Gangsters Collections

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Belmondo
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:19 am
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#101 Post by Belmondo » Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:54 pm

Multi-Region wrote:
domino harvey wrote:I just want to know why a ten foot James Cagney is cowering behind Bogart's coattails.
Yeah, and why is Bogey on the cover of all 3 Boxsets, his career really started with HIGH SIERRA in 1941... :? (Cagney and Robinson were already well-known...) Vol. #1 has a new cover-art too
Bogart makes the cover because PETRIFIED FOREST (1936) was his breakout performance. He appeared in the Broadway version a year earlier and top billed Leslie Howard insisted that he be given the movie role.
It is true that Hollywood failed to exploit Bogart's depth through the rest of the 1930's; and it wasn't till the early 40's that we got HIGH SIERRA, MALTESE FALCON, and that one with Ingrid that turned Bogart into BOGART.

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Mr Sausage
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:02 pm
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#102 Post by Mr Sausage » Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:12 pm

Belmondo wrote:
Multi-Region wrote:
domino harvey wrote:I just want to know why a ten foot James Cagney is cowering behind Bogart's coattails.
Yeah, and why is Bogey on the cover of all 3 Boxsets, his career really started with HIGH SIERRA in 1941... :? (Cagney and Robinson were already well-known...) Vol. #1 has a new cover-art too
Bogart makes the cover because PETRIFIED FOREST (1936) was his breakout performance. He appeared in the Broadway version a year earlier and top billed Leslie Howard insisted that he be given the movie role.
It is true that Hollywood failed to exploit Bogart's depth through the rest of the 1930's; and it wasn't till the early 40's that we got HIGH SIERRA, MALTESE FALCON, and that one with Ingrid that turned Bogart into BOGART.
The real reason Bogart is on the cover is to sell more DVDs. He's recognizable and that sells movies.

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dx23
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:52 pm
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#103 Post by dx23 » Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:24 am

Amazon.com has listed a re-release for this set for 3/25/08. Apparently the dvds now come in thinpack, like Vol 2 and 3.

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rohmerin
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 am
Location: Spain

#104 Post by rohmerin » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:40 am

I need information about subtitles in this new pack. Please, if you know, post it.

Gracias.

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Gigi M.
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:09 pm
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#105 Post by Gigi M. » Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:14 pm

rohmerin wrote:I need information about subtitles in this new pack. Please, if you know, post it.

Gracias.
Since early last year Warner decided not to include spanish subs on their discs. I don't know why but none of the last sets I've bought have any. Only english and french. Hope that helps.

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rohmerin
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 am
Location: Spain

#106 Post by rohmerin » Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:08 am

So, I'll wait untill the European release. These gangster WB arrive, but film noir from WB NEVER, NEVER arrive here. I hate the new policy of WB.

I expect news for the new pre-code film. I'll buy them even if they have English subt. because it's very difficult they'll be released in Spain.

Saludos.

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MichaelB
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#107 Post by MichaelB » Sat Feb 02, 2008 6:46 am

Belmondo wrote:Bogart makes the cover because PETRIFIED FOREST (1936) was his breakout performance. He appeared in the Broadway version a year earlier and top billed Leslie Howard insisted that he be given the movie role.
All completely true, and Bogart was so grateful to Howard for effectively giving him a career that nearly twenty years later he named his daughter Leslie in sadly posthumous tribute.

Incidentally, Leslie Howard is one of the most truly admirable people ever to work in the film industry - quite aside from his crucial championing of Bogart, he flew back to Britain in September 1939, and devoted the rest of his sadly curtailed life to helping the war effort in any way he could, shooting documentaries and propaganda films as well as fiction features. And he could easily have stayed in Hollywood: his last American film was Gone with the Wind!

zone_resident
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:33 pm

#108 Post by zone_resident » Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:42 pm


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manicsounds
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#109 Post by manicsounds » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:44 am

So according to Savant, Keep Cases? Not Slim Cases.

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domino harvey
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#110 Post by domino harvey » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:44 pm

manicsounds wrote:So according to Savant, Keep Cases? Not Slim Cases.
Beaver confirms

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devlinnn
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 3:23 am
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#111 Post by devlinnn » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:17 am

rohmerin wrote:So, I'll wait untill the European release. These gangster WB arrive, but film noir from WB NEVER, NEVER arrive here. I hate the new policy of WB.
The majority of the Warner film noirs were RKO productions, which are owned in the main by Universal outside the USA.

filmnoir1
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:36 pm

Gangster Boxset Volume 3

#112 Post by filmnoir1 » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:15 am

Received mine today from Amazon. I have watched Smart Money with the commentary by Silver and Ursini, which is okay but they spend too much time trying to explain pre-code films and how they were produced and then later censored. I would like to have heard more about the production of the film itself.
Also watched Ladykiller with the commentary that is provided by Drew Caspar. His commentary is really interesting but it sounds as if he is reading from a script. His descriptions of Cagney onscreen and the formation of Cagney's screen persona are insightful and demonstrate a real love and appreciation for Cagney and his abilities. As Caspar is a historian and a keen observer of film, he also discusses how the film fits into a subgenre of comedy at the time "shyster films" and explains the relevance of those films in the 1930s. Equally fascinating is his reading of the film as a satire of Warner Brothers and the movie business itself as a type of "con artist"

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
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Gangsters Collection Vol. 4

#113 Post by Ashirg » Mon May 26, 2008 8:49 am

No film noir collection announced yet, but we get the second gangster collection this year. DVD Times Announcement.
Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of Warner Bros. Pictures Gangsters Collection Volume 4 on 23rd September 2008. This latest group of crime genre classics features five new to R1 DVD gangster films: The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, The Little Giant, Larceny, Inc., Invisible Stripes and Kid Galahad. The films contain bonus features such as rarely-seen Warner Bros. shorts, vintage newsreels and classic cartoons, plus original theatrical trailers. Also included in the collection is an all-new Warner Home Video feature-length documentary, Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film which takes the viewer on an inside look of every aspect of the crime genre and how it came about. The six-disc collection will sell for $59.92 SRP and Kid Galahad will be available as a single title for $19.97.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938)
Dr. Clitterhouse (Edward G. Robinson) is fascinated by the study of the physical and mental states of lawbreakers, so he joins a gang of jewel thieves for a closer look in this often amusing crime drama. Claire Trevor co-stars as a savvy crime queen, and Humphrey Bogart plays Rocks Valentine, whom Dr. C. calls “a magnificent specimen of pure viciousness.” The movie also marks the start of one of film’s most noteworthy collaborations. John Huston, who was to later direct Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen, co-wrote the screenplay of The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse.

Special Features:

* Commentary by Dr. Drew Casper and Richard Jewell
* Racket Busters theatrical trailer
* Vintage newsreel
* WB short: Night Intruder
* WB cartoons:
o Cinderella Meets a Fella
o Count Me Out
* 1941 Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater Broadcast (audio only)
* 1944 Gulf Screen Guild Theater Broadcast (audio only)
* Theatrical trailer

The Little Giant (1933)
The era of the bootlegger is past but liquor runner Bugs Ahearn (Edward G. Robinson) has a plan for what he’ll do now that Prohibition is history. He decides to head for California’s posh, polo-playing Santa Barbara to become part of the high society. What he finds there -- swindlers, gold diggers, great fun – makes first class entertainment in this pre-Code gem. Edward G. Robinson shows his comedic chops for the first time, paving the way for such subsequent films as A Slight Case of Murder, Brother Orchid, Larceny, Inc. and more persona-skewering frolics.

Special Features:

* Commentary by Daniel Bubbeo and John McCarty
* Vintage newsreel
* WB short: Just Around the Corner
* WB cartoon: The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
* Theatrical trailer

Larceny, Inc. (1942)
Edward G. Robinson once more turns his gangster image on its head in a gleeful romp based on the Broadway farce penned by Laura Perelman and S.J. Perelman. Robinson plays Pressure Maxwell, who emerges from Sing Sing planning to run a dog track with cronies Jug (Broderick Crawford) and Weepy (Edward Brophy). But the plan needs funding, so the group (assisted by Jane Wyman) opens a luggage shop as a front while attempting to tunnel into the bank next door. Now add the store’s unexpected success, a gabby traveling valise salesman (Jack Carson) and the arrival of a sour con (Anthony Quinn) who wants in on the action, and the laughs are thick as thieves.

Special Features:

* Commentary by Haden Guest and Dana Polan
* Vintage newsreel
* The Big Shot theatrical trailer
* WB short: Winning Your Wings
* WB cartoons:
o Porky’s Pastry Pirates
o The Wabbit Who Came to Supper
* Theatrical trailer

Invisible Stripes (1939)
Parolee Chuck Martin is going straight when he gets out of jail – straight back to a life of crime. In lockup or out in the civilian world, he knows he’ll forever wear a con’s ‘Invisible Stripes.’ As Martin, Humphrey Bogart continues to battle and sneer his way to career stardom in this volatile social-conscience crime saga adapted from a book by warden Lewis E. Lawes. Top-billed George Raft plays Martin’s ex-Sing Sing yard mate Cliff Taylor, who vows to walk away from crime and be a role model for his kid brother (William Holden). But what awaits Taylor are suspicion, public disdain and joblessness. So he turns to a fellow con for help. Then, as now, he finds crime doesn’t pay.

Special Features:

* Commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini
* You Can’t Get Away with Murder Theatrical trailer
* Vintage newsreel
* WB short The Monroe Doctrine and Quiet, Please
* WB cartoons:
o Bars and Stripes Forever
o Hare-um Scare-um
* Theatrical trailer

Kid Galahad (1937)
This influential ring saga dramatically links professional boxing to criminal gambling. Edward G. Robinson is racketeer/fight promoter Nick Donati and tightly coiled Humphrey Bogart is Turkey Morgan. They’re rival promoters who, like fighters flinging kidney punches, end up swapping close-range bullets. Bette Davis plays the moll who has a soft spot for the bellhop (Wayne Morris) that Nick is grooming for the heavyweight title. And prolific Michael Curtiz directs this first of his six collaborations with Bogart that would include the romantic masterwork Casablanca and the sly comedy We’re No Angels.

Special Features:

* Commentary by Art Simon and Robert Sklar
* It’s Love I’m After theatrical trailer
* Vintage newsreel
* WB Shorts: Alibi Mark and Postal Union
* WB Cartoons:
o Egghead Rides Again
o I Wanna Be a Sailor
o Porky’s Super Service
* Theatrical trailer

Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film -- Warner Home Video Documentary
As popular as these films were in their heyday, seminal giants like Little Caesar and Public Enemy as well as post-war gems like Key Largo and White Heat still hold power over their audiences today. Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film will explore the invention and development of the crime genre; the rise of Warner stars like Cagney, Bogart and Robinson; as well as directors like Walsh, Wellman and Curtiz. It will cover the films themselves and the influence they had on filmmakers all over the world; and the artistic merit that these defining classic films still warrant. Finally, the documentary will celebrate the impact that Warner Bros. Studios had in establishing the iconic Hollywood Gangster, often imitated but never equaled.

Special Features:

* Four WB Cartoons: I Like Mountain Music, She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter, Racketeer Rabbit and Bugs and Thugs

filmnoir1
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:36 pm

Warner's Gangster collection volume 4

#114 Post by filmnoir1 » Mon May 26, 2008 9:44 am

This is really great news. It seems that Warner's still has some surprises left for their anniversary year. However, one must still ask why they did not include Michael Curtiz's 20,000 Years in Sing Sing. Perhaps they are waiting so they can release a box set honoring the prison films of the 1930s like this one and Hell's Highway, Laughter in Hell and The Big House.
No matter, I just hope Warner's continues to release more of their classic catalogue because as a scholar working on WB, all these releases are are invaluable.

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
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#115 Post by domino harvey » Mon May 26, 2008 1:13 pm

Any box set that is 80% Edward G Robinson is worth buying

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starmanof51
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Re: Warner's Gangster collection volume 4

#116 Post by starmanof51 » Mon May 26, 2008 1:37 pm

filmnoir1 wrote:However, one must still ask why they did not include Michael Curtiz's 20,000 Years in Sing Sing. Perhaps they are waiting so they can release a box set honoring the prison films of the 1930s like this one and Hell's Highway, Laughter in Hell and The Big House.
I was thinking this very thing not two days ago - that they might do a prison box. I could see Ladies They Talk About going in that as well.

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Jean-Luc Garbo
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#117 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Mon May 26, 2008 1:53 pm

domino harvey wrote:Any box set that is 80% Edward G Robinson is worth buying
I'd say. At $60 it's a steal to boot. Larceny, Inc. and Kid Galahad sound particularly good. With sets like these, who needs new movies? I can just stay in during the summer and avoid the multiplex.

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bjeggert82
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#118 Post by bjeggert82 » Mon May 26, 2008 10:10 pm

I'm really glad they decided to release Kid Galahad separately, since that's the only one, in my mind, worth multiple viewings. Gotta love that Michael Curtiz!

MadJack
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:21 am

#119 Post by MadJack » Tue May 27, 2008 12:15 pm

Any box set that is 80% Edward G Robinson is worth buying
Which makes me wonder why they didn't just replace Invisible Stripes with, I don't know, something like Manpower, and call it an Eddie Robinson Signature Set.

After all, a Gangster box without Cagney?

(not that I'm complaining about the release)

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souvenir
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:20 pm

#120 Post by souvenir » Tue May 27, 2008 12:35 pm

MadJack wrote:
Any box set that is 80% Edward G Robinson is worth buying
Which makes me wonder why they didn't just replace Invisible Stripes with, I don't know, something like Manpower, and call it an Eddie Robinson Signature Set.
That's an easy one. The word "gangsters" is a far bigger attraction for marketing purposes than a Robinson Signature Collection would be.

Agreed on the lack of Cagney, though surely a second volume of his films is coming in the next year or so since so many sit unreleased.

MadJack
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 11:21 am

#121 Post by MadJack » Tue May 27, 2008 1:55 pm

The word "gangsters" is a far bigger attraction for marketing purposes than a Robinson Signature Collection would be.
Fair enough. Although I would not have thought a Ronald Reagan set would sell (I know a couple of the films are great, but still...).
Agreed on the lack of Cagney, though surely a second volume of his films is coming.
Hopefully, when/if it arrives, it will be full of more pre-code goodness.

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CSM126
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#122 Post by CSM126 » Wed May 28, 2008 12:21 am

MadJack wrote:
The word "gangsters" is a far bigger attraction for marketing purposes than a Robinson Signature Collection would be.
Fair enough. Although I would not have thought a Ronald Reagan set would sell (I know a couple of the films are great, but still...).
Anything related to the Gipper is bound to sell well Stateside.

shearerchic
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 12:45 am

#123 Post by shearerchic » Wed May 28, 2008 2:36 am

MadJack wrote:
The word "gangsters" is a far bigger attraction for marketing purposes than a Robinson Signature Collection would be.
Fair enough. Although I would not have thought a Ronald Reagan set would sell (I know a couple of the films are great, but still...).
Agreed on the lack of Cagney, though surely a second volume of his films is coming.
Hopefully, when/if it arrives, it will be full of more pre-code goodness.
Maybe films like Blonde Crazy, The Oklahoma Kid, Devil Dogs of the Air, The Strawberry Blonde, Taxi, and Jimmy the Gent. :shock:

Perkins Cobb
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:49 pm

#124 Post by Perkins Cobb » Wed May 28, 2008 1:02 pm

This box is occupying the traditional July Warners film noir slot, and it's confirmed (or at least strongly hinted) by Alan Rode on the Classic Horror Film Board that we won't get another noir set until 2009.

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Belmondo
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#125 Post by Belmondo » Wed May 28, 2008 11:03 pm

Perkins Cobb wrote:This box is occupying the traditional July Warners film noir slot, and it's confirmed (or at least strongly hinted) by Alan Rode on the Classic Horror Film Board that we won't get another noir set until 2009.
I'm hiding out here at 99 River Street after my friends committed an Armored Car Robbery while I was eying that Woman on the Beach, and I must conclude that I find a serious Pitfall in delaying the noir set until next year.

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