Cause For More Celebration September 4, 2006
Posted by John Hodson in : DVD News & Info, British Film , add a commentSince my post Cause for Celebration?, the new releases, or re-releases, of British films has never, it seems, ceased. It is either a happy coincidence, or I have influence hitherto thought beyond mere mortal man (or blogger). The former is a safe bet.
The only slightly bad news is the removal from the Network website of their Things to Come SE (which we discovered, thanks to that post, was not to be the work of TLE Films), though it is still available from DD Home Entertainment. Let’s hope it is a temporary setback.
So, newly discovered, at various e-tailers - a David Lean Box Set (coming, we now know, from ITV DVD formerly Granada Ventures), containing The Sound Barrier (1952), Hobsons Choice (1954), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), Madeleine (1950), The Passionate Friends (1949), This Happy Breed (1944), and one would hope, a raft of interesting extra features.
ITV DVD is also behind the new Powell and Pressburger Box - The Tales of Hoffman (1951), Black Narcissus (1946), A Matter of Life & Death (1946), The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I am Going (1945), 49th Parallel (1941), The Battle of the River Plate (1956), Ill Met By Moonlight (1957), They’re A Weird Mob (1966), The Red Shoes (1948). It beats the previous Carlton box with the inclusion of the first two named titles, and the new Black Narcissus is truly gorgeous, but at a penny shy of £60, the box will have to be stacked with new extras and, in some cases, new transfers.
Optimum’s re-release of Don’t Look Now is to be a Special Edition; no details, but here’s hoping it is something more than just the previous brief Nic Roeg interview, and that they fix the audio problems evident on the Warners / Studio Canal disc. Also from Optimum is The Ultimate Carry On Box Set (30 Discs), which brings together both previous extras stacked Carlton releases and the Warners / Studio Canal titles, which will now have extra features included. Look out too for a four disc St. Trinians Box Set, and a 12 disc British Comedy Collection Box Set - Porridge (Dir. Dick Clement, 1979), Rising Damp (Dir. Joseph McGrath, 1980), Bless This House (Dir. Gerald Thomas, 1972), Steptoe And Son (Dir. Cliff Owen, 1972), Steptoe And Son Ride Again (Dir. Peter Sykes, 1973), Ooh, You Are Awful (Dir. Cliff Owen, 1972), Love Thy Neighbour (Dir. John Robins, 1973), Till Death Do Us Part (Dir. Norman Cohen, 1969), The Likely Lads (Dir. Michael Tuchner, 1976), Are You Being Served? (Dir. Bob Kellett, 1977), On The Buses (Dir. Harry Booth, 1971), Holiday On The Buses (Dir. Harry Booth, 1972) / Mutiny On The Buses (Dir. Bryan Izzard, 1973)
Paramount is releasing Oh, What a Lovely War! in both R1 and R2, featuring Sir Richard Attenborough’s first ever DVD commentary, plus featurettes - looking forward immensely to that in October. In much the same vein, look out for the allegorical The Shooting Party, set on the eve of World War 1 and the great James Mason’s last film, also due for release in both regions and again featuring some interesting extras.
There’s a new 16 title Will Hay Box Set on the way: The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942), Dandy Dick (1935), The Ghost of St Michaels (1941), The Goost Steps Out (1942), My Learned Friend (1943), Radio Parade of 1935 (1934), Those Were the Days (1934), Oh Mr Porter (1937), Convict 99 (1938), Windbag The Saiilor (1936), Ask A Policeman (1938), Boys Will Be Boys (1935), Old Bones of the River (1938), Where There’s a Will (1936), Good Morning, Boys (1937), Hey! Hey! USA! (1938). This will outdo the previous set, not only in terms of quantity, but also quality - Val Guest took part in the recording of extras before his death earlier this year.*
Not British films but coming from an excellent British company, in Eureka’s Master of Cinema range. The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films Collection 1917-1923 Box Set (4 Discs), is a lip-smacking propect considering the quality of the previous MoC range. The blurb:
Containing 32 films - with a running time of over 700 minutes - this collection documents Buster Keaton’s short films between 1917-1923. Capturing Keaton’s first steps in front of a camera this box set charts his early association with ex-Keystone Kop Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle through to headlining, starring in, and directing his own box office smash hits. Using Chaplin’s old Hollywood studios in 1920, Keaton’s sophisticated technical inventiveness coupled with his haunted-yet-handsome “Stone Face” persona, created a succession of the most timeless, classic comedy shorts ever realised. The Masters Of Cinema series presents the following films in a four-disc box set, with audio commentary by Joseph McBride on six of the films, and a 212-page book:
The Butcher Boy (1917), The Rough House (1917), His Wedding Night (1917), Oh, Doctor! (1917), Coney Island (1917), Out West (1918), The Bell Boy (1918), Moonshine (1918), Good Night Nurse (1918), The Cook (1918), Backstage (1919), The Hayseed (1919), The Garage (1919), The “High Sign”* (finished 1920, released 1921), One Week* (1920), Convict 13* (1920), The Scarecrow (1920), Neighbors (1920), The Haunted House (1921), Hard Luck (1921), The Goat (1921), The Playhouse* (1921), The Boat* (1921), The Paleface (1922), Cops* (1922), My Wife’s Relations (1922), The Blacksmith (1922), The Frozen North (1922), Daydreams (1922), The Electric House (1922), The Balloonatic (1923), The Love Nest (1923) (*features audio commentary)
*A little note on the Will Hay Box Set; since posting this, I now learn that not only is there some doubt as to Val Guest’s participation in any extras, but on the future of this new set - which is up for pre-order on several websites - itself. Watch this space…
And I can use this edit to add a few titles - coming this month from DDHE: The Card, Charley’s Aunt (though that box art seems to be a mix of both the US and UK versions), Conquest of The Air, Hotel Sahara. In October: Man of Aran, Sailor Beware!