pretty much it was transferred to DVD from a very poor VHS transfer.

 

[John Hodson]

I only have the R1, but from the DVD Times review:

"...the picture is poorly scratched and remains so throughout the film's running length. The sound fares slightly better, being presented in its original mono (spread over the two front speakers), though occasionally suffers from audio dropouts and the odd bit of hiss. By all accounts the R1 release, which paired the film with Thorold Dickinson’s The Queen of Spades, is far superior despite not being perfect"

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Thank you Page, will certainly avoid that! It's a shame that a better version is not available here. Too bad we can't count on an official release from Paramount..

And John what's your opinion of the R1 AB disc?

 

[James Phillips]

Universal UK were going to release a Bob Hope set, with 'The Cat and the Canary' on it, earlier this year. But it was cancelled, for some reason.

 

[John Hodson]

As said, not perfect, but perfectly acceptable; 'The Queen of Spades' is the icing on the cake.

Apparently the 'Bob Hope; Screen Legends' set is 'postponed', so it may come along at some point, but, should it appear, I still wouldn't be that optimistic that either 'The Lemon Drop Kid' or 'The Cat & The Canary' would be any better than current PD efforts, though we live in hope.

 

[John Hodson]

I re-watched DoN last night, encouraged by this thread and the sound is poor, though it varies in quality much like the video; excellent film though, and I'm glad I have it.

 

[James LM]

If that DVD is legit then I'm the Queen of Sheba.

What makes you think it is legit? Don't tell me it's because it is on Amazon, please!

I understand that the title is owned by Universal and it is highly unlikely that they would license a title to a known bootlegger like Orbit Media.

 

[Douglas R]

The title is apparently in the public domain. Previous thread on this:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...anary-dvd.html

 

[James LM]

Apparent to whom?

No such claim is made in that thread.