criterionforum.org

A UHD release of King Kong would certainly showcase the imperfect source and be a pretty bold move for Warner. I'd be totally fine with being proven wrong that it's not going to happen. As for certain titles being too "big" for Warner Archive, the roughly equal in canonical status to the original King Kong Meet Me in St. Louis, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Shop around the Corner, A Streetcar Named Desire, and maybe others I'm forgetting were all released in the WAC line in 2018–2020. If they see King Kong as being such a major title, then they should address the problem of the spotty availability of it on Blu-ray, even if a revamped release is supposed to come out later. I'm far from certain that the decisions about what comes out in the WAC have to do with the stature of classic films from before the 1960s.

It seems like Casablanca is a no brainer for a UHD upgrade, while I could see King Kong getting licensed to Criterion. I agree with Gregory, I can't imagine the source material for Kong would be beneficial for what UHD has to offer

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the rights to the original Kong a bit of a mess and if so could that have anything to do with it? I was just thinking about this the other day and thought it was really weird that with the release of Godzilla vs. Kong on the horizon that a newer copy of the film on Blu wasn't available. Hell, Shout is releasing the 76 version with a deluxe package in May. Who would have thought that that version would get preferential treatment over the original!

Big Ben wrote: Mon Mar 22, 2021 11:56 pm Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the rights to the original Kong a bit of a mess and if so could that have anything to do with it? I was just thinking about this the other day and thought it was really weird that with the release of Godzilla vs. Kong on the horizon that a newer copy of the film on Blu wasn't available. Hell, Shout is releasing the 76 version with a deluxe package in May. Who would have thought that that version would get preferential treatment over the original!

The original one has been with Turner forever and has no rights issues. The Criterion laserdisc edition was licensed from them and has been issued again and again by them under various sub labels through their merger with Warner, like those gaudy RKO branded VHS. Remember that Warner even came fairly late to this film on DVD (2004?). It’s up for streaming on Warner’s HBO Max, probably as a way to entice people to sign up to watch the original and to see him fight Godzilla in a week.

FrauBlucher wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 11:38 pm Beaver on The Shop Around the Corner... which looks damn good

It looks even better in motion. It positively gleams!

WB accidentally uploaded videos to their Youtube revealing the following forthcoming titles:

ATHENA (1954)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Remaster!

BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

DRUNKEN MASTER II (1994)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of Original Camera Negative!

ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAMHOUSE (1948)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Nitrate Camera Negative!

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH & ESSEX (1939)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Technicolor Negatives!

THE TENDER TRAP (1955)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4k scan of Nitrate Preservation Elements of Original 95 Minute Release Version!

THE YEARLING (1946)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Technicolor Negative!

Well, at least Athena is a good announcement. They Won't Believe Me is only notable for having the second best inexplicable noir drink (the best being, of course, Polynesian Pearl Divers), the Saturday Special, which is served in what looks like a frosted Crisco can. I assume this will be a restoration of the longer version, though, which I saw and which didn't help anything.

Athena is such a bizarre and wonderful musical- so glad WA are prioritizing these. "Never Felt Better" is an all-time favorite number.

I'm more excited by a release of Drunken Master II!!!

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:42 pm I'm more excited by a release of Drunken Master II!!!

Me too Although I am a bit concerned that the YouTube uploads mention "the original English subtitles that appeared on theatrical prints in Hong Kong, as well as other venues, and contain the spelling and grammatical errors as seen at the time. Also offers English SDH sub-titles," but nothing about proper, non-SDH, English subtitles.

Well, I for one am excited about Private Lives.... It's no masterpiece, but I find it weirdly fascinating and I bet it's going to look stunning.

So, uh, with WBshop.com totally shut down, how are we supposed to check on the status of as-yet-unfulfilled orders?

I knew they were ceasing operations, I guess I just expected a shell with some contact info for open orders.

We should buy the domain whose with me?

Ribs wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:26 pm WB accidentally uploaded videos to their Youtube revealing the following forthcoming titles:

[Looks at calendar]

dwk wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:50 pm

yoloswegmaster wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:42 pm I'm more excited by a release of Drunken Master II!!!

Me too Although I am a bit concerned that the YouTube uploads mention "the original English subtitles that appeared on theatrical prints in Hong Kong, as well as other venues, and contain the spelling and grammatical errors as seen at the time. Also offers English SDH sub-titles," but nothing about proper, non-SDH, English subtitles.

I was convinced this would never get released because of the original ending where

Spoiler

Jackie Chan drinks so much industrial strength alcohol, he's revealed to severally mentally handicap in an incredibly insensitive caricature. I'll never forget seeing this in a theater and the entire audience collectively growning.

Also, I feel like they're trolling us by releasing the Tender Trap, a movie I doubt many were asking for, before Some Came Running

domino harvey wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:52 pm Also, I feel like they're trolling us by releasing the Tender Trap, a movie I doubt many were asking for, before Some Came Running

I was almost ready to post the same thing. It makes absolutely no sense, especially considering their commitment to releasing Minelli in the past.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:50 pm I was convinced this would never get released because of the original ending where

Spoiler

Jackie Chan drinks so much industrial strength alcohol, he's revealed to severally mentally handicap in an incredibly insensitive caricature. I'll never forget seeing this in a theater and the entire audience collectively growning.

WB has been selling it digitally on Amazon and Vudu and the original ending is there (unfortunately it is dubbed and since the ending wasn't dubbed it is silent.)

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:56 pm

domino harvey wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:52 pm Also, I feel like they're trolling us by releasing the Tender Trap, a movie I doubt many were asking for, before Some Came Running

I was almost ready to post the same thing. It makes absolutely no sense, especially considering their commitment to releasing Minelli in the past.

Maybe after this they'll finally get around to Some Came Running and Tea and Sympathy. (And there's also The Cobweb...)

dwk wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:57 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:50 pm I was convinced this would never get released because of the original ending where

Spoiler

Jackie Chan drinks so much industrial strength alcohol, he's revealed to severally mentally handicap in an incredibly insensitive caricature. I'll never forget seeing this in a theater and the entire audience collectively growning.

WB has been selling it digitally on Amazon and Vudu and the original ending is there (unfortunately it is dubbed and since the ending wasn't dubbed it is silent.)

I watched the English dubbed version a few years ago. I'm sure it isn't kosher when it comes to the translation, and controversially, they re-dubbed the sound effects as well, but I was surprised how little it bugged me. Unlike with so many other English dubs, the voice-acting wasn't half-arsed and the sound-mixing wasn't poor (perhaps precisely because they re-dubbed the effects).

Obviously, I'd prefer the Cantonese dub for this new April Fools 4k Version.

My order showed up but never got a shipping notice or update in status, so I'm not sure they're bothering with such niceties on these last transactions anyway.

DarkImbecile wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:28 pm So, uh, with WBshop.com totally shut down, how are we supposed to check on the status of as-yet-unfulfilled orders?

I knew they were ceasing operations, I guess I just expected a shell with some contact info for open orders.

They've set up a new shop page on Amazon: WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION. Is this supposed to take the place of the old site?

Ribs wrote:WB accidentally uploaded videos to their Youtube revealing the following forthcoming titles:

ATHENA (1954)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Remaster!

BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

DRUNKEN MASTER II (1994)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4K scan of Original Camera Negative!

ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAMHOUSE (1948)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Nitrate Camera Negative!

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH & ESSEX (1939)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Technicolor Negatives!

THE TENDER TRAP (1955)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Camera Negative!

THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME (1947)
NEW 2021 1080p HD Master Sourced from 4k scan of Nitrate Preservation Elements of Original 95 Minute Release Version!

THE YEARLING (1946)
New 2021 1080p HD Master sourced from 4k scan of Original Technicolor Negative!

Am I the only one to be excited by the announcement of Sturges' Escape from Fort Bravo?

I found it to be a completely forgettable western, so I can't join you. I assume they're still working their way through upgrading the WB westerns box it first appeared in

Drunken Master 2 is, excuse my French, fucking big news. I had a bootleg DVD in decent quality where they added the original ending on (from an inferior source) and I groaned at it too. Still, that's how the film was shot and this ending should be preserved in some form, whether as part of an alternative cut (and I think we're only talking about one additional minute at best) or as a deleted scene.

To see the film released at all in HD by a Western company, let alone from a 4k restoration, is just wonderful news. I'm a bit worried this will only include a dub so hopefully we'll get clarification from Warner what the exact specs are. Give me the Cantonese audio as well as the dub, and have proper subs for the Cantonese track (as opposed to subs of the English dub), and I'm good.