Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (2 Viewers)

[bujaki]

I ordered the UK DVD.

Thanks for the info. I ordered as well. Unfortunately, it seems the transfer is 1.33 and the film was released in the Superscope format.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Thanks for the info. I ordered as well. Unfortunately, it seems the transfer is 1.33 and the film was released in the Superscope format.

Yeah, that's unfortunate, but I can at least cross this film off my list of never seeing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Today, I'll be spending the day with the new MOC Blu-ray release of "High Noon" (1952) starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Lloyd Bridges. I have two new audio commentaries to listen to which I might just sample for now. The commentaries are by Glenn Frankel and Stephen Prince. Damn, this is the third time I bought this great movie on Blu-ray. Of course, it's a movie that I simply love watching and do so every 1-2 years.

Am I the only one that thinks Helen Ramirez understood Will Kane better than Amy Kane?

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I liked the film (particularly the chase through the sewers) but just didn't understand what was going on with the character. It was fascinating to read he lived until 2008.

 

[bujaki]

Today, I'll be spending the day with the new MOC Blu-ray release of "High Noon" (1952) starring Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly and Lloyd Bridges. I have two new audio commentaries to listen to which I might just sample for now. The commentaries are by Glenn Frankel and Stephen Prince. Damn, this is the third time I bought this great movie on Blu-ray. Of course, it's a movie that I simply love watching and do so every 1-2 years.

Am I the only one that thinks Helen Ramirez understood Will Kane better than Amy Kane?

No, I am in your camp. Helen and Kane are a better match but Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

 

[Robin9]

Am I the only one that thinks Helen Ramirez understood Will Kane better than Amy Kane?

No, you are not the only one to believe that.

Among those who agree(d) with you, include Howard Hawks, Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett who, when writing the screenplay for Rio Bravo, made Feathers' attitude to a man in a crisis exactly the opposite of the newly married Amy Kane. Before Feathers knows of his problem, she makes fun of John T. but when she learns what's going on, she apologises, stands by him and at one stage intervenes to help him.

 

[Robert Crawford]

No, you are not the only one to believe that.

Among those who agree(d) with you, include Howard Hawks, Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett who, when writing the screenplay for Rio Bravo, made Feathers' attitude to a man in a crisis exactly the opposite of the newly married Amy Kane. Before Feathers knows of his problem, she makes fun of John T. but when she learns what's going on, she apologises, stands by him and at one stage intervenes to help him.

Yeah, but Feathers wasn't a practicing Quaker.

Does anybody think Will Kane

Spoiler

would return to the town after just getting married, if he knew the town was going to abandon him in his hour of need?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I hate to say this as I'm a big fan of John Wayne and John Ford as they're my favorite actor and director of all-time. This realization I've come to accept is not something I always thought of as I grew up watching western films and TV series back in the 1960's. Today, there is little doubt in my mind that "High Noon" is not only a better western, but a better film than any Wayne/ Ford western films. For years I was in denial, but I can't in good conscience say that "The Searchers" or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" or any other western they did together is on the same level as "High Noon". IMO, "High Noon" is basically a perfect film in it's taut 84 minute runtime. Yup, I said it!

Edit:
The bonus material on the MOC release is very impressive. I watched the MOC disc three times yesterday with two different audio commentaries that were excellent. I learned a lot more about filmmakers and the movie itself. Glenn Frankel and Stephen Prince offered a ton of information/knowledge on their separate commentaries. I have to explore the rest of the bonus material as there is some new material that wasn't on prior home video releases. However, the following featurettes that were present on the 2008 DVD release are now included on the MOD Blu-ray, but in SD:

• Inside High Noon
• The Making of High Noon
• Behind High Noon

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, "The Searchers" is probably my favorite film of all-time and that will probably never change as it helped define my love of movies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Eddie's thoughts on "The Lost Weekend" whether it's Noir or not. I agree with Eddie, but it sure was filmed like a "Noir" film without such plot lines.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This morning's early viewing was "ffolkes" (1980) starring Roger Moore, James Mason and Anthony Perkins. A guilty pleasure of mine and a good movie from the 1980's. It's great to finally have this in its OAR in 1080p. Not a bad looking Blu-ray that I think many will find satisfactory. Nothing like having Moore playing a woman-hating counter-terrorist that loves cats considering his other famous roles like 007 and Simon Templar.

 

[Matt Hough]

I only saw this once at the theater when it was first released. Doesn't he end up with a woman at the end? My memories of the movie are really vague. Somehow I never stumbled across it again in all the years since, so I have actually very little memory of what happens during the film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I only saw this once at the theater when it was first released. Doesn't he end up with a woman at the end? My memories of the movie are really vague. Somehow I never stumbled across it again in all the years since, so I have actually very little memory of what happens during the film.

No, but he does appreciate one woman.

 

[Worth]

It's not a great movie, but Moore's quite good in this playing against type.

 

[Matt Hough]

No, but he does appreciate one woman.

Thanks for the info. I really need to revisit this title.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My evening viewing besides NFL football was "The Major and the Minor" (1942) a romantic comedy from Billy Wilder starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. I liked the movie more when I was younger than I do now due to obvious problem of suspending belief that Ginger could pass for 12 years old. This fine looking Arrow Blu-ray makes that challenge even harder for me because it details Ginger's nice looking dancer gams a bit too much and that's not taking in consideration of Ginger's bust line. Anyhow, it's an entertaining film that gave me a few chuckles, particularly, once they arrived at the military academy where Ginger

Spoiler

is surrounded by a bunch of junior Casanovas.

I love that line in the poster art below which was something I always ask myself when watching this movie. Are they kidding me? By the way,

Spoiler

I've always loved the shout out to Veronica Lake as I laugh out loud every time I see that film sequence.

Nice job by Paramount, Wilder and Brackett.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Today's viewing was "The Defiant Ones" (1958) starring Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. It's been more than a few years since I last watched my 2001 DVD. So this 2018 UK Region"B" Blu-ray is an improvement over that old DVD after I did some sequence sampling. The video presentation isn't pristine and has some imperfections, but it looked quite good on my 55" OLED. This is really a great film as I remember first seeing it on network TV back in the mid-1960's, as I was just a toddler during its theatrical run in 1958. The story of two escaped convicts, one white and the other black trying to get away from a lawmen posse chasing them in the deep South during the 1950's. The movie defines that time period because a member of the posse played by Carl "Alfafa" Switzer had "rock n roll" music on his transistor radio throughout the film in his last film role before being killed in 1959. A terrific cast that includes Theodore Bikel, Charles McGraw, Lon Chaney Jr, Claude Akins, King Donovan and Cara Wiliams.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Mike Clark's review of the Criterion Blu-ray of "Local Hero" (1983) I've seen this movie beforehand, but I don't remember much about it except I have vague memories of liking it. I need to watch it again before I buy that Criterion Blu-ray.

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/local-hero-review/

 

[Robert Crawford]

A reminder that this weekend's Noir Alley presentation will be "Trapped" (1949) starring Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton and John Holt. I know nothing about this film except it was directed by Richard Fleischer and runs 78 minutes. Eddie's "Film Noir Foundation" was behind its restoration so I'm sure his comments about the film will be informative to us all.


TCM's Noir Alley Revised 2019 schedule.

03-09-19: D.O.A. (1950)
03-16-19: High Sierra (1941)
03-23-19: Lady in the Lake (1946)
03-30-19: Border Incident (1949)
04-06-19: 99 River Street (1953)
04-13-19: Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
04-20-19: M (1951)
04-27-19: Woman on the Run (1950)
05-04-19: Nightmare Alley (1947)
05-11-19: White Heat (1949)
05-18-19: Key Largo (1948)
05-25-19: Dead Reckoning (1947)
06-01-19: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
06-08-19: Nora Prentiss (1947)
06-15-19: Pickup on South Street (1953)
06-22-19: Shadow on the Wall (1950)
06-29-19: On Dangerous Ground (1951)
07-06-19: The Tattooed Stranger (1950)
07-13-19: The People Against O'Hara (1951)
07-20-19: While the City Sleeps (1956)
07-27-19: Thieves' Highway (1949)
09-07-19: The Big Clock (1948)
09-14-19: Nocturne (1946)
09-21-19: The Woman on the Beach (1947)
09-28-19: The Harder They Fall (1956)
10-05-19: Trapped (1949)
10-12-19: Clash By Night (1952)
10-19-19: This Gun For Hire (1942)
10-26-19: Force of Evil (1948) replaces A Woman's Secret (1949)
11-02-19: Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
11-09-19: Johnny Eager (1941)
11-16-19: The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
11-23-19: Kansas City Confidential (1952)
11-30-19: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
12-07-19: Berlin Express (1948)
12-14-19: Criss Cross (1949)
12-21-19: Cash on Demand (1961) replaces I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
12-28-19: Repeat Performance (1947)
01-04-20: The Big Sleep (1946)
01-11-20: The Captive City (1952)
01-18-20: The Big Night (1951)

 

[Robert Crawford]

I hate to say this as I'm a big fan of John Wayne and John Ford as they're my favorite actor and director of all-time. This realization I've come to accept is not something I always thought of as I grew up watching western films and TV series back in the 1960's. Today, there is little doubt in my mind that "High Noon" is not only a better western, but a better film than any Wayne/ Ford western films. For years I was in denial, but I can't in good conscience say that "The Searchers" or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" or any other western they did together is on the same level as "High Noon". IMO, "High Noon" is basically a perfect film in it's taut 84 minute runtime. Yup, I said it!

Edit:
The bonus material on the MOC release is very impressive. I watched the MOC disc three times yesterday with two different audio commentaries that were excellent. I learned a lot more about filmmakers and the movie itself. Glenn Frankel and Stephen Prince offered a ton of information/knowledge on their separate commentaries. I have to explore the rest of the bonus material as there is some new material that wasn't on prior home video releases. However, the following featurettes that were present on the 2008 DVD release are now included on the MOD Blu-ray, but in SD:

• Inside High Noon
• The Making of High Noon
• Behind High Noon

This morning, I took another look at this MOC BD release of "High Noon" and compared it directly to the Olive Signature BD release. TBH, I couldn't see much of a difference between the two discs. Perhaps, the MOC disc looked a little better, but it's not really distinguishable enough, unless you spend a good time comparing the two discs. With that said, the real differences between the two BD releases is the amount of bonus material. The MOC release has much more stuff including a 97 page booklet that contains the following:

• "The Tin Star" by "John W. Cunningham (1947)
• The Power and the Politics of High Noon (2019)
• Review of High Noon (retrospective) by Richard Combs (1986)
• When the Big Hand is on Twelve by Richard Combs (1986)
• On the Wayne by Carl Foreman (1974) which is very critical of John Wayne as he helped run Carl Foreman out of Hollywood
• Artwork Gallery
• Viewing Notes
• Production Credits