Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about…™ A Star is Born (1937) – in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[buckmichaels]

I am thoroughly delighted with this release. I've been waiting for years for a decent restoration/transfer of this movie, and was not disappointed! I, like others, always thought the original negatives were lost. It seems like it's always the Selznick Technicolor movies where the original negatives are not available. (Garden of Allah, Nothing Sacred, Duel in the Sun..). Must be some kind of copyright issue.

 

[RobertMG]

I am thoroughly delighted with this release. I've been waiting for years for a decent restoration/transfer of this movie, and was not disappointed! I, like others, always thought the original negatives were lost. It seems like it's always the Selznick Technicolor movies where the original negatives are not available. (Garden of Allah, Nothing Sacred, Duel in the Sun..). Must be some kind of copyright issue.

Thought Disney has original negs on Nothing Sacred also think original negs exist on Duel In The Sun

 

[Will Krupp]

Thought Disney has original negs on Nothing Sacred

Yes, sir they do (what's left of them anyway!)

The issue with the negatives for 1930's Selznick International films (that weren't titled Gone With the Wind) was that they changed hands so many times over the years and their handling was often careless. The magenta record on Nothing Sacred, for example, literally had holes punched through it and the first reel was completely unusable.

The fact that Warner "rescued" 1937's A Star is Born in 1952-1953 and locked the original negatives up in a vault for their protection is a miracle and one that shouldn't be taken for granted.

 

[buckmichaels]

Thanks for the explanation, I was hoping it was a copyright issue and not a condition issue. It's nothing short of a miracle that anything survives from these 80+ year old movies, so I'm so happy that Gone With The Wind and A Star is Born were preserved and restored so well! I wonder if a transfer/restoration is possible for Duel in the Sun, if those negatives are in decent shape. I have both the dvd and blu-ray of The Garden of Allah, and the picture is quite good, and I marvel at what Scott MacQueen was able to do with the Garden of Allah. I wonder if he was working with the original negatives, or some other source.

 

[Robert Harris]

Thanks for the explanation, I was hoping it was a copyright issue and not a condition issue. It's nothing short of a miracle that anything survives from these 80+ year old movies, so I'm so happy that Gone With The Wind and A Star is Born were preserved and restored so well! I wonder if a transfer/restoration is possible for Duel in the Sun, if those negatives are in decent shape. I have both the dvd and blu-ray of The Garden of Allah, and the picture is quite good, and I marvel at what Scott MacQueen was able to do with the Garden of Allah. I wonder if he was working with the original negatives, or some other source.

They’re in beautiful shape. I produced some protection dupes and a dye transfer test reel a number of years ago.

Also, Mr. MacQueen did a full re-comp to Eastman whilst at Disney. It’s out on Blu-ray.

 

[Paul Penna]

They’re in beautiful shape. I produced some protection dupes and a dye transfer test reel a number of years ago.

Also, Mr. MacQueen did a full re-comp to Eastman whilst at Disney. It’s out on Blu-ray.

The Garden of Allah Blu-ray is a feast for the eyes, not just for the capture of Technicolor but the way it itself captured the kind of incredible art and color design that they just don't do no more no where no how.

 

[RobertMG]

Yes, sir they do (what's left of them anyway!)

The issue with the negatives for 1930's Selznick International films (that weren't titled Gone With the Wind) was that they changed hands so many times over the years and their handling was often careless. The magenta record on Nothing Sacred, for example, literally had holes punched through it and the first reel was completely unusable.

The fact that Warner "rescued" 1937's A Star is Born in 1952-1953 and locked the original negatives up in a vault for their protection is a miracle and one that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Considering how many nitrate films went bye bye - lost in fires etc ---there must be a print of Convention City somewhere --- somewhere

 

[ahollis]

Considering how many nitrate films went bye bye - lost in fires etc ---there must be a print of Convention City somewhere --- somewhere

We can only hope.

 

[Robert Harris]

Considering how many nitrate films went bye bye - lost in fires etc ---there must be a print of Convention City somewhere --- somewhere

I am advised that aside from a bit of stock footage, a script and conductor’s book, it is not known to survive.

 

[buckmichaels]

The Garden of Allah is a visual feast for the eyes. Marlene Dietrich was not fond of the script, but did admit some years later that she considered "Garden of Allah" to be the one of the most beautifully produced color movies ever made. She also liked working for Selznick because he was generous in his movie budgets.

 

[jayembee]

If that’s true then why did George Feltenstein mentioned in a recent podcast that buying WAC titles at heavily discounted prices hurts their ability to turn a profit and release more titles?

Depending on the specific deals -- Amazon probably gets a better deal than most other vendors -- it shouldn't, as Will pointed out, make that much of a difference in how much money WAC (or whomever) makes on a title. If the label gets, say, 40% of the MSRP, they'll get that no matter what the vendors end up selling it for.

What does matter, though, is the wait time for those discount sales to happen. If a title is being released this week, and people are waiting for Black Friday sales to get it, now that is a problem for WAC's cash flow.

I suspect that one of the reasons why we don't have a regular WAC on-line shop nowadays is because people weren't ordering much, if anything, from them until they held a 4-for-44 sale. Me, I tend to buy WAC titles from Bull Moose for $20 a pop whenever I pop into one of their stores (I did take advantage of the recent sale at Oldies.com, though I didn't get a lot from it).

On the other hand, from the questions that happen here and at The Other Site, it seems that Kino is aware that many people wait for the Kino site sales that happen every three months or so, and load up. But again, it's Kino themselves that are having the sales, and they are probably getting close to what they'd get from vendors buying them at wholesale. Whatever, they seem to be comfortable with the situation at hand.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Depending on the specific deals -- Amazon probably gets a better deal than most other vendors -- it shouldn't, as Will pointed out, make that much of a difference in how much money WAC (or whomever) makes on a title. If the label gets, say, 40% of the MSRP, they'll get that no matter what the vendors end up selling it for.

I trust that George Feltenstein knows more about their financial arrangement with retailers than we do, so I won't comment any further than what he implied with his comments.

 

[RobertMG]

Depending on the specific deals -- Amazon probably gets a better deal than most other vendors -- it shouldn't, as Will pointed out, make that much of a difference in how much money WAC (or whomever) makes on a title. If the label gets, say, 40% of the MSRP, they'll get that no matter what the vendors end up selling it for.

What does matter, though, is the wait time for those discount sales to happen. If a title is being released this week, and people are waiting for Black Friday sales to get it, now that is a problem for WAC's cash flow.

I suspect that one of the reasons why we don't have a regular WAC on-line shop nowadays is because people weren't ordering much, if anything, from them until they held a 4-for-44 sale. Me, I tend to buy WAC titles from Bull Moose for $20 a pop whenever I pop into one of their stores (I did take advantage of the recent sale at Oldies.com, though I didn't get a lot from it).

On the other hand, from the questions that happen here and at The Other Site, it seems that Kino is aware that many people wait for the Kino site sales that happen every three months or so, and load up. But again, it's Kino themselves that are having the sales, and they are probably getting close to what they'd get from vendors buying them at wholesale. Whatever, they seem to be comfortable with the situation at hand.

KINO and WAC are the Platinum standards many a close second it is just as I said earlier sad that we do not have Border's, Tower, etc around that we can walk in and pick up the titles we want. Some of these retailers did themselves in though we have a Barnes and Noble here Carle Place NY they had a HUGE dvd/cd departmemt we would go once a month and buy new releases and even MGM's dvd's at 7.98 etc they took them all out sent them back to the warehouse and put 8 recliners so GET this people could go there and read books that replaced the discs. I wrote a letter to the company saying "So you think you are going to sell more books having people read them for free in recliners no less?" Well over the last few years slowly but surely the dvd's and cd's are getting more shelf space.

 

[Will Krupp]

What does matter, though, is the wait time for those discount sales to happen. If a title is being released this week, and people are waiting for Black Friday sales to get it, now that is a problem for WAC's cash flow.

I would agree with that, and it may be what Felstenstein was referencing with his comment.

 

[RobertMG]

I would agree with that, and it may be what Felstenstein was referencing with his comment.

You are spot on sir! But years ago the biz model for corporations were sell MORE for less now corporate America is sell LESS for more (not speaking about Warners Kino etc not really about vid biz but as an example a box of cheerios 5.00 yet the store brand 2.50 we buy the store brand of course)

 

[Chuck Pennington]

LINK: A Star is Born (1937) Video Comparison

 

[Trancas]

Great work Chuck!!!!!

 

[Robert Harris]

It’s so rare to be able to see original 3-strip negative material from this era. History begins here.

 

[Matt Hough]

And when you see this disc, it's easy to understand why the Academy chose this color film to honor for its cinematography for that year (a regular category for color cinematography was still two years off; this award was a special one).

 

[Robert Harris]

Just as a friendly warning. With disc production capability as it now stands, this is a title I expect will go away for awhile until it can be repressed, so for those who desire it, best to act now, or be prepared to wait.