A Few Words About A few words about...™ Western Union & Coney Island-- DVD (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

This is an odd one.

About a month ago, Fox released a Blu-ray edition of Fritz Lang's 1941 Western Union via Kino Lorber, and based upon surviving elements, it did the job.

Now, courtesy of Fox Cinema Archives, comes a DVD.

What's interesting, is that the DVD is slightly more expensive than the Blu-ray.

Could just be a long-term scheduling conflict.

Concurrent with this release, come two others, from the younger Lang brother, Walter.

Both men entered cinema in their 20s, but while Fritz was educated in Germany, under the UFA system, Walter began in indies, before making a move to Columbia in 1927.

Fritz became known for some of his German silent work, while Walter came into his own after his move to Fox, with the Technicolor Shirley Temple project, The Little Princess.

While Fritz, returning stateside for his 1936 Fury, tended to go for the more serious dramas, Walter moved rapidly into the realm of musicals and light comedies.

Many of the Technicolor Fox musicals of the '40s were Walter Lang projects, inclusive of Coney Island (1943), which was released in 2015 as a three title set, along with Deep Waters (1948) and Show Them No Mercy (1935). I've found no rationale behind putting the three together, except that they're all Fox titles.

With no original elements surviving, Coney Island is, unfortunately, at least without an investment, what it is. Colors, which used to be brilliant, now take on an occasional cyan note, with blacks are plugged up, and shadow detail doesn't exist.

Cony Island is a sweet musical, and on Fox's burned (not pressed - not that it matters) is a basic record of what the actors did, and of the music, but in no way is representative of the look of the film as originally released.

Image

Western Union - 3
Coney Island - 2.5

Audio - 4

4k Up-rez

Western Union - 3.25
Coney Island - 2

Pass / Fail - Pass

RAH

 

[Robert Crawford]

Fox has released Western Union on DVD a couple times, beforehand, including a Fox Cinema Archives release on 05-29-13.

 

[Robin9]

Let me admit this openly: I never knew Walter Lang was the brother of Fritz Lang. They made films of such hugely different sensibility that it never occurred to me the two men might be from the same family. So, in the 1950s, when Walter Lang was directing films like Call Me Madam and There's No Business Like Show Business, his brother was making grim films like The Big Heat and Beyond A Reasonable Doubt.

 

[Robert Harris]

Let me admit this openly: I never knew Walter Lang was the brother of Fritz Lang. They made films of such hugely different sensibility that it never occurred to me the two men might be from the same family. So, in the 1950s, when Walter Lang was directing films like Call Me Madam and There's No Business Like Show Business, his brother was making grim films like The Big Heat and Beyond A Reasonable Doubt.

Let me admit...

That's my very dry sense of humor.

And in an odd way, just trying to be very up to date, by broadcasting untruths.

 

[Robin9]

Let me admit it: I fell for it completely. I forgot your dry sense of humor. I'll be more wary next time.

Also, while I have books on Fritz Lang, the only thing I know about Walter Lang is that Ethel Merman appreciated working with him so much, that when he could not work on There's No Business Like Show Business immediately, she insisted on waiting for him rather than making the film with someone else.

 

[bujaki]

If you repeat it often, it will become a fact. The Nazis and this, er, election cycle proved it. So once again, Walter Lang is Fritz Lang's younger brother. He was educated in the USA, while older brother Fritz had to escape the Nazis.