ghost of miles Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 I just bought the regular DVD of this a year ago, but I'll probably be a sap for the new one when it comes out in August. "Welcome back to the fight... this time, I know our side will win." CasablancaDVD Quote
Harold_Z Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 Ghost...what's the attraction for the new dvd over the one you have? Extra material such as out takes or "better" remastering? This is one I've been meaning to get but haven't gotten yet. If the new one has "extra juice" I'll hold out for it. Quote
ghost of miles Posted July 15, 2003 Author Report Posted July 15, 2003 Harold, This is what the new one contains: Commentary by critic Roger Ebert Commentary by author-historian Rudy Behlmer Theatrical trailer(s) Introduction by Lauren Bacall New digital transfer Nearly 10 minutes of newly found deleted scenes and outtakes Bacall hosts two documentaries, "You Must Remember This" and "Bacall on Bogart" "The Children Remember": parental memories from Stephen Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's daughters Pia Lindstrom and Isabella Rosselini The Looney Tunes homage "Carrotblanca" Premier episode from the 1955 Casablanca TV series Audio-only treasures: "Screen Guild Players Radio Production" with the three stars, plus rare scoring session outtakes Production history gallery: Photos, press materials, studio correspondence, memorabilia, and more Full-screen format Number of discs: 2 The one I bought last year, which came out in 2000, had this: Production notes Theatrical trailer(s) You Must Remember This documentary hosted by Lauren Bacall, featuring recently unearthed outtakes All-New Introduction by Lauren Bacall I'd like to hear the radio production, and I think there are more outtakes in the special edition (I don't remember 10 minutes' worth in the first DVD edition). The commentaries interest me too... normally I don't go for movie upgrades, but I'm such an unabashed, unapologetic fan of this film that I think I'll take the plunge. Have you ever read Aljean Harmetz's book ROUND UP THE USUAL SUSPECTS? It's all about the making of the film--fascinating stuff. There were so many ways in which it could have gone awry. And it was originally cast with Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan! Quote
Harold_Z Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 That looks really good..there's a lot there. Looks like I wait for that one. I haven't read the book, but I've heard of it and and would like to read it. Havbe to pick that up or too, or check the library. Quote
Saint Vitus Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 (edited) My motto with regards to DVDs is: "Rent until they wow you with a version with many informative extras." Anyway, here are two DVD news sites I find useful: Digital Bits - For News/Rumors on Upcoming ReleasesDVD Talk - For This Week's DVD Releases Edited July 15, 2003 by Saint Vitus Quote
kinuta Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 (edited) I have last years version and thought the transfer was superlative. Is it possible to improve on that? Has anyone seen the digitally remastered versions of The Unforgiven and Singin' In The Rain. As they are two of my favourite dvd, I'd love to know if it is worth shelling out for the new versions or stick with the old ones. Comments most welcome Edited July 15, 2003 by kinuta Quote
BERIGAN Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 This is the very first time that deleted scenes from Casablanca have shown up, as far as I know, so excellent news indeed! Saint Vitus, you stole my thunder! I was just going to mention www.thedigitalbits.com site, a great site for dvd news. They are about to put out a book, so updates have been a bit slow of late.... Warner Brothers/Turner have some excellent 2 disc special editions coming out soon, including.... Warner's got some great news too. They're releasing The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Yankee Doodle Dandy as 2-disc special editions on 9/30, as part of their Warner Legends promotion. Each will be available separately (SRP $26.99 each), and as part of a Warner Legends box set of all three (SRP $69.92). All three films have been restored using Warner's new "Ultra Restoration" process, which begins with scanning the original Technicolor 3-strip black and white "records" at high resolution (2K). The black and white records are then combined electronically to create the color images, which are also electronically re-registered, steadied and cleaned before the final DVDs are produced. The result, in theory, is an image that looks better than the original. The Adventures of Robin Hood: Special Edition will include the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, along with Dolby Digital mono audio. Extras on Disc One will include audio commentary by author and film historian Rudy Behlmer, a music-only audio track showcasing the Oscar-winning score, Warner Night at the Movies 1938 (introduced by Leonard Maltin, which includes the theatrical trailer for Angels with Dirty Faces, a vintage newsreel, the original musical short subject Freddie Rich and His Orchestra and the vintage animated short Katnip Kollege) and an Errol Flynn trailer gallery with trailers for twelve of his most beloved films including Captain Blood, The Prince and the Pauper, Dodge City, The Sea Hawk, Dive Bomber and The Adventures of Robin Hood (both the 1938 version and 1942 reissue). Disc Two includes the hour-long Glorious Technicolor documentary (narrated by Angela Lansbury), the all-new 65th Anniversary documentary, Welcome to Sherwood: The Story of The Adventures of Robin Hood, the classic Looney Tunes shorts Rabbit Hood and Robin Hood Daffy, the vintage Warner Bros. short subjects Cavalcade of Archery (1945) and The Cruise of the Zaca (1952) with Errol Flynn, the Robin Hood Through the Ages featurette (on the various screen adaptations), the A Journey to Sherwood Forest featurette (with home movies and behind-the-scenes footage), outtakes, the Breakdowns of 1938 Warner Bros. Pictures blooper reel, audio of the May 11, 1938 National Radio Broadcast The Robin Hood Radio Show, audio of Erich Wolfgang Korngold piano sessions and still galleries of historical art, costume designs, scene concept drawings, cast & crew photos and publicity & poster materials. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Special Edition will also include the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, along with Dolby Digital mono audio. Extras on Disc One will include audio commentary by author/Bogart biographer Eric Lax, Warner Night at the Movies 1948 (introduced by Leonard Maltin, which includes the theatrical trailer for Key Largo, a vintage newsreel, the original short subject So You Want to Be a Detective, and the Looney Tunes animated short Hot Cross Bunny) along with a Humphrey Bogart trailer gallery with trailers for twelve of his most beloved films including High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep and The Treasure of Sierra Madre. Disc Two adds the feature-length 1989 documentary John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick, the all-new Discovering Treasure: The Story of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre documentary, the Looney Tunes animated short 8 Ball Bunny, audio of the scoring stage sessions for the film, audio of the April 18, 1949 Lux Radio Theater Broadcast and still galleries of storyboards, dressed set stills, cast & crew photos and publicity & poster materials. And finally, the Yankee Doodle Dandy: Special Edition will also include the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, along with Dolby Digital mono audio. Extras on Disc One will include audio commentary by author and film historian Rudy Behlmer, Warner Night at the Movies 1942 (introduced by Leonard Maltin, which includes the theatrical trailer for Casablanca, a vintage newsreel, the original short subject Beyond the Line of Duty, the Looney Tunes animated short Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid) as well as a James Cagney trailer gallery with trailers for seven of his most beloved films including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Footlight Parade and Yankee Doodle Dandy. Disc Two adds the James Cagney: Top of the World biographical tribute documentary (hosted by Michael J. Fox), the all-new Let Freedom Sing!: The Story of Yankee Doodle Dandy production documentary, the Looney Tunes shorts Yankee Doodle Daffy and Yankee Doodle Bugs, the vintage wartime short You, John Jones starring James Cagney & Greer Garson, audio of outtakes and rehearsals, audio of the October 19, 1942 Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater Radio Show with film cast members and still galleries of sheet music, dressed set stills, scene concept drawings and publicity & poster materials. I am a little confused about the talk of All three films have been restored using Warner's new "Ultra Restoration" process, which begins with scanning the original Technicolor 3-strip black and white "records" at high resolution (2K). since only The Adventures of Robin Hood is in Technicolor, am I missing something? Quote
BERIGAN Posted July 15, 2003 Report Posted July 15, 2003 (edited) I have last years version and thought the transfer was superlative. Is it possible to improve on that? Has anyone seen the digitally remastered versions of The Unforgiven and Singin' In The Rain. As they are two of my favourite dvd, I'd love to know if it is worth shelling out for the new versions or stick with the old ones. Comments most welcome kinuta, I know what you mean! The image the Casablanca disc is just amazing! Sell the old one to pay for the new edition! I see I still have the 50th ann. VHS edition as well! Bastards keep getting my money for the same film! Haven't seen the Unforgiven on dvd, but the Singin' in the Rain 2 disc set is well worth getting! I did resist getting the first dvd because it seemed kind of skimpy on features, but the vhs we had, had pretty crappy sound...the singing was fine, but they had done something to the non-singing audio and it was terrible!!! Sounded like they were inside a large can. The video is as good in color as that Casablanca looks in B&W(well, almost!) Tons of extras, including 2 documentaries, feature length audio commentary with Debbie, Donald, Cyd, Stanley Donan, Comden and Green, and others(Damn, never listened to it!) and my favorite extras(That I have seen) was the excepts of the Arthur Freed/Nacio Brown songs from the original films! Very cool! So, in other words, when you get the chance, spend the 20 bucks at >deep discount dvd< to get it, they ship for free as well! Edited July 15, 2003 by BERIGAN Quote
ghost of miles Posted July 15, 2003 Author Report Posted July 15, 2003 I am all over THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. I had signed up on Amazon's notification list for that one... really happy to see that so much is coming with it. My wife and I watch it every year on Thanksgiving Day, and I was really getting tired of hooking up the old VCR for the occasion. I'll definitely bite on TREASURE OF THE SIERRE MADRE as well. You're right about the CASABLANCA transfer, Berigan. If they've improved on the 2000 edition I'll really be impressed--only problem with these superlative transfers of older movies is that sometimes it's much easier to see how fake the sets can be! I've gotten used to it, but sometimes the fuzzy ambience of an unrestored pic can actually enhance the atmosphere for me. Quote
BruceH Posted July 16, 2003 Report Posted July 16, 2003 Ghost, you've sold me----I'll get the new Casablanca when it comes out. I've also read Round Up the Usual Suspects and found it to be an enthralling book. I read it on a plane; should read it again. Quote
kinuta Posted July 16, 2003 Report Posted July 16, 2003 Well.I'll definitely get ' Yankee Doodle Dandy'. I wonder if WB have any plans to release ' White Heat' on DVD ?. I may trade in my ' Singin' ' for the new double set version. The extras alone make it sound very worthwhile. The jury is till out on ' Unforgiven', I'd like to hear a few more opinions before trading in the old DVD version . Quote
Saint Vitus Posted July 16, 2003 Report Posted July 16, 2003 No definite plan yet for White Heat, it appears. Maybe next year (as is the case with all yet-to-be-on-DVD classics). Quote
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