Warner chat at HTF 2007

[Lino]

An Evening With Warner Home Video

Monday February 26th

8:00-11:00pm EST, 7:00-10:00pm CST, 6:00-9:00pm MST, 5:00-8:00pm PST

Meet the people that bring you your favorite Warner Home Video
product with an opportunity to ask questions regarding past and future releases



In Attendance

George Feltenstein, SVP Catalog Marketing, Warner Home Video
George Parker, Executive Director Catalog Marketing, Warner Home Video
Ronnee Sass, VP Publicity and Promotions Catalog Marketing, Warner Home Video



* Per request of the studio: This chat is restricted to THEATRICAL CATALOG product only. No TV or ANIMATION will be discussed. HD-DVD/BLU-RAY discussion is limited to product specific questions and not format or specs.

[justeleblanc]

Are we starting a question collection here? If so, we should seriously ask about Ernst Lubitch's THE MERRY WIDOW (which wasn't asked last time), Ken Russell's films, including THE DEVILS, THE BOYFRIEND, and LISZTOMANIA, and Antonioni's ZABRISKIE POINT, which I suspect will be released as part of their monthly catalogue titles, though it would be nice to see if they also plan on releasing a special edition of BLOW-UP.

[Lino]

And someone should really scould them for putting up so little care and attention into the Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 1. Oh, and ask them about future volumes, of course.

Some other questions:

Do they own the rights to Ken Russell's Mahler?
Any chances of more Kazan, namely America America? Will Warner also revisit his Splendor in the Grass?
Any chances of Gene Kelly's Invitation to the Dance getting a DVD release with the lost segment as extra?
Any chances of a Broadway Melody Boxset containing The Broadway Melody (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), and Broadway Rhythm (1944) aka "The Broadway Melody of 1944"?
Any plans to release Jan Troell's The Emigrants and The New Land?
Since a SE of Beetlejuice is on the way, how about one for Mars Attacks!?
And what happened to the Esther Williams titles we are being promised for more than two years now?

[Jeff]

I'll let someone else take over the question-compiling duties this year. Or, just post them in the thread, and we can just scroll through to find them.

[Gigi M.]

I believe the most important question any of us could ask, is where the hell are the promise silents: Greed, The Big Parade, The Wind, The Crowd, etc?

[Alain3000]

I like to see a question asked about Pedicab Driver and other HK titles they have.

[Caligula]

I'd really like to know whether they might finally issue Claude Lelouch's Les Miserables on DVD.

[souvenir]

I've never participated in one of the WB chats, but I think I might sign up this time and ask why they're trickling out the Nicholas Ray titles so slowly. Party Girl is unreleased and I can't figure out why they didn't release The Lusty Men with the Mitchum Signature set.

[Narshty]

Do they own the rights to Ken Russell's Mahler?

No - Janus does. Badger Criterion about it.

[Lino]

Where did you get that info?

[Greathinker]

I'm out of the loop, are they still planning a release of Welles' The Trial?

[Narshty]

Where did you get that info?

From the back of the DVD.

[tryavna]

I believe the most important question any of us could ask, is where the hell are the promise silents: Greed, The Big Parade, The Wind, The Crowd, etc?

Indeed!

[Cinephrenic]

How about a second release of Legends of Horrors and what titles are likely to show up?
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)?
What is the status of Magnificent Ambersons?
Zabriskie Point?

[miless]

I'm out of the loop, are they still planning a release of Welles' The Trial?

that would be awesome... but I doubt it, as it is now in public domain (as to why there's a handful of shitty R1 releases of it... I'm hoping for a Criterion release, myself)

[Gregory]

Depending on the timing, there's a very good chance I will not have the opportunity to even try to ask these but will add them here in case anyone else wants to ask any of them.
Do you have any plans to release Howard Hawks' The Big Sky?
Any plans to release more of Katharine Hepburn's RKO films, such as Bill of Divorcement, Christopher Strong, Sylvia Scarlett, A Woman Rebels, and Quality Street?
What are the chances of the next Bette Davis collection containing The Old Maid, Beyond the Forest, and Juarez?
------------
Also, I think I remember someone asking them about Billy Wilder's Fedora in the past. Can anyone verify that Warner really holds this? IMDB says it's UA.

[Ornette]

Universal will release Sylvia Scarlett in the UK February 5th. I hope it will look better than the Édition Montparnasse edition.

[Gregory]

A couple of follow-ups -- sorry to be off topic.
davidhare: That Fedora DVD is out of print, right? I have looked for it and have not been able to find a copy. Anyway, if it is available, how bad is it? I haven't seen it and haven't seen it reviewed anywhere.

Ornette: Thanks. I hope so too, because I just ordered it from CD-Wow, figuring that Universal's transfers are usually fairly consistent (and the price is right).

[bergelson]

How about a decent copy of Rafelson's Postman Always Rings Twice and Huston's Wise Blood?

Also, any chance of Ida Lupino signature collection.

BTW, the Fedora disc is an atrocity. Imagine a mediocre VHS. Such a shame.

[shearerchic]

How about a second release of Legends of Horrors and what titles are likely to show up?
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)?
What is the status of Magnificent Ambersons?
Zabriskie Point?

They already said Dorian Gray was being released this year.

[shearerchic]

Do they have plans to release a complete Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy set, more Lana Turner titles (Marriage Is A Private Affair, Honky Tonk, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dabgerous, Weekend at the Waldorf). Will there be a Hepburn and Tracy Vol 2 and what about the severely negelected Jane Powell films (A Date With Judy, Nancy Goes to Rio, Two Weeks With Love, Athena, Luxury Liner, and Holiday in Mexico.

[shearerchic]

Films like Viva Villa, Ah Wilderness double feature with Summer Holiday, White Cliffs of Dover, The Human Comedy, Johnny Eager, A Guy Named Joe, Smilin Through double feature (1932,1941), Kathryn Grayson films (Toast of New Orleans, The Great Caruso, Greta Garbo's remaining talkies, and a possibility of a Greer Garson set (Blossoms in the Dust, Mrs. Parkington, The Valley of Decision, Sunrise at Campobello, Julia Misbehaves, and When Ladies Meet double feature (1933,1941) =P~

[shearerchic]

And someone should really scould them for putting up so little care and attention into the Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 1. Oh, and ask them about future volumes, of course.

Some other questions:

Do they own the rights to Ken Russell's Mahler?
Any chances of more Kazan, namely America America? Will Warner also revisit his Splendor in the Grass?
Any chances of Gene Kelly's Invitation to the Dance getting a DVD release with the lost segment as extra?
Any chances of a Broadway Melody Boxset containing The Broadway Melody (1929), Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), and Broadway Rhythm (1944) aka "The Broadway Melody of 1944"?
Any plans to release Jan Troell's The Emigrants and The New Land?
Since a SE of Beetlejuice is on the way, how about one for Mars Attacks!?
And what happened to the Esther Williams titles we are being promised for more than two years now?

I don't think WB would re-release Broadway Melody of 29 or 40, but I would love to have someone ask about the other Broadway titles as well as Thousands Cheer, Words & Music, The Hollywood Revue, Stage Door Canteen, and Thank Your Lucky Stars.

[shearerchic]

We cannot forget about Eleanor Powell's fims! They are way overdue: HONOLULU, ROSALIE, BORN TO DANCE, LADY BE GOOD, I DOOD IT and SHIP AHOY.

[shearerchic]

Universal will release Sylvia Scarlett in the UK February 5th. I hope it will look better than the Édition Montparnasse edition.

How does Universal get to release WB films in the UK??