Paramount releasing 4 Film Noirs on 5/16! (1 Viewer)

[Jay E]

Finally, Paramount is releasing some classic films on DVD this year...although they all are from the Republic library. First the John Wayne annoucement, now they will be releasing Body and Soul, Secret Beyond the Door, The Dark Mirror and Letter from an Unknown Woman on 5/16 according to thedigitalbits.

All are must buys for me but Letter from an Unknown Woman is the one I'm really excited about. I hope Paramount won't be using the same transfer for Body & Soul as Artisan used.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think the film "Body and Soul" is the best boxing movie ever made including "The Raging Bull". It's has the ultimate John Garfield performance.

Yes, I'm buying all four dvds.





Crawdaddy

 

[Jim_K]

More noir is good news. I've been wanting to see Lang's Secret Beyond the Door and Siodmak's The Dark Mirror for a long time.

I agree that Body and Soul is one of the better Boxing flicks ever made.

 

[Charles H]

Granted that John Wayne was/is/will always be a big video seller, but it seems odd that Paramount is dipping into their newly acquired Republic catalog. Have they completely abandoned their own library (Can anyone say ACE IN THE HOLE?) And is this the end of their Batjac holdings with their release of SEVEN MEN FROM NOW? Pretty please!!!! RELEASE the amazing TRACK OF THE CAT....

 

[Mark Edward Heuck]

Didn't Martin Scorsese tape an intro for an earlier VHS edition of BODY AND SOUL? I really hope Paramount uses that and doesn't just recycle the same shoddy material they stuck Artisan with for all those years.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Why all the doubts about Paramount doing "Body and Soul" justice? For the most part, their dvd presentations have been excellent.






Crawdaddy

 

[Joe Caps]

There was supposed to be four more Batjac titles this past December - then they got cancelled and no news since then about these titles. They included Track of the Cat which I would love to have widescreen and stereo.

 

[Scott Kimball]

"Track of the Cat" has been rescheduled for June 6. It will have a director commentary, several featurettes, original trailer, widescreen enhanced, and DD2.0 and 4.0 soundtracks.

-Scott

 

[Charles Ellis]

As a Joan Bennett fan I'm glad to see more of her work come out. Now if Sony follows thru with The Woman In The Window, that'll make my year! Along with KINO's restored version of Scarlet Street and the coming Secret Beyond The Door, it'll be a Bennett-Lang trifecta!!

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Indeed. There had been some mention earlier about Body and Soul being the subject of a restoration effort by Paramount, perhaps in conjunction with UCLA Film & Television Archive. Perhaps Force of Evil, another John Garfield-Abraham Polonsky effort will soon follow. Funny about Paramount releasing two of Garfield's most celebrated films seeing as he never actually made a film for the studio. The laws of distribution and acquisitions work in mysterious ways.

 

[Charles H]

Any word on the other Batjac titles? John Farrow's PLUNDER OF THE SUN? RING OF FEAR? MAN IN THE VAULT?

 

[Scott Kimball]

All of the Batjac titles that were delayed from December appear to have a new street date of June 6... including:

Track of the Cat
Plunder of the Sun
Ring of Fear
Man in the Vault

This from official studio sources. That doesn't mean they can't be delayed again, but at least it is word from the studio.

-Scott

 

[Herb Kane]

Great news indeed. And I think we can expect excellent presentations - particularly with Secret Beyond the Door and The Dark Mirror. I have the R2 versions of both and they are excellent (especially The Dark Mirror). Needless to say, I'll be buying all four.

C'mon Universal - you have a few of these gems tucked away too - it's your turn....

The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
Female On The Beach (1955)
The Glass Key (1942)
Ivy (1947)
Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
Larceny (1947)
The Midnight Story (1957)
Ministry of Fear (1944)
Naked Alibi (1954)
One Way Street (1950)
Outside The Wall (1950)
Phantom Lady (1944)
The Raging Tide (1951)
Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
Slaughter On Tenth Ave (1957)
The Sleeping City (1950)
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945)
The Tattered Dress (1957)
Undertow (1949)
The Web (1947)
Woman In Hiding (1950)

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Plus Universal's oft-requested re-master of the long out-of-print DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)!

And Sony's considerable holdings of some prime Columbia / United Artists / Eagle-Lion noirs.

And, getting back to Paramount, besides the great ACE IN THE HOLE, I hope The Mountain hasn't forgotten these worthwhile noirs from their primary catalog:

DARK CITY (1950)
THE ACCUSED (1949)
UNION STATION (1950)
I WALK ALONE (1948)
APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER (1951)
THE TURNING POINT (1952)

However, I'm very pleased to see Paramount dip into the Republic catalog to give us those May '06 releases, particularly DARK MIRROR and SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR. Consider them bought!

Hopefully, Paramount will see their way clear to follow those releases with, oh, say:

TRY AND GET ME (1950, aka THE SOUND OF FURY)
PITFALL (1948)
BEWARE MY LOVELY (1952)
THE SCAR (1948, aka HOLLOW TRIUMPH --the restored UCLA print)
THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS (1953)

Nice also to see those rescheduled Batjac titles for June. I needs my TRACK OF THE CAT!

 

[richardWI]

Great news about Secret Beyond the Door now if we could just get Man Hunt and Woman in the Window all with David Kalat doing commentary.

 

[Charles H]

THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF UNCLE HARRY is now under the control of Paramount via their Republic library, but Siodmak's THE SUSPECT is a worthy film noir. DESERT FURY is a terrific Technicolor film noir (I think that Universal has the rights to it.)

 

[Pete York]

Does Paramount also own the rights to the other Ophüls Hollywood movies, Caught and The Reckless Moment?

 

[Justin W]

everytime i see a paramount announcement i pray for double indemnity and a chinatown SE.

 

[John Hodson]

Double Indemnity belongs to Universal, but I'll second the Chinatown SE.

 

[Justin W]

d'oh