The Tall Target was one of my ten most wanted upgrades, what a lovely choice! One of Mann’s best films, and such breathless, nonstop forward momentum
Here’s my write up of Nora Prentiss
domino harvey wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2010 4:03 pm
Vincent Sherman's Nora Prentiss is a film that doesn't know what it wants to be and transversely I don't know or care what it is. The first half wavers between a cautionary woman's picture about the dangers of infidelity and pathetic wish fulfillment for mild-mannered men who'd love to be picked up by Ann Sheridan. But then it switches into noir in the second half and spirals down into a bizarre and infuriatingly dumb solution to infidelity that results in a character being convicted of their own murder-- that's a silly idea, but one that could possibly work in a brutish 70 minute b-picture. It cannot work in a bloated two hour weepfest like this though. A lot of the blame rests square on the leads. Kent Smith, so much fun in his not dissimilar role in Sherman's the Damned Don't Cry, confuses playing "good" with playing "wood," and his stiffness is met mark for missed mark by the normally punchy and lithe Sheridan. The only point of interest here, from a noir standpoint at least, is that the sleazy nightclub owner turns out to be the gender-reversed "good girl" of the pic-- again, the idea sounds intriguing until you see it play out here. Even Howe's cinematography proves unremarkable, and that surely can serve as the final nail in this coffin.
The Tall Target is fantastic, one of Anthony Mann’s best movies. Like Devil’s Doorway it’s also got some surprisingly progressive views on the Civil War era in a time when westerns frequently celebrated the lost cause and cast carpetbaggers as villains.
I also have a soft spot for the Spanish Main, one of my favorites as a kid. worst case it is a very pretty technicolor movie with some fun, larger than life performances, though it lacks a dynamic Power or Flynn central character.
bottlesofsmoke wrote: Fri Nov 01, 2024 10:15 pm
The Tall Target is fantastic, one of Anthony Mann’s best movies. Like Devil’s Doorway it’s also got some surprisingly progressive views on the Civil War era in a time when westerns frequently celebrated the lost cause and cast carpetbaggers as villains.
Great news re. The Tall Target. I've been holding off seeing that one as it's only been available as a below standard quality dvd. BUT, Devil's Doorway, talk about a movie in need of a restoration and HD release. On some days it might be my favorite Mann western. From the progressive view, but especially John Alton's breathtaking cinematography. I remember some of its imagery surprising me by being almost Welles'ian in composition. Such a beautiful gem of a movie! I guess Robert Taylor's semi-blackfacing to play a Shoshone veteran might be seen as too problematic today, holding back a re-release. If that's the case it's a real shame. Especially, keeping the film's progressive message in mind. Luckily, the dvd doesn't look nearly as bad as that of the Tall Target.
I think there’s just his remaining film from the fourth Warners noir set and Serenade for WB to upgrade to complete their holdings— like Minnelli, someone at WA is clearly prioritizing him, so I’m sure we’ll get them eventually
Are there any sites selling the newer Archive titles for anything less than list-price and/or with coupon codes? Everything has been basically full price since Fu Manchu in May, and I've been searching elsewhere besides (and including) Amazon fruitlessly ever since then. There is always, of course, 15% off list from DD, but I'd rather pay at least a bit less than $18.70 a pop if possible (though this may be the new normal now).
Cash Flagg wrote: Sun Nov 03, 2024 6:27 pm
Are there any sites selling the newer Archive titles for anything less than list-price and/or with coupon codes?
I usually get them from Movies Unlimited. Often the preorders have been listed for $18.49 for a short window of time and they usually have a coupon code on top of it. Right now there is a 25% off coupon code MU24NOV. It may only be marginally better than Deep Discount if they’re listed for full price, but it’s something.
nicolas wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2024 11:05 pm
Warner MOD are releasing The Searchers in 4K on December 17. Fidelity in Motion are doing the encode!!!
and it will contain Dolby Vision and the original mono audio. very impressive, my only wish would be for a new Joseph McBride commentary, but what we're getting sounds fantastic
nicolas wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2024 11:05 pm
Warner MOD are releasing The Searchers in 4K on December 17. Fidelity in Motion are doing the encode!!!
and it will contain Dolby Vision and the original mono audio. very impressive, my only wish would be for a new Joseph McBride commentary, but what we're getting sounds fantastic
The recent MOD UHDs of Warner’s 2010 comedies (Game Night, Tag etc.) that got DV and BD-100s were already quite surprising but them collaborating with Fidelity in Motion is really something else. Zaslav’s regime is all about cutting corners and their physical media was definitely impacted for a while but they seemingly found a way to make the best out of it. People have often defended labels that don’t care about compression by saying that good encodes cost more money but this is another proof that this isn’t the case. Warners would’ve gone with another company that’s more suitable for their budget had Fidelity not made an appropriate offer.
I imagine that any other 4K UHD releases through WAC will be somewhat based upon the sales of The Searchers, alongside being a title WB doesn't want to license out to a 3rd party label or release through normal WHV wok flow. I doubt we see more than 2-3 next year, but maybe the numbers can go up if sales continue to make sense for WAC to handle a 4K release on occasion.
My guess for the next most logical title would be The Wild Bunch, which was also a fairly early BD release in dire need of a new 4K master, but may not be a title they want to license or release through WHV again.
domino harvey wrote: Tue Nov 05, 2024 12:36 am
Will there be a Blu of the new restoration too?
I think it comes with the UHD plus they did mention in the announcement a standard Blu-Ray for $21.99 so it’d be weird if they didn’t include the new restoration on either Blu-Ray.
nicolas wrote: Mon Nov 04, 2024 11:05 pm
Warner MOD are releasing The Searchers in 4K on December 17. Fidelity in Motion are doing the encode!!!
Stunning to see this bingo card (UHD100, FiM encode, Dolby Vision, OG audio, OG artcover) filled in and to imagine what a Warner mainline release would have been instead. It really feels like the difference when the project is handled by the All Stars team.
EDIT : on the other hand, seeing that this is a US-centric release and not a worldwide one, without any dub or non-English subtitles, meaning even such a huge title as The Searchers is not getting a worldwide release.
Last edited by tenia on Tue Nov 05, 2024 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Matt wrote: Tue Nov 05, 2024 1:10 am
Manufactured-on-demand UHDs? They don't think they'd sell enough units of The Searchers to press a batch of discs?
Pressed MOD 4Ks are already a thing with Sony, Universal and Warner in particular. These are the ones available at MovieZyng and distributed via Allied Vaughn. The discs are pressed like wide releases.
