Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[Red Screamer]

Dave Kehr takes the praise for The Long, Long Trailer even further than I did in his response to the blu-ray announcement:

Possibly the most bitter attack on the institution of marriage in the American cinema, this masterwork by Vincente Minnelli is the story of a reasonable man being slowly driven insane by his sociopathic wife, culminating in his breakdown on a lonely mountaintop. Not to be missed.

[Matt]

My thoughts (and some archival research!) on Our Dancing Daughters from nearly 14 years ago.

It will be a real missed opportunity if WAC don’t include the sequels, even if they haven’t been restored.

[JSC]

George Feltenstein was also on a podcast recently where he said that next year's slate will be more like the 2021 one in terms of output.
He mentioned that there will be releases from the RKO and MGM libraries, as well as a good portion of the titles being highly requested by fans.

I was just taking stock of which Warner releases I have left on DVD to upgrade to blu-ray, so
I'm hoping a few of these might see the light of day next year.

1. O’ Lucky Man!
2. Zabriskie Point
3. Stage Door
4. Petulia
5. Nine remaining Astaire / Rogers musicals
6. The Roaring Twenties
7. A Night Full of Rain
8. Five remaining Marx Brothers films
9. The Nun’s Story
10. The Legend of Lylah Clare
11. Thirteen Women
12. The Rain People
13. The Actress
14. George Washington Slept Here
15. Impulse
16. It’s Love I’m After
17. The Night Digger
18. Savage Messiah
19. Lisztomania
20. An Enemy of the People
21. A Damsel in Distress
22. The Search
23. Adam’s Rib

[black&huge]

The Devil's 4k

[JakeStewart]

I know The Strawberry Blonde has been a frequently requested title, so I’m hoping they have that in the pipeline. It’s probably my favorite Raoul Walsh film other than Colorado Territory.

[bottlesofsmoke]

Some other big titles in the WB / RKO / MGM catalog that don’t have a Blu-Ray:

I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
Splendor in the Grass
David Copperfield
Little Women
The Champ
Johnny Belinda
The Big Sky
I Walked with a Zombie
The Seventh Victim
The Lusty Men
Freaks
Tea and Sympathy
Yolanda and the Thief (one of the few high profile Technicolor Freed musicals not on Blu)
The Human Comedy
Romeo and Juliet
A Day at the Races
The Little Foxes
Dark Victory
Alice Adams
Cabin in the Sky
Captain Blood
The Informer
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Treasure Island
Captains Courageous
The Good Earth
Kitty Foyle
Kings Row
And a bunch of silents too numerous to list

Cimarron, The Great Ziegfeld, and the Life of Emile Zola are Best Picture winners without Blus; as WB’s first BP winner, Emile Zola would make a lot of sense if they are celebrating Warner Bros. history. There’s also now-public domain titles like Royal Wedding, Til the Clouds Roll By, Father’s Little Dividend, and Life with Father, which WB might own the best elements of.

Knowing WA we’ll get some really off the wall titles too, like Red Skelton films.

[Fiery Angel]

other Warner DVDs needing an upgrade:
Ginger and Fred (there is a new 4K restoration, hope somebody releases it)
Shoot the Moon
A Cry in the Dark
Ryan's Daughter
Divine Madness
The Butcher Boy
Star 80

[beamish14]

other Warner DVDs needing an upgrade:
Ginger and Fred (there is a new 4K restoration, hope somebody releases it)
Shoot the Moon
A Cry in the Dark
Ryan's Daughter
Divine Madness
The Butcher Boy
Star 80

Shoot the Moon and Butcher Boy are two I keep hoping Criterion will tackle. The Alan Parker/Bo Goldman commentary on the former is great

[Aunt Peg]

I wonder what is happening with O Lucky Man. Just before the pandemic in November 2019 I saw it on the big screen and it was clearly a beautiful restoration but it still remains a no-show.

Also saw Savage Messiah. Needs some work but nevertheless looked no different from when I saw it decades ago on the big screen.

[rapta]

Looks like Warner Bros might be starting up their HMV Premium Collection again - or perhaps just porting over Warner Archive titles to the UK - as they just submitted Mann's The Naked Spur to the BBFC. Good news for us UK folk who were starting to worry about having to import...we might not need to!

[FrauBlucher]

Rancho Notorious... bluray.com


Odd that no February titles announced

[Maltic]

Rancho Notorious... bluray.com

So it took 10 days for upgrade of the year to be released

[yoloswegmaster]

There will be no February releases due to issues relating to internal reshuffling and getting out January titles on time. They will instead be releasing 6 titles in March.

[FrauBlucher]

According to Feltenstein the 6 will be highly diverse and are highly requested all from 4k scans with lots of extras. Sounds promising

[What A Disgrace]

Roaring Twenties and Freaks, at last, I hope. I don't dare dream of any silents just yet, as "highly requested" as The Crowd and Greed surely are.

[therewillbeblus]

I just want that Air Force upgrade already

[ford]

I just want that Air Force upgrade already

Same.

[FrauBlucher]

Roaring Twenties and Freaks, at last, I hope. I don't dare dream of any silents just yet, as "highly requested" as The Crowd and Greed surely are.

Let's play along... Roaring Twenties is suppose to be a Criterion. Freaks and The Devils are highly requested but I think a long shot. Definitely The Crowd and Greed are up there as Feltenstein said silents will get released this year.

These are just some that I think are "highly requested"
Stage Door
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Ball of Fire
Cabin in the Sky
Lady in the Lake
High Society
Raintree County

I only dipped into the 30s, 40s and 50s. I'm sure there are plenty more that fall into this category from later decades and then some

[swo17]

Wasn't MWCTD already announced?

[FrauBlucher]

I don't believe so

[swo17]

I guess it's just been hinted at as coming very soon then

[Matt]

I can’t find the post mentioning it (or I might be misremembering) but I thought Feltenstein recently said something about Raintree County requiring extensive restoration and he’s not sure if the cost would be worth it.

[tolbs1010]

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang is long overdue. Give me some extras about Muni and his career. Always compelling in the handful of films I've seen of his.

Treasure 4K is required.

Savage Messiah would be real nice.

[ryannichols7]

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang is long overdue. Give me some extras about Muni and his career. Always compelling in the handful of films I've seen of his.

this one I see fitting the bill. the silents are such big undertakings I can't imagine George just throwing them out there with no fanfare, no festival play, etc. especially after they missed the DVD and Bluray peak eras. The Devils is not happening and especially not from WAC. Chain Gang fits because I can't see Criterion going for it/sitting on it and it's a pretty major title that I see many call for.

the Lewton stuff and Astaire/Rogers are some of the biggest omissions that get requested all the time. this has to be the year for Freaks. I am sure Criterion will sit on The Roaring Twenties, The Lusty Men, and Petulia, all of which they've been rumored to have for ages

[Calvin]

Having seen it recently, I have no idea why the HTF crowd are so passionate about Raintree County but it's probably the one I see requested most often in WAC comments sections. To sit through all 3 hours again, I'd have to be paid roughly the cost it would take to restore it.

Kazan's Splendor in the Grass and Fosse's Star 80 seem like good candidates for WAC upgrades this year.

John Ford's 7 Women counts as highly requested if you count all the times I've personally requested it!