George Cukor's THE WOMEN: A must-have DVD! (1 Viewer)

[Roger Rollins]

I'm shocked that there hasn't been one peep on this forum in regard to Warner Home Video's new release of George Cukor's superb classic THE WOMEN. This DVD looks amazing, and is stuffed with impressive extras. The film itself is one of the great classic comedies of all time, with definitive performances from its stars Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer & Rosalind Russell. The transfer is impeccable, with crisp, sharp B&W imagery, and a luscious color sequence. The extras include 2 MGM shorts, an alternate sequence, music scoring cues, & a great production history.

The packaging is nifty (even if it is, unfortunately, in a snapper...). All in all, it reminds us laser folks of the great days of years gone by when MGM Home Video released this title and others on laser disc with such panache. (This was before lost their rights to their old films, and in the process lost any knowledge of what a good film IS!).

Now Warner is carrying on that proud legacy with such care put into this release, it makes me look hungrily forward to more classics from them along these lines. There's been so much bitching around here about Warners not giving their classic library its due. This is another example of their turnaround, and a sensational release. If you've seen the movie before, and love it, you have to run out and get this disc. (Best of all, the list price is only $20, and I got mine for $16). If you've never seen it before, picking this one up will be a revelation, and a perfect example of why 1939 was the greatest year in the history of movies.

 

[Jeff_HR]

It is a great film! I've seen it many times. Unfortunately there are persons who consider any film made before they were born or in B&W as a non-entity. WB controls a great many films of this era. Hopefully we'll see more of these films on DVD.

 

[Larry Geller]

Picked it up on Wedensday in order to clear my brain of the horrid remake that has been showing on PBS lately! The DVD looks incredible. L'amour....L'amour!

 

[Michael Reuben]

Not to be picky, but the program airing on PBS is not a "remake" of the film. It's a taping of the recent Broadway revival of the original play on which the film is based. I haven't seen the taped version, but I saw the live performance, and it was indeed very uneven. To date, though, no one's tried to redo the film, even though a remake shows up now and again as "in development", usual for an A-list actress's production company.
M.

 

[Alan_Horner]

To date, though, no one's tried to redo the film

Well, that's not entirely true. There was a god-awful remake in 1956 called THE OPPOSITE SEX. Perhaps you've seen it and simply put it out of your head. Lord knows, I've tried.

Anyway:

The internet company I use for ordering DVDs completely screwed up the DVD release of THE WOMEN, so I wasn't even aware that it had actually hit stores. Looks like I'm off to BB to see if they have it. We've got visitors for the holidays, and I think THE WOMEN is a perfect way to introduce people into classic B&W movies.

 

[Roger Rollins]

Alan's right. THE OPPOSITE SEX was a mis-fire attempt to remake THE WOMEN, adding men to the cast, and songs too.

It pales in comparison to the original (like virtually every remake in film history), but it does have a few charms, including the late Dolores Gray as Sylvia Fowler. Nothing can be Rosalind Russell, but Gray was terrific under difficult circumstances.

Warner's new DVD of THE WOMEN contains the trailer for THE OPPOSITE SEX (as well as the orig. WOMEN trailer).

 

[Tyler Ruggeri]

Ahem, where did you get it!!! I ordered a copy and was then informed that it had been delayed until October and I've been waiting for it for so long.

Tyler Ruggeri

 

[Michael Reuben]

There was a god-awful remake in 1956 called THE OPPOSITE SEX. Perhaps you've seen it and simply put it out of your head.

Heard of it, but never saw it. Thanks for the reminder (and the warning ).
M.

 

[Roger Rollins]

Bought it at Dave's Video here in Studio City, CA. Street date was 7/2.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Got my copy from DVDEmpire last Monday.
This was a very well done release with some really cool vintage extras.

I spun it up Tuesday night intending only to look at the extras, ended up staying up way too late to watch the whole film.

While I'm not normally that interested in "women's pictures" this one is such a beautifully directed and acted film that I could strongly recommend it to people that normally would avoid the genre.

Another great film of around the same era that I'd love to see get this treatment is Mildred Pierce, a wonderful classic starring Joan Crawford (I think she got an Oscar for it).

 

[Robert Crawford]

I just watched "Mildred Pierce" again, last week and my Auntie Joan did win an Oscar for that role.
Crawdaddy

 

[Roger Rollins]

Warner mentioned in their last HTF chat that MILDRED PIERCE was undergoing film restoration and would be released in '03. If it looks as good as THE WOMEN, it'll be worth the wait. Aside from Crawford's performance being excellent, it's yet another great film from the masterful Michael Curtiz.

 

[Jason_Els]

Thank you Roger! Great to see one of the Golden Age of Hollywood films being treated right! Just put in my order.

 

[DeeF]

Anybody else notice a glitch on the disk, during the scene when the kitchen servants are talking? There is a sudden pixelization, like digital breakup you see over the cable. I played it over and over, so it's built into the disk.

 

[SteveGon]

Roger, thanks for bringing this to my attention - it slipped under my radar! I'll more then likely pick it up and I'm glad to hear it's a nice package.

 

[Brian W]

DeeF-

I was about to ask the same question, saw The Women over the weekend and experienced the same glitch in the location you describe. Surprised no one else has mentioned it yet because it is pretty major, maybe it is dependent on the player you are using? -RP91 for me. I replayed it several times and it repeats with the same glitch, image totally breaks up at the exact same point you describe. I thought it could be where the layer change occurs, it seems like that is the point and I was going to check it again tonight, maybe the edge is defective? I was about to exchange the disc, but now from your posting I am also thinking it could be in the transfer.

Also LOVE this movie and the transfer sparkles!!!

 

[DeeF]

I used RP91, as well. The glitch must be a mistake in the layer programming; I think it's a layer switch gone bad.
Yeah, the movie's great. That Rosalind Russell could win the Indy 500 with that mouth.
By the way, what's up with Norma Shearer's hair? I thought she was great, but that -do is something else.

 

[Brian W]

Guess it is a layer switch defect with the disc and it doesn't agree with the RP91. May not hurt to exchange it for another(?). I have to say I never seen this with the RP91 and any other disc, layer changes are always VERY smooth, just a compatibility issue with this disc.

Now about that hair...

I thought Norma's hair looked great from the profile, had that 30s glamour appeal...but from the front her hair reminded me of some breed of dog that I can't think of, really horrible and a good example of having to live then to appreciate certain styles as is the case with most eras. Of course Joan's hair was pretty frightening in some scenes too.

 

[bob kaplan]

Yes, Warner nice job on this oldie...but veryyyyy goodie...Crawford has been mentioned....as desirable new b/w titles.....can i start chimming in with a few more from Bette Davis??...ah those Bette Davis eyes!!

 

[Roger Rollins]

I didn't notice any glitch while initially watching my DVD copy, so I checked mine again to see if it had the problem two of you have mentioned. We are talking about the scene between the cook and the maid, correct? If so, I saw nary a defect. Could it be that some discs are bad, and some are not?

There is not a flaw to be found anywhere on my copy. It looks great. Scanning through to check for this potential problem only made me want to watch the movie again. What a terrific film it is!