WHV Announcement: Warner Bros. celebrates 90th Anniversary with "Best of Warner Bros." Collections ( (1 Viewer)

WARNER BROS. CELEBRATES ITS

90TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2013 WITH

“BEST OF WARNER BROS.” COLLECTIONS

Two New Documentaries Honoring the Studio
to be Screened at Special Global Events

Year-Long Celebration Includes 100 Film DVD Collection and 50 Film Blu-ray™ Collection, Largest Film Collection Released in Each Format by Any Studio to date

Five New “Best of Warner Bros.” 20 Film DVD Box Sets also to be Released throughout Year

Burbank, Calif., October 3, 2012 -- One of the most respected, diversified and successful motion picture studios in the world, Warner Bros. began when the eponymous brothers
-- Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack -- incorporated on April 4, 1923. Four years later, the release of The Jazz Singer, the world’s first “talkie,” set a tone of innovation and influence that would forever become synonymous with the Warner Bros. brand. Soon to be 90, Warner Bros. continues to entertain the world with films passionately produced, selectively acquired, carefully preserved and impeccably curated for both the casual and ultimate movie lover to enjoy forever.

As a result of all the films the studio has produced, co-produced (with numerous partners), acquired and distributed, Warner Bros. now boasts the largest film library in the world – 6,800 feature films, with 2,000 films currently available on DVD and Blu-ray™. The library includes 22 Academy Award®*-winning Best Pictures (the most in Oscar® history), and leading franchises such as Harry Potter™, Batman™, Lord of the Rings™, The Matrix and Superman™.

Beginning in January, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) will launch a major Anniversary initiative that will continue through year-end 2013. This includes the release of seven new collections, including two limited and numbered anniversary collections -- 100 films on DVD and 50 films on Blu-ray™, both the largest collections of films ever released, to date, in their respective formats. The year-long celebration will also include several stand-alone releases of new-to-format classics on Blu-ray™ for the first time, including The Jazz Singer, all three James Dean films (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant), Cabaret and Academy Award® Best Picture Winners Grand Hotel (1932), Mrs. Miniver (1943), and Driving Miss Daisy(1990).



Stated Jeff Baker, WHV’s Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog, “As the recognized leader in theatrical library market share, we’re delighted to be celebrating our 90th with the largest, most compelling film collections in home entertainment history. We’ve put a lot of thought and care into the selection of these classics, and I think the results will be something movie fans -- from the casual to the dedicated – will embrace.”

Finally, WBHEG will have a year-long trade program supported by an online and social media campaign. The campaign is designed to celebrate the films representing The Best of Warner Bros, by artfully connecting with movie-lovers through the memories that mirror, resemble, or remind them of their favorite movies. The micrositewww.bestofwb.com will serve as the central hub for all content and provide fans with a richer and more integrated experience.

The Collections
The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection*: 100 movies including all 22 of Warner Bros. library’s Best Picture ™ Winners and two new documentaries (details below) on 55 discs presented in book style premium packaging.

The Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray™ Collection* includes 50 movies and the two new documentaries on 52 discs, also presented in book style premium packaging. It will introduce several new-to-Blu-ray film titles, including Grand Hotel, Mrs. Miniver, and Driving Miss Daisy.

Both of the above are limited and numbered collections and each includes a collectible poster and series of art cards featuring movie poster designs created by legendary American graphic designer Bill Gold.

Gold, who worked with Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, and Ridley Scott, had this to say:

"My 65-year career began with Yankee Doodle Dandy and Casablanca and continued on to every Clint Eastwood picture from Dirty Harry to Mystic River (and I came out of retirement to design the poster for J. Edgar). In my wildest dreams I could not have foreseen the world I would inhabit and the joy it would bring me over the years. Every poster I worked on had a story to tell, and I'm delighted to be able to share a sampling of some of them in these collections."

The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections will be released throughout the year in five separate sets. Each features a gem-packed collection of 20 essential movie classics in five major genres: Best Pictures(January), Musicals (February), Romance (April), Comedy (July) and Thrillers (September).

The Best of Warner Bros. Animation Collections will be released throughout the year in three separate animation sets. Each features animation at its best in three key brands Hanna-Barbera (May), Looney Tunes(June) and DC Comics (August).

The Best of Warner Bros. Superman TV Collection (May) features 9 essential Superman live action television and animated television shows in one collection.


* A full list of film titles for the 100 and 50 Best of Warner Bros. Collections is included as an addendum to this release.


Two New Documentaries to Celebrate Warner Bros. 90th Anniversary

Created specially for this anniversary, Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot is a full-length documentary that features some of Warner Bros.’ top talent and executives giving an inside look at the history of the studio. In on-the-lot interviews, stars including Clint Eastwood, Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Martin Sheen, along with current and former studio toppers Barry Meyer, Alan Horn, Bob Daly, and Terry Semel, and others, recount personal reflections and anecdotes about their experiences at the studio. Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot was produced by documentarian Gary Khammar (It’s So Audrey! A Style Icon) and producer Bill Gerber (Gran Torino).

Now, for the first time, home viewers can take the hugely popular Warner Bros Studio VIP Tour in this new documentary produced exclusively for the 90th Anniversary collections. In The Warner Bros. Lot Tour, an official WB Lot Tour Guide gives guests a “virtual” tram ride (of what some 200,000 annual visitors experience) -- an extraordinary opportunity to see first-hand where movie magic happens at the world’s busiest motion picture and television studio. Unlike a theme park, the Tour represents a rare and intimate “behind-the-scenes” look at real Hollywood, winding through back lot streets, sound stages, sets and craft shops.


Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

Catalog # 1000334080

Pricing: $597.92 SRP



Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray Collection

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

Catalog # 1000334079

Pricing: $597.92 SRP



The Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film DVD Collections

Street Date: 1/29/13

Order Date: 12/25/12

Catalog # 1000353487

Pricing: $98.92 SRP

Note: All enhanced content listed above is subject to change.

“OSCAR®” and “ACADEMY AWARD®” are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

About Warner Home Video:
With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc., commands the largest home entertainment distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Video and New Line Cinema.

PUBLICITY CONTACTS:

Warner Home Video

Ronnee Sass, 818/977-6439 / Janet Keller, 818/977-7831

Carl Samrock Public Relations

Marie Remelius, Karen Penhale, 818/260-0777

E-mail requests for materials to [email protected]; [email protected]

For Online Media Outlets Christine Dinh, 818/977-8902 [email protected]

Artwork is downloadable at www.WHVDirect.com or by request


# # #
The Best of Warner Bros. 100 Film DVD Collection
Jazz Singer, The 1927
Broadway Melody of 1929* 1929
Public Enemy, The 1931
Cimarron (1931) * 1931
Grand Hotel* 1932
42nd Street 1933
Mutiny on the Bounty* 1935
Night at the Opera, A 1935
Great Ziegfeld, The* 1936
Life of Emile Zola, The* 1937
Adventures of Robin Hood, The 1938
Dark Victory 1939
Gone with The Wind* 1939
Wizard of Oz 1939
Philadelphia Story, The 1940
Maltese Falcon, The 1941
Citizen Kane 1941
Mrs. Miniver* 1942
Casablanca* 1942
Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942
Gaslight 1944
Anchors Aweigh 1944
Mildred Pierce 1945
Best Years of Our Lives* 1946
Big Sleep, The 1946
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The 1948
American in Paris, An* 1951
Streetcar Named Desire, A 1951
Singin' in the Rain 1952
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1954
Star Is Born, A (1954) 1954
East of Eden 1955
Rebel Without A Cause 1955
Around the World in 80 Days* 1956
Giant 1956
Searchers, The 1956
Face in the Crowd, A 1957
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958
Gigi* 1958
Ben-Hur* 1959
North By Northwest 1959
How the West Was Won 1962
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? 1962
Viva Las Vegas 1964
Doctor Zhivago 1965
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? 1966
Cool Hand Luke 1967
Dirty Dozen, The 1967
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Bullitt 1968
Wild Bunch, The 1969
Dirty Harry 1971
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory 1971
Cabaret 1972
Clockwork Orange, A 1972
Enter the Dragon 1973
Exorcist, The 1973
Blazing Saddles 1974
Dog Day Afternoon 1975
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest* 1975
All The President's Men 1976
Superman, The Movie 1977
Caddyshack 1980
Shining, The 1980
Clash of the Titans 1981
Chariots of Fire* 1981
National Lampoon's Vacation 1983
Outsiders, The 1983
Right Stuff, The 1983
Risky Business 1983
Amadeus* 1984
Color Purple, The 1985
Goonies, The 1985
Full Metal Jacket 1987
Lethal Weapon 1987
Batman 1989
Driving Miss Daisy* 1989
Goodfellas 1990
Bodyguard, The 1992
Unforgiven* 1992
Fugitive, The 1993
Interview with the Vampire 1994
Natural Born Killers (Director's Cut) 1994
Shawshank Redemption 1994
Seven 1995
L.A. Confidential 1997
Matrix, The 1999
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* 2003
Notebook, The 2004
Million Dollar Baby* 2005
Departed, The* 2006
300 2007
Dark Knight, The 2008
Blind Side, The 2009
Hangover, The 2009
Sherlock Holmes 2009
Inception 2010
Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)

*Best Picture Winners (22)





Best of Warner Bros. 50 Film Blu-ray™ Collection
Grand Hotel* 1932
Mutiny on the Bounty* 1935
Gone with The Wind* 1939
Wizard of Oz 1939
Maltese Falcon, The 1941
Citizen Kane 1941
Mrs. Miniver* 1942
Casablanca* 1942
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The 1948
American in Paris, An* 1951
Streetcar Named Desire, A 1951
Singin' in the Rain 1952
Gigi* 1958
Ben-Hur* 1959
North By Northwest 1959
How the West Was Won 1962
Doctor Zhivago 1965
Cool Hand Luke 1967
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Bullitt 1968
Dirty Harry 1971
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory 1971
Clockwork Orange, A 1972
Exorcist, The 1973
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest* 1975
Superman, The Movie 1977
Shining, The 1980
Chariots of Fire* 1981
Risky Business 1983
Amadeus* 1984
Color Purple, The 1985
Full Metal Jacket 1987
Lethal Weapon 1987
Driving Miss Daisy* 1989
Goodfellas 1990
Bodyguard, The 1992
Unforgiven* 1992
Natural Born Killers (Director's Cut) 1994
Matrix, The 1999
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* 2003
Million Dollar Baby* 2005
Departed, The* 2006
Dark Knight, The 2008
Blind Side, The 2009
Hangover, The 2009
Sherlock Holmes 2009
Inception 2010
Documentaries: Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot, Warner Bros. Lot Tour (2013)

*Best Picture Winners (16)

Well that's one way to repackage a bunch of old discs and clear out the warehouse...


I'll keep my peeper opened for the animation sets though.

I was talking about this in another thread...

I kind of expected this.

Blu-ray is now almost 6 years old. Warner
has released a lot of their prime catalog -- some
titles more than once.

I didn't expect that this monstrous set would
have anything new that most of us don't already
own.

Hopefully we will see more classics released
next year to celebrate their 90 years.

Not only have most of the films been on disc for years, many of the titles are films that Warner Bros didn't actually make. There are a ton of MGM films, as well as some New Line. Sure WB owns the MGM and New Line libraries, but I think when you're celebrating Warner's 90th anniversary, doesn't it make sense to only include WB films?

Interesting set for a major Anniversary.
Can't help but note, however, that half the films...
Were not WB productions.
RAH

I would love to see more Gangster & Pre Code movies released.
I will probably purchase some simply because I have not bought them yet

Never expected the announcment of the animation sets (HB, Looney Tunes, and DC). Hopefully these will all be Blu-Ray and not just DVD.

It's a cool achievement for a mega set, but who's going to buy this? The average consumer supposedly hates catalog titles, hence Warner's has the Archives series. The movie collector who would be interested in this most likely has the titles they want out of this set- in nice special editions instead of movie only which I suspect most of these discs would be, disc one out of the deluxe sets.

If Warners doesn't see how something like "The Bowery Boys"- which they've been actively working on for 10 odd years, would sell at retail or fit on to store shelves since box stores don't carry cataloge titles, which stores exactly are going to carry this 10lb, $600 monolith beast?

I'll never understand studio marketing. Especially since the glory days of DVD when Warner where the tops as far as nicely packaged catalog boxsets where concerned. No more Gangster/Noir collections because stores wont stock them/take too much space/make no money, but this 100/50 disc bastard is a "sell"?

It's crazy I tells ya! CRAZY!

Originally Posted by Adam4Rizzel /t/324196/whv-announcement-warner-bros-celebrates-90th-anniversary-with-best-of-warner-bros-collections#post_3983644
Never expected the announcment of the animation sets (HB, Looney Tunes, and DC). Hopefully these will all be Blu-Ray and not just DVD.

Click to expand...

I'd bet my hat the Loony Tunes will be re-packed Golden Collections, HB being re-packed discs from The FLintstones and stuff like that, all on DVD.

I'm HOPING for new releases, but this looks like a warehouse dump. :S

Um, for those complaining about the double dip in the box sets, yes, the complaints are valid. But both these box sets, Blu and DVD, will be out in February, long before a lot of the things we are requesting should be ready in the versions we would demand they deserve.
This is in surface what it appears to be - equal parts stock clearer and collections for those just getting on the Blu train. The good news is the announcements of what is to come already have me extremely optimistic, especially in animation collections and in the classics library.

I am NOT optimistic about the animation collections; they will likely be the same episodes of the same shows that have been released on DVD before. The Looney Tunes set might even be a repackage of the first Platinum Collection

Interesting that neither set includes Bonnie & Clyde or Blade Runner. Also, I'm surprised they chose to include Natural Born Killers rather than, say, JFK.

I've been too consistently disappointed with Warners treatment of classic titles the past few years due to the archives to be very optimistic about this program.

I would love for them to prove me wrong!

Kevin Martinez said:

I am NOT optimistic about the animation collections; they will likely be the same episodes of the same shows that have been released on DVD before. The Looney Tunes set might even be a repackage of the first Platinum Collection

Click to expand...

I've never understood hatred toward double dipping on Blu-Ray. Kinda a thing about Blu-Ray is upgrading from DVD to HD. So upgrading from the golden collections AND getting never released shorts that are all RESTORED. +1

Russell G said:

I've been too consistently disappointed with Warners treatment of classic titles the past few years due to the archives to be very optimistic about this program.
I would love for them to prove me wrong!

Click to expand...

Agreed.
I'm looking forward to the James Dean films, but this box set is pathetic. If its a sign of things to come, it looks like their 90th year will be a big yawn.

I can see why Warner does these boxes, they're trying to get rid of some of their discs, & good luck to them, but I can't for the life of me think who buys them. If you're a fan. you'd have the films you wanted already, & I'm sure it's going to work out a great price per disc, but the box is still going to cost a fair old whack. But good luck to Warner.

I haven't gone through the list, but are any of the DVDs new to the format? As for the Blu-Ray list, other than Jazz Singer and the three Best Pictures, are any of them new to Blu?
I personally don't mind when studios do these big boxes - its no skin off my nose. What bothers me is when they do a big box with NEW content, and that is the only way to get the new Content. Fortunately, with the four new Blus I listed, they are coming out individually.
As for the non-WB, Universal did the same thing with their anniversary (early Paramount slapped with the Uni Banner). As I stated in one of the other Anniversary threads, there haven''t been studios since at least the 70s - just rights holders and releasing companies that have the same name as the Studios.
David

This is very disappointing!!!! And a real missed opportunity as well.

I, for one, am quite pleased that there are no exclusives in these sets (documentaries aside). I'd rather buy the films I want via their own releases. How many complaints did Fox get about exclusives like Cavalcade being in the Anniversary box only? Warner has basically avoided that pitfall.