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Classic Flix posted full press release and cover artwork.

Still no DANGEROUS?

Volume 3 box set to contain: In This Our Life; All This and Heaven Too; The Old Maid; The Great Life, Deception; Watch on the Rhine. Some with audio commentaries and lots of extras.

This collection as well as Volume 1 will both be getting a new artwork and I'm guessing a different packaging to coincide with the upcoming Vol. 3 one.

In This Our Life, The Great Lie, and Old Maid make this an essential set for me. Although, I'm still disappointed that a Beyond the Forest release isn't on the horizon.

No more Crawford and Davis sets till 2010 according to WHV. Hopefully we'll find more of their films though in Forbidden Hollywood and Gable Vol. 2.

I didn't know where else to ask this, but can anyone recommend an edition of John Cromwell's Of Human Bondage? It's a PD title so there are a lot of bad releases out there. I sampled the Alpha release along with whatever version is available for instant viewing on Netflix yesterday, and the Netflix version looked far better to me, though both seemed annoyingly stretched, like a 1.37:1 image had been squished to something closer to 1:1 (probably not quite that extreme though). DVD Beaver recommends the Roan release, which does look better than either option I've sampled, but still looks a little squished. Who knows how old that review is though, plus the Roan is OOP (with new copies selling on Amazon for no less than $90!)

swo17 wrote:I didn't know where else to ask this, but can anyone recommend an edition of John Cromwell's Of Human Bondage? It's a PD title so there are a lot of bad releases out there. I sampled the Alpha release along with whatever version is available for instant viewing on Netflix yesterday, and the Netflix version looked far better to me, though both seemed annoyingly stretched, like a 1.37:1 image had been squished to something closer to 1:1 (probably not quite that extreme though). DVD Beaver recommends the Roan release, which does look better than either option I've sampled, but still looks a little squished. Who knows how old that review is though, plus the Roan is OOP (with new copies selling on Amazon for no less than $90!)

I picked up the Region 2 Eureka a few years ago, but it's apparently OOP (though the prices for a used copy via Amazon UK Marketplace seem reasonable). Picture quality is highly variable with the worst of it in the first third or so of the film. Parts appear as good as the Beaver caps, but other sections are a tad rougher. Doesn't appear any restoration was undertaken and clean-up is minimal, too. But it's quite watchable. I just popped it into my iMac and it doesn't appear squished. If anything it might be a bit stretched vertically (or it might be me forgetting that Leslie Howard was a bit more gaunt at this stage of his life than as Ashley 5 years later). Sound quality is very good for a film of that age, although there are no HOH subs. However, the affected accents of the American cast members, including Bette's attempts at Cockney, hardly approach the real thing so understanding the dialogue isn't an issue. I wish someone would give it a proper restoration if just for a decent SD issue, but that's not likely at this stage.

Thanks, though the number of sellers willing to ship to the U.S. seem limited. I'll have to poke around a little more and see if any of them will change their shipping settings.

Also, I think I mean the same thing by "squished" as you do by "stretched vertically." In other words, people look like this:

swo17 wrote:Thanks, though the number of sellers willing to ship to the U.S. seem limited. I'll have to poke around a little more and see if any of them will change their shipping settings.

Also, I think I mean the same thing by "squished" as you do by "stretched vertically."

Yep, we're talking about the same thing. AR seems to be right, though. And I should say I was 18" from the iMac. I haven't watched the film on anything larger since we had a 32" CRT, so I don't know what it looks like on the 50" plasma we bought in January '09 (not great, I would say). If you can find a seller who'll ship to the US at a reasonable price I'd say do it because you'll at least get to see the film. Otherwise I'd peruse one of the sites that shan't be named.

zedz wrote: Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:17 am

viciousliar wrote: In Marked Woman, she's good as one of the chief hookers, but in reality this is a vehicle for Humphrey Bogart - whose career WB started to build at the time.

Quite possibly, but I recall this as a great little film with a terrific turn from Davis, more than holding her own.

I just saw this and I agree. True, Bogart finally makes his mark - this is the first early supporting role I've seen him in where he feels like the Bogart of legend - but Davis still commands every minute of the screen. Bogart can only match her each step of the way. I have to say, I'm surprised by the calls to dump this film from the package because overall it's one of the best Bette Davis vehicles I've seen. Not just a terrific performance but an electric film to boot.

I just saw Dark Victory too, and while I do have a taste for melodramas, this one didn't do it for me. It was close, Davis is wonderful and I enjoyed most of the film, but even though they set up the last act very early, I couldn't buy into it when it finally played out. (Emotionally that is, plot contrivances were clearly part of the deal from the start.) I may give it another try. It's certainly one of Davis's great performances, but the movie ultimately failed her, at least for me. There were quite a few annoyances - I didn't like Bogart and his horrible Irish accent or Reagan the lush...

Spoiler

and some of Davis's last goodbyes left a bad taste in my mouth, like her farewell to the dogs (didn't seem that convincing) or to Martha the housekeeper who was thoroughly broken up, but Davis didn't really say goodbye - it was kind of like "she's not a friend, she's the help, now please prepare my bed and leave me in peace. FOREVER."