Columbia Classics: Frank Capra at Columbia

[Jonathan S]

Missing films :

The Power of the Press (1928) : ???

It certainly exists but I know of only this DVD-R unofficial release from many years ago, taken from 16mm. Presumably the film is genuinely PD now.

Review here which states the Grapevine print is incomplete. According to another page on the same site, the incomplete color-tinted 16mm reduction positive is all that survives.

[MichaelB]

MifuneFan at BR said it’ll be in the regions of the Columbia Classics set with a MSRP of around $215 and it should be available for $150 in stores.

That's actually not outrageous given the UHD quotient. And an even more pleasant surprise is that unless the pound tanks over the next few weeks that should be comfortably under the £135 import-duty threshold for the likes of me.

[pistolwink]

Wow!

This must partly be the work of Grover Crisp, Sony's guy at the archive who has occasionally managed to convince the home-video division to take risks on some of Sony's "legacy" titles, most recently Man's Castle.

I wonder, will the films available here on 4K also be presented via Blu-Ray (for those of us who haven't upgraded to 4K players/TVs)?

[swo17]

If you look at the image with the discs all laid out, there do appear to be Blu-ray discs for films getting UHDs

[pistolwink]

Ah, thanks. I would probably need a new lens prescription to notice that!

[Peacock]

Yes, the press release on the first page states that all films will be included on Blu.

[domino harvey]

To be fair, it's confusingly worded because the UHD titles are only designated as UHDs, not combo sets

[TechnicolorAcid]

Old thing I managed to dig from the Criterionforum archives:

There's quite a few of his Columbia productions from the 1920's that have still not surfaced on DVD (except for Say It with Sables, which is a lost film) and a couple of his early sound films as well. Here's what I've determined from my research:
That Certain Thing
So This is Love?
The Way of the Strong
Submarine
The Power of the Press
The Younger Generation
The Donovan Affair
Flight
Dirigible

I might be off on some of these, so correct me if I am. Otherwise, I can see some potential for a Silent Capra or Early Capra box set or an Eclipse set from Criterion.

Thought it be of worth mentioning here

[nicolas]

MifuneFan at BR said it’ll be in the regions of the Columbia Classics set with a MSRP of around $215 and it should be available for $150 in stores.

That's actually not outrageous given the UHD quotient. And an even more pleasant surprise is that unless the pound tanks over the next few weeks that should be comfortably under the £135 import-duty threshold for the likes of me.

Same for me in Germany. I‘ve always found a way to get the Columbia Classics sets to fall under the threshold, such as when DeepDiscount have a sale or coupon available after they were released. I won‘t pre-order precisely because of that and the set surely not selling out on day one.

[Stefan Andersson]

Deleted, replaced with new updated post.

[soundchaser]

FYI, for those who weren’t aware (like I wasn’t until today!) this is up at Amazon for a very reasonable $169. It’s also at Diabolik for a similar price.

I haven’t seen a lot of the stuff included here, but I’m very happy to upgrade for Ladies of Leisure alone, which has a really interesting atypical performance from Stanwyck and is probably one of the better films to come out of 1930.

[MichaelB]

I think the price is exceptionally reasonable given that there are nine UHD discs on top of many more BDs - many companies would charge that much for just the UHD element!

Incidentally, I see that there are a gazillion language options, which makes me suspect that this box will be released outside the US - there certainly shouldn't be any rights complications as Sony owns these films outright.

[Finch]

Maybe in a year or so they'll do standalone releases of It Happened One Night and Lost Horizon which are the only two Capras I've seen and liked enough to rewatch.

[TechnicolorAcid]

Maybe in a year or so they'll do standalone releases of It Happened One Night and Lost Horizon which are the only two Capras I've seen and liked enough to rewatch.

Not even It’s a Wonderful Life?

[Finch]

Maybe that one too.

[willoneill]

For Canadians, Bestbuy.ca has this set up for pre-order for $179.99 CDN plus tax.

[domino harvey]

FYI, for those who weren’t aware (like I wasn’t until today!) this is up at Amazon for a very reasonable $169. It’s also at Diabolik for a similar price.

Down to $153 (34% off) on Amazon

[yoloswegmaster]

For Canadians, Bestbuy.ca has this set up for pre-order for $179.99 CDN plus tax.

Amazon Canada has this available for the same price as well

[Cash Flagg]

Down to $153 (34% off) on Amazon

Now $144.99 - this is becoming quite the bargain!

[adamfeldman]

The Amazon page says "800+ bought in past month." I don't know comparables for a set like this and or how to interpret what would could as good sales, but if anyone does...

[MichaelB]

Given the size and cost of the set, 800+ units sold before it's even released looks very healthy indeed to me.

(And I haven't put in my own preorder yet, although I'll definitely be doing so before release date.)

[domino harvey]

The Amazon page says "800+ bought in past month." I don't know comparables for a set like this and or how to interpret what would could as good sales, but if anyone does...

I remember WA’s the Nun’s Story Blu was 300+ after it was released, for whatever that comparison point is worth

[yoloswegmaster]

No Country for Old Men has sold 1000+ units in the past month, while Demolition Man has sold 2000+ within that same time frame.

[domino harvey]

With so many of us picking this set up, it would be great if everyone posted their thoughts in this thread on the films as they work their way through the box. The films, not the transfers. The films.

[knives]

Such filmic descriptions would especially be nice for us who can’t pick up the box yet.