*** Official Warner Archive DVD Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Brian McHale]

AMP (Auto Motion Plus) is what Samsung calls their motion processing. It is often mistakenly referred to as "120 Hz" (in fact, Samsung actually calls it Auto Motion Plus 120 Hz). However, the 120 Hz refresh rate is the feature that makes it feasible to do the frame interpolation process. When you turn AMP off, the TV still refreshes at 120 Hz, but there is no motion processing being performed. In fact, with AMP off, the TV should be able to do 5:5 pulldown and give a more film-like image, free from 3:2 judder.

 

[Mike Kuhns]

FALLEN SPARROW (1943): Film noir meets Hitchcock; this one has both a femme fatale and a McGuffin. A good John Garfield thriller, it's in pretty good shape other than a few speckles here and there. Nice contrast.

BHOWANI JUNCTION (1956): Set in India, shot on location in Pakistan; the location shooting really adds to the flavor of this romantic adventure. The colors are nice and the picture is sharp. Widescreen enchanced and no complaints here on picture quality.

 

[ColbyCo82]

I finally caved and bought 5 DVDs from Warner Archive, all Norma Shearer or Joan Crawford vehicles from the early 30's. (Which means Norma's films will be bundled soon and 50% off the price I paid haha) Some of the DVDs seemed to be pretty good quality-wise (Let Us Be Gay, Strange Interlude) while others were disappointing (Private Lives, Chained). Let Us Be Gay seemed brighter and more detailed than my recording from TCM last year. Strange Interlude looked nice also, but the audio was pretty crackly. I was particularly disappointed with was "Chained" (1934). I have never seen the film before so I have nothing to compare it to, but the print was dreadful for an MGM film of the time period. It didnt appear to be a problem with the DVD, it seems that the print they used was just bad. I wonder if a better print exists somewhere? As for "Private Lives," Im considering sending it back. Its one of my top 10 favorite films, but I think the DVD I bought looks worse than the one I recorded on TCM 4 or 5 years ago. It seems darker and less detailed and just has that look of a VHS recorded to a DVD-R. Just didnt seem worth it. I also got "Laughing Sinners"...it looks pretty good to my eyes, but its also one I have never seen before. I found it interesting that the picture they used on the back cover was of Joan, Neil Hamilton and Johnny Mack Brown! (Brown was replaced by Gable after most of the film was done and his scenes were re-shot). Curious to hear others thoughts on these or other early 30s releases

 

[jdee28]

Originally Posted by ColbyCo82

I also got "Laughing Sinners"...it looks pretty good to my eyes, but its also one I have never seen before. I found it interesting that the picture they used on the back cover was of Joan, Neil Hamilton and Johnny Mack Brown! (Brown was replaced by Gable after most of the film was done and his scenes were re-shot). Curious to hear others thoughts on these or other early 30s releases

With Laughing Sinners, I would have preferred to see Johnny Mack Brown in the role. Gable has charisma and chemistry with Crawford, but because of the character he's playing, someone holier than thou, it adds little to the movie. Gable as a Salvation Army worker trying to save Crawford from becoming a kept woman doesn't ring true. I guess MGM recognized their mistake, as in their next feature together, Possessed, it's Gable who takes over the Hamilton role from Laughing Sinners. He's nicer than Hamilton, but he turns Crawford into a kept woman none the less, and Crawford, far from needing to be saved, likes it!

None of the Archive releases from the 1930s have had a new transfer. Imagine how all these could look with at least a new telecine?

 

[borisfw]

I just watched Dream Wife with Cary Grant. There were many issues with the soundtrack. Some scenes were out of sync. Other scenes had the sound go very low at times. There was also a pretty good amount of hissing and crackle in the soundtrack. I was wondering if anyone else has bought this title? If so is the soundtrack messed up? Or is my copy messed up?

 

[montag]

would like to see reviews of the following titles: Adv. of Mark Twain,Abe Lincoln At Illinois, Sunrise at Campobello and Task Force.

 

[Ray_R]

I'd like to see a review for Four's a Crowd. If not I'll be renting it from ClassicFlix as I've deemed in multiple other threads the Archives aren't a suitable program for Errol Flynns filmography.
Oh and perhaps some John Garfield and Greta Garbo titles also. Even Robert Montgomery and Stewart Granger.
Yes, all the above actors I would've purchased boxsets of if they weren't MOD...

 

[jdee28]

Min and Bill (1930) with Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery boasts a pretty solid transfer, a notch above a transfer from a video master. It's not at the level of Warner's commercial releases though. Perhaps they were starting to ready this for a regular release, to tie in with an aborted Oscar promotion? Marie Dressler did win the best actress Oscar for it. This film is more of a vehicle for her, and she's great! I wouldn't say this is her best performance though.

Tugboat Annie (1933), a more equal teaming of Dressler and Beery, is a straight transfer from a video master; nothing more, nothing less. I think it's a better film than Min and Bill, perhaps thanks in no small measure to the contribution of director Mervyn LeRoy. It has more humor, better atmosphere, as well as some interesting action scenes! This film is a curiosity well worth checking out!

 

[Chuck Pennington]

...ALL THE MARBLES (1981)

VIDEO - 4.5/5 (this is relative to other films of this vintage and budget as presented on DVD)
Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 and progressively encoded, ...ALL THE MARBLES looks surprisingly good on this Warner Archive DVD-

R release! The murky and cropped VHS from the 80's can easily be forgotten now (though I have posted a few comparison pictures as a reference below) as image on this DVD is clean, bright, and vivid with color. Even the scenes shot during the wrestling matches, which always appeared somewhat foggy with the variable lighting from principal photography, fare quite well in this release, though they do still look a notch or so lower in overall quality when compared to the rest of the film. The film was shot soft-matte and has been matted here with a bit more picture information added to the sides and an uneven amount of cropping top to bottom (more on the bottom) when compared to the open-matte VHS release of yesteryear (and who knows what cropping and reframing it was subject to), but the framing is consistently satisfactory at this near-proper theatrical ratio (the packaging incorrectly states it is 1.85:1, but as the screen captures prove it is slightly more open than that at 1.78:1).

Quite frankly, I'm shocked at the quality of this release, as it IS of the same quality as a pressed official release from Warner aside from the menus and 10-minute chapter stops. Though the WBShop website warns, "This film has been manufactured from the best-quality video master currently available and has not been remastered or restored specifically for this DVD and On Demand release," I just don't believe that this transfer did not originate from a recent high definition remastering. This DVD was certainly not from some old broadcast video master as has been the case with some of the Warner Archive titles. The compression is handled well with no notable flaws, though there is little to no grain to speak of that would present a problem save for during the wrestling matches. If one is looking for it, there is some minor macroblocking in the darker areas of the frame during the crowd scenes, but it is never to the extent that it detracts from the story at all. The images below grabbed from the DVD demonstrate the terrific color balance and snappy contrast far better than I can describe.

AUDIO
The audio is presented in competent Dolby Digital 2-channel mono encoded at 192 kbps. Another nice surprise, dialog is crisp and music particularly rich and clean, a definite sonic improvement over the buzzy and muffled VHS audio track. Dialog that was previously obscured is now intelligible on this DVD, though this remastering also reveals the limitations of the original sound mix as far as the added foley isn't always well-balanced in the mix. The sound supports this very entertaining film well and its few deficiencies can be traced back to how it was originally created.


The theatrical trailer (in 4x3 format) has also been included on this release, a nice bonus to round out a satisfactory Warner Archive release of a beloved (there is a very real fan base online for this film) but rather forgotten and obscure catalog title. Perhaps this new release will introduce more people to the film, though its rather limited distribution online might prevent that from happening. Still, I can't help wishing some interviews with the cast or some kind of featurette had been produced for this release, though I can't stress enough how pleased I am to finally have a quality release of this film - PERIOD.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Here is the trailer:



MGM VHS:

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Warner Archive DVD:



Warner Archive DVD:

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Warner Archive DVD:

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Warner Archive DVD:

 

[JeffMc]

Good news! I just received the Archives disc for URGH! and the Gary Numan sequence is intact. The film on the disc has an actual running time of 2:00:40 which is about 3 minutes shorter than the 124-minute running time listed on the old VHS from CBS-Fox. I don't have the video handy to do an actual time-check on it to see if it was actually a full 124 minutes, or 121 minutes as this print is. In any event, it's definitely better than the 116 minutes WB is advertising on their site and on the back of the case. A scratchy trailer is also included in full-frame.
Highly recommended!

 

[jdee28]

I doubt All the Marbles was remastered specifically for the Warner Archive program. I think the possibility of future TV airings has a more important role. It's widescreen, in color, made less then 30 years ago; it's a good candidate to resurface somewhere some time on an HD TV channel. The films for the 30s and 40s however are not so lucky.

 

[JeffMc]

Re: URGH! A MUSIC WAR - again.....

I scanned through the disc and there is one performance missing: SPLODGENESS ABOUNDS - "Two Little Boys". That track lasts just under 3 minutes which makes the 124-minute running time correct for the uncut version. The Archives disc runs just under 121 minutes. Splodgeness Abounds is a decent performance that you can at least watch on youtube. Wonder what the legal deal was with that band that it had to be cut. It's not like they were ever a big name.
Anyway, still cool to get most of the movie intact and I'd rather have Numan than Splodgeness.

 

[Chuck Pennington]

I didn't mean it had been remastered just for the Warner Archive. I meant that obviously a new HD master was created at some point and it was used on this disc. I haven't seen the movie pop up on any cable channels as far back as I can remember, especially in HD, so why the expense and time was spent to master it this way without a DVD or cable release eminent I don't know.

Originally Posted by jdee28

I doubt All the Marbles was remastered specifically for the Warner Archive program. I think the possibility of future TV airings has a more important role. It's widescreen, in color, made less then 30 years ago; it's a good candidate to resurface somewhere some time on an HD TV channel. The films for the 30s and 40s however are not so lucky.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Thanks so much for the review and comparison caps, Chuck! Looking forward to receiving mine tomorrow.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Thanks for looking into this, Jeff. Great to know that the Numan track is intact. I don't remember the Splodgeness Abounds track--was it in the original theatrical version or the version aired on Sundance Channel in the past?

Originally Posted by JeffMc

Re: URGH! A MUSIC WAR - again.....

I scanned through the disc and there is one performance missing: SPLODGENESS ABOUNDS - "Two Little Boys". That track lasts just under 3 minutes which makes the 124-minute running time correct for the uncut version. The Archives disc runs just under 121 minutes. Splodgeness Abounds is a decent performance that you can at least watch on youtube. Wonder what the legal deal was with that band that it had to be cut. It's not like they were ever a big name.
Anyway, still cool to get most of the movie intact and I'd rather have Numan than Splodgeness.

 

[JeffMc]

It was not part of the original theatrical, but was one of the songs restored for the uncut VHS version. I've never seen the print shown on Sundance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Hertzberg

Thanks for looking into this, Jeff. Great to know that the Numan track is intact. I don't remember the Splodgeness Abounds track--was it in the original theatrical version or the version aired on Sundance Channel in the past?

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Did anyone else here order RECKLESS? My copy arrived today and while the film plays fine, the trailer does not. When one clicks on the "Play Trailer" option, the DVD instead plays the first few minutes of the film. Anyone else experience the same?

 

[bgart13]

Here's some info on the URGH! dvd I posted at AV Maniacs re: the dvd.

Length: 2:00:40
16x9/anamorphic
Dolby AC-3, 2 ch. audio
Feature size: 3,968 MB

Performances:
The Police – Driven to Tears
Wall of Voodoo – Back in Flesh
Toyah Willcox – Danced
John Cooper Clarke – Health Fanatic
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Enola Gay
Chelsea – I’m on Fire
Oingo Boingo – Ain’t This the Life
Echo & the Bunnymen – The Puppet
Jools Holland – Foolish I Know
XTC – Respectable Street
Klaus Nomi – Total Eclipse
Athletico Spizz 80 – Where’s Captain Kirk?
The Go-Go's – We Got the Beat
Dead Kennedys – Bleed for Me
Steel Pulse – Ku Klux Klan
Gary Numan – Down in the Park
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – Bad Reputation
Magazine – Model Worker
Surf Punks – My Beach
The Members – Offshore Banking Business
Au Pairs – Come Again
The Cramps – Tear It Up
Invisible Sex – Valium
Pere Ubu – Birdies
Devo – Uncontrollable Urge
The Alley Cats – Nothing Means Nothing Anymore
John Otway – Cheryl’s Going Home
Gang of Four – He’d Send in the Army
999 – Homicide
The Fleshtones – Shadowline
X – Beyond and Back
Skafish – Sign of the Cross
UB40 – Madame Medusa
The Police – Roxanne
The Police (plus other Urgh! performers) – So Lonely
Klaus Nomi – Aria (Over the end credits sequence)

What's missing is that Splodgenessabounds performance, it seems. So...whatever!

Some caps. You'll notice the amount of grain present. IMO, I love seeing grain when below it doesn't detract from the image. The URGH! transfer keeps it looking like a film -- what I'm happy about. The grain isn't as noticeable when the image is moving. The caps don't do the dvd transfers itself justice.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/5198/vlcsnap10799873.png
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/8075/vlcsnap10800162.png
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/2558/vlcsnap10801706.png
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3355/vlcsnap10802217.png
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/6999/vlcsnap10809228.png
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1408/vlcsnap10810466.png

 

[JeffMc]

Ya, I got that disc, too. The so-called "trailer" is just the first 3 minutes of the film. Either it was a technical goof on WB's part, or they just couldn't find the actual trailer to use for the disc.

Originally Posted by Jon Hertzberg

Did anyone else here order RECKLESS? My copy arrived today and while the film plays fine, the trailer does not. When one clicks on the "Play Trailer" option, the DVD instead plays the first few minutes of the film. Anyone else experience the same?

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Just watched MIKE'S MURDER for the first time. It was a blind purchase and while I was highly satisfied with the film itself, the DVD presentation left something to be desired. The image was consistently dirty and hazy. Fleshtones had an overly orange hue throughout. To me, it undermined some potentially stunning compositions from d.p. Reynaldo Villalobos. Not having seen the film before, particularly projected in 35mm, it's hard for me to judge if some of what I'm seeing as shortcomings are indicative of the intended visual style.

After watching the film, I watched the 4x3 theatrical trailer and was struck by how much cleaner the trailer looked in comparison to the feature. Saying all this, I realize the trailer is not really a great barometer for the filmmakers' true visual intentions.

I was under the impression that newer films, previously unavailable in widescreen, would have relatively new transfers. I'm quite certain this isn't the case with MIKE'S MURDER. This is an excellent film and I'm glad I have it. I am, however, disappointed that the film, which has a lot going for it in visual terms, is presented here in such mediocre fashion.