Several Fox Classics dvd releases on May 23rd! (1 Viewer)

[Charles H]

Lubitsch's CLUNY BROWN (never released on homevideo) may well be the most essential film (other than Paramount's ACE IN THE HOLE) that has never been released on homevideo. Fox has shown this recently on FMC, and it demands a "special edition."
I second the motion for dvd release of VIOLENT SATURDAY and BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE as candidates for the film noir series. Also: Otto Preminger's THE THIRTEENTH LETTER (rarely shown anywhere? Is there a rights issue with LE CORBEAU, the original French version? and Hubert Cornfield's THE THIRD VOICE (a commentary was recorded for this awhile back).
Also for catalog release: a Mr. Belvedere trilogy? Sturges' BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND? Lubitsch and Preminger's THAT LADY IN ERMINE and A ROYAL SCANDAL? Mankiewicz and Lubitsch's DRAGONWYCK? And for their musical line: CENTENNIAL SUMMER and SUN VALLEY SERENADE, SWEET AND LOWDOWN.

 

[Joe Caps]

well, Fox has the first titles in their new musical series out ina couple of weeks, but still no announcements of further titles.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Geez Joe, it's only February 11th.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Compulsion? Wow! Man, this gem was a long time comin'. Great film and I have never seen it in its 2.35:1 CinemaScope ratio.

walter o, wrote:


Gasp! The Kremlin Letter in 2.35:1 - really? A much underappreciated film by John Huston, I feel. One of Jean-Pierre Melville's favourites, apparently. I haven't seen it for years and that was on TV in pan and scan - was there ever a VHS?

Decision Before Dawn has also been very hard to see over the last few years. One of the best 'last days of WWII' films from Hollywood.

Great stuff!

 

[Dick]

I don't really want to diss Fox for holding back on so many of their catalog titles - they gave us A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA, which I had campaigned for for years, and which I truthfully never thought they'd issue on DVD. I'll always be grateful, and remain fairly surprised!

 

[Simon Howson]

Fox do seem to have some weird priorities. For example, recently I watched Pirates of Tortuga (1961) the transfer was excellent. But I suspect this is because the film elements hadn't been used much because (I felt) the film wasn't very good :-(

Anyway. I wish Fox would release an early CinemaScope box. I know releasing films by technology seems like a silly idea. But I'm sure Fox have a lot of CinemaScope materials in their archive that I (and other film technology geeks) would like to see. The films themselves are easy - all the 1953 Fox CinemaScope films:

The Robe (New transfer from recent restoration/preservation)
How To Marry A Millionaire (Current disc is fine)
King of the Kyber Rifles (New Release)
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (New [official] Release)

Other possible inclusion:

Demetrius & The Gladiators, because it is the sequel to The Robe. But only if a better transfer can be made.

I imagine Fox could compliment the discs with an indepth (hour long) documentary on CinemaScope. Plus test materials, out takes, promotional materials etc. This could be the definitive release of these films on standard DVD. If Fox invest the time and money now, they could preserve these films/materials for HD as well. CinemaScope is part of film history, so we shouldn't let these films and materials rot in their cans.

Two of those four films had music by Bernard Herrmann. So there is the chance to include documentaries on Herrmann at Fox as well.

Lastly, Leon Shamroy photographed The Robe and The King of The Kyber Rifles. I'd be interested to see a documentary on Shamroy and other Fox cinematographers. We all know about the importance of stars and directors in the film making process. But it makes sense to me that a collection assembled as early CinemaScope films could feature documentaries on these great cinematographers that many people often take for granted.

 

[Joe Caps]

The DVD of The Robe that is in region one IS from Fox restoration.
The Demetrius dVD is excellent, so no need to restore that.
Maybe somewhere they could include the FLAT version of the Robe along wth the stereo track for this version that was found a few years ago. The could also include the half hour Making of the Robe that was on aMC.
Would love to see a box devoted to early cinemascope. There is a yearly behind the scenes at the studio, called the Big Show that is a half hour long talking about the studios upcoming projects. The one for 1958 was already released by Image entertainment along with the fox doc on the history of the studio. I would love to see all the others for the scope years.
bTW - king of the Khyber rifles ran on Fox movies last year in a new restored transfer.
Other scope films run in the past two years with restored transfers include WomansWorld, Soldier of Fortune, The Egyptian, The Virgin Queen.
I would KILL to get a widescreen stereo restored Untamed. This film has never run in region one in widescreen.
I hope someday that Fox will restore the color on Prince Valaint as the dvd color is faded and has lost all of its blue color.

 

[Simon Howson]

I've never seen it. But it is an early 'Scope film, so it is at least historically, if not artistically important. Any film with a Bernard Herrmann score is worth watching IMO

Seeing how veteran film makers dealt with the new format when it was first introduced is always interesting.

 

[Richard M S]

Speaking of Fox Cinemascope films, didn't Fox produce a few Cinemascope shorts of their orchestra performing an overture of some kind with Alfred Neuman conducting? Have any of these films ever been released as a DVD extra?

These films were similar to the 3 MGM Cinemascope shorts that were made - The Poet and Peasant Overture, The MGM Jubilee Overture, and 1954 Oscar winner The Overture To The Merry Wives of Windsor.

 

[Simon Howson]

The current How To Marry A Millionaire disc features this at the start.

These are the kind of extras I'm talking about. They could be all assembled onto an extras disc. Instead of being forgotten about.

 

[Joe Caps]

No, the How to Marry a Millionaire is not an eXTRA at the start. It is the onscreen Overture that is part of the actual film itself.

 

[Simon Howson]

Whatever. My point is it is included on the DVD. Unlike my old pan and scan VHS tape.

 

[JPCinema]

Whatever happened to John Fowles THE MAGUS with Anthony Quinn, Candace Bergen, Michael Caine and Anna Karina? It was released by Fox in 1968 and directed by Guy Green. I've never seen it in any video format, nor on cable.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

As Crawdaddy mentioned, I too am still waiting for 'The
Gunfighter'. In addition, I was hoping Fox might
release 'The Tall Men' (Clark Gable, Robert Ryan;
directed by Raoul Walsh).

Also, in the category of films aired on FMC but
still unavailable on DVD, I would like to see
a release of "Slattery's Hurricane".

 

[David_Blackwell]

Definitely a nice list. With this news and the news about the Kingdom of Heaven DC, May 23rd is a big day for FOX.

 

[Gordon McMurphy]

Yes, more Andre De Toth films are needed on DVD.

 

[Stephen PI]

Richard, there is another CinemaScope/4-track Stereo short and I think it is called "Miracle of Stereophonic Sound". It starts with a man standing on a stage in front of the stereophonic speakers. He identifies each one and then introduces the audience to Alfred Newman and the Fox Orchestra. You see Newman speak a few instructions to the orchestra and then they play a well known classical piece. I saw this at Fox many years ago and feel that it should have gone on "The Robe" dvd. I would love to have this as it is one of the rare occasions on film that you see and hear Newman speak.

 

[Doug Bull]

A close friend of mine owns a 2 reel early Cinemascope 35mm short, made at the time, to promote THE EGYPTIAN.(yes it has faded over the years)
If ever THE EGYPTIAN gets a release then it would be great if they would include that paticular short.

I myself once owned several early Fox 35mm Cinemascope Travel and Sporting shorts, so it would be nice also if FOX included some of them on any upcoming Classic Movie DVDs.

Regarding the HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE Overture, at the time, some Theater Managers or Projectionists removed it from the print in order to cut back the running time of the movie or for whatever reason was in their head.
I came across this while working in the industry back in the fifties.
Several prints of HTMAM were returned from the Theaters to Fox minus the Overture.

 

[Simon Howson]

Intresting stuff re: CinemaScope shorts, and the removal of the HTMM overture. My pet theory is if Warner owned all that material then they would put together some of the early films and release a CinemaScope themed box. I'm sure there is a reasonable amount of interest in the original CinemaScope technology - especially the original 2.55:1, system with magnetic sound. Surely Fox have heaps of materials just sitting there doing nothing that they could actually make some money out of.

I recently watched Preminger's In Harms Way, Paramount put an original featurette on the disc, and I was surprised that the featurette itself had been shot in anamorphic - it looked like a light weight camera using Bausch & Lomb adapters (lots of weird distortions when panning). I guess this featurette was shown in cinemas to promote the coming film, I was very happy to see Paramount include it.

 

[Joe Caps]

Doug bull,
I don't thnink that Fox has that short promoting the Egyptian you describe.