Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[bad future]

Boogie Nights is up as an Archive DVD title, although not a Blu Ray. All the WTF for this. Can anyone explain the upside for this decision?

Defending Your Life was the same in the Dec lineup and then poof Criterion announces it, so it may mean it's been licensed out to a label.

This reminds me of a post I saw on the blu ray forums that claims the version currently available digitally has been updated to a different transfer than the one on the existing blu.

[FrauBlucher]

Per the Blu-ray forums, it sadly appears the second set of Tex Avery is a bit of a botch job, with many cartoons with poor restorations or DNR applied. Apparently due to shifting priorities with the pandemic and certain restorations being prioritized for HBO Max then others. Extremely sad as WAC is probably the single most consistent label in the business right now that these would get messed up.

A Bluray.com review

[captveg]

I feel Thad Komorowski's ultimate response on blu-ray.com is the most reasonable one. He makes his criticism known, but also points out there is some good in the set, too.

For the record, as the one who called attention to the DNR issue, I still think Avery Vol. 2 is worth buying, because it's way below other instances of the process. It seems to be mostly on the earlier cartoons, and it certainly hurt my enjoyment of a few like LITTLE RURAL RIDING HOOD and DROOPY'S DOUBLE TROUBLE. But there's at least ten that look to the standard of Vol. 1, all things considered, one of them MAGICAL MAESTRO, possibly the greatest cartoon ever made. (Self-promotion: I wrote about it for the National Film Registry.) Some do remind me of the ropier Tom & Jerry transfers, like VENTRILOQUIST CAT, HOMESTEADER DROOPY, and particularly CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE.

Judge for yourself. It's a letter grade down from the first volume, but perfectly watchable. I can understand why they had to make the call they did (2020 has been a brutal year for the entertainment industry), even if I strongly disagree with it. I'm also not really sure it's sending the best message when the DNR issue goes against WAC's charter, and the line given for the lack of Avery for two decades is that they wanted to do it right, but there it is.

[captveg]

I haven't got the disc yet myself (it was on my Christmas list).

[reaky]

Miraculously, I received Holiday Affair in the UK yesterday. It looks beautiful, much better than I’d expected of an RKO.

[dwk]

Geoege Feltenstein is out of a job on Feb 19th. I cant imagine this is anything but bad news for the future of WAC.

[FrauBlucher]

Yeah, that's not good

[Ribs]

It definitely isn’t good, but I’m not quite taking it as the sky falling: while it’s cool that the library has been overseen by the same person for 25 years to the extent there is no way anyone else on the planet is remotely as aware of the catalog holdings, I expect having held onto a job like that in a company like WB for so long probably meant his quote had reached a point it was viewed as unsustainable, and the fact he was seemingly given something like six months notice before forced retirement does not seem like they’re trying to just drop the archive altogether. It’s of course possibly whoever is filling his position or whatever new position will exist dealing with the catalog won’t be as big a proponent of getting titles on disc but we don’t really know that.

[whaleallright]

Feltenstein has been a major figure in the world of home video releases of classic films since the mid-1980s if not earlier. He probably deservers nearly as much credit as Criterion in pioneering the "deluxe edition" filled with apposite, even scholarly, bonus features—he did so back in the LaserDisc era. His firing definitely underlines the message Warners under AT&T has been sending all year, which is that physical media can get fucked and the money's all in HBO Max. (I refuse to pay for any of these corporate streaming services, FWIW.)

[Jack Phillips]

It definitely isn’t good, but I’m not quite taking it as the sky falling: while it’s cool that the library has been overseen by the same person for 25 years to the extent there is no way anyone else on the planet is remotely as aware of the catalog holdings, I expect having held onto a job like that in a company like WB for so long probably meant his quote had reached a point it was viewed as unsustainable, and the fact he was seemingly given something like six months notice before forced retirement does not seem like they’re trying to just drop the archive altogether. It’s of course possibly whoever is filling his position or whatever new position will exist dealing with the catalog won’t be as big a proponent of getting titles on disc but we don’t really know that.

According to what I read in the article, Feltenstein isn't merely out of a job, his position was eliminated. Not good.

[Adam X]

The same sort of thing has been going on at DC Comics for at least as long, with multiple redundancies, a strong push toward digital over physical product, and the increasing treatment of the direct market as an afterthought.

[okcmaxk]

Haven’t found the post yet, but Jerry Beck said on WA’s Facebook group that George is not leaving after all and will be a full time consultant for Warner Home Video, TCM, and HBO Max. Glad that he’s not straight out leaving, but as Jack said, his position being eliminated is not a great sign for the future.

[FrauBlucher]

I hope our own David Hare pardons me for bringing his HTF quote over here....

I had heard this depressing news last month and at the time it was asked that one “sit on it” for the time being. I think I can now add a bit - hopefully -of light to this. He will still be consulting with them. And there are projects and forward scheduling in place for quite a while. So the whole thing won’t dry up. But it is fucking dreadful news, and i can’t say any more than that.

I do wonder if Warner will now be more generous licensing out their catalog.

[Ribs]

A less optimistic outlook would say that Feltenstein is probably the person with the existing relationship(s) that licensors deal with and talk through what they can release, and with that severed there’s not necessarily anyone there that has any reason to come to the table in particular with anyone else. Again, I don’t think this is sky is falling news at this point, but that is a possible outcome. It does make me think it really would behoove them to get Bringing Up Baby out as in the unlikely event WB just stops releasing the catalog altogether they can’t just leave that one sit unreleased after so, so many releases, probably the biggest catalog title WB has not really made any public inroads towards releasing at all.

I think we all know the unique charm of WAC - a label where fully half of the releases each month are essentially inexplicable and seem like nothing anyone was asking for, but all of us definitely have at least one of those titles we personally were excited to see. It’s been a unique approach to a studio’s catalog and hope it can continue but it’s definitely possible that a particular type of Warner Archive title could disappear with such a big turnover happening at their offices.

[Drucker]

My less optimistic take is that output like Dodsworth or Shop Around The Corner were probably added to the pipeline because folks at the label knew the end was nigh, and they could either get the releases out (damn the sales figures) or it would never happen.

[swo17]

Would it make any difference for me to buy a bunch more WA titles now rather than waiting for the next 4 for $44 sale? I have like a dozen on my wishlist

[dustybooks]

Would it make any difference for me to buy a bunch more WA titles now rather than waiting for the next 4 for $44 sale? I have like a dozen on my wishlist

Just don't expect quick turnaround. I placed two orders since the last sale, one on December 3rd and one on the 17th, and I've received half of the first one and none of the second. My last shipment from the 4/$44 sale just arrived right before Christmas. I don't actually mind waiting at all, but just a warning...

I do wonder if the extended wait time on deliveries bodes good or ill for WAC; if it's because they're popular and backlogged, then great, but if it's because the whole system is in disarray...

[swo17]

Well yeah, I just got my massive Black Friday order last week and am in no rush to watch or order any more just yet for myself personally--just wondering if anything can be done to help in a dire situation

[Ribs]

WB Shop is no longer actually associated with WB, there are delays in pressing discs due to general COVID things, I wouldn’t read anything into the past few releases having some trouble getting out the door in manufacturing beyond hiccups with COVID. Again, it would be beneficial to not just assume all is lost and the label will disappear and the catalog will never be touched again, there will definitely be some time before things really start changing in force if they will be.

[FrauBlucher]

Matt Paterson who did the WAC Podcasts with George Feltenstein...

[captveg]

Geoege Feltenstein is out of a job on Feb 19th. I cant imagine this is anything but bad news for the future of WAC.

That's... that's not good for the legacy of films in the WB library.

[barryconvex]

Has anyone received their blu of The Shop Around The Corner? I haven't heard anything about my order in weeks and I've already received everything else I bought a few weeks before Christmas.

[andyli]

Has anyone received their blu of The Shop Around The Corner? I haven't heard anything about my order in weeks and I've already received everything else I bought a few weeks before Christmas.

Maybe they've mislabeled the address and dropped it off at a shop around the corner? It literally happened to one forum member whom I sent a parcel to. :-"

[Caligula]

Has anyone received their blu of The Shop Around The Corner? I haven't heard anything about my order in weeks and I've already received everything else I bought a few weeks before Christmas.

Mine reached the southern tip of Africa yesterday

[reaky]

I got mine (I’m in the UK, and ordered from Wow HD) on January 2nd.