Warners Stoke Up The Fever For 2007 November 2, 2006
Posted by John Hodson in : DVD News & Info , add a commentWhile other studios pussyfoot around (scuttlebutt has it that, in the great scheme of things, for instance, Paramount don’t consider that hauling classic films out of their vault to be worth the effort), Warners continue to steamroll the opposition in terms of sheer output of classics on DVD.
This year, the boys from Burbank have released barrow loads of classic movies on those little shiny discs, piles and piles of ‘em stuffed into boxed sets, special, and not so special, editions. This may be the year, however, that many may feel that volume has outstripped quality - they’ve dropped a few very definite clangers - but overall, Warners has kept film lovers the world over happy in releasing treasures from their back catalogue. In return, those same film lovers have poured dollars by the bucketload back into the Brothers deep, deep pockets. A symbiotic relationship.
We’ve had jewels from - to name but a few - John Ford, Sam Peckinpah (though that set contained one of the clangers that still smarts when I think about it), John Wayne, Astaire and Rogers, ‘Film Noir’, ‘Horror Legends’, on and on and on.
And this somewhat frantic output will continue unabated into 2007. According to The Digital Bits’ Barrie Maxwell:
‘…Warners’ plans to release 200 or so titles new to DVD this coming year. Although no specific titles were mentioned, classic enthusiasts can look for at least one collection and usually two each month. These will include all new-to-DVD titles except where a previously released title has been substantially upgraded in terms of master quality and supplements (such as was the case with The Maltese Falcon recently). In addition, there will be some repackagings of previously-released titles into box sets, but that will be distinct from the 200 or so new titles. There will be no sets issued that include a mixture of old and new releases. It sounds like Warner Bros. is already staking out best studio of the year status for 2007. Classic fans can only rejoice in the continued commitment!’
Of course, there is a danger that this prodigeous release schedule may lead to a fall off in quality, indeed, as mentioned, many feel that’s already happening, with less than stellar releases for, for instance, The Naked Spur, and On Dangerous Ground (one of the worst Warners transfers I’ve seen; the BBC’s print is much, much better), to add to the bizarre decision to hack Peckinpah’s magnificent Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid about while at the same time editing it for seniors and those possessing the concentration span of a goldfish. The only saving grace was that the unmolested version was included in the same set, though it had received less of a digital cleanup.
Nevertheless, can anyone deny that when Warners get it right, boy, do they get it right (and of course, when they get it wrong, the yardstick has to be the very best they themselves can produce. Petard. Hoist by); The Maltese Falcon, Kings Row, The Searchers (which falls somewhere between right and wrong. Personally I love this years iteration), The Spirit of St Louis, the Controversial Classics Box 2, Classic Musicals from The Dream Factory, The Tennessee Williams Collection - well, you get the idea. And so it goes.
As far as next year, from Warners R1 arm (the R2 division, in the UK at least, appears largely clueless), we can, I would guess from hints dropped, look forward at least to a James Cagney Signature Collection, a second Errol Flynn Signature Collection, a Spencer Tracy Signature Collection, plus special editions of Cool Hand Luke, Raintree County and How The West Was Won. Remember; 200 classics new to DVD in 2007, in 2006 they issued 50 plus box sets (classics and non-classics). Wow (and that’s only the reaction of my bank manager).
Personally, I’m tending to hold off buying single releases (except when I’m feeling particularly wealthy…or twitchy) these days unless I feel there is absolutely no chance of it appearing in a set at some time. That line ‘there will be some repackagings of previously-released titles into box sets’ means that not only will I pay less for each movie, but there’s a strong chance, with Warners adoption of slimcases in boxes, that they’ll take up less shelf space, space which is, chez ‘H’, getting to be something of a premium.
And space where you’ll find more Warners discs than any other. No profit in classics? The Brothers Warner are guffawing at that one all the way to the (Bur)bank.
Meanwhile in R2-land, this month’s BFI release of Jack Clayton’s The Innocents - see here - appears to trump Fox’s R1 with a ‘making of’ featurette, a commentary, trailer and stills gallery. And HMV has got Optimum’s forthcoming SE of Don’t Look Now up for pre-order and those extra features are:
- Audio Commentary By Director Nic Roeg
- Looking Back: The Making Of Documentary - 20 Minute Featurette Including Interviews With Roeg, The Cinematographer And Editor
- Introduction By Alan Jones, Author Of ‘The Rough Guide To Horror’
- Interview With Composer Pino Donnagio
- Digitally Restored Feature
- 16 Page Booklet Including Rarely Seen Behind-The-Scenes Stills And A New Essay By 70s Cinema Expert Ryan Gilbey
Not a two-discer as some were reporting, by the way, but still, as far as I’m concerned, a must purchase.