Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

[domino harvey]

And I LOVE MELVIN!

[Red Screamer]

Excellent, one of my favorite movies and one that should look stunning in HD, with its pastels and wonderfully artificial sets.

[domino harvey]

And also Interrupted Melody… I love Eleanor Parker but she gives one of the worst Oscar nominated perfs ever here (one of the first to be rewarded for degrading herself, though— the film’s most famous image is of her crippled character crawling around the floor)

EDIT I didn’t even remember that I wrote this up

Interrupted Melody Eleanor Parker has really fallen out of favor in the years since her heyday but I'm an unapologetic fan and that's good because I doubt anyone else would get very far in this peculiar biopic of Australian opera star Marjorie Lawrence. The film has a pretty weird structure, with the film devolving into almost an hour of nothing but Parker playing dress up and lip-synching to Eileen Farrell, but man, I gotta admit that it does hold appeal for this viewer! Then polio strikes and Parker writhes around on the ground like James Caan in Misery. I don't know what's weirder, that the Academy was so enamored with Parker that they gave her a third Best Actress nom for this or that it won the Best Screenplay award. No, I do actually, and it's the last one!

[domino harvey]

And Greer Garson/Gregory Peck melodrama the Valley of Decision

[therewillbeblus]

And I LOVE MELVIN!

Wow! One of the top-tier musicals left for rescue. My effusive writeup from years back:

I Love Melvin

I love this movie. Debbie Reynolds has stolen my heart a few times already this decade, including in a few musicals (I’m not even thinking of Singin’ in the Rain first, but Athena and Give a Girl a Break)- yet this may be her finest outing. The tale maneuvers itself across a variety of setpieces, with numbers ranging from the stage to an outside courtyard (I immediately thought of Rivette’s Up, Down, Fragile and then remembered domino said Rivette was inspired by this film for a number - but then O’Connor’s pole dancing in the gazebo happened- perhaps a combination of the two?) to a delirious sex-induced football field and peaking at Where Did You Learn to Dance, which now ranks up there on the shortlist with the best musical numbers I’ve ever seen (and that’s only the start of the plot)!

Every single exchange is full of energy, and what makes this film really special is that scenes transition unexpectedly all within a rather traditional storyline. The relationship dynamic between the two leads is rooted in self-consciousness and confusion, so they talk right past each other leading to hilarious non-jokes like a conversation post-tiger scare at the zoo, where Melvin makes no sense and then bites Reynolds’ ear as she tries to understand his neuroses. It’s cute and sexy, lush and mild, seesawing through a narrative which feeds itself on scattered ideas.

The tone is designed to match the expressive energy of the creators, who have less interest in dedicating themselves to a particular milieu, and instead opt for combining the spectacle of our individual fantasies (i.e. football field) and reality of social awkwardness (the budding relationship- i.e. that handshake at the concert!) which clash on more than a few occasions, such as the end of the early park number when they finally meet. This kind of social comedy is my favorite, and the ill-fitting gender roles of a feminine self-conscious male and a masculine self-actualized female disrupts 50s conventional modalities for engagement in a way that is still funny today, hitting the same sore spots of unpredictable conflicts by the nature of co-existing, giving oneself to another and then taking it back, over and over.

O’Connor is able to use the numbers as intended to work through his self-imposed predicament of giving attention to developing a relationship while also examining himself. Musicals often offer a platform for characters to realise bonanzas of potential right before their eyes, but this one specifically tackles that sensitive spot for men, allowing O’Connor to falter between songs and revert back to repelling behaviors without judgment. The use of a sweet yet righteously poised Reynolds to prompt his change also reflects a perspective of patience and scepticism for the audience, for her perplexed responses to his erratic paranoia beget an alleviation of stress and drives home a universal point: that we often build our problems or sources embarrassment into evidence that is not necessarily objectively true- or even apparent outside of our cognitive distortions. Reynolds may succumb to some social norms of the times vis-a-vis the marriage proposal, but her general attitude is one of validation and unconditional love, not the kind that is artificial but the kind that demonstrates the opportunity for us to be less critical of ourselves, and the kind of soul-mate partner who, if we’re lucky, can be that mirror in letting us know we’re okay.

For Reynolds, her desire to be a Star is a dream-in-the-making without forcing her to be a superficial romantic. She is the most authentic character in the film, which is what sells the above guidance for O’Connor. However, it would be a misstep to encourage a reading of her character as a MPDG for his lead- because she is the focal point that drives the optimistic energy in an otherwise anxious string of orchestrations. Her tranquil willingness to accept the present and empathically participate with whoever is around her, even when faced with failure, flavors the mood of this piece. It's worth recognizing that his manchild doesn't really noticeably change while she moves past her institutional restrictions to realising true love and forfeiting ideological pathways of 'marrying-up' to be with the one she loves. Reynolds therefore helps O'Connor without measureable change, and then chases him down when he can't shift enough to chase her! The growth is hers to have, and we win because she actualizes it - though there's an unfilmed sequel out there in someone's mind where they sing and dance forever as he gets closer to her and more removed from his own chaotic mind!

[Finch]

The write-ups for I Love Melvin made me curious about the film and I've always liked Donald O'Connor much more than Gene Kelly. Anyone around here like On Borrowed Time?

[Finch]

One more December title that didn't get mentioned here, San Antonio (1945) with Erroll Flynn.

[soundchaser]

The gazebo number in I Love Melvin is one of the most amazing displays of musical athleticism ever put to film. I’m not wild about the rest of it - certainly not as much as DH and TWBB - but it’s worth a purchase for O’Connor’s work alone.

[FrauBlucher]

This is from Feltenstein on the latest The Extra Podcast. The breakdown thanks to SanCarolina59 from the other forum...

While talking about San Antonio (1945), George says that you can look forward to lots more Errol Flynn "in the quiver" from WAC in 2026 (George mentions the large amount of work he did for not only WB, but for M-G-M as well currently in WB's vaults), alongside his "fellow Warner cohorts" James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Bette Davis as well. Lots to look forward to next year.

On Borrowed Time (1939) was a very heavily requested release. There is also a one shot M-G-M cartoon in the extras for die hard animation fans - Wanted: No Master, alongside a 1939 Fitzpatrick Traveltalks short (A Day On Treasure Island), two radio adaptations of the film - one with star Lionel Barrymore and another with Boris Karloff, and the trailer.

There will be more multi-film sets in 2026 as well.

Lots being worked on by WAC right now - no slowdowns at all.

Unfortunately, there are no extras on the two H-B releases in December. If they were to make new extras, the discs would be too expensive. The costs would really rise up if they did that, and they want to make these as affordable as possible.

WAC in 2025 has had a "more profitable year than ever before". This is something they're "very, very focused on", which is why WAC this year raised their MSRP to $24.98 after 12-13 years.

George talks about some retailers online pricing WAC releases above the MSRP of $24.98. They have no control over retailers doing that and are saddened by that. They're putting their hearts and souls into creating a good package at a fair price for people, and some retailers take advantage of that unfortunately.

[Matt]

If they're that broken up about price gouging, they could go back to selling direct and giving us regular sales.

[domino harvey]

On Borrowed Time (1939) was a very heavily requested release.

Who in the world are they talking to

[FrauBlucher]

I'm always baffled by these requesters

[Lowry_Sam]

My assumption is that it’s often one very loud fan with connections, however with an IMDB of 7.7/2.4K & many 10 star reviews it looks like that might actually be true.

[hearthesilence]

I did a quick search out of curiosity and found this post with plenty of responses in a Facebook group for TCM fans.

[captveg]

That Errol Flynn statement has me thinking The Adventures of Robin Hood has to be a WAC 4K UHD title on the horizon, right?

[FrauBlucher]

No doubt that was a clue

[FrauBlucher]

More 4 film collections from Stewart and Taylor are available for pre-order on Amazon...

[colinr0380]

That feels like the most random four James Stewart films they could have put together!

[Red Screamer]

Yet 3/4 are personal favorites that I somehow never picked up, so it's a perfect combo pack for me at least!

[Lowry_Sam]

For a second I wondered how I could have missed Robert Taylor's appearance in The Women. I don't have any of the James Stewart titles, which is a first for these sets, so I just might pick that one up.

[domino harvey]

Keep in mind How the West Was Won will likely only have one of the discs (either with or without SmileBox, I can’t remember the configuration) - the Elizabeth Taylor set kept the second discs but the Garland set didn’t

And I’m def picking up the Robert Taylor set despite him being one of my least favorite stars because likewise I have none of those discs (seen two, already want to see the other two)

[agnamaracs]

Disc 1 is letterbox and special features, disc 2 is SmileBox

[hearthesilence]

How the West Was Won really needs a UHD from a new 4K restoration. John Ford's "Civil War" segment is easily the film's best part IMHO, but don't watch it in isolation, it loses a lot of weight without the family's backstory.

[colinr0380]

Serendipitously I have just been beginning to make my way through the work of Harlan Ellison with the recent UK publication of his "Greatest Hits" compilation and on getting to his story inspired by the Kitty Genovese murder, The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, he briefly mentions Westward The Women!:

The night was clear, the moon was full, she had just turned off the 11:30 movie on Channel 2 after the second commercial break, realizing she had already seen Robert Taylor in Westward the Women, and had disliked it the first time; and the apartment was quite dark.

So a ringing endorsement there!

[Matt]

If anyone's looking for a comprehensive list of WAC releases sortable by release date like I was, I think I found one!

https://dvd.fandom.com/wiki/Warner_Archive_Collection