Bill Burns
Supporting Actor
- Joined
- May 13, 2003
- Messages
- 747
Roderick -- Blind Husbands/The Great Gabbo called to me (the latter film in particular -- but if you haven't seen it, that isn't funny ... never mind) from a local B&M, believe it or not; I was shocked to see it on a Borders shelf, and swiftly grabbed it after only a bit of hemming and hawing over its full MSRP list price (Borders usually discounts by at least 10%). I held off on buying the three on-line because of my experience with the William Wyler collection -- the serviceable but generally poor (16mm?) element used for Counsellor At Law, the brief video glitch (two or three frames in duration, if memory serves*) in the otherwise excellent (what a beautiful, sparkling transfer!) Love Trap, and the disc that was missing entirely from The Good Fairy. Thanks again, by the way, for the contact info at Kino if that ever happens again.
But at any rate, because of that bad experience, I decided to wait until reviews were in for the Stroheims. In particular, I didn't want to buy Foolish Wives again until I knew how it compared to the lackluster, but perhaps as good as could be expected, Image edition, which I also own. So far, zilch. I haven't heard any comparative reviews at all. But I'd somehow overlooked that the Blind Husbands DVD has another full feature on it, an early talkie/musical in fact (who knew it would be so truly creepy? Maybe it's just me), so that seemed like a safe bet, even at full MSRP ($15 per feature, and there are a few brief but welcome supplements as well). So I went ahead and gave Borders my business on that title. But I don't yet own the other two -- I fully expect to buy Queen Kelly sometime soon (I'd prefer an on-line discount to paying full MSRP, though), but I'm going to wait until definite word comes from some quarter on improvements, if there are any to be found, in the Kino Foolish Wives.
So far as e-tailers are concerned, I've just checked amazon.com and they list all three as shipping within 24 hours. You're right about DVDEmpire -- the only Foolish Wife ... er, Foolish Wives they list is/are Image's. The other two titles are, oddly, listed as pre-orders that have not yet been released. Hmph. This means they're still nicely discounted, though. Not so Amazon: unfortunately, as is usual for Amazon on titles that have been released and carry high MSRP's, they're only discounted 10%, so they remain a bit steep. Amazon pre-orders usually sport a more pleasant 25% discount, and some of the cheaper titles ($19.99 and less) have been known to carry 15%-25% discounts indefinitely.
If you have a chance to compare the Foolish Wives in all their glory, be sure to post a reaction. I have Tempest on my plate at the moment, which I'm very eager to see for the first time (oh, that Camilla Horn! Yikes; but seriously, John Barrymore in front of the camera, William Cameron Menzies working behind the scenes, Charles Rosher shooting it, several respected directors working one after the other to finish it ... and it even qualifies as a Stroheim film, because he penned the original screenplay! My hopes are high).
*In the scene where the heroine's dress is dropped from the balcony by her assailant, there's a brief moment where the picture is beset by a series of small colored squares, and the audio pops as well. Only a few frames in duration, if that, it passes very quickly at full motion, but pausing and frame advancing reveals just what it is -- and I'd guess the culprit, in this case, is the compression. It doesn't look like a tape glitch. The disc surface was made immaculate with a bit of cleaning (it arrived from Kino with fingerprints shortly after release, by way of pre-order, so I'd guess it was hand packed at the factory), but the problem remained. I detailed all of this once before, on some thread or another, but for a film presented so beautifully, and on a disc whose supplements, alongside the feature, make of it a truly great value, such a problem is really unfortunate.
P.S. I, too, much prefer Keaton to Chaplin, but value both (City Lights remains one of the most heartbreaking films I've ever seen, and it's often hilarious, as well -- what a combination). I haven't seen enough of Lloyd to compare him adequately with his peers, though.
But at any rate, because of that bad experience, I decided to wait until reviews were in for the Stroheims. In particular, I didn't want to buy Foolish Wives again until I knew how it compared to the lackluster, but perhaps as good as could be expected, Image edition, which I also own. So far, zilch. I haven't heard any comparative reviews at all. But I'd somehow overlooked that the Blind Husbands DVD has another full feature on it, an early talkie/musical in fact (who knew it would be so truly creepy? Maybe it's just me), so that seemed like a safe bet, even at full MSRP ($15 per feature, and there are a few brief but welcome supplements as well). So I went ahead and gave Borders my business on that title. But I don't yet own the other two -- I fully expect to buy Queen Kelly sometime soon (I'd prefer an on-line discount to paying full MSRP, though), but I'm going to wait until definite word comes from some quarter on improvements, if there are any to be found, in the Kino Foolish Wives.
So far as e-tailers are concerned, I've just checked amazon.com and they list all three as shipping within 24 hours. You're right about DVDEmpire -- the only Foolish Wife ... er, Foolish Wives they list is/are Image's. The other two titles are, oddly, listed as pre-orders that have not yet been released. Hmph. This means they're still nicely discounted, though. Not so Amazon: unfortunately, as is usual for Amazon on titles that have been released and carry high MSRP's, they're only discounted 10%, so they remain a bit steep. Amazon pre-orders usually sport a more pleasant 25% discount, and some of the cheaper titles ($19.99 and less) have been known to carry 15%-25% discounts indefinitely.
If you have a chance to compare the Foolish Wives in all their glory, be sure to post a reaction. I have Tempest on my plate at the moment, which I'm very eager to see for the first time (oh, that Camilla Horn! Yikes; but seriously, John Barrymore in front of the camera, William Cameron Menzies working behind the scenes, Charles Rosher shooting it, several respected directors working one after the other to finish it ... and it even qualifies as a Stroheim film, because he penned the original screenplay! My hopes are high).
*In the scene where the heroine's dress is dropped from the balcony by her assailant, there's a brief moment where the picture is beset by a series of small colored squares, and the audio pops as well. Only a few frames in duration, if that, it passes very quickly at full motion, but pausing and frame advancing reveals just what it is -- and I'd guess the culprit, in this case, is the compression. It doesn't look like a tape glitch. The disc surface was made immaculate with a bit of cleaning (it arrived from Kino with fingerprints shortly after release, by way of pre-order, so I'd guess it was hand packed at the factory), but the problem remained. I detailed all of this once before, on some thread or another, but for a film presented so beautifully, and on a disc whose supplements, alongside the feature, make of it a truly great value, such a problem is really unfortunate.
P.S. I, too, much prefer Keaton to Chaplin, but value both (City Lights remains one of the most heartbreaking films I've ever seen, and it's often hilarious, as well -- what a combination). I haven't seen enough of Lloyd to compare him adequately with his peers, though.