Warner Bros Archive Wish List 2022 and Beyond!! (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

In regards to RKO titles, Gunga Din is the one I desire the most with several titles slightly behind.

 

[John Hermes]

 

[benbess]

 

[benbess]

As we know, Mervyn LeRoy did impressive work as a director from the late 1920s until the mid-1960s. Although several movies by LeRoy are already available from Warner Archive, I'd be interested in these titles as well...

Escape, 1940
Blossoms in the Dust, 1941
Unholy Partners, 1941
Johnny Eager, 1941
Random Harvest, 1942
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, 1945
Homecoming, 1948
East Side, West Side, 1950
Quo Vadis, 1951 (in need of a 4k remaster, if the Technicolor negatives exist)
etc., etc.

I just finished reading Mervyn LeRoy's memoir, titled Take One, which was published in 1974. One of his first memories is of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, which he barely survived at the age of 5:

"My memory is a kaleidoscope of pictures. I have always thought in visual terms and when I recall that morning of April 18, 1906, I see a mental album of tragic pictures...many years later in Quo Vadis, I shot the burning of Rome and I drew on my memories of the burning of San Francisco as a grim model."

His father survived the earthquake physically, but was psychologically crushed. His department store was completely destroyed, and the insurance company he had a policy with went bankrupt. His father never recovered, financially or otherwise, leading a more and more pitiful existence. This forced Mervyn to grow up fast, selling newspapers in the streets as a kid to support them:

"I saw life in the raw on the streets of San Francisco. I met the cops and the whores and the reporters and the bartenders and the Chinese and the fishermen and shopkeepers. I knew them all, knew how they thought and how they loved and how they hated. When it came time for me to make motion pictures, I made movies that were real, because I knew how real people behaved."

His parents had already split up before the earthquake, his mother leaving his father for another man. His Mom was always interested in vaudeville, however, which eventually became Mervyn's profession for many years. His father didn't live to see his big successes in Hollywood, but his mother did. After the death of Irving Thalberg, LeRoy moved to being a producer at MGM. When Louis Mayer asked what his dream project was, LeRoy said The Wizard of Oz, which he'd read as a kid several times. This was right after the colossal success of Disney's Snow White, and so Mayer immediately gave a green light for a huge budget. LeRoy worked with teams of people on Oz down to the smallest details. But he longed to return to directing, and so he did.

Jack Warner, in the preface to the movie, talked about how LeRoy sets were always happy ones, with practical jokes, lots of laughs, and even more hard work. As Greer Garson says in her blurb for the book, before a take he would sometimes tell her and others, "Now, let's have a nice scene with a lotta feeling!"

After the premiere of Quo Vadis in San Francisco, LeRoy walked over to the corner where he used to sell newspapers for pennies, and was emotional at all that had happened since he and his father were struggling to survive for many years:

"The premiere was held at the Warfield Theater, in San Francisco. That was, for me, a nostalgic evening. After I had seen the film, and thrilled to the pleased reaction of the audience, I walked the six blocks to the Alcazar Theater, where I had once stood and sold newspapers. I remembered back when I had been overjoyed to make a few dollars. Now I had just seen a movie I had made at a cost of some twelve million dollars. It was almost too much to grasp....I stood there, in the darkness, and cried."

 

[Stefano B]

Speaking of RKO titles, could this ever be a possibility?

 

[Alan Tully]

In regards to RKO titles, Gunga Din is the one I desire the most with several titles slightly behind.

The RKO I want the most is the Howard Hawks western, The Big Sky (1952), but I'm thinking that it might never happen, I'm sure the problem is the lack of decent film elements. But very happy to have Hawks, The Land Of The Pharaohs, & still have some hope of an 80th Anniversary release of Hawks, Air Force (1943) this year.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The RKO I want the most is the Howard Hawks western, The Big Sky (1952), but I'm thinking that it might never happen, I'm sure the problem is the lack of decent film elements. Still, very happy to have Hawks, The Land Of The Pharaohs, & still have some hope of an 80th Anniversary release of Hawks, Air Force (1943) this year.

TBH, I desire The Big Sky even more than "Gunga Din" because at least I have a decent iTunes HD digital of "Gunga Din". The same can't be said of "The Big Sky"! Plus, the movie was cut like "Rachel and the Stranger" was for many years so having a complete film of it on Blu-ray would be great. I'm hoping this might be another George Feltenstein miracle like "Rachel and the Stranger", "They Won't Believe Me" and "Santa Fe Trail".

 

[84lion]

I would dearly love to see Telefon (Charles Bronson and Lee Remick) remastered and released on Blu.

 

[Alan Tully]

I would dearly love to see Telefon (Charles Bronson and Lee Remick) remastered and released on Blu.

Wow, there can't be that many Charles Bronson films still awaiting a Blu-ray release. I get the impression that he's a very good seller.

 

[84lion]

Telefon is one of my favorite films. It is available on DVD from Warner Archive, but it's definitely not "remastered." It's not bad, but it's not that great, either. It could use a cleanup and HD scan. It's not available anywhere in HD AFAIK. In fact, it's not available for streaming anywhere, again AFAIK. I don't know why Telefon hasn't gotten any love. It was directed by Don Siegel and Peter Hyams/Stirling Silliphant did the screenplay. Maybe it is that the subject matter (old fashioned Cold War trope) is deemed of little interest these days. My personal theory is that the plot of Telefon is too close for comfort to reality and that the film has been consigned to the "memory hole" similar to films like Executive Action (available to stream on Amazon Prime, in HD I think) and Capricorn One (which at least got a BR release awhile back).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Telefon is one of my favorite films. It is available on DVD from Warner Archive, but it's definitely not "remastered." It's not bad, but it's not that great, either. It could use a cleanup and HD scan. It's not available anywhere in HD AFAIK. In fact, it's not available for streaming anywhere, again AFAIK. I don't know why Telefon hasn't gotten any love. It was directed by Don Siegel and Peter Hyams/Stirling Silliphant did the screenplay. Maybe it is that the subject matter (old fashioned Cold War trope) is deemed of little interest these days. My personal theory is that the plot of Telefon is too close for comfort to reality and that the film has been consigned to the "memory hole" similar to films like Executive Action (available to stream on Amazon Prime, in HD I think) and Capricorn One (which at least got a BR release awhile back).

This 2009 Warner Home Video DVD release is in my disc collection.

 

[maxfabien]

Warner Archive Collection is releasing two more Best Picture Oscar winners on Blu-ray. "Broadway Melody" (1929) and "Cimarron" (1930) will be released on July 25!! Now I hope they do the same for "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936), "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937), and "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956). And hopefully Criterion can release a Blu-ray of Olivier's "Hamlet" (1948). Then all the Best Picture winners will be available on Blu-ray. Except for "Coda" (2021), which will probably never be available in the U.S.

 

[richardburton84]

Warner Archive Collection is releasing two more Best Picture Oscar winners on Blu-ray. "Broadway Melody" (1929) and "Cimarron" (1930) will be released on July 25!! Now I hope they do the same for "The Great Ziegfeld" (1936), "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937), and "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956). And hopefully Criterion can release a Blu-ray of Olivier's "Hamlet" (1948). Then all the Best Picture winners will be available on Blu-ray. Except for "Coda" (2021), which will probably never be available in the U.S.

On the last Extras podcast, George Feltenstein said that one of the three Warner-owned Best Picture winners would be out very soon. Over on the Announcements thread, Robert Crawford expanded on this, saying that he expects all three to be out before the year’s end.

 

[maxfabien]

On the last Extras podcast, George Feltenstein said that one of the three Warner-owned Best Picture winners would be out very soon. Over on the Announcements thread, Robert Crawford expanded on this, saying that he expects all three to be out before the year’s end.

Thanks, looking forward to it!!

 

[JamesSmith]

Guys, now that Mayberry RFD and Night Court the complete series are out, what WB classic tv might be coming out next. I remember before the pandemic, Guns of Paradise seasons 2 and 3 were mentioned. Do any of you remember what other pre-pandemic rumors there might have been? Symbiotic Titan on Blue Ray?, Johnny Bravo seasons 3,
Taz Mania season 4?

--jthree

 

[CULTMAN1]

With so many films, some of dubious quality, being released in 4K Ultra HD surely it’s time for David Leans’s multiple Oscar winning Doctor Zhivago to get the 4K ultra HD treatment from George Feltenstein and his restoration team. Although this was an MGM film back in 1965 I understand Warner Brothers still own the rights to distribute this title and it has been recently restored for streaming ? It could form part of Warners 100 anniversary celebration releases? Ryan’s Daughter would be another title?

 

[Traveling Matt]

 

[Konstantinos]

With so many films, some of dubious quality, being released in 4K Ultra HD surely it’s time for David Leans’s multiple Oscar winning Doctor Zhivago to get the 4K ultra HD treatment from George Feltenstein and his restoration team. Although this was an MGM film back in 1965 I understand Warner Brothers still own the rights to distribute this title and it has been recently restored for streaming ?

Wasn't the blu-ray release coming from a 4k restoration?
I mean, they wouldn't have to restore anything again, would they?

 

[uncledougie]

Both Doctor Zhivago and Ryan’s Daughter should be high on any priority list for 4K. The latter of course was originally 70mm, if the original elements are in decent shape.

 

[mskaye]

Both Doctor Zhivago and Ryan’s Daughter should be high on any priority list for 4K. The latter of course was originally 70mm, if the original elements are in decent shape.

I saw a 70mm print of Ryan's Daughter at the Academy Theater on Wilshire in the 90s. It was beautiful but I think even then - if I recall - the intro talked about tricky restoration efforts. Let's hope the original elements are still "ok."