A Few Words About A few words about...™ Musicals 4-Movie Collection -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[cinerama10]

It was a pity that CALAMITY JANE had some dreadful 'day for might' photography. Nothing worse than seeing blue sky and white clouds in the middle of the night. It still happens to-day which is an abomination. Even the great Peter Jackson has used it in his epics.

 

[david hare]

But that was in Middle Earth!!!!

 

[Ejanss]

Finally got my way down the pile to start on Band Wagon--And I couldn't even get that far, since I discovered, on the bonus extras, Richard Schickel's "Men Who Made the Movies: Vincent Minelli" from 1973.

I don't know how I missed it on the press material, but when this first aired on PBS in the 70's this was literally my first encounter with classic movies--Even seeing the 70's WNET logo was a trip back to the days of local PBS stations in the wilderness.


I remember coming across the Minelli and Hitchcock episodes while changing channels in the afternoon, at age nine, and having no idea what I was looking at. I didn't start consciously going to see old movies until thirteen, when a nearby theater started doing classic revivals, but here, I was seeing random clips from....something interesting.

Back in the mid-70's That's Entertainment days, when "old movies" were the stuff of local stations and Carol Burnett parodies, I'm assuming most people didn't know either. The fact that Schickel has to explain the plots of Meet Me in St. Louis and An American in Paris just to put the excerpts into critical context would seem ridiculous to us today, now that we have classic movies coming at us from every direction and practically have both movies memorized, but back when you had to work harder to find them, this was mysterious gold.


Of course, since I didn't know the directors back then, I had no idea what they were talking about in the interviews, but now that I do, it's valuable archive material.

 

[Matt Hough]

I find it interesting that some of those Schickel programs from that series were later revamped a bit with Sydney Pollack doing the narration.


You know you're looking at the original episode when it's Cliff Robertson doing the narration.

 

[Ejanss]

Did the other 70's Schickel episodes (King Vidor, George Cukor, Raoul Walsh) turn up on any other classic Warner, or will I have to go search YouTube?

There's a Pollack-narrated revamp of the Howard Hawks episode on YT, but the rest seem to be held by TCM.

 

[Matt Hough]

Did the other 70's Schickel episodes (King Vidor, George Cukor, Raoul Walsh) turn up on any other classic Warner, or will I have to go search YouTube?

There's a Pollack-narrated revamp of the Howard Hawks episode on YT, but the rest seem to be held by TCM.

I just rewatched the Cukor one a few weeks ago, but I'll have to search which DVD it came from. (I'd say The Philadelphia Story if I had to guess, but I'm really not sure.)

 

[davidmatychuk]

The George Cukor episode is on the two-disc DVD of "The Philadelphia Story". "Bringing Up Baby" has the Howard Hawks one, in the same Warner "Classic Comedies Collection" DVD box. The William Wellman one is on the all-Wellman "Forbidden Hollywood Volume 3" DVD set. All three of these have the Sydney Pollack narration. The Cliff Robertson-narrated Vincente Minnelli episode is on "The Band Wagon" Blu-Ray, as it was on the DVD.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

When viewing the complete Band Wagon the other night I was knocked out by the immaculate pairing not only of Astaire and Charisse, but also of Astaire and Buchanan .

What a great teaming and what a wonderful apotheosis for Buchanan's career. Jack was 10 years older than Fred, who, at 52, was no spring chicken when making the movie. I read that Jack had severe arthritis during the filming. This was a precursor to spinal cancer and he died just four years later. He has a great relaxed presence during the movie .. I just love the sound of his voice! I have quite a few of his records, on 78 and CD, and just wish more of his movies would gain release.

 

[classicmovieguy]

No love for Nanette Fabray? She is at her most vivacious in this film, although I also adore her work on the Broadway cast albums for "Make a Wish" and "Mr President".


On a separate note, I really admire Ms Fabray's remarkable career despite hearing impairment. As a hearing-impaired singer/performer myself, she is an inspiration.

 

[Joel Arndt]

I love Nanette Fabray. Thanks for bringing this up. She's still living. Does anyone know how she is doing?

 

[Matt Hough]

Nanette has a Tony and three Emmys. I've always loved her and wish she had made more films.

 

[david hare]

When viewing the complete Band Wagon the other night I was knocked out by the immaculate pairing not only of Astaire and Charisse, but also of Astaire and Buchanan .

What a great teaming and what a wonderful apotheosis for Buchanan's career. Jack was 10 years older than Fred, who, at 52, was no spring chicken when making the movie. I read that Jack had severe arthritis during the filming. This was a precursor to spinal cancer and he died just four years later. He has a great relaxed presence during the movie .. I just love the sound of his voice! I have quite a few of his records, on 78 and CD, and just wish more of his movies would gain release.

Wasn't Fred's wife dying from cancer at the time he made Band Wagon? There is certainly more than a touch of melancholy in the writing of this character and in the whole narrative of old and new (for which this movie is the supreme case of handling such a nuanced theme.)

 

[Robin9]

George Sidney is surely THE director to give Kate speed and energy. He's irrepressible. I would love to see more Sidney on BD after Anchors Aweigh - notably Harvey Girls and Showboat (which we know WB is working on)

Do we know that Warners are working on Showboat? I ask because I've just watched the DVD - a very early DVD and one of the first I bought. The DVD is severely sub-standard and impeded my continuing investigation of Kathryn Grayson's anatomy.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Warners did indicate at least two years ago that they were working on a Blu ray issue of the three versions of Show Boat. That's why I haven't tried to buy the WA DVD of the James Whale Show Boat, waiting instead for this promised deluxe release.

 

[Joel Arndt]

Do we know that Warners are working on Showboat? I ask because I've just watched the DVD - a very early DVD and one of the first I bought. The DVD is severely sub-standard and impeded my continuing investigation of Kathryn Grayson's anatomy.

Bar none, Show Boat (1951) is one of the worst looking transfers WHV ever released on dvd. Hope a stunning blu-ray is in our near future.

 

[Drew Salzan]

Bar none, Show Boat (1951) is one of the worst looking transfers WHV ever released on dvd. Hope a stunning blu-ray is in our near future.

Agreed. The laserdisc from the 1990's was equally disappointing. The 3 strip Technicolor negatives along with most or all of the prerecording stems and angles survive. A full restoration for blu ray is certainly possible.

 

[Matt Hough]

After The Band Wagon was released on DVD, George Feltenstein mentioned in a chat that Show Boat was then undergoing Ultra-Resolution restoration that had been applied to Wizard of Oz, Easter Parade, St. Louis, and The Band Wagon, so I assume Warners now has a high def master for Show Boat just waiting for release once the others are brought up to code.

 

[davidmatychuk]

Do we know that Warners are working on Showboat? I ask because I've just watched the DVD - a very early DVD and one of the first I bought. The DVD is severely sub-standard and impeded my continuing investigation of Kathryn Grayson's anatomy.

Thanks to Home Theatre Forum, anything at all with Kathryn Grayson in it is suddenly interesting.

 

[Robin9]

Thanks to Home Theatre Forum, anything at all with Kathryn Grayson in it is suddenly interesting.

Absolutely! And I've just watched a truly appalling PD disc of Till The Clouds Roll By. The sacrifices I make in the noble cause of research! I've now placed my order for the "official" Warners DVD: I do not want to watch that PD abomination ever again!

 

[AndrewHardy]

Regarding MEN WHO MADE THE MOVIES, the Hitchcock episode is available on Dvd as a standalone, I believe. I much prefer the Robertson narrated ones. The Cukor episode was revised as it originally ended with the finale of BORN IN A TRUNK, which of course, was not directed by Cukor. And I remember in the Capra episode that ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE was described as "his final forgotten masterpiece" which it was at the time although even in '72-'73, I knew the film quite well.