criterionforum.org

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:30 am**

A poster over at Home Theater Forum wrote that www.DVDforums.com just announced that Universal is releasing the following titles in France on December 6:

Morocco (1930)
Dishonored (1931)
Shanghai Express (1932)
Blonde Venus (1932)
Song of Songs (1933)
Scarlet Empress (1934)
The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
Seven Sinners (1940)
Flame of New Orleans (1941)
Pittsburgh (1942)
Golden Earrings (1947)
A Foreign Affair (1948)

The titles are all up at DVD.fr but no word on the specs yet.

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:01 am**

flixyflox wrote:Holy shit batman!

Couldn't have said it better myself, Flixy (although I think my first reaction was there goes the kid's college fund...).
Let's hope they do the films right.

I'm particularly excited about Dishonored and have never seen Mamoulian's Song of Songs.

Now if someone would just release Sternberg's Crime and Punishment...

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 9:21 am**

Several people have e-mailed me offlist to tell me how much you'll be missed, Flixy. Of course it's all up to you, but please don't let stubborn pride rob us from your treasure chest about the classics...you are such an asset to this group, and you know that!!

Posted: **Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:17 pm**

What is Universal France's track record in subtitling like? Are French subs likely to be removable or not?

And Flixy, I'd appreciate word on the quality of your German Morocco disc when you get it.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:30 am**

I was under the impression that just about all of Sternberg's 30s films were in serious need of restoration/cleaning. Has Universal done this or these going to be crap transfers?

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:34 am**

The Dietrichs looked good at the American Cinematheque this year. All or most are UCLA restorations, are they not? Check it out.

Over this three-decade span, the studio boasted an enormous diversity of talent and style including work by an impressive range of Hollywood masters. Ernst Lubitsch, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Josef von Sternberg and Rouben Mamoulian among others, directed sophisticated comedies of manners and contemporary dramas, while Cecil B. DeMille crafted his famed monumental epics. The studio discovered and promoted stars as diverse as Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert, Maurice Chevalier, Mae West and George Raft... The Paramount collection housed at UCLA comprises more than 800 feature films, most of which are from the studio's "Golden Age."... Some of the films from the Paramount collection which have been preserved and restored by the Archive include: THE WILD PARTY (l929, Dorothy Arzner); MOROCCO (l930, Josef von Sternberg); THE VIRGINIAN (l929, Victor Fleming); THE SCOUNDREL (l935, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur); REMEMBER THE NIGHT (l940, Mitchell Leisen); HIGH, WIDE AND HANDSOME (l937, Rouben Mamoulian); THE MOON'S OUR HOME (l936, William A.Seiter); ROAD TO UTOPIA (l945, Hal Walker); GLORIFYING THE AMERICAN GIRL (l929, Millard Webb).

Morocco seemed a bit soft, but otherwise wonderful. I thought the deal with Scarlet Empress was that Universal gave Criterion a lesser print than the very nice UCLA restoration.

Crime And Punishment looked a bit rough, if I recall correctly, at the same series, however it is indeed terrific. The Shanghai Gesture appeared to be the roughest of the lot, and I believe caught me at my most exhausted.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 4:22 am**

The bargain Jet Pilot DVD looks nice on my old timey, and soon to be replaced, CRT TV, but it's not anamorphic. A fun movie for sure, and the campiness is clearly intentional.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:47 am**

1.85. Looks like it may be OOP now, but still cheap. The Amazon reviews by jet geeks are pretty amusingly negative, but this gent points out the same info about the aspect ratio as Flixy,

For cinema/home theatre buffs, note that because 'Jet Pilot' was made in 1950, it was NOT filmed NOR framed for widescreen, so for its 1957 release it would have been illegitimately cropped at the top and bottom to achieve a widescreen effect during theatrical projection. The DVD letterbox bands simulate this effect, but the authentic video framing should be 1.33:1, which corresponds to the full 1.37:1 Academy frame used in production.

Sadly, I don't imagine holding my breath waiting for a proper 1.33 reissue will net any positive results, for me anyway.

Posted: **Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:49 am**

flixyflox wrote:The two Paramount silents Docks of New York and Last Command were pretty good. (Can you imagine fucking PARAMOUNT ever releasing a silent tile under its own label??? CHEEZES!!!!)

I also liked Thunderbolt quite a bit though it feels a bit more uneven overall than his earlier work. I thought the non-talking sequences in prison were especially effective.

I wish Paramount would at least release the titles that it put out on VHS in the 90s... I seem to remember reading somewhere (a Warner's chat at HTF maybe?) that Wings was being restored for a DVD release. Someone correct me if I'm hallucinating.

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2005 4:28 am**

Just want to pipe in and say that any new Sternberg on dvd makes me extremely happy. Morocco is an absurdly excellent film and it needs to be seen by everyone immediately. An effeminate Gary Cooper, people. Investigate!

I could, of course, make orisons to the dvd gods about Underworld, Docks of New York, Blonde Venus, and, just slightly above all, Anatahan, but who knows if they would hear me? But I do think that another critical revival is long overdue.

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:10 am**

Flixy, would you say the Morocco DVD is a significant improvement on the Universal VHS, with its Vaseline look?

Posted: **Wed Sep 21, 2005 9:32 am**

You've sold it to me, Flixy, to put it mildly.

Interestingly, French Dietrich discs aside, did you know that the BBFC passed Blonde Venus (alone of the Dietrich/Sternbergs) in July? I wonder what form that will crop up in? I'm guessing it'll be something Cary Grant-orientated rather than Dietrich, as it would seem an odd one to put out on its own.

In the light of the debacle with these recent batches of Universal DVD-18s (neither my Lugosi nor Hammer sets managed to play through, and forums indicate that I'm far from alone on this), I would rather where possible source these films on any format but a six-films-on-one-flipper cheapo. I suspect this is what Universal are planning, at least in R1.

Posted: **Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:51 pm**

I've succumbed and ordered the German 'Morocco' disc. All on the strength of Flixy's rants and raves and 'wonderful posts'
If I don't like it Flix you are an official tart OK

Posted: **Wed Sep 28, 2005 9:44 am**

All the Dietrich are up for pre-order at Fnac, â‚¬17.23 each.

Posted: **Thu Sep 29, 2005 9:32 am**

Has someone any informations about the "Library of Congress" restoration of "Morocco"? When was ist restored? What were the source materials for the restoration? Is the negative still in existence? I think that the German DVD uses the LoC restoration, but the transfer is very soft and lacks details. Other movies from that era, e.g. Fritz Lang's "M", look extremely better.

Posted: **Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:48 pm**

flixyflox wrote:I'm a tart anyway. And what's 8 Euros for crying out loud!

Thanks Flix. Great recommendation, we watched it Sunday afternoon and we swooned! It was not the price dear boy, but shelf space.

Posted: **Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:50 am**

flixyflox wrote:BTW isn't the packaging attractive? From that VERY pre war gemutlich, gooey pic of Marlene on the cover to the quite gorgeous production stills, and the handsome blue background.

Sure is - Slimline, Tall, Solid, Good Bookish Looks and Beautiful Spine...oooh and those stills...I'll stop there... it puts to shame all those other ugly plastic cases adorning my walls

Posted: **Tue Mar 28, 2006 3:42 pm**

Brace yourselves - the UK is getting an 18-disc Marlene Dietrich boxset at the end of June. (Credit to John Hodson at The DVD Forums for the spot)

Posted: **Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:49 am**

for those of us not wanting to buy the expensive 18 film set, would the universal disc be worth getting? How are the transfers, etc... None of my universal monster discs (I got them all) gave me a single bit of trouble.

Posted: **Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:38 am**

Caps. It's a very good set. I've owned it since it's release. Barebones, but so unbelievably cheap!

Posted: **Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:05 am**

Sorry if this has been noted elsewhere, but Universal UK has finally released Shanghai Express as a single disc (region 2, 4 & 5). Just got mine from Amazon UK for about seven quid.

Posted: **Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:07 am**

At this point I'll wait for the Criterion.

Posted: **Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:14 am**

I bought the 18-disc set from sendit.com for 37.89 pounds delivered using the promotional code sendit30.

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