Universal Noir titles in 05? (1 Viewer)

[Jim_K]

Any word of Universal continuing their Noir Line of DVD's?

With Warner planning a Volume 2 Box set & with Fox jumping into the fray this year I'd think they'd continue on. Though with Universal nothing is a gimme.

 

[Chris Cheese]

I sure hope so. Or at least I hope we get a release of Double Indemnity. I don't think that the Universal noirs sold that well though. Of course, they had no extras, weren't really promoted, and were released within a week or two of WB's noir box, so it's no wonder. If they were smart they would have put a commentary or something on each one and released them in a box set. I still have high hopes that we'll get another round this year, but we'll see. It's going to be a great year to be a noir fan no matter what, but it'd be nice to see Universal getting in on that too.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Any idea what Warners could include on their follow-up Noir Collection?

I would also kill for an official Universal release of Double Indemnity and they'd be extremely foolish to continue to neglect this one!

 

[Pete York]

If the least Universal did was to mirror the VHS noir collection they would make a lot of people happy. With THIS GUN FOR HIRE, BLACK ANGEL, THE BIG CLOCK and CRISS CROSS in the first wave, and TOUCH OF EVIL, both versions of THE KILLERS and CAPE FEAR already available, that would leave:

MINISTRY OF FEAR
YOU AND ME
THE GLASS KEY
PHANTOM LADY
THE BLUE DAHLIA
and, of course, DOUBLE INDEMNITY

That's one more 'wave'. How possibly cost-prohibitve could this be to a Universal? And if they were disappointed with the sales of the first wave, then, as mentioned above, they have nobody to blame but themselves. After all, when one of your main competitors (WB) is giving away the blueprint on how to do it right and you still don't pay attention...

 

[Jeff_HR]

I'll go for these two! Especially a better transfer of the of the "DOUBLE INDEMNITY" title with extras.

 

[Mark-W]

I am hoping that when Universal removed Double Indemnity from their roster last fall, it was because they wanted time to restore the elements. Based on the Image Entertainment DVD, it needed some work.

Am I alone in thinking that if Universal releases an inferior quality version of a film so well thought of--Isn't it ranked as the #1 noir title by AFI?--, that there is going to be a lot of upset consumers and even some who refuse to purchase it?

A better candiate for a "Casablanca 2 Disc SE" kind of treatment, I personally cannot think of, but if the image and sound quality are subpar, then all the bonus material in the world won't make up for it.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Mario,

Warner could easily follow-upon their first noir collection with:

BORN TO KILL (1947)
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1949)
TENSION (1949)
THE WINDOW (1949)
CRIME WAVE (1954)

or

THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE (1947)
SIDE STREET (1950)
HIS KIND OF WOMAN (1951)
THE NARROW MARGIN (1952)
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)

or

THREE STRANGERS (1946)
THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947)
BORDER INCIDENT (1949)
FOLLOW ME QUIETLY (1949)
THE THREAT (1949)

or

BETRAYED (1944, aka WHEN STRANGERS MARRY)
THE LADY IN THE LAKE (1946)
DEEP VALLEY (1947)
DESPERATE (1947)
ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950)

--etc, etc.

 

[Brandon Conway]

I'm quite sure I read the rumor that Universal pulled Double Indemnity from their noir release schedule because they made a deal to distribute it through The Criterion Collection, but I have no recollection as to where I read it.

 

[Derek Estes]

I would love to see these in the next WB Noir set..
They Live By Night RKO release so I hope they have the rights
Clash by Night
Crossfire
Stranger on the Third Floor
While the City Sleeps
The Breaking Point
...along with everything else mentioned!

 

[ScottCor]

Also wishing Universal would get on the ball and continue the noir line. Have to admit my main motivation is to see more Veronica Lake titles come out on DVD. So far only This Gun For Hire, and Sullivan's Travels from Criterion.

 

[Chris Cheese]

You may have read people hoping and speculating about this, but there has not been any word whatsoever about why the title was pulled.

 

[Eric Peterson]

I read somewhere that a new date of March 29th has been established for Double Indemnity. Has anyone else heard this?

This is arguably the greatest film in the Universal catalog, so I hope that they do this properly, and I'm nervous that nothing has been leaked.

I have the current Image disc, and it's pretty bad, but if Universal doesn't pull out all the stops for this title, then they never will and I most definitely will not be in line to buy the new version.

 

[John Hodson]

I think that was the original date for the R2 release Eric, and it now appears to have slipped to April 4.

 

[AlexHL]

I noticed that as well. I hope it's not a bad omen.

 

[Craig Beam]

God, this roller coaster shit is getting old. DOUBLE INDEMNITY remains one of my holy grail titles, and it remains perpetually unavailable.

 

[Chris Cheese]

Agreed completely. Once Laura is released, Double Indemnity will be the only one of my very favorite (which I consider the most definitive) film noirs that isn't available on DVD. I don't know what they're waiting for.

 

[Sean A]

I wonder if Universal is contemplating a Billy Wilder box set ? That could explain why the title was pulled (of course, this is just sheer speculation ...)

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

It does seem ultra-weird that Double Indemnity is not on DVD. It really deserves a great transfer and quality extras.

I also hate not having The Apartment in my collection. Lemmon lifts me up every time when I watch it. Great, great movie.

 

[george kaplan]

Both Double Indemnity and The Apartment are on dvd (sitting on my shelf). They both deserve much better releases, but both are certainly watchable given how great the films are.

 

[Seth--L]

Huh? It's been on DVD for a while. The transfer is decent enough.