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Lino
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 04, 2006 5:07 am 
"Without obsession, life is nothing"
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According to the recently released news, there will be a set containing movies in which Taylor and Burton worked together. Some further news:

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According to Variety, a 2 disc special edition of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF will be the centerpiece for the Taylor/Burton collection


Other possible titles include "The Comedians" "The VIPS" and "The Sandpiper", all owned by Warner.

Now, if only Universal would move their asses and release Boom! already - maybe they will take a hint from Warners. Fingers crossed.
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david hare
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:35 pm 
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Speaking of Universal we badly need a release of Secret Ceremony (in whihc Liz is extremely responsive to Losey's direction.)

And whoever currently holds rights for Losey's Trotsky, ditto.
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Matt
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:47 pm 
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The current edition of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has just gone out of print.
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porquenegar
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:40 pm 
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Saw the VIPs recently and hated it but I would snap up Who's Afraid... in a second.
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jackson_browne
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:28 pm 

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Will these films be available individually as well as in the box set? I'm not sure what the current trend is on Warner's other box sets. The reason is that I am very interested in picking up Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe, but don't care as much about the other films in the set. I was wondering whether to buy it now before stores stop carrying it or to wait and buy it when the rerelease comes out.
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Lino
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:47 pm 
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Your best bet is to wait and see what Warner plans to do with this collection of films. I personally can't imagine seeing them not giving buyers the chance to buy each film individually (so far, very few set of titles are only available as boxsets, like The Thin Man Collection or The Busby Berkeley one).

Besides, I'm pretty sure the new edition of Virginia Woolf will be miles better than the present one.
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viciousliar
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:09 pm 

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Myra Breckinridge wrote:
Besides, I'm pretty sure the new edition of Virginia Woolf will be miles better than the present one.


Well, that would seem fairly obvious, since the film won an Oscar for best B&W photography(in the last year the Academy had split categories for B&W and color films). And the new version would be anamorphic - the source elements are pristine - since it's just 40 years old, and the debut release belonged to the very first batch of DVDs that WB issued, in 1997, and it looked impressive for its time, by all standards. This was bound to be the centerpiece of a potential collection(Taylor is dying, too - if WB is lucky, time might be on their side when they launch this collection, cashing in on a mass hysteria approximating the one that followed the death of Princess Diana - another of the top runners in the gay icon category, of course. So, sure as hell - WB will pull out all the stops for a new, sparkling transfer. :D
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david hare
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:04 pm 
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Speaking of transfers that should have been sparkling - see Beaver's review of the UK Universal Secret Ceremony disc!

Good print ruined by a non anamorphic transfer. And unlike Beaver I have a lot of time for this very fine late Losey which badly needs rediscovery by a younger audience.
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Lino
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:40 am 
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Quote:
From USAToday.com:

DVD
A Burton-Taylor set in time for Christmas

One of filmdom's most famous couples is being honored with a DVD gift set due Dec. 5.

The highlight of The Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton Film Collection ($50) is a lavish two-disc special edition of 1966's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a taboo-toppling film about a bitter, boozed-up couple that won five Oscars. The disc, also available separately for $27, includes commentary by directors Mike Nichols and Steven Soderbergh and three new featurettes.

Also included in the set: The Sandpiper, The V.I.P.s and The Comedians, none of which have been available on DVD.

"Compared to the tabloid duos of today, there was no more captivating couple than Liz and Dick, " says Warner Bros.' George Feltenstein. "They were the superstars of their day, with explosive chemistry."

— Thomas K. Arnold
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Matt
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:30 am 
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Quote:
"Compared to the tabloid duos of today, there was no more captivating couple than Liz and Dick, " says Warner Bros.' George Feltenstein. "They were the superstars of their day, with explosive chemistry."

If only they could call it "The Liz and Dick Collection" and have a picture on the box cover of them wearing cardigan sweaters and sipping tea, smiling at the camera.
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Lino
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:06 pm 
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More info here.
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skuhn8
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 1:51 pm 
wax on; wax off
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2-disc woolf is a godsend, VIPs is pretty interesting and I've always had a love for Sandpipers far far beyond it's more apparent merits...though I suspect part of it is the familiar locale. I just love that movie the way that Night of the Iguana grabs me by the testes and takes me for a wild ride.

What's the word on Comedians? Does this rank high with forum members?
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tryavna
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:42 pm 
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skuhn8 wrote:
What's the word on Comedians? Does this rank high with forum members?


I have a soft spot for The Comedians, for some reason. It has a fantastic cast: Burton, Taylor, Lilian Gish, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones, etc. And it stays fairly true to the plot and tone of the novel. In fact, it captures the mood of tired resignation that characterizes so many of Graham Greene's later novels better than most adaptations of his work, and I suppose that's to the credit of Peter Glenville, who was a talented director but made only a handful of films.

Unfortunately, there are some serious problems with the film, too. I find that Taylor is simply miscast and isn't too convincing with her accent. And the film also goes on too long. It's certainly worth seeing, but it's probably going to leave you with mixed feelings about its successfulness.
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Gigi M.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:52 am 
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Jeff
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:00 pm 
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Gordon wrote:
The new 2-disc of Virginia Woolf is absolutely superb. This is the first time that I have seen the film on video, so I'm not sure if it is a new transfer, but frankly, it looks stunning. Kodak had just brought out a new faster black ans white negative stock (Eastman 4-X, I believe) and thus it allowed Haskell Wexler to shoot those wonderful low contrast, richly black scenes by the swing, the likes of which had never been seen before and caused much fretting. Wexler's commentary from the previous release is retained and it's fascinating and he doesn't just concentrate on the tech side, but all aspects of the film. The new featurettes are pretty good, too, with the ever-present Schickel stating the obvious as usual, though. Sandy Dennis' screen test - shot in 2.35:1 it seems - is amazingly powerful, what a great actress; she's often overlooked in favour of Dick and Liz in this film, but her work is as impressive and brave as Taylor's. Nichol's and Soderbergh join forces again for a lively, insightful and entertaining commentary. Soderbergh mentions that they have recorded two tracks before, but I only know if their track for Catch-22, so what's the other? Could they perhaps have recorded one for the 40th Anniversary SE of The Graduate?

The 1976 documentary on Taylor is sycophantic, but Peter Lawford sleazing it with Rock Hudson, but Richard Brooks comes across as a forthright dude. He must have been preparing, Looking for Mr Goodbar at the time as he complains about the lack of positive roles for women at the time, with only "loser" roles having power and Diane Keaton's Theresa Dunn would certainly fit that bill. I badly want to see that film - why haven't Paramount gotten around to it?

This new edition is definitely worth an upgrade. It's a powerful, hilarious and tragic film and unlike most 'controversial groundbreakers', it still seems dangerous and powerful, with masterful acting, cinematography end editing - what a debut! The Citizen Kane of the 60s, which opened up a new dimension in American Cinema. Apparently. Wink

I'm off the hump the hostess...
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Lino
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:24 pm 
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Gordon
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:17 pm 
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I created a seperate thread for Virginia Woolf, as it is a genuine classic, whereas the rest of the films in the set are camp fun at best. Now my text looks clumsy, lacking italics and winking smiley. Meddling fools! :wink:
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Lino
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:43 pm 
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skuhn8
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 2:15 pm 
wax on; wax off
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Except for Woolf not a lot of love put into this package spec. features-wise but top of my priorities nonetheless. With winter coming on here can't wait to watch sandpipers with the beautiful Big Sur seascape.

I'm really surprised there are no other commentaries other than Woolf, for instance on VIPs which is a pretty curious production a la Yellow Rolls Royce, with doubtless many interesting background tidbits...would help boost the interest in this title as all in all I think it's quite a bore.
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Lino
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:00 am 
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