Gangsters Collections

Narshty · **Posted:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:31 pm

You've seen the cover art (if not, here it is), now feast on the specs (nicked from a press release over at HTF):

The Public Enemy

- Contains several restored scenes (deleted from subsequent reissue versions due to enforcement of the Production code) from the original release version of the film, unseen since 1931.
- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1931 with Newsreel, Comedy Short The Eyes Have It, Cartoon Smile, Darn Ya, Smile and 1931 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
- Commentary by Film Historian Robert Sklar
- 1954 Re-release Foreword

White Heat

- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1949 with Newsreel, Comedy Short So You Think Youï¿½re Not Guilty, Cartoon Homeless Hare and 1949 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette White Heat: Top of the World
- Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper

Angels with Dirty Faces

- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1938 with Newsreel, Musical Short Out Where the Stars Begin, Cartoon Porky and Daffy and 1938 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
- Commentary by Film Historian Dana Polan
- Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Production with the Filmï¿½s 2 Stars

Little Caesar

- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1930 with Newsreel, Spencer Tracy Short The Hard Guy, Cartoon Lady Play Your Mandolin and 1930/31 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette Little Caesar: End of Rico, Beginning of the Antihero
- Commentary by Film Historian Richard B. Jewell
- 1954 Re-release Foreword

The Petrified Forest

- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1936 with Newsreel, Musical Short Rhythmitis, Cartoon The Coo Coo Nut Grove and 1936 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert
- Commentary by Bogart Biographer Eric Lax
- Audio-Only Bonus: Radio Adaptation starring Bogart, Tyrone Power and Joan Bennett

The Roaring Twenties

- Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1939 with Newsreel, Musical Short All Girl Revue, Comedy Short The Great Library Misery, Cartoon Thugs with Dirty Mugs and 1939 Trailer Gallery
- New Featurette The Roaring Twenties: The World Moves on
- Commentary by Film Historian Lincoln Hurst

Pinback · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:50 pm

Sounds great. I'm sceptical about the featurette that accompanies each film...I have a feeling it'll just be film historians saying how great Cagney was, and waxing philosophical about the significance of the grapefruit in the face in Public Enemy. Still, the box'll be worth it just for the films...

bjeggert82 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:51 pm

I think it's great that Warner Bros. has been adding so many Looney Tunes cartoons onto their classic DVDs lately... The ones on "Treasure of Sierra Madre" and "Adventures of Robin Hood" are classics. Not to mention the superb Gold Collections they've put out.

I'll be looking forward to revisiting these films, accompanied by some classic Warner toons.

criterionradiohead · **Posted:** Mon Nov 08, 2004 8:41 pm

I had no idea this was coming out. I saw White Heat a few months ago at the local art house theatre and was excited to buy the DVD... sadly to find out it hadn't been realeased yet. Now, not only is it being released, but there are going to be a few extra features on the disk! Oh yes, this will be mine. :twisted:

Criterionradiohead

clutch44 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:14 pm

I think Warner Bros got it right for the Gangster Box, as for the Cagney Box set I would choose films that reflect his diverse character roles:
Blond Crazy
Footlight Parade
Lady Killer
G-Men
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Each Dawn I Die
The Strawberry Blonde
The Bride Came C.O.D.
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Come Fill the Cup
Love Me or Leave Me

It'll be interesting to see how WB goes on this, as they may want to hold back a film or two for future box set volumes (Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye for Ganster Box II). Still many great Cagneys' to choose from.

cafeman · **Joined:** Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:19 am

Now available for preorders! Estimated ship date January 25th.

Sai · **Joined:** Tue Nov 09, 2004 11:26 pm

Incredible! I absolutely love the Film Noir set, and this will be a sure purchase.

GringoTex · **Joined:** Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

I spent this weekend devouring the set. With Maltin intro, featurette, commentary, newsreel, short and animation on each disc, it's an even better product than the noir set. And at $7.50 per disc if you buy it from a discount online retailer.

And the animated menus are fantastic.

nredding2 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:46 pm

I watched White Heat yesterday and I noticed that the audio went out of sync with the video for the last half or so of the movie. The out-of-sync amount was a second or two delay on the audio. Did anyone else notice this?

Nihonophile · **Joined:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:57 am **Location:** Florida

nredding2 wrote:

I watched White Heat yesterday and I noticed that the audio went out of sync with the video for the last half or so of the movie. The out-of-sync amount was a second or two delay on the audio. Did anyone else notice this?

I thought I saw that, but when I thought it was out of synch, my brain read it as 'artistic' and I forgot about it.

Does this box exist in stores?

nredding2 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:46 pm

So it's not just me imagining it then! What's funny is all the clips in the featurette are in sync, including those from the latter part of the film.

denti alligator · **Posted:** Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:37 pm

Quote:

I watched White Heat yesterday and I noticed that the audio went out of sync with the video for the last half or so of the movie. The out-of-sync amount was a second or two delay on the audio.

This is more common than you'd think, and I find it extremely annoying.
Can others confirm whether they've had this problem. I want to be sure before I buy this.

Harold Gervais · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:09 pm

Nihonophile wrote:

Does this box exist in stores?

I've seen sets in Best Buy, Circuit City & Tower.

DrewReiber · **Joined:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 3:27 am

Harold Gervais wrote:

Nihonophile wrote:

Does this box exist in stores?

I've seen sets in Best Buy, Circuit City & Tower.

Checked Best Buy, Circuit City AND Virgin Megastore and nada. In my area they either underordered it or didn't order it at all.

GringoTex · **Joined:** Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

denti alligator wrote:

This is more common than you'd think, and I find it extremely annoying.
Can others confirm whether they've had this problem. I want to be sure before I buy this.

I didn't notice this the first time I watched it and so checked it out again. I could discern no out-of-sync audio on my copy. There were some instances of piss-poor dubbing, but that was it.

Martha · **Posted:** Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:13 pm

Quote:

Angels With Dirty Faces
Cagney's Rocky Sullivan is a charismatic ghetto tough guy whose underworld rise makes him a hero to a gang of slum punks. The 1938 New York Film Critics Best Actor Award came Cagney's way, as well as one of the film's three Oscar nominations. Watch the chilling death-row finale and you'll know why.

The Public Enemy
Showcases James Cagney's powerful 1931 breakthrough performance as streetwise tough guy Tom Powers. When shooting began, Cagney had a secondary role but Darryl F. Zanuck soon spotted Cagney's screen dominance and gave him the star part. From that moment, an indelible genre classic and an enduring star career were both born.

Little Caesar
The tale of pugnacious Caesar Enrico Bandello (played by Edward G. Robinson), a hoodlum with a Chicago-sized chip on his shoulder, few attachments, fewer friends and no sense of underworld diplomacy. And Robinson – a genteel art collector who disdained guns – was forever associated with the screen's archetypal gangster.

The Petrified Forest
Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway success about survival of the fittest, hit the screen a year later with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart magnificently recreating their stage roles and Bette Davis ably re-teaming with her Of Human Bondage co-star Howard.

The Roaring Twenties
The speakeasy era never roared louder than in this gangland chronicle that packs a wallop under action master Raoul Walsh's direction. Against a backdrop of newsreel-like montages and narration, it follows the life of jobless war veteran Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney) who turns bootlegger, dealing in "bottles instead of battles."

White Heat
As a psychotic thug devoted to his hard-boiled ma, James Cagney – older, scarier and just as electrifying – gives a performance to match his work in The Public Enemy as White Heat's cold-blooded Cody Jarrett. Bracingly directed by Raoul Walsh, this fast-paced thriller tracing Jarrett's violent life in and out of jail is also a harrowing character study.

david hare · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:01 pm

Apart from the anticipated pleasures of WHITE HEAT and ROARING TWENTIES which look the best they have for decades, I was knocked out by the level of restoration of LITTLE CAESAR and PUBLIC ENEMY. For the first time in thirty years I am actually motivated enough by the image quality to look at these pictures again with fresh eyes. (And have thrown out my ancient PD VHS transfers which only ever looked like smog.)

Donald Trampoline · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:34 pm

Do I see that Public Enemy is not presented in its correct original aspect ratio of 1.17:1?

Along with The Wrong Man aspect ratio mistake mentioned under the Hitchcock box thread, that's two.

1.17 is per IMDB HERE and also Bordwell and Thompson's Film Art: An Introduction, where they have a section on aspect ratios which features a frame enlargement from Public Enemy to illustrate the 1.17 aspect ratio.

Is the image pillarboxed or windowboxed during the opening credits revealing this error for all to see, or were they lucky and the credits could all fit even with the merciless cropping?

Essentially the implications of this are that the top and bottom of the image are hacked off.

Nevertheless, I'm glad it's out, but, sigh, will the 1.17 aspect ratio ever get the respect it deserves? See Cocoanuts (1929) also. Although IMDB lists that one as 1.33, I believe that's another 1.17 because in an early DVD release the opening credits had to be pillarboxed or windowboxed, after which the movie proceeded with a top-and-bottom cropped aspect ratio. And the year and studio is right for that aspect ratio.

Here's one web-based explanation of 1.17 in lieu of the Bordwell book itself:
Pre-Widescreen Movie Film Format Brief History

swingo · **Posted:** Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:50 am

Don, thanks for that link, it can always be helpful...

Axel.

GringoTex · **Joined:** Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

Donald Trampoline wrote:

Is the image pillarboxed or windowboxed during the opening credits revealing this error for all to see, or were they lucky and the credits could all fit even with the merciless cropping?

Essentially the implications of this are that the top and bottom of the image are hacked off.

The opening credits are pillarboxed. I had the same issue when I screened a 35mm print of this film several years ago. We couldn't get a 1.17:1 mat in time. It wasn't too much of an issue- Wellman doesn't frame his images too tight anyway.

GringoTex · **Joined:** Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

I just watched Little Ceasar (hadn't seen it in years) and was surprised how badly it compares to Public Enemy. It creaks and groans with it's stagey mise-en-scene and rote narrative, while Public Enemy's technique is exciting and sophisticated. [spoiler]The last shot of Cagney's corpse falling face forward through the doorway is as good as any "gotcha shot" in a Scorsese film.[/spoiler].

The only other early talkies Wellman film I've seen is Wild Boys of the Road, but based on those two, he seems to have been a key figure in keeping the early sound film out of the rut.

Michael Kerpan · **Posted:** Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:12 am

I thought "Public Enemy" was more stylish than "Little Caesar" -- but that the script was ridiculously unbelievable -- while the earlier film had some plausibility. The other problem with "Little Caesar" was the general ineptitude of the supporting cast -- once past Robinson (who was phenomenal), not much real talent on display. "Public Enemy" was also surprisingly weak in male casting overall (aside from Cagney), but at least had some star power on the female side.

Steven H · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm **Location:** NC

Angels With Dirty Faces is probably my favorite of the bunch. It strikes me as very subversive, especially if you read Rocky's concession at the end as a favor for the priest. And then that brings in a whole other notion that the church is manipulating those kids (with the media no less!) while Rocky, the rotten gangster, maintains heroism even to the end.

Best short of the bunch, "Homeless Hare" on White Heat.

Michael Kerpan · **Posted:** Tue Mar 08, 2005 1:36 pm

For me -- the best by far was "Roaring 20s". To my mind, a virtually perfect film in every way.

I am not a Curtiz fan, something about him rubs me the wrong way -- in film after film. "Angels" didn't fare any better with me than any of his other films.

david hare · **Joined:** Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:01 pm

It's interesting to see the reaction of people to Curtiz against Walsh. This is indeed one thread I really hoped might open up with the Gangsters Box.
Certainly it's easy to consider them as alike -although Currtiz really pumped out the product while Walsh's output seems more restrained (but still considerable.)
They could both also tackle any sort of material - melodrama, western, action pic, noir and execute them with ease. Perhaps one way in which they differ is the way their collaborations , particularly the screenwriters conrtibute to the overall quality of the picture. Also, Curtiz' cinematography always looks a little more showy and glossy, even more exprssionist, where Walsh's formal style is perhaps more serviceable (but still very fine.) Curtiz screenplays are often filled with self-aware humor - see Casablana and Mildred Pierce - and so on. In short I think Curtiz' films come across very much as Hollywood "product" - but at a very high level. If anyone could define the best side of the studio system surely it was Curtiz.

Walsh on the other hand seems to have a particular style, and some definable thematic concerns - fast driving action, conflicted characters driven to the edge, and with a great screenplay like HIGH SIERRA or WHITE HEAT the films jump up into completely remarkable territory. To Take another example - THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT - a terrific picture that embraces a lot of the studio 's own trademarks - blue collar workers and exploitation, the corrupted nouveau riche, the driven dame (Ida Lupino)i, tough sexy females (Ann Sheridan). While essentially operating as an action/melodrama Walsh takes the movie up another level into nascent noir territory with Lupino's staggering courtroom scene. And I find a similar degree of tragic fatalism at the end of ROARING TWENTIES.

Gangsters Collections

Who is online