Warner Archive Announcements Thread (5 Viewers)

[Capt D McMars]

I picked up an even dozen- all blu rays. Some of these are replacing my DVDs and some I never had. For Me & My Gal, The Clock, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Sergeant York, The Sea Hawk, San Francisco, Tale Of Two Cities, Mutiny On The Bounty, Father Of The Bride, Isle Of The Dead and the really odd one in this group, From Hell It Came... Why?Because I never saw this film and always wanted to see an ugly looking walking tree stump!

Tabunga!!!

 

[benbess]

If Warner Archive starts making 4k discs, here are a few movies that seem worthy of 4K that I'd certainly buy....

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938, 3-strip Technicolor
Probably any other 3-strip Technicolor movie they chose for which the original negative survives
Mutiny on the Bounty, 1962, 70mm
Ryan's Daughter, 1970, 70mm
Hamlet, 1996, 70mm

 

[Robert Crawford]

If Warner Archive starts making 4k discs, here are a few movies that seem worthy of 4K that I'd certainly buy....

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938, 3-strip Technicolor
Probably any other 3-strip Technicolor movie they chose for which the original negative survives
Mutiny on the Bounty, 1962, 70mm
Ryan's Daughter, 1970, 70mm
Hamlet, 1996, 70mm

No offense, but I doubt Warner would make much of a profit with Hamlet. For that reason I don’t see them releasing it on 4K disc. I’m not sure about two other titles except Robin Hood.

 

[commander richardson]

No offense, but I doubt Warner would make much of a profit with Hamlet. For that reason I don’t see them releasing it on 4K disc. I’m not sure about two other titles except Robin Hood.

Ryan's Daughter in just a standard BD would be nice. Warner Archive must know surely that there is a demand for this release and even if there was no demand it deserves to be released as it it will appeal to future generations of that I am sure. As some argue a slow seller but in the long run likely a big seller. In any case WA have released some rather dubious BD releases in the past that have I suspect hardly sold at all. But who knows maybe I am wrong and better to say nothing.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ryan's Daughter in just a standard BD would be nice. Warner Archive must know surely that there is a demand for this release and even if there was no demand it deserves to be released as it it will appeal to future generations of that I am sure. As some argue a slow seller but in the long run likely a big seller. In any case WA have released some rather dubious BD releases in the past that have I suspect hardly sold at all. But who knows maybe I am wrong and better to say nothing.

Releasing Blu-rays is one thing, but doing so on 4K disc is more expensive for the studio which is why I’m questioning the profitability of doing so with some of those suggestions.

 

[benbess]

No offense, but I doubt Warner would make much of a profit with Hamlet. For that reason I don’t see them releasing it on 4K disc. I’m not sure about two other titles except Robin Hood.

Don't know about profit, but the 1996 Hamlet is considered by some to be a very good film. It has a 7.8 rating on imdb and a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I think it stands with Olivier's 1948 Hamlet, but the 1996 is special in part because it was filmed in 70mm. The 1996 Hamlet also got some good reviews at time, including....

More Things in 'Hamlet' Than Are Dreamt Of In Other Adaptations (Published 1996)

If any contemporary American actor was born to play the melancholy Dane in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," it is Campbell Scott, who conveys a smoldering intelligence softened by a residual tenderness. These qualities are embodied not only in Mr. Campbell's haunted eyes and sunken lips but also in a...

www.nytimes.com

"FILM REVIEW: More Things in 'Hamlet' Than Are Dreamt Of In Other Adaptations
Hamlet, Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Drama, PG-13, 4h 2m
By Janet Maslin
Dec. 25, 1996
Kenneth Branagh's fine, robust performance as Hamlet is the bright centerpiece of his lavish new version of the play. Heading a cast so stellar that majestic Blenheim Palace plays the role of Elsinore, Mr. Branagh holds court throughout a four-hour, 70-millimeter sumptuously appointed production that doesn't often lag. This ''Hamlet,'' like Mr. Branagh's version of ''Much Ado About Nothing,'' takes a frank, try-anything approach to sustaining its entertainment value, but its gambits are most often evidence of Mr. Branagh's solid showmanship. His own performance is the best evidence of all....

Sometimes resorting freely to unlikely touches, this film has earthquake special effects and a horror-film look when its ghost arrives. There are torrents of confetti when Gertrude weds Claudius, and a final fencing match on a scale that Rocky might envy. In between, the film's many stars parade in velvet and braid through ornate chambers that are built on a cathedral scale. Alex Thomson's cinematography captures this swank atmosphere in all its gilt-edged glory...."

 

[Robert Crawford]

When it comes to 4K releases, profitability is going to be a main factor in that decision.

 

[benbess]

Fair enough.

I'd take newly mastered versions of any of these in regular blu-ray as well. The Warner Archive release of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex looked almost as good as a 4k release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Fair enough.

I'd take newly mastered versions of any of these in regular blu-ray as well. The Warner Archive release of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex looked almost as good as a 4k release.

One more thing, Denzel Washington’s film wasn’t Hamlet, but Macbeth.

 

[benbess]

One more thing, Denzel Washington’s film wasn’t Hamlet, but Macbeth.

Yes, of course. I need to drink my morning coffee lol!

 

[Doom]

No offense, but I doubt Warner would make much of a profit with Hamlet. For that reason I don’t see them releasing it on 4K disc. I’m not sure about two other titles except Robin Hood.

I agree. Robin Hood 4k however would surely be a huge one.

 

[Dick]

Ryan's Daughter in just a standard BD would be nice. Warner Archive must know surely that there is a demand for this release.

They know.

 

[Dick]

Sometimes resorting freely to unlikely touches.

Yes, such as some really bizarre casting. Sorry, but Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal just doesn't cry out "Shakespeare!" to me.

 

[jayembee]

Yes, such as some really bizarre casting. Sorry, but Jack Lemmon, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal just doesn't cry out "Shakespeare!" to me.

I think Branagh likes to try to bring in, kicking and screaming, actors he likes who might not have a lot of Bard experience. Perhaps to see what they can do with it.

His Much Ado About Nothing (1993) had him, Emma Thompson, Brian Blessed, Imelda Staunton, and the like in a cast filled out by Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, and Denzel Washington, and Robert Sean Leonard. It was a mess, though mostly because his direction seemed more like a college theatre class production than what you'd expect from him. The Americans actually acquitted themselves fairly well. Oddly enough, it was Denzel Washington who most came off seeming like a fish out of water, not Keanu Reeves.

 

[Matt Hough]

I think Branagh likes to try to bring in, kicking and screaming, actors he likes who might not have a lot of Bard experience. Perhaps to see what they can do with it.

His Much Ado About Nothing (1993) had him, Emma Thompson, Brian Blessed, Imelda Staunton, and the like in a cast filled out by Michael Keaton, Keanu Reeves, and Denzel Washington, and Robert Sean Leonard. It was a mess, though mostly because his direction seemed more like a college theatre class production than what you'd expect from him. The Americans actually acquitted themselves fairly well. Oddly enough, it was Denzel Washington who most came off seeming like a fish out of water, not Keanu Reeves.

And I thought Much Ado About Nothing was close to brilliant, Keanu being the weak link. As I sat in the theater watching it, I thought it might be one of the few Shakespearean adaptations that could be understood and appreciated by a vast general audience of today. They were originally written, of course, for a general audience, but time and culture intervened to make them less liked by the masses.

 

[Matt Hough]

Speaking of Shakespearean adaptations, I watched the 1953 Julius Caesar today off the TCM app. Looked very nice. Someone either earlier or in another thread said the movie was setbound, but I didn't find it so. Interiors seemed interiors and exteriors were either location work (the great final battle scenes) or done on huge soundstages that seemed open air enough to pass muster. I love this adaptation.

 

[richardburton84]

I think it helps that they were able to reuse some of the sets from Quo Vadis to give it a more elaborate look. But yes, the film did a really good job adapting the play. While Brando understandably gets a lot of the acting praise for this film (and he is very good, especially when he gives the famous oration after the assassination), James Mason also gives a very good performance as Brutus and effectively conveys his inner turmoil. I hope the Archive eventually gets around to putting this out and include an option to play the film with the unused overture Miklós Rózsa composed for the film (one of his best scores).

 

[mskaye]

And I thought Much Ado About Nothing was close to brilliant, Keanu being the weak link. As I sat in the theater watching it, I thought it might be one of the few Shakespearean adaptations that could be understood and appreciated by a vast general audience of today. They were originally written, of course, for a general audience, but time and culture intervened to make them less liked by the masses.

MUCH ADO is the original romantic comedy!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Speaking of Shakespearean adaptations, I watched the 1953 Julius Caesar today off the TCM app. Looked very nice. Someone either earlier or in another thread said the movie was setbound, but I didn't find it so. Interiors seemed interiors and exteriors were either location work (the great final battle scenes) or done on huge soundstages that seemed open air enough to pass muster. I love this adaptation.

That TCM stream looks like the same iTunes HD digital I have in my digital library. I would love to see WA release this on Blu-ray derived from a new scan.

 

[Capt D McMars]

It feels almost like blind panic, on the part of physical format buyers? Hearing that the door is slowly closing on it, and being replaced by cheaper streaming/digital alturnatives. In that rush to aquire "their" favorite titles, it's akin to a shouting match, LOL!!

We all have our favorites, but when you see the hurculian task set before the studios. Just now, on a reset from almost 3 years of shutdown, buyouts and mergers. I think a little patience is necesary on our part, as the studios regroup and start to attempt triage and set thier production scheduels for the titles that will come out for us.

Kudos to George Feltenstein and his team, for all the great work that has already been accomplished on our behalf!!! And looking forward to the amazing films to come!!!