BD 44-45 Double Indemnity & The Lost Weekend

[bigP]

I had the same problem - it was like concrete. The back cover had the usual easy peel glue. I just spent about an hour splashing water on it and rubbing it with my fingers / my nails / a towel / other abrasive things. It's all off and no missing paint / scratches but in retrospect, mfunk9786's Goo Gone would have been the smarter option.

[Dick Laurent]

I just fixed it with some citrus smelling label remover I found here at my workplace, worked like a charm, there is always that stressfull moment when you first apply the product, but the ink remained in place.

[Finch]

However, I had an awful problem with the glue on the front for Double Indemnity

Same here. First time they've used stronger glue than necessary. Trying to get this off without leaving marks on the steelbook was quite a challenge.

[RossyG]

In these situations, I find that WD40 is your friend.

[jbaart]

However, I had an awful problem with the glue on the front for Double Indemnity

Same here. First time they've used stronger glue than necessary. Trying to get this off without leaving marks on the steelbook was quite a challenge.

Yeah, still haven't been able to fully remove the glue remainders from the steelbook, and I also slightly damaged the paper cover in the process Curiously my Lost Weekend steel did not have any glue at all?!?

[Forrest Taft]

I had no problem with it, and I only used my finger. Took some time though...

[Brvtality]

That glue is a real problem and apparently proved to be a hassle on the Arrow King of New York steelbook. Didn't experience it on my Lifeboat steelbook much but will see how I get on with these two.

Haven't opened them yet but the artwork is fantastic, and I hear the transfers are magnificent too.

[peerpee]

Sounds like someone at the factory put the wrong type of glue in the machine. It was very hard to remove and shouldn't have been like that. Hopefully someone's been bollocked and it will never happen again.

[jamie_atp]

over my two steelbooks delivered, i had THREE different type of glue. WHAT AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION.

[matrixschmatrix]

If anyone got one that's spoiled by glue, I will totally take it off your hands

[RossyG]

...although it'd be easier to use Swarfega.

[kekid]

However, I had an awful problem with the glue on the front for Double Indemnity

Same here. First time they've used stronger glue than necessary. Trying to get this off without leaving marks on the steelbook was quite a challenge.

Yeah, still haven't been able to fully remove the glue remainders from the steelbook, and I also slightly damaged the paper cover in the process Curiously my Lost Weekend steel did not have any glue at all?!?

Just got these steelbooks. Any advice on how to remove glue from the front of the "Double Indemnity" Steelbook? I have not succeeded so far.

[Matt]

Just got these steelbooks. Any advice on how to remove glue from the front of the "Double Indemnity" Steelbook? I have not succeeded so far.

See this thread. To summarize: Goo Gone or Ronsonol.

[kekid]

Just got these steelbooks. Any advice on how to remove glue from the front of the "Double Indemnity" Steelbook? I have not succeeded so far.

See this thread. To summarize: Goo Gone or Ronsonol.

Thanks Matt. Goo is indeed gone.

[Vito Cipriani]

"Does anyone know how to remove it without getting the paint from the steelbook ?"

{Best Fred MacMurray voice.} I used whisky. Single malt. Seemed somehow appropriate. Gave me a nasty feeling that I'd wasted good liquor, but it worked.

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

"Does anyone know how to remove it without getting the paint from the steelbook ?"

{Best Fred MacMurray voice.} I used whisky. Single malt. Seemed somehow appropriate. Gave me a nasty feeling that I'd wasted good liquor, but it worked.

A single malt is a good idea, but best employed imbibed, thus steadying the nerves ( a Bunnahabhain is recommended), whilst the cheaper remedy of lemon juice and thumb grease is brought into play. It worked a treat for me on all counts.

[effigy105]

I received my steelbook editions of Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend today. They're wonderful to behold, as expected, but the two dabs of glue used to affix the front part of the external liner sheet onto the Double Indemnity case proved strangely indestructible.

I was able to remove the liner sheet and the bulk of the glue but two small sticky patches remain. I've not run into this problem with any other MoC release and the glue used on the back of the case was just fine.

So, might anyone have some tips on how I might remove the glue residue without unduly endangering MacMurray's head?

[edit:] Goo Gone worked a treat. Removed the residue in a matter of seconds and left nothing behind but the faint aroma of oranges. Thanks, mfunk9786.

[peerpee]

These are basic, unrestored but good quality fine grain vault masters from Uni and MoC again does them full justice.

DI had a nice bit of expensive restoration work done on MoC's watch, from Uni's supplied master!

[swo17]

So, might anyone have some tips on how I might remove the glue residue without unduly endangering MacMurray's head?

You can commiserate with the rest of us starting here.

[stwrt]

Did you notice any flashing (image fluctuation ? I don't know the technical term) in the darker scenes of the Double Indemnity Blu-Ray ? I've seen the same sort of thing on the Double Indemnity Region 2 DVD, didn't see any on the Lost Weekend Blu-Ray picture. I've also seen it on the Sunset Boulevard DVD, I put it down it unavoidable deterioration due to age of the film (unless it's my LCD monitor).

[HerrSchreck]

It's always interesting hearing the accolades heaped on Gordon Willis for his work on GODFATHER 1 & 2 in pushing the envelope and shooting in very slight, dim light . . . to the point that they called him the Prince of Darkness. While I find his work absolutely stunning and that of a complete pictorial genius, it has very little on that of John Seitz in DI, particularly in the (obviously) scene in Neff's apartment when Phyllis first visits him, and the proceed to drink bourbon, feel each other out (and up) and then of course doink one another.

Seitz is really pushing the envelope and taking heretofore unprecedented risks . . . much of this is not the high-contrast photography that say Sternberg employed in bathing much of his sets in huge pools of darkness int he 30's. What Seitz is doing here in spots is relatively relaxed in terms of contrast, particularly in the gloomy, rainy mood of Neffs apartment in where he very nearly forces the viewer to squint his eyes to pick out Neff and Phyllis in the gloom . . . pictorializing the murky world that these two glorious sleazoids are beginning to jointly travail. Glorious, awesome stuff. DI is an endlessly watchable film.

[Titus]

The hiss on the soundtrack for Double Indemnity was a little more noticeable than I expected, but that's pretty much the only mark against it. The image is pretty remarkable -- among the best I've seen for a 40s B&W release. And given that Universal will likely sand all of the grain and detail off of the image when they eventually release it themselves in the US, there's really no reason for anyone capable of playing it to pass on this.

[Sloper]

Seitz is really pushing the envelope and taking heretofore unprecedented risks . . . much of this is not the high-contrast photography that say Sternberg employed in bathing much of his sets in huge pools of darkness int he 30's. What Seitz is doing here in spots is relatively relaxed in terms of contrast, particularly in the gloomy, rainy mood of Neffs apartment in where he very nearly forces the viewer to squint his eyes to pick out Neff and Phyllis in the gloom . . . pictorializing the murky world that these two glorious sleazoids are beginning to jointly travail. Glorious, awesome stuff. DI is an endlessly watchable film.

Couldn't agree more - some great examples in Sunset Boulevard as well, especially the revelatory scene in the garage between Holden and Stroheim. On my old VHS copy that scene is visually indecipherable, and I always wondered whether there was some kind of lighting fuck up which no one had time to correct; on the restored version you can make out the human figures better, and it's clearer that the obscurity is a deliberate (and wonderful) effect. It evokes better than any other scene in the film the atmosphere of Norma and Max's insular, wilfully benighted life - and of course it shows how deeply Joe is now immersed in this world. Tragic and scary, and melodramatic in the best possible sense.

[MichaelB]

I see from the Digital Fix review of Double Indemnity that my former colleague James White supervised the transfer at MoC's end.

When he was at the BFI, he was responsible for pretty much all the in-house telecines and transfers, including what are still some of the best black-and-white HD presentations I've ever seen - so I'm delighted to see that he's still keeping up the good work.

[MichaelB]

Michael where on earth is he now? Come to think of it where are you now?

We're both freelancing. At roughly the same time (Easter last year, give or take), he got a job offer that didn't work out, while I took voluntary redundancy as a by-product of the 15% government grant cut announced in late 2010.

Which was one of the best decisions I've ever made: the redundancy money paid off all my non-mortgage debts, I've got to see infinitely more of my kids in the last year than I ever did before, and relations with the BFI remain excellent (what with me effectively taking a bullet for the rest of the team).

Has the BFI Shed it's older HV staff like a lizard?

I was never 'HV staff' as such - I only ever worked for BFI DVD Publishing on a freelance basis. In fact, I actually contribute more to their releases now than I did before, on account of having more time!

In fact, there's a huge overlap between BFI DVD Publishing staff now and four years ago - the last big shake-up was in 2008 when Sam Dunn took over, after which there was an aggressively risk-taking push into Blu-ray and dual-format releases, the introduction of the Flipside range and a significant increase in the number of documentary/archive-related compilations.

Which I was delighted by, as MoC and many others were doing an excellent job covering traditional European/Japanese arthouse titles (the BFI's main stamping ground in the 1990s/early 2000s), which opened up an opportunity for the BFI to start focusing on its unique strengths.