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Posted: |
Mar 25, 2011 - 9:06 AM
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By: |
joec
(Member)
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Here's an interesting interview with George Feltenstein about the Warner Archive from the NY POST:
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/movies/anniversary_extra_george_feltenstein_K5z5y84huNwN1iTZDbMuGI
This week marks the second anniversary of the innovative Warner Archive Collection , which has made hundreds of hard-to-find and downright obscure titles from the studio's vast library available on manufactured-to-demand DVDs. To celebrate through Monday, 766 single-disc titles are available at five for $50 -- 50 percent off the normal price. I recently spoke to Warners' tireless and super-enthusiastic George Feltenstein, who gave me a classic movie nerd's-eye view of the operation and where it's headed. Here's an edited and condensed version of our one-hour conversation:
Congratulations George. You should have 1,000 titles in circulation fairly soon.
By May or June. We currently have 120 to 150 titles in production. Nobody has any idea the amount of work that goes into these releases. We have very few people. The messenger comes to my house at 11 o'clock in the evening and tells me, "you have to watch this tonight.' The Warner Archive Collection was intended to be one thing, a service, and it's morphing into something else. We're also getting a bird's eye view of our library -- we're probably pulled 200 film elements this year and we've noticed problems with 40 or 50. There are so many movies that we had them scheduled and found we couldn't move forward with them immediately. But we've got so much good stuff coming. And imitation is the finest form of flattery when we see other people [Sony, MGM and Universal] joining us in this [manufacture-on-demand] approach.
When I spoke to you on the day WAC launched, you mentioned you had just set a release schedule through the end of 2010. Did you need to tweak that much?
It always changes. There have been times when we've gone through four or five iterations [of a transfer] and we just couldn't get it to be good enough. You keep looking for film elements. People ask about Wheeler and Woolsey [movies] and we don't presently have any where the masters is good enough to put out. RKO film elements can sometime be very frightening. When we started we didn't have the [corporate] support we now have, we didn't know we could remaster movies, didn't think that would be [financially] possible. Meanwhile, our retail [DVD releases] have morphed. Its still a hugely strong category, but not for new-to-format classics. When something special comes along like "Night Flight' [the long-available 1933 film that will make its debut on June 7 on retail DVD] it would have been feather in [WAC's] cap but it would not be the best thing for the company. When the retailers see something special they will get behind it, they will make an event out of it. Everything's gone from sour to sweet. WAC has given Warner Bros. an opportunity to re-invest in the library and is helping to contribute to our film restoration and rights clearances. There have been so many producers and directors asking for their films to be released and we used to have to tell them we're sorry.
One of your post popular Warner Archive categories is animation you've been releasing under the Hanna-Barbera label. Will you be bringing out the rest of the theatrical Popeye cartoons at WAC, since the series has been suspended at retail for years?
Those still need to be photochemically restored. We won't do anything with those at WAC, but we're hoping they'll be Blu-ray. We will be hopefully doing things with the made-for-TV Popeyes [at WAC], we have some very enterprising ideas for those. The HB titles have been so extraordinary successful; I never would have guessed in my wildest dreams that they would be as popular as Kay Francis. We really have different classifications of fans, something for everyone. That speaks to the wide variety of our library.
With such a large library, how do you go about setting priorities for releases?
We have just finished doing a gorgeous restoration and master of "The Unfinished Dance,' which hadn't been touched since a 1988 master that looks pretty awful. I had it scheduled for later in April, but because it involved a psychotic ballet dancer we decided to move it up to March 29, the very same day that the "Black Swan" comes out [from Fox, at retail], which seemed like a great opportunity...We have upped our standards significantly for WAC. People are asking for some of their favorite [Bette] Davis or Humphrey [Bogart titles]. We won't release them unless we can remaster them. Because of the success we've had we're reinvesting in the business. We're also working more closely with other vendors that sell movies to people who don't necessarily use the Internet. We've given "The Great Caruso,' a title that skews older, as an exclusive to Critics Choice Video. Movies Unlimited [which also operates TCM's retail site] will be getting our first two Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy titles, "Naughty Marietta' and "Sweethearts,' as exclusives next month.
WAC's recent release of "Don Juan' included the Vitaphone shorts that were shown during its original engagement in 1926. Will you be offering special features on other releases?
Some of our upcoming MGM musicals will have outtake musical sequences that have never been seen -- not just recycled from other releases. We've spoken with some directors about recording commentary tracks. We feel the lot of the films you just can't put them out without any kind of context. We're doing everything we can within our limited means to improve the presentation quality. We want people to really be proud they can have these movies on their shelves. We're going to be adding full four-color labels to our releases...all of those things will help to improve the consumer experience.
Were VHS sales figures useful in predicting popularity of titles, or has the demographics and tastes of buyers changed significantly since then?
We're putting out a lot of things that were never out on VHS. Monogram cowboy sets, more Vitaphone [shorts], Pete Smith, Fitzpatrick TravelTalks. There will be more TV series, but we have to go back into the files and research every episode for music clearances and other rights. Our own colleagues are saying we want these.
What else is on tap?
We are always looking to make things better. We've already remastered a handful of our original releases [from two years ago]. We will make special arrangements for consumers who supported us to obtain the remastered versions at a very minimal price in about a month. There are 8 or 10 of them coming. We're going to let people travel into our vault. Our next Podcast will be a very rare radio presentation of "Yolanda and the Thief.' We're going to be putting cool things out on on discs and podcasts.
Is that you speaking as the voice of WAC on its Facebook page?
I am one of several people that have administrative privileges. I'm the only person that has the rights and film element information. Everybody wants everything now. Social media allows the opportunity to discuss with fans what's coming and what may take a while because of issues with the film elements or the rights. It used to be that once a year we'd have a chat on the Home Theater Forum. Now it's frequently with everybody in an environment where people are respectful of the opportunity they have to be acknowledged. We can hope we can expand the use of Facebook.
What about WAC's Twitter feed? Whoever is doing that is very funny.
One of my colleagues is quite a humorist. The Twitter is so much about providing information as engaging with people.
The last time I spoke with you, around a year ago, you were introducing remastered titles. The Facebook page has recently mentioned that some titles like "Vivacious Lady' and "Five Came Back' were undergoing photochemical restoration as well. When will those start coming through?
"Five Came Back' has been in the lab for three years and we still have problems. If it's not top quality, it's going to stay in the vault until we can rectify that. Ned Price's team does great photochemical restoration and we're now able to make use of it.
The Facebook page mentioned that "The Unsinkable Molly Brown,' which had been available at retail and is now out of print, will be coming back via the Archive. Will there be other OOP titles like "The Crimson Pirate'?
There are right issues on "The Crimson Pirate,' but there are 200 other out-of-print titles we will now be able to bring back with the same features as the original retail releases. We're now using some dual-layer discs that give us a good bit rate for longer titles. On some titles, we had to leave trailers off because it would drop the bit rate.
There are still some very highly sought, high profile titles not released on DVD -- like "Northwest Passage,' "A Guy Named Joe,' "Viva Villa,' "Ceiling Zero,' the 1939 "The Great Waltz.' Will those all eventually turn up at WAC or is there some chance they may go retail?
Some of them may be available at retail. It's up in the air. "Ceiling Zero' has rights issues.
What about the long-discussed set for Jean Harlow's centennial this year?
I'm not commenting on our Harlow plans. We have something special in mind. We've gotten too many kicks in the butt when we've been honest and open [in the past] and things changed.
What about speculation that "Red Dust' and "Bombshell' might be debuting on Blu-ray?
Not true.
There's a rumor going around that WHV will be licensing "The Magnificent Ambersons' to Criterion.
Not true.
You've been reissuing some retail evergreens with fresh DVD covers -- "Auntie Mame" and "The Great Ziegfeld,' for instance. Would the present climate support Blu-ray releases?
Maybe 2013 for "Auntie Mame.' Consumer acceptance of classics on Blu-ray is painfully limited. That breaks my heart. We've put out a lot of great titles that have not performed particularly well. Nobody wants to hear the scenario is tough within the retail marketplace. All of our releases have been profitable but it takes a lot longer to get there. One of the biggest retailers just cut their space for catalogue titles by 30 percent. The fact is, we have to be accountable for profitability. We have a very robust schedule for classics. We thought we'd have some Marx Brothers titles [on Blu-ray] by now, but they still need work.
Warners recently cleared the rights to another long-unavailable title, "The Constant Nymph,' which will premiere at next month's TCM Classic Film Festival. When will that be available on DVD?
The ink on the "Night Flight' deal wasn't dry when I came to work in January and heard that "Constant Nymph' had been cleared as well. We tried to get a video master going right away, but there were problems with the film elements. We're making new ones off the original camera negative. Within a year, there will be a very nice DVD. I'm not sure if it will be at the Warner Archive Collection or at retail.
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Posted: |
Mar 29, 2011 - 2:41 PM
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By: |
jef29bow
(Member)
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I recently saw the WA MOD of NOAH'S ARK. I was surprised how good it looks, the print was, mostly, incrediably sharp and detailed. The B&W photography takes on a silvery shimmer whenever Dolores Costello was on screen which is very appealing. The print runs 108 minutes including the Overture and exit music. I still believe this is the general release version as the roadshow version, according to most references, runs about 135 minutes. I was surprised by the quality standards set with this release by WA. Some of their early releases were disappointing in appearance.
The WA MOD DVD of NOAH'S ARK is gorgeous, and I nearly flipped when I saw that it contained the original overture and exit music. Yes, the film is the general release version (which is what UCLA restored back in the 1990's); I don't think anyone has seen the original 135 minute version since the premiere run in 1929. Apparently, NOAH was one of those films that was cut down in the midst of its run, and most of what bit the dust was apparently a number of the talking sequences (which, lets face it, were not the best parts of the film). Nevertheless, I love the film, love Dolores Costello (can we get a few more of the silents please), and I'm glad to have the DVD. By the way, has anyone seen the footage in Robert Youngston's compilation film FOUR CLOWNS which shows the theater in New York where NOAH was shown? WOW!!! If I had a magic time machine to go back anywhere for one hour, I would like to spend 15 minutes at that theater just looking at the displays (the rest of the hour would be spent collecting prints of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, LADIES OF THE MOB, THE CASE OF LENA SMITH and a couple dozen other now lost films). It's nice to dream.....
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This is an interesting interview. When they started this, everything that came out was untouched as far as restoration. Now it's "if it's not perfect it stays in the vault." On one hand that's admirable, on the other that limits the releases. Sometimes a lesser quality print is better than none at all.
Also, if they're doing remastering now and are so danged successful, why not release these to standard DVD instead of $20 DVD-Rs? Or are there two different scales of measurement when judging success? Like "these are successful for $20 DVD-R but not really for regular $9 DVD" or something.
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This is an interesting interview. When they started this, everything that came out was untouched as far as restoration. Now it's "if it's not perfect it stays in the vault." On one hand that's admirable, on the other that limits the releases. Sometimes a lesser quality print is better than none at all.
Also, if they're doing remastering now and are so danged successful, why not release these to standard DVD instead of $20 DVD-Rs? Or are there two different scales of measurement when judging success? Like "these are successful for $20 DVD-R but not really for regular $9 DVD" or something.
I have no way of knowing, of course, but I believe the remastering of titles has several purposes, probably one of which is for showings on hi-def cable and TV channels and the other for eventual blu-ray release and streaming release, should those markets suddenly take off, catalog-wise. Like it or not, the DVD market is pretty much moribund and, like it or not, this program seems to be working for them.
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Posted: |
Apr 13, 2011 - 7:20 PM
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By: |
joec
(Member)
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more Warner news:
This week's Warner Archives are almost all musicals, led by the four-disc VITAPHONE VARITIES, 1926-1930, a new collection of 60 more shorts (the complete list is included in film's description?at?the website).? This one focuses on largely forgotten?performers, a snapshot of what audiences saw when they went to vaudeville shows? of the day, but very few of these shorts have b been seen?since they were in movie theatres.? (Yes, the "musical theatre" shorts ARE still being worked on.) ?
Newly remastered, we get the 1954 ROSE MARIE, with Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas, Bert Lahr, and Marjorie Main, in CinemaScope and Techicolor and the timeless Friml melodies (with some added new songs).??Plus Lahr and Main's outtake number, "Love and Kisses."
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Also in CinemaScope, 1956's MEET ME IN LAS VEGAS, with Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse, plus guest stars including Frankie Laine and Lena Horne,?with?cameos by Frank and Debbie and several others.? Cyd dances a hot version of "Frankie and Johnny," sung off-screen by Sammy Davis, Jr.? This release has the?outtakes "It's Fun to Be in Love" with a pre-WEST SIDE STORY George Chakiris, and Lena's "You Got Looks."
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And, as promised, Ken Russell's controversial (what else would?Russell?be?)?1971 film version of Sandy Wilson's THE BOY FRIEND, with Twiggy, Christopher Gable, Max Adrian, Tommy Tune, Barbara Windsor, Antonia Ellis and others in a second-rate Brit theatre company being scouted by a movie producer.
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The 1953 charmer I LOVE MELVIN, with Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor,?has also been remastered in a new transfer, with an outtake of a different version of "A Lady Loves" than is in the finished film.? There should be an exchange announcement at the website later today, for those who bought the previous incarnation of this film.
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All these titles will be found at http://www.wbshop.com/New-Releases/ARCHIVENEW,default,sc.html?psortb1=name-sort&psortd1=1&sz=19
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Posted: |
Sep 12, 2011 - 1:28 PM
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By: |
manderley
(Member)
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......Deep Discount currently has a sale for MOD MGM titles usually available through the Warner Archive; (and SAE?)
http://www.deepdiscount.com/hard-to-find-movies/_/page/1/viewType/list/
It amounts to $4.00 off each title, with free shipping.
Greg Espinoza......
These all seem to be post-86 MGM and United Artists titles owned by MGM Home Entertainment and currently distributed via 20th Fox Home Video.
Warner Archive has never carried these, to my knowledge. WA DOES carry the Columbia/Sony titles, beyond their own extensive library, and features it often in their promotions.
Among the titles offered in this Deep Discount MGM batch are a number of once-important films, like the Lancaster-Curtis-Lollobrigida TRAPEZE, the Gary Cooper RETURN TO PARADISE, the Ford-Lange-Boyer LOVE IS A BALL---and more---which never made it to DVD.
But many, many of the titles are the B-pictures (and lower), which were in the old United Artists library. Sadly, MGM's financial condition in recent years caused it to burn up its catalog quite quickly, issuing the best films, like WEST SIDE STORY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, IT'S A MAD (4) WORLD, and others, over-and-over---and now on Blu-Ray. In many ways, this library has kept them afloat so far, but the handwriting is on the wall for MGM, I'm afraid.
With these titles on Deep Discount, you takes your pick of the best and pays your money---with the nagging thought that it may be your last chance.
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Posted: |
Sep 12, 2011 - 1:44 PM
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By: |
riotengine
(Member)
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These all seem to be post-86 MGM and United Artists titles owned by MGM Home Entertainment and currently distributed via 20th Fox Home Video.
Warner Archive has never carried these, to my knowledge. WA DOES carry the Columbia/Sony titles, beyond their own extensive library, and features it often in their promotions.
Among the titles offered in this Deep Discount MGM batch are a number of once-important films, like the Lancaster-Curtis-Lollobrigida TRAPEZE, the Gary Cooper RETURN TO PARADISE, the Ford-Lange-Boyer LOVE IS A BALL---and more---which never made it to DVD.
But many, many of the titles are the B-pictures (and lower), which were in the old United Artists library. Sadly, MGM's financial condition in recent years caused it to burn up its catalog quite quickly, issuing the best films, like WEST SIDE STORY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, IT'S A MAD (4) WORLD, and others, over-and-over---and now on Blu-Ray. In many ways, this library has kept them afloat so far, but the handwriting is on the wall for MGM, I'm afraid.
With these titles on Deep Discount, you takes your pick of the best and pays your money---with the nagging thought that it may be your last chance.
You're right, Manderley. I was confusing them with Columbia Classics, which are being sold through the Warner Archive.
You're absolutely right, who knows how long these will be around.
Greg Espinoza
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