Creative Design Arts (Box-Sets) Vs. Warner Bros. (2-Disc S.E.) (1 Viewer)

[MarcoBiscotti]

Can anyone please explain the differences between the box-sets released by "Creative Design Arts" and the 2-disc Special Editions released by Warners and why/how this studio is distributing these? What is CDA to begin with, is it just a division of Warner Bros. that specializes in production and art design or something??


I'm talking about the distinctions between the following for example:


Warner Bros.




Creative Design Arts




+


Warner Bros.




Creative Design Arts




And so on, and so on, including "Casablanca", "Dr. Zhivago", "Ben-Hur", "Bullit", "Bladerunner", etc...



I'm aware that many of the discs featured in these sets have since been upgraded by Warner Bros. or if not, are in the process of recieving upgraded transfers/releases... but there are some such as Citizen Kane which seem to have been released only months apart, and these are the ones that I'm interested in.

From the pictures depicted above and in Amazon's listings, an extra bonus disc seems to be included along with lithos and poster art, etc. In the case of Citizen Kane, the 'Gold Box Edition' seems to feature the RKO 201 disc as an extra.

What else is different about these releases in terms of bonus material and which of the Creative Design Arts sets feature extra discs apart from Kane?

Does anyone own any of these and if so, what do you think of them... are they worth purchasing over the regular 2-disc editions (at least for the few titles that are not being upgraded, i.e. Citizen Kane, Dr Zhivago, Singin In The Rain, etc)?


Thanks!!

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

To specify, these are the titles I'm considering and would like to know more about...

1. Citizen Kane

2. Dr. Zhivago

3. Singin In The Rain (what's the 3rd disc shown in the Amazon listing?)

4. The Time Machine


... and possibly Ben-Hur, though I'd suspect this one is due for a 2-disc S.E. upgrade from Warners in the near future?

 

[Joel C]

The DVDs are the same, the only difference is the stash of goodies in the box.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

But Singin In The Rain seems to have 3 discs as opposed to the regular 2-disc S.E.

Citizen Kane also seems to have the RKO 201 disc included from the picture above.

What about Dr. Zhivago?

Are these worth it for the extras? Does anyone have a specific list of supplementals included as far as art, lobby cards, etc?

 

[Roger Rollins]

Here's the deal with Creative Design:

They buy the traditional DVD release from Warner Home Video.

Then, they add extras to a release like a poster or still repros, etx, which they license from Warner Bros. licensing group.

The finished product is the same when it comes to the actual DVD.

Some of their deluxe sets are very nice. I don't own any, but I've seen some, and they're put together with taste & love for the film.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Thanks Roger, that sounds great..

I will definitely go for the "Gold Edition" Citizen Kane box than!

I'm still on the fence about the others but I'd really like to know what that extra disc is in the 'Singin In The Rain' shot above?

I'm considering the following: Once Upon A Time In America, The Time Machine, The Excorsist, Ben Hur (what are the chances of this getting re-released form WB?) and definitely Citizen Kane.


Can these only be ordered online, I've never seen any of these sets in retail shops? I'm just weary cause it'd suck to pay all this money for a deluxe exclusive collector's edition box-set with all these extra aesthetic features, and have it arrived damaged in transit with bent corners and stuff... that would sort of defeat the purpose of such an elegant box set.

Anyone know if there's anywhere where these can be found in shop?

 

[Thomas T]

Marco, I suspect the "third" Singin' In The Rain disc is actually the soundtrack CD.

 

[Peter Svensson]

Until now Warner have been releasing their "classics" in nice digipacking cases. No need for buying the very expensive CDA boxes (in my opinion), unless you want the bonus discs. But now it seems that Warner is re-releasing these classics as keepcases. Is the Warner edition of "Citizen Kane" still a digipack?

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I believe so Peter, I think the CK keepcase seen above is exclusive to the box set. It actually looks more like a book-style case, sort of like what was included in the 'Schindlers List' gift set as opposed to a regular keep case.