Columbia Classics

[tojoed]

I just pre-ordered both of the Screwball sets. Any idea of where I could see some art?

Artwork

[Jeff]

I just pre-ordered both of the Screwball sets. Any idea of where I could see some art?

I bet you're sorry you asked now. Those look like PD sets.

[domino harvey]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sony has the most consistently terrible cover art of any major label, period. This was no surprise

[oldsheperd]

Wow! Those look like the covers for those slimcase movies you can get for a buck at Wal-Mart!

[kaujot]

Just thinking about the "Martini Movies" cover art makes me gag.

[marcco99]

What's going to be in this Rita collection? Do Sony have the rights to Strawberry Blonde and Tales of Manhattan?

Funny you should ask about this..... Amazon is just now offering 'The Strawberry Blonde' DVD exclusively, for $28.98!

[Finch]

Is it definitely confirmed if In A Lonely Place (and other previously released titles like The Big Heat) will be a reissue rather than a new disc? I've never seen the film before and am definitely going to blind buy but am undecided whether to get the old release or to wait for this new set. (I'd also double-dip on The Big Heat if that was an improved transfer over the old disc)

[Frankinho007]

MoviesUnlimited is reporting that the Sam Fuller Set will feature the following films:

It Happened in Hollywood
Adventure in Sahara
Power of the Press
Shockproof
Scandal Sheet
The Crimson Kimono
Underworld U.S.A.

No word yet on the "Film Noir Classics of Columbia Pictures: The Collector's Choice" Box.

[Dr.Soberin]

Second Sony noir collection is more interesting than the first, to me. The Sniper is a frozen turkey with Adolph Menjou laughably miscast as an openminded cop on the trail of a serial killer (Eduard Franz) who derives no apparent pleasure from killing. He's just got to do it.

'The Line-up' and 'Murder by Contract' are minor classics, but very familiar. Whereas box 2 has 'Nightfall', a late Jacques Tourneur with a mouthwatering hardboiled cast. Aldo Ray and Brian Keith after loot in the snow? Promises much, I'm intrigued. Likewise, the 'Brothers Rico' is unknown to me. 'City of Fear' at least sounds like a hoot. 'Pushover' isn't bad, a little too derivative at worst.

Alas, the longer we wait for details, the more likely it looks that the 'Film Noir Classics of Columbia Pictures: The Collector's Choice' is just a phantom entry.

[Perkins Cobb]

That's Arthur Franz in The Sniper (although casting Eduard would've been inspired). And at least it features some great L.A. location work.

Murder by Contract is brilliant, existentialist, and way ahead of its time -- along with Bonjour Tristesse, it's one of the only films that I would say feels like a contemporary film looking back at the 50s as well a product of its time. City of Fear, on the other hand, is mostly schlock. The difference between a great screenwriter and a journeyman, I guess, since most of the other elements in the two films are the same.

It seems obvious that the single July noir release morphed into a double in November, yes? Which is terrific, although it would've been nice to get one now and one later.

[Frankinho007]

That's Arthur Franz in The Sniper (although casting Eduard would've been inspired). And at least it features some great L.A. location work.

Murder by Contract is brilliant, existentialist, and way ahead of its time -- along with Bonjour Tristesse, it's one of the only films that I would say feels like a contemporary film looking back at the 50s as well a product of its time. City of Fear, on the other hand, is mostly schlock. The difference between a great screenwriter and a journeyman, I guess, since most of the other elements in the two films are the same.

It seems obvious that the single July noir release morphed into a double in November, yes? Which is terrific, although it would've been nice to get one now and one later.

At first, Sony planned to release the Film Noir Vol. 1 Set in July and Amazon and several other shops listed them. In the meantime the date was movied to November and there won't be a Noir set in July. Mr. Schlesinger said so in the Hometheaterforum:

Okay, here it is from the horse's mouth: July 14 was the original release date of Film Noir, Vol. 1, but it had to be pushed back to November. So--two noir sets, both in November, plus the Fuller box, date TBD.

Mike S.

[Perkins Cobb]

Clearly there's some kind of a curse on film noir in July.

[Haggai]

That's Arthur Franz in The Sniper (although casting Eduard would've been inspired). And at least it features some great L.A. location work.

Actually San Francisco, not LA...and it is definitely some great location stuff.

[Perkins Cobb]

Oh, you're right ... I was thinking of Without Warning! Never mind....

[Dr.Soberin]

Without Warning! would be a better movie with Eduard Franz in it, also.

Are these two sets to be like the Hammer collections Sony released, Icons of Horror and Icons of Adventure? That is to ask: Will they be 5 films on 2 discs each set, unlovingly decorated with terrible artwork, or...? There were only 4 films apiece in those two collections, but it wouldn't seem in keeping for Sony to start issuing a film a disc.

[vivahawks]

That's Arthur Franz in The Sniper (although casting Eduard would've been inspired). And at least it features some great L.A. location work.

Murder by Contract is brilliant, existentialist, and way ahead of its time -- along with Bonjour Tristesse, it's one of the only films that I would say feels like a contemporary film looking back at the 50s as well a product of its time. City of Fear, on the other hand, is mostly schlock. The difference between a great screenwriter and a journeyman, I guess, since most of the other elements in the two films are the same.

Gotta put in a good word for City of Fear: I saw it a few years ago with Murder by Contract and I think it's on the same level as its more celebrated predecessor. Both are black comedy thrillers comparable to Melville's, and while City's dialogue is maybe less well-crafted than Murder's, the poisoned man conceit works better as a metaphor for class and aspiration than the ironic chatter about the suburbs in the latter. And although I know that's not what you mean about Murder's contemporary feel, what could be more prescient and current than the idea of a dirty bomb loose in the city? Straying a bit, has anyone seen Lerner's film of Studs Lonigan? It sounds like a potentially fruitful premise for him but I haven't heard many good things about it.

[Ashirg]

Sony is on a roll! More titles are coming on September 8:

The Buttercup Chain (1971)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)
Model Shop (1969)
The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
Summertree (1971)

$19.94 is each title. Some of them are already available for pre-order at Walmart, but give it some time to appear at other places...

[domino harvey]

Well, that's good news for people too chicken to order the French Demy set at least

[Dylan]

Great news about Model Shop, and it's sort of amazing Sony is finally getting around to all of these early seventies dramas.

Here are the specs for Sony's long-awaited release of Fred Dekker's entertaining 1986 horror comedy Night of the Creeps:

Extended "Director's Cut" version of the film with director Fred Dekker's original ending
"Birth of Creeps" featuring Dekker talking about the origins of the project
"Cast of the Creeps" featuring Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow
"Creating The Creeps" featuring interviews with SFX creators David B. Miller and Robert Kurtzman
A special Tom Atkins centric piece called "Tom Atkins: Man of Action"
"Escape of the Creeps" a detailed look at the post-production.
Deleted scenes
Fred Dekker solo commentary
Cast commentary featuring Atkins, Whitlow, Marshall and Lively
The original theatrical ending
Footage from the Cast and Crew reunion screening at the Alamo Drafthouse.

I've always enjoyed this film (would play it on a loop with Monster Squad as a kid) so I look really forward to this.

[manicsounds]

Toho Collection

Interlaced transfer on one of the films, Battle In Outer Space, which also has dubtitles only,
Terrible packaging, although no pictures of it.
No digital extra, not even trailers for the films?

On the plus side,
White subtitles for a change, 2 commentaries from guys who know their stuff,
And these 3 films are finally available in region 1.

[Gregory]

The packaging that Gary notes (three discs stacked on a single hub) is apparently a standard practice for their cheap 3-disc sets now. I recently bought the triple feature with The Man From Laramie and Man in the Saddle, and it's packaged the same way. Fortunately, they seem to fit tightly enough on the hub that the discs won't spin around and make circular scratches on each other.

If they're switching to white subtitles, that's cause for celebration.

[domino harvey]

Full deetz for the William Castle box:

DISC 1:

13 Frightened Girls (1963, 89 min.)
Castle launched a worldwide hunt for the prettiest girls from different countries to cast in 13 Frightened Girls!. The stunt helped generate publicity for the film about the thirteen daughters of international diplomats in a Swiss boarding school, who stir up trouble when they mess in the diplomatic affairs of their parents and a Russian spy is discovered murdered.

13 Ghosts (1960, 85 min.)
Castle aggressively promoted the film with floats going up and down Hollywood Blvd. with “ghosts” riding along, holding signs, touting the movie. He named the gimmick created for 13 Ghosts “Illusion-O,” which was a special hand-held piece of cardboard with two transparent colored strips, one red and one blue. If you wanted to see the ghosts in the film, you looked through one, but if you were too frightened, you could look through the other and they weren’t visible. The film promised and delivered “13 Times the Thrills! 13 Times the Chills! 13 Times the Fun!” for the story of a family who inherits a haunted house, but discover a special pair of goggles that allows them to see their ghostly tormentors. The film starred Martin Milner (TV’s “Adam-12”) and Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz).

BONUS FEATURES:

* Featurette: “The Magic of Illusion-O”
* Original Theatrical Trailers
* Original “British” trailer introduction for 13 Frightened Girls
* Original “Candy Web” trailer for 13 Frightened Girls
* Original “Candy Web” theatrical opening message from William Castle for 13 Frightened Girls
* Original “Candy Web” theatrical closing message from William Castle for 13 Frightened Girls
* Alternate opening (British) for 13 Frightened Girls
* Alternate opening (Swedish) for 13 Frightened Girls
* Alternate opening (French) for 13 Frightened Girls
* Alternate opening (German) for 13 Frightened Girls

DISC 2:

Homicidal (1961, 87 min.)
In Homicidal, the brutal stabbing murder of a justice-of-the-peace sparks an investigation of the dark family secrets in a sleepy small town. Castle promoted the film with a “Fright Break,” a 45-second timer during the film’s climax as the heroine approached a house harboring the sadistic killer. The voiceover advised the audience of the time remaining in which they could leave the theatre and receive a full refund if they were too frightened to see the rest of the film. To ensure filmgoers did not opt for the refund, Castle instituted the “Coward’s Corner.” Patrons were expected to follow yellow footsteps up the theater aisle, bathed in a yellow light and sit in a yellow cardboard booth in the theater lobby. Castle included a nurse offering a blood-pressure test, a recording blaring “Watch the chicken! Watch him shiver in Coward’s Corner,” and required them to sign a yellow “Coward’s Certificate” card stating, “I am a bona fide coward.” Needless to say, very few filmgoers opted out of the screening.

Strait-Jacket (1964, 93 min.)
Advised by his financial backers to eliminate the gimmicks, Castle hired Hollywood’s legendary Joan Crawford (The Women, Our Dancing Daughters) to star as an ax-murderess in this story of a mother, who, after a 20 year stay in an insane asylum for a double murder, visits her estranged daughter and raises suspicions about her odd behavior. At the last minute, Castle had cardboard axes handed out to patrons and sent Crawford on a nation-wide promotional tour of theaters showing the film.

BONUS FEATURES:

* “Psychette: William Castle and Homicidal”
* “Homicidal Youngstown, Ohio Premiere”
* Featurette: “Battleaxe: The Making of Strait-Jacket”
* Vintage Featurette: “How to Plan a Movie Murder”
* Original Theatrical Trailers
* Joan Crawford Wardrobe Tests
* Joan Crawford Axe Test
* Strait-Jacket TV Spots

DISC 3:

Mr. Sardonicus (1961, 89 min.)
In this gothic tale set in 1880 London, a Baron’s face is frozen into a permanently grotesque hideous smile after digging up his father’s grave to retrieve a winning lottery ticket accidently left in his pocket. The gimmick allowed audiences to vote in a “Punishment Poll” during the climax of the film where Castle himself appears on screen to explain to the audience their options. Each member of the audience was given a card with a glow-in-the-dark thumb they could hold either up or down to decide if Mr. Sardonicus would be cured or die at the end of the film. Supposedly, no audience ever offered mercy and the villain was always punished.

The Old Dark House (1963, 86 min.)
Tom Posten (Zotz!) was again cast by Castle in this project about an American who sells cars in England who receives a mysterious invitation from an old, eccentric millionaire to visit his house in which he lives with his twin brother.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Featurette: “Taking the Punishment Poll"
* Featurette: “Ghost Story: Pilot (The New House)"
* Original Theatrical Trailer

DISC 4:

The Tingler (1959, 82 min.)
Legendary horror star Vincent Price (Edward Scissorhands) stars in The Tingler, the terrifying story of a docile creature that lives in the human spinal cord. They become activated by fright and can only be destroyed by screaming. In the film’s finale, one of the creatures kills a mute woman because she was unable to scream and the creature is let loose in a movie theatre. Castle promoted the film with the gimmick of “Percepto,” where audiences would actually feel the sensations of the actors on the screen. To achieve this, theaters wired select seats with tiny motors underneath that would vibrate during key scenes in the movie. The certain members of the audience would get a “tingling” sensation and were encouraged to “Scream - scream for your lives.”

Zotz! (1962, 87 min.)
Tom Posten (TV’s “Newhart”) finds a Zotz coin and discovers its awesome powers. After attempting to share its secret with the US government (where he is brushed off as a lunatic), his discovery captures the interest of foreign agents, who attempt to steal it. To promote the film, Castle provided each filmgoer with a “magic” coin which, unfortunately, did absolutely nothing.

BONUS FEATURES:

* Featurette: “Scream For Your Lives: William Castle and The Tingler”
* Featurette: “Ghost Story: Graveyard Shift”
* Alternate Drive-In Sequence for The Tingler
* Original “Scream” Sequence for The Tingler
* Original Theatrical Trailers

DISC 5 (BONUS DISC):

* Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story

[AfterTheRain]

That settles it. I will definitely have to pick this up when it comes out.

[Frankinho007]

Sony launched a website for their Columbia Classics titles and even though there's not much to explore yet, Noir fans can be happy. Under "In Production" one can find the following statement:

More Noir! For a number of years, the UCLA Film and Television Archive has been gracious in programming a series of films under the moniker of Columbia Restorations. The series features newly-restored prints of films from the Columbia Pictures library that we have been working to preserve and restore. Last fall, the series focused on actresses from Columbia noir titles of the 1940's and 1950's. Gloria Grahame, Lizabeth Scott, Nina Foch, just to name a few. This series received an enthusiastic review from Ken Turan in the Los Angeles Times and led us to think, why not create a DVD release around this concept? The result, The Bad Girls of Noir boxed set, featuring six of the films (Over-Exposed, The Glass Wall, One Girl's Confession, Two of a Kind, Bad for Each Other, and The Killer that Stalked New York) will be released in early 2010. It is really the first release of its kind with this particular focus and we hope fans of the genre will enjoy it.

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Napier]

Wow, great news indeed. I'm a total noir junkie, and some of these have been on the to-do list for a while. Lets hope they do nice transfers.