One, Two, Three!!! and other MGM Wilder announced! (1 Viewer)

[Adam_S]

Oh wow!

The Digital Bits just announced that One, Two, Three (one of the funniest movies of all time) along with other Billy Wilder MGM films will be released on July 15!

One, Two, Three has been one of my most wanted titles since I caught it and was enraptured by it on TCM by accident two years ago. An incredible film and here's hoping that it gets a pristine anamorphic transfer for this brilliant film (shot in scope so it NEEEDS anamorphic!)

Other titles being released for the first time include:
Avanti!
Kiss Me Stupid
The Private LIfe of Sherlock Holmes (previously reported as coming)


There will also be an MGM Billy Wilder collection that will include the above four new titles along with
Some LIke it Hot
The Apartment
Irma La Dulce
Witness for the prosecution
The Fortune Cookie

In all nine titles in the set for a MSRP of 129.96
alongside Paramount's Wilder collection, a total Wilder Newbie could get almost all his great films with a mere two purchases.

No word on whether or not The Apartment will be a new DVD, I highly doubt it, but if it were I would buy the set, and sell my copies of Some Like It Hot and the Apartment as it is, budget constraints force me to pick only two (or one EEEP!) of the new release titles. in my opinion the only thing wrong MGM is doing with this release is not providing a new Special edition of the Apartment, otherwise this is incredible, wonderful, outstanding news.

Adam

 

[Brian PB]

I, too, have very fond memories of One, Two, Three & have been awaiting its release. There are so few Cagney films available on DVD, and this was one of his better ones (full of rapid-fire Wilder/Diamond dialogue). Cagney went into retirement for 20 years after this film (until he did Ragtime in 1981). Unfortunately, one of his co-stars, Horst Buchholz, died only 3 weeks ago.

 

[Rain]

These are great title announcements, but transfer quality is a concern considering the less than stellar efforts MGM has put into some other Wilder films on DVD and many classic films in general.

 

[oscar_merkx]

great news indeed

Thanks

 

[Robert Crawford]

Very good news as "One, Two, Three" is one of my favorite comedies.

 

[george kaplan]

Kiss Me, Stupid.

 

[LarryDavenport]

Thanks for the heads up on One, Two, Three. It's one of the funniest movies of all time!

 

[Christian Behrens]

One, Two, Three ... and I'm soo there!

-Christian

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

James Cagney's performance in One, Two, Three is absolutely priceless. This is very welcome news.

Regards,

 

[Jon Martin]

ONE TWO THREE is a great one. In fact, I saw it was on TCM today and was thinking of setting the VCR to tape it. Glad I didn't.

But even better news, AVANTI!!!! One of his most underrated films. Loved this one. Jack Lemmon is terrific.

And PRIVATE LIFE was one of the great Laserdiscs. Let's hope the DVD is as good.

 

[Eric Peterson]

I think that this is the greatest DVD news since the launch of the format. I have been desperately waiting for "One, Two, Three", "Kiss Me Stupid", & "Avanti".

I will more than likely be buying the boxset and selling off my current copies. It is a shame that they don't release an SE of "The Apartment" while they are at it.

At the very minimum "Kiss Me Stupid" better contain the theatrical version as well as the recently restored cut featuring an alternate scene between Dean Martin & Felicia Farr.

Any word on the contents for "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". I have all of the above titles on Laserdisc and am hoping to be able to get rid of all of them, but if all of the contents of the laserdisc are not ported over, then I will have to hold on to it.

After this happens we should be down to the following titles from Wilder's directorial cannon still missing on DVD.

1. The Major and The Minor
2. Five Graves to Cairo
3. A Foreign Affair
4. Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival)
5. Spirit of St. Louis
6. The Front Page (Widescreen)
7. Fedora
8. Buddy, Buddy[/list=1]
   
   Although re-released SEs of many of his titles would be welcomed, especially "Double Indemnity" & "The Apartment"

 

[Eric Paddon]

Don't expect "The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes" to retain the isolated score since MGM refuses to offer isolated scores any longer on DVD.

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Is it at all possible that we could see the original three-hour cut of "The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes"?

 

[Eric Peterson]

Jussi,

As far as I understand it, a massive search was done to find the cut-footage several years ago and all that could be found was the audio for one scene and the video for another scene. Both of these are included on the current laserdisc along with a copy of the original full length script. There is also an interview with the editor who talks about having to cut the film and that he has no idea what happened to the footage. It's most likely that it's at the bottom of a landfill somewhere in England. Since the movie was never released in it's full form, there is no chance of a collector showing up with a complete print. The only chance is that a studio employee smuggled the reels home and sooner or later they'll be found.

 

[Peter Kline]

I saw "Kiss Me Stupid" at a preview in NYC a month before it opened. Kim Novak was in the audience. The film released, however, was somewhat different. There was some overdubbing of lines and the ending was changed. This all came about because of adverse reaction to the somewhat "vulgar" dialogue. Much negative comments at the time. It would be wonderful if the original version was released on DVD (along with the revised final version).

A line I remember: Dean Martin asked waitress Kim Novak how she got the rhinestone in her belly button. Originally, in the version I saw, she said "I screw it in". That was considered too risque, so the line was overdubbed as "I glue it in".

 

[Eric Peterson]

According the news at www.cameroncroweonline.com it looks like all of the extras from "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" will be included on the new DVD. This is excellent news and allows me to sell off about half of my Laserdisc collection.

Facets in Chicago is also offering a class this summer that focuses on the forgotten films of Billy Wilder and states that students will be given the opportunity to see a partially reconstructed version of the movie. I'm not sure if this means that additional footage has been found or if the footage found some time ago has simply been edited back in. http://www.facets.org/asticat?functi...mmersem/wilder

 

[Eric Peterson]

I've been trying to find detailed specs. on all of the discs, but what I've found has been somewhat hit and miss.

It looks like "The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes" will be missing the isolated score and the complete script.

I also can't find anything on "Kiss Me Stupid" that says whether or not the newly discovered cut footage will be included.

 

[Michael Harris]

I saw "One, Two, Three" when on TV when I was in college on a tiny B&W set. I've not seen it since but I can't wait for 15 July.

 

[Peter Kline]

One Two Three has been on TCM a lot recently, in widescreen to boot. I saw it about two weeks ago.

 

[Derek_McL]

Count me in for a re-release of Double Indemnity probably Wilder's greatest film in a special edition. Classic Films on DVD