A Few Words About A few words about...™ Murnau, Borzage and Fox - Preview (1 Viewer)

[Rob_Kozlowski]

Paramount owns all their silents, and that includes The Last Command, Underworld and Docks of New York. Universal owns the talkie Von Sternbergs, starting with "Thunderbolt."

everyone expected Criterion to move faster on their von Sternbergs, but they never disappoint once the DVD comes out.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Has anybody found this set at a Costco yet? I looked at the shelves at two Costco's, to no avail. When I asked the staff to look up the title, they were unable to type-in the title to produce any 'hits'. They said it would be easier to search by item number.
If anybody does pick this set up at Costco, could they post the item number here, so I (and others) might have better luck with the staff/computers at Costco?
Thank you.

According to the coupon in the December Costco Connection, the item number is 357231, which it shares with the complete X-Files and Stargate sets.
Since the coupon becomes valid tomorrow, I was expecting that Murnau/Borzage would be put out this week. The other two sets are already out. I'll be very disappointed if they don't show up here.
Hmmmm.... Murnau/Borzage... sounds like an investment bank.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Thanks, Tim, for the reply. I think those are all Fox products, so I have a sinking feeling I may still have difficulties with Costco's computer system.

Still, I intend to at least try to determine if they'll be stocking this item at any of my local stores.

Thanks again.

 

[Richard--W]

I hefted one in Costco a couple of days ago. The weight of it is impressive. The box-set has the authority of weight(!). Costco cost: $180. Maybe after the holidays. I gather, from what a sales clerk told me, that Costco lumps different products from one brand under the same lot number. So if I buy Alfred Hitchcock Presents volumes 2 and 3 at $16 each, they ring up as the same thing twice, but if I want volume 1, they don't have a separate number with which to find it, because it's all under the same lot number from Universal. Likewise all Disney stuff is under the same lot number regardless of which title.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I remember how big the Ford box was- huge!

It's ironic that Fox is willing to make deluxe sets from their silent film catalog, while its TV division has done very little in releasing its classic shows from the 50s and 60s!

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Paramount owns all their silents, and that includes The Last Command, Underworld and Docks of New York.

I don't think they own IT (1927)...it's out on two different DVD labels currently, and both of these releases are from legitimate companies, Milestone and Kino.

 

[haroldS]

Two things.

Costco groups different titles, if they are bought them at the same time, from the same same distributor and in approximately the same retail price group, with one stock number. See their recent group from Universal which includes the new Gregory Peck Collection along with Cecil B. DeMille and the Marx Brothers ($10. off last week).

Locally, Costco got three copies of this set in last week and today they had the same three sets left, but they moved them and it took ten minutes to find them. It's not a coupon item, but an instant discount, though sales tax is collected on the higher price.

Now for my question. The Murnau set includes "Sunrise" including a "European Version" which is presumed to be a German version. This version runs 11 minutes longer then the "Movietone" version. What is this longer version? It is one filmed by Fox for european release or was a version filmed before Fox produced his version? And what is the difference between the two versions?

 

[Eric Peterson]

I've got a co-worker running me to Costco at lunch today. Hopefully they have this in stock where we're going. I saw a posting on another board, where somebody picked up the set for $130 at a Costco.
For that price, I could buy a year's membership and still be less than the best web deal right now.

 

[WilliamMcK]

I should wait and post once I'm more certain of things; but a cursory glance through the flipper Sunrise disc in Murnau/Borzage set shows a couple of misstatements on the part of Fox Home Video. There's only one commentary track--the John Bailey that was part of the Studio Classics Version (the original press statement had promised the Bailey plus a new one by Robert Birchard and Anthony Slide) and the running time is listed 106 min, but the Movietone version is 96 min and I *think* the European version (Czech... not German) is much, much shorter... about 71 min (I haven't watched it all the way through, but I clicked through the disc chapter by chapter... my timing on the European version could be way off... but it's definitely shorter). In the early scenes the main difference I noticed with my brief spot checking is that the European version simply contains far fewer shots... just as if the film were cut. The gray scale for the b&w image is much, much better on the European version however (the image, though, is 1.33 and seems cropped, as opposed to the pillared box 1.20 movietone version). Another peculiarity: the European version is advertised as the "silent" version, yet it utilizes the same Movietone score on an old optical track as the American version.
I could be wrong, but the good news is that I think there is marginal improvement in the Movietone/American version's image over the old Studio Classic disc (it's not huge... in fact I wouldn't even want to swear to it... but to my eyes it looked better).
If your main reason for purchasing the set is the additional Sunrise material you mat be a bit disappointed (though God knows, there are many, many more reasons to get this gorgeous box); but even though the Czech print of Sunrise is a bit of a bust as far as I'm concerned, it's better gray scale could help elucidate images from the full version of the movie.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Well, at least Fox didn't skimp on providing another HEAVY box. This thing weighs a ton. Thank heavens for Amazon Super Saver Shipping!

 

[Ruz-El]

If anyone's cheap and in Canada (like myself), this set can be had at HMV for $89.99 CDN. I jumped on it, look forward to watching everything in this for the first time (aside from the brilliant Sunrise).

 

[ShowsOn]

Well that's annoying. I would buy it too if I was in Canada.

 

[Richard--W]

I still haven't caught up with this box set, but some of you may be interested in this English-friendly German DVD --

from Edition Filmuseum, a label that releases many early films from German directors who later migrated to the USA.
The River (199) is a fine respectable transfer, and the supplements on disc 2 include three western shorts from the beginning of Borzage's career:
1915 The Pitch O'Chance
1916 The Pilgrim
1916 Nugget Jim's Partner (aka The Calibre of a Man)
Borzage not only directs the westerns, he stars in them, too. Clean sharp transfers each lasting about 24 minutes. The stories are moral lessons very much in the William S. Hart mold who was hot as a pistol at the time. So far as I know Borzage's westerns are not available anywhere else.
I bought mine used from a local collector but I find it sold on Germany's amazon:
http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001EICCW6/dvdaficiona0e-21

 

[Charles Smith]

Bump.

I've had this in my cart, like, forever, and was just checking on something else when I saw that Amazon had suddenly dropped their price from the recent "normal" $181 to $137.99 -- which could easily be a Black Friday or one-day-only thing.

I just jumped on it. You can, too!

 

[Dick]

You can get both SUNRISE and CITY GIRL on Masters of Cinema Blu-ray discs (with lots of extras, including both cuts of SUNRISE) from the UK right now for roughly 12 pounds sterling each. Go to Amazon UK. I have both of these, and they are superb. Furthermore, they are region-free.

 

[Richard--W]

I second the recommendation for the MoC discs of CITY GIRL and SUNRISE. You couldn't ask for better transfers.

 

[battlebeast]

are the City Girl/Sunrise Blu Rays Region free?

 

[JoHud]

Yes

 

[JoeDoakes]

Would anyone who has this set be willing to part with their They had to See Paris disk?

 

[Richard--W]

Are you asking if anyone would be willing to lend it to you for a week or two?