Warner: The Film Noir Classics Collection (1 Viewer)

[Roger Rollins]

I have to respectfully disagree here. These covers are not only really gorgeous, but they are representative of original theatrical posters used to sell the films when they were first released. I personally appreciate that Warner goes to the trouble to provide original artwork on their releases...it gives them an extra feel of authenticity.

And yes, HALLELUJAH, no snappers! no snappers! no snappers!

 

[Craig Beam]

God, those are beautiful. This is clearly the year for Noir on DVD!

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

Roger,

Frankly I probably deserved to have been disrespectfully disagreed with. I suppose that's why I did say to call me crazy.

I obviously had not had enough coffee when I posted that, the covers do look great - and it's always nice to see DVD covers that are very similar to their original theatrical posters.

I will now sit in the corner and drink my coffee...

 

[Paul_Scott]

if its any consolation Nils, i do think Asphalt and Murder look a bit dodgy.
but i love the original art on the rest- especially in the varied use of color.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I love the dvd covers, particularly the one for "The Set Up".








Crawdaddy

 

[Jeff_HR]

Yes the art is very nice on 3 of the 4. IMHO even if it is the original poster art I believe that the art for "The Set Up" is the worst of the 4. It would be better if the two inserted pictures & all the writing on the lower part of the art was removed. It would result in a cleaner less busy look.

 

[Herb Kane]

Thanks for the link John, this really does look like a great set from Warner Bros. and I really hope it is the first of many others. Lord only knows that between them, RKO and MGM (including some of the old UA titles), they have a ton of them to release…

Four of the five covers are most similar to the original poster art that was used, albeit slightly varied with the actors names relocated, the name of the film slightly rearranged etc. The Asphalt Jungle from what I could find isn't even close to the original artwork (thank goodness) which was mostly a whole lot of head shots with 75% of the poster listing the names of the actors etc., which was pretty typical of many of the MGM posters from that period.

And keepcases are the icing on the cake… I really can’t wait!

Herb.

 

[oscar_merkx]

all I ever buy these days is simply warner and the occasional Fox Studio Classics

 

[oscar_merkx]

I like the cover for The Set Up

 

[Nils Luehrmann]

I suspect the folks over at DVD Talk are really excited about having their very own DVD Savant, Glenn Erickson providing the commentary on Gun Crazy.

I've always enjoyed reading Glenn's reviews, but I think this is his first ever commentary on a DVD? If so, I'm sure he is very excited as well.

Speaking of DVD Talk and Film Noir, someone there started a very nice thread on the subject of film noir that is definitely worth the read!

The Complete List of Classic Film Noir on DVD + An Introduction

It might as well be called Film Noir 101 as it covers just about everything you can imagine about Film Noir, and not just films, but TV shows and books as well. There are also several links that look quite promising. I haven't checked them out yet, but the one listing modern Film Noirs looks like it would be fun to check out as that is always an interesting topic and sometimes surprising how many modern film noirs are actually being made. I think my favorite of those has to be Blade Runner, but there are so many more.

While it wasn't mentioned in that thread, there is a marvelous website with a great deal of information on Film Noirs and other great classics from years past:

Moderntimes

The site was a favorite of mine from years ago, but it appears that the creator and host, Michael Mills hasn't updated it in a very long time. Still, it offers a vast amount of information on classic films. In fact for those curious about some of the original theatrical posters, the site has a very nice Poster Page.

Another favorite site of mine that is still going strong and IMO is one of the best publications for film historians and aficionados to share their knowledge with others is Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture

In fact they have a very nice article on Film Noir - Ten Shades of Noir: A Review of Film Noir Classics

It is an excellent read and includes some marvelous detailed insights into ten famous Film Noirs:

• [*]The Big Combo[*]The Big Heat[*]The Big Sleep[*]Double Indemnity[*]Force of Evil[*]Gun Crazy[*]The Lady from Shanghai[*]Pickup on South Street[*]Shadow of a Doubt[*]Sweet Smell of Success

As well as some additional insights on the following titles:

• [*]The Asphalt Jungle[*]Detour[*]Follow Me Quietly[*]Gilda[*]In a Lonely Place[*]The Killers[*]Kiss Me Deadly[*]Laura[*]Mildred Pierce[*]Night and the City[*]Nightmare Alley[*]Out of the Past[*]Raw Deal[*]Scarlet Street[*]Stranger on the Third Floor[*]This Gun for Hire[*]Touch of Evil[*]When Strangers Marry

Perhaps the most exciting article though comes from both Glenn Erickson and Alain Silver on the amazing story of the long lost original ending of Robert Aldrich's glorious film noir, Kiss Me Deadly. Here are links to the two articles:

So What's with the Ending of Kiss Me Deadly? by Alain Silver

The Kiss Me Mangled Mystery: Refurbishing a Film Noir by Glenn Erickson

While I suspect most of you already know, but HTF’s own Herb Kane also has a terrific thread listing more Film Noirs then I have ever seen listed any where else:

Film Noir - LIST

I've also put together a thread here on HTF dedicated to Fox's soon to be released Film Noir Classics series:

20th Century Fox's 'Film Noir Classics' DVD Series

I hope you all enjoy these links/articles as much as I have, and I can't wait to listen to all of these wonderful commentaries for this upcoming box set from WHV!

 

[Deepak Shenoy]

Are the R1 releases really going to be in keepcases ? Wow !

I wonder what titles are going to be in Vol. 2 ?

-D

 

[Greg_S_H]

You're in for a treat with Asphalt Jungle.

I'm only familiar with three of the five, but this box is a must-own. As for the Asphalt Jungle cover art, I can only say it's the same as the last VHS version's cover. I don't know if that was the first appearance of that art or not.

And, yes, more Ann Sheridan would be very welcome.

 

[Paul_D]

OH my god I want this set. All 5 are class A. Can't wait!

 

[Fredric]

If anyone out there likes Kubrick's The Killing, you'll LOVE The Asphalt Jungle.

 

[Douglas R]

The original poster of ASPHALT JUNGLE was rather dull, mainly lettering, which is proably why Warners didn't use that for the DVD. There was a later re-issue poster featuring cover art of Marilyn Monroe, no doubt designed to capitalise on her later popularity, which was totally misleading because she is only in the film for about 10 minutes! It's a great film with an excellent but very sparse Miklos Rozsa score. I'm really looking forward to getting it.

 

[John Hodson]

Now up for grabs at Forum sponsors The Laser's Edge for $34.99.

---
So many films, so little time...

 

[oscar_merkx]

wow that is some list you compiled Nils

Thanks for that

 

[Tim_C]

I'm really excited for this set.

As a 16 year old movie fan(atic,) who has only been into the classics for about a year and a half, I love seeing relatively cheap, high quality box sets like this. Five classics I've never seen in one purchase!

 

[GlennH]

Also now up for sale at Amazon.com. Here is a link to their picture of the box art:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

However, the official announcement says July 27, while both Lasers Edge and Amazon list July 6 for these. Was there a change, or are the retailers wrong?

 

[Paul_Scott]

$31.50 with an STL discount.

if anyone wants me to pass the discount on, just pm me.