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HerrSchreck wrote:The Ford at Fox was a bit of a bitch, but I'll still take this set even if crammed inta the guts of a Purdue Oven Stuffer Roaster.

That's gone bad from the summer heat.

That was eaten by a dog who happened by.

And got food poisoning and hurled.

Which was then lappe-- (time to stop).

Even with that packaging the discs will probably arrive in better shape than those in the Ford box.

Cash Flagg wrote:Extras from Classic Flix

Ouch. Apart from Sunrise (which we all already have, right?), it's pretty sparse. We get one commentary, the overarching doc, the Four Devils featurette again, and:
- The River reconstruction featurette
- The River Still gallery
but not The River (huh?)

But there are two books and, oh, those films. . .

zedz wrote:- The River reconstruction featurette
- The River Still gallery
but not The River (huh?)

The press release at the bottom of the page says

Other featured Borzage works include....a reconstruction of the lost film The River (1929).

I assume that means the film itself is included? It also says the edition of Sunrise is "a newly remastered version". Does that mean it will be superior to the Studio Classics dvd?

HerrSchreck wrote:The Ford at Fox was a bit of a bitch, but I'll still take this set even if crammed inta the guts of a Purdue Oven Stuffer Roaster.
Even with that packaging the discs will probably arrive in better shape than those in the Ford box.

Has there been any mention of the packaging? Since my Ford Box set arrived as if conveyed between a Sumo wrestlers buttocks in Economy class I am loathe to order this on release date if it is to additionally receive the loving care reserved for Xmas parcels.

classicflix wrote:# Movietone version of feature film (1.20:1 aspect ratio)
# European silent version of feature film (1.33:1 aspect ratio)

That's interesting, at least theoretically. The MoC disc of "Sunrise" has the Movietone version, also in 1.20 plus the Brock score as an option, but I wonder whether both scores will now be available for the 1.33 version, too. Are there any differences between the two versions other than the aspect ratio?

Ah, now that's something nice... we were just talking about this on some other thread regarding aspect ratios (I think re Vampyr) and how there were full 1.33 versions of Sunrise laying around that could show the full compositions without the lefthand side being impinged upon. It'd be fantastic if they did what Kino did w Man Who Laughs and create a digital marriage between the Movietone soundtrack and the full 1.33 version of the film... something that would have been impossible in the silent era.

The MoC used the Fox material (just like Filmmuseum for the River), so that Brock extra score is from the original Fox release of Sunrise. Best single disc release of a silent so far, extras-wise.. still to this day!

But, nice to see they're sweetening their rerelease of an already fantastic release.

I can't imagine they'd release this box without the River reconstruction, and the Bergstrom material for it. Not possible.

HerrSchreck wrote:Ah, now that's something nice... we were just talking about this on some other thread regarding aspect ratios (I think re Vampyr) and how there were full 1.33 versions of Sunrise laying around that could show the full compositions without the lefthand side being impinged upon.

And some of them, like the version at the Library of Congress, are beautifully tinted.

HerrSchreck wrote:It'd be fantastic if they did what Kino did w Man Who Laughs and create a digital marriage between the Movietone soundtrack and the full 1.33 version of the film... something that would have been impossible in the silent era.

That's exactly what I was hoping for, too! And if there are indeed no other differences between the versions apart from the aspect ratio, it should pose no problems. I just wonder why they speak of 'European silent version'; that might indicate there could be a difference a la the special export version(s) of "Faust". But I actually doubt it, at least I haven't ever heard anything about it.

The 1.33 "Sunrise" will not come from the Library of Congress copy, but according to the Fox announcement was restored by the Nardoni Filmovy Archiv. Whatever 'restoration' means in this case.

This looks spectacular. Should fit on a shelf nicely with the Ford at Fox set, without duplicating the problems many seemed to have with the packaging. I can't wait.

The look goes with the price I guess, it looks expensive. And it looks like it can't go on my shelf of course. But it looks like I'll get it.

The book that came with Ford at Fox was a hardcover. Those look like... paperbacks! I suppose paper slots are an improvement over rubber nipples, though.

I'm still crossing my fingers for mini-boxes.

Oh Goddamn it all to Hell! SLEEVESSSS

Matt wrote:I suppose paper slots are an improvement over rubber nipples

Don't let Joel Schumacher hear you talk like that.

Matt wrote:The book that came with Ford at Fox was a hardcover. Those look like... paperbacks! I suppose paper slots are an improvement over rubber nipples, though.

The photo makes them look remarkably like paperbacks, but the press release specifies hard cover books. Here's hoping the image is just a mock-up and not the final product?

Paperback or not, the book covers look very nice. And that whole design must make this a standout beauty among all the other discs on the shelf. Gorgeous!

I can't wait to see what ingenious ways my post office have in store to wreak irreparable damage on this package come the Xmas rush. I'm tempted to wait till the new year but the price is probably bound to skyrocket.

What a beautiful set. Fucking Fox-- I'd a never imagined a Murduch driven super-duper Big Hollywood Studio would put so much work into something like this... it's fucking FOX, and this is a Murnau-Borzage box.

Murnau-Borzage, furchrissakes! Amazing when you really think about it. Compare what they're doing to the rampant negelct of silents from Universal, Paramount, and WB. Kudos to Janet Bergstrom, who I'm sure is the driving force behind this and the Ford box. Absolutely fabuloso.

Zazou dans le Metro wrote:I can't wait to see what ingenious ways my post office have in store to wreak irreparable damage on this package come the Xmas rush. I'm tempted to wait till the new year but the price is probably bound to skyrocket.

Can't imagine Costco selling this one...

They still had a decent copy (externally) of the Ford @ Fox set earlier this year (some of the discs were rather rough, but even the worst ones seem to play ok (so far, only about halfway through, but started with the worst scuffed up ones)), for quite a decent price. (And amazon had a fire sale at about the same time for approx same price when taxes added into the picture.)

Not a big fan of "slots" either (given the care that was exercised in attaching the discs to the "hubs" of the Ford box, no doubt similar care will be used in slipping those babies into those no doubt somewhat abrasive cardboard slots). But at least it should be some improvement.

Glenn Kenny has an early look at the set, with some pretty stellar screen shots.

Before the ambulance stretchers come take me away for oxygen and direct-feed nutrients, let me say that I

*flump*

let me say that I am thrille *flump*
*flump*
*flump*

Those shots look seriously gorgeous. Dvd release of the millenia, at least as far as the geography of our native Milky Way goes.

ahm..

<speechless for a while>


< still speechless>

This looks completely unbelievable.
And Kenny not even reports about scratched discs... [-o<

Barnes & Noble made a reservation on my Visa card today, and the amount matches what I ordered this for. Are they going to ship it this early? Maybe Christmas will come in November.

Variety wrote:As for the market realities concerning such specialty items, Steve Feldstein, Fox's senior VP of corporate and marketing communications, doesn't sound worried.

"This is a true cinephile project, not a mass-market product," he says. "It's for a specific audience. And I think that if a product like this is important to a collector, he will find a way to get it."

Interesting Variety piece on the set.