Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

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Werewolf by Night

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1651 Post by Werewolf by Night » Fri Sep 09, 2016 11:00 pm

Minkin wrote:Now if only we could get a Pete Smith collection.
Been waiting for this for years.

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1652 Post by movielocke » Sat Sep 10, 2016 4:26 am

Minkin wrote:Well thanks to this forum for not letting me know sooner that WB has finally released Traveltalks on DVD....R. I have finally ended my self-imposed ban on all DVD-R products, as this is something I could never pass up. Volume 1 came out in May and Volume 2 came out a couple weeks ago (there's enough shorts to fill four volumes, so I really hope they do all four, and not just kill the series like WB is so apt to do... Looney Tunes blurays).

Each volume has three discs and 60 shorts. Although it looks like Glimpses of Australia is repeated on both sets by mistake, that's a rather amusing short - as Fitzpatrick (the narrator / etc) really hammers in that Australia is some kind of "white man's paradise".

For any of you who haven't seen any Traveltalks (they play as filler on TCM between films) - they are astounding travelogues made between 1930 through the mid 50s. Seeing a Pre-WW2 world in technicolor is certainly a highlight. Its also incredible how much modernization has taken place in such a short span. The Netherlands films are one strange example - as it seems like everyone was still stuck in the 1600s there: even in 1950 (wearing traditional clothes, living off the sea, etc - and its not just some tourist act).

Of course Fitzpatrick can be terribly overly sentimental and very belittling of his subjects ("those native have no concept of a higher being like God"), but its part of the charm. He always ends the short "with reluctance we leave" and typically a shot of a sunset. He also really loves Niagara Falls for some reason.

A few highlights:

Romantic Nevada - A trip to Reno, which instead focuses entirely on the whole divorce culture that has arisen there.
Paris of Parade - a visit to the world's fair with some impressive architecture created by the various nations
Land of the Quintuplets - Some Canadian family gave birth to quintuplets which became a huge tourist attraction, its like a baby zoo.
Any of the National Parks shorts are fantastic as well.

So I can't recommend these shorts enough. It helps that I love travelogues, but there's enough charm and historical intrigue in these for anybody. I just don't know why it took WB so long to release them (other than a Kino VHS, or one added as a bonus feature here and there). Hell, they even released the Dogville shorts several years before this! Now if only we could get a Pete Smith collection.
I believe the reason is twofold, 1) tcm relies on old airmasters, long ago ingested into a broadcast server. The transfers and the originating airmasters are probably obsolete. WB archive doesn't want to release obsolete masters (not after the first year of archive releases, at least).

2) asset management produces new masters to fulfill insurance requirements and there's a physical limit to how many new masters warner can produce in a year, given the number of film scanners they have, one frame goes through each scanner at a time, whether it is benhur or Pete smith. And basically, warner archive doesn't have a lot of input into which projects asset management prioritizes for new masters.

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1653 Post by Gregory » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:09 pm

Gregory wrote:Thanks for the tip, as I'd overlooked these releases as well.
Minkin wrote:Well thanks to this forum for not letting me know sooner that WB has finally released Traveltalks on DVD....R. I have finally ended my self-imposed ban on all DVD-R products, as this is something I could never pass up.
If you avoid ordering them from Amazon, the initial runs of each set should be on pressed discs, like other WAC multi-disc sets, right?
For anyone else interested in the Traveltalks Shorts sets, I just received Vol. 1 from Deep Discount and the discs do appear to be pressed.
Looking forward to "Glimpses of" Austria, Kentucky, Guatemala, Florida, Java, Ceylon, etc.!

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1654 Post by Minkin » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:30 pm

Gregory wrote:
Gregory wrote:Thanks for the tip, as I'd overlooked these releases as well.
Minkin wrote:Well thanks to this forum for not letting me know sooner that WB has finally released Traveltalks on DVD....R. I have finally ended my self-imposed ban on all DVD-R products, as this is something I could never pass up.
If you avoid ordering them from Amazon, the initial runs of each set should be on pressed discs, like other WAC multi-disc sets, right?
For anyone else interested in the Traveltalks Shorts sets, I just received Vol. 1 from Deep Discount and the discs do appear to be pressed.
Looking forward to "Glimpses of" Austria, Kentucky, Guatemala, Florida, Java, Ceylon, etc.!
That's good to know. I have a hard time being 100% sure either way (probably because I've never bought a DVD-R before). I'll have to double check now.

As to Fitzpatrick's creative titles: He uses "Glimpses of __" 18 times, "Colorful __" 9 times, and "Picturesque __" 5 times. Based on title alone, the three I've most wanted to see are:

Papua and Kalabahai, Weird Haunts of Strange People (1933)
Land of the Ugly Duckling (1953) (though this might just be about Denmark)
Fiji and Samoa, the Cannibal Isles (1933)

These are all great and I highly recommend everyone looks into these sets.

@Movielocke - I fully understand the problems of Warner Archive and that they probably don't want to release masters (that based on the Turner indent on TCM) are probably from the early 90s. The Traveltalks discs must be a huge undertaking with 60 shorts each and about 8-10 minutes per short. Still, I can't understand or forgive a company who puts out the Dogville shorts before their silent features or Oscar winning shorts, etc.


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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1656 Post by Minkin » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:21 pm

Excellent!

I'm glad to see that these are selling. There should be a 4th volume and then every Traveltalks will have been covered. I just really hope that they don't pull a typical WB/Disney and abandon the series before the last volume gets released. Is there any precedent for such in the Archive?

This also reminds me of my annoyances with TCM. At some point in the last year+ they stopped listing Extras on their website schedule/ my DVR. They still air the Extras, but you'd have to record the entire film / wait for it to end and hope that there might be an Extra between the next film showing (and it seems that less than 50% of the time there's an Extra). Thus my happiness with these DVDs.

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Feego
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:30 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1657 Post by Feego » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:54 pm

From WB's newsletter concerning the Traveltalks:
Fitzpatrick Traveltalks: V3 - To paraphrase the peripatetic producer of these Technicolor® travelogues, it is with this third volume that we reluctantly say farewell to the “voice of the globe,” James A. FitzPatrick. And as a final treat, two supersized travel specials are included – James A. FitzPatrick’s Mighty Manhattan: New York’s Wonder City and the non-FitzPatrick production Rome, The Eternal City, which gives us a glimpse of Cinecittà (and Deborah Kerr!) during the production of Quo Vadis.

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Minkin
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1658 Post by Minkin » Wed Oct 26, 2016 8:07 pm

Feego wrote:From WB's newsletter concerning the Traveltalks:
Fitzpatrick Traveltalks: V3 - To paraphrase the peripatetic producer of these Technicolor® travelogues, it is with this third volume that we reluctantly say farewell to the “voice of the globe,” James A. FitzPatrick. And as a final treat, two supersized travel specials are included – James A. FitzPatrick’s Mighty Manhattan: New York’s Wonder City and the non-FitzPatrick production Rome, The Eternal City, which gives us a glimpse of Cinecittà (and Deborah Kerr!) during the production of Quo Vadis.
To paraphrase my reaction:

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fucking bastards.

Why can't WB ever finish anything? Wither Looney Tunes / Tom & Jerry Blus while we're at it.

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Fred Holywell
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1659 Post by Fred Holywell » Wed Oct 26, 2016 9:23 pm

Minkin wrote:This also reminds me of my annoyances with TCM. At some point in the last year+ they stopped listing Extras on their website schedule/ my DVR. They still air the Extras, but you'd have to record the entire film / wait for it to end and hope that there might be an Extra between the next film showing (and it seems that less than 50% of the time there's an Extra). Thus my happiness with these DVDs.
TCM now lists some, if not all, of the Extras they air on the monthly schedule. Tonight (actually tomorrow morning), there's a FitzPatrick Traveltalk about Washington, D.C. and an incredible MGM Technicolor short called "Hollywood Party."

bevilacq12
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:02 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

#1660 Post by bevilacq12 » Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:25 pm

Is general Warner Archive talk ok here, or specifically just Blu-rays? The other Warner Archive thread I see last had activity in 2016, so hopefully I'm posting in the correct place.

Does WB ever do their "pressed initial run in anticipation of demand" thing for Warner Archive DVDs that previously had retail releases? I thought absolutely not (save for those random Paramount reissues a few years ago, e.g., Jonathan Livingston Seagull), but I just stumbled upon a weird case. I had ordered Forbidden Hollywood vol. 1 from a 3rd party Amazon seller, expecting it to be the retail digipack version due to the cover art, release date, and price. I was extremely annoyed to receive the amaray Warner Archive re-release. I opened it for the heck of it and found... pressed discs. IFPI KK5J, Mexico. The shrinkwrap was a fairly professional looking y-fold, not the sloppy reshrinkwrap people often use when passing used discs off as new - certainly not proof, but relevant in context I believe. The discs appear to be in new condition.

Weird case of someone reselling retail discs in a MOD case? Or did WB actually press more discs of this when switching it over to Warner Archive?

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1661 Post by domino harvey » Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:38 pm

I think it's an exception for multi disc sets because stocking them is for some reason cheaper with a normal press run initially (perhaps a manpower/automation issue?)

bevilacq12
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:02 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1662 Post by bevilacq12 » Mon Feb 04, 2019 8:00 pm

I'm familiar with that happening for new multi-disc sets that never had a retail release, such as Forbidden Hollywood vols. 4-10. But I've never seen it done for ones that DID have a previous retail release (I personally got burned on a few such purchases, expecting them to be pressed and instead receiving DVD-Rs even though I was buying directly through WBShop and had preordered to ensure first pressing).

Marwood
Joined: Thu Sep 19, 2013 8:05 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

#1663 Post by Marwood » Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:27 am

bevilacq12 wrote:
Mon Feb 04, 2019 7:25 pm
I had ordered Forbidden Hollywood vol. 1 from a 3rd party Amazon seller, expecting it to be the retail digipack version due to the cover art, release date, and price. I was extremely annoyed to receive the amaray Warner Archive re-release. I opened it for the heck of it and found... pressed discs.
Your post made me check my Warner Archive “Forbidden Hollywood Collection Volume 1”. As previously noticed this release comes in a two disc amaray. The printing on the DVDs themselves have a new look compared to the original release (they actually say MOD on the outer ring) and, like yours are pressed, not burnt. I ordered it some time late 2018 from wdwow.com. So add this one to releases that are available pressed from WAC.

Although like you guys I obviously prefer pressed DVDs, I am not a fan of digipacks and I especially hate the types used on the forbidden Hollywood collections. So for me this current state of affairs is a perfect situation. :lol:

I’m hoping that new multi sets that I want to buy will be the same like “Danny Kaye: The Goldwyn Years”, “Porky Pig: 101”, the rest of the Forbidden Hollywoods and the repressing of “Popeye the Sailor: Volume 2” and “3”.

Does anyone here have experiences with these WAC releases regarding their pressed/unpressed status?

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Mr Sloane
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 8:10 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1664 Post by Mr Sloane » Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:24 pm

I ordered my copy of Forbidden Hollywood Vol. 1 from Import CDs (who are part of the same group as WOW HD) late in 2018 and can confirm that mine was also pressed!

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Feego
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:30 pm
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1665 Post by Feego » Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:43 am

A few questions:

Is there any indication that the new Popeye 1938-40 and 1941-43 sets (which are just re-releases of the old DVD sets) are pressed DVDs, at least for their initial run?

Also, was the Porky Pig 101 set pressed, and if so, what are the odds pressed sets are still available?

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1666 Post by knives » Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:56 am

They were if you bought them through Warners. If you bought them third party ala Amazon they were DVDr.

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Feego
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:30 pm
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1667 Post by Feego » Thu Feb 21, 2019 12:16 pm

Thanks knives.

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Roscoe
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 3:40 pm
Location: NYC

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1668 Post by Roscoe » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:01 am

So Warner Archive is releasing A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS on March 5 -- and I'm very glad! Long overdue.

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solaris72
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:03 pm
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1669 Post by solaris72 » Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:12 am

:cry:
Feego wrote:
Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:43 am
A few questions:

Is there any indication that the new Popeye 1938-40 and 1941-43 sets (which are just re-releases of the old DVD sets) are pressed DVDs, at least for their initial run?
I got these from WBShop and they're DVD-Rs.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1670 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:56 pm

EddieLarkin wrote:
Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:41 am
I'd been waiting for Blonde Crazy, this is great news. I was worried the line was done with Volume 7.
They screened this in 35mm at MoMA recently along with Public Enemy which came out the same year. This is the first time I've seen both within close proximity of each other, and perhaps Blonde Crazy has aged better than Public Enemy because it was clearly the better and more entertaining film, and the same goes for Cagney's performance too. I only bring this up because both came out the same year, with Public Enemy making him a star and earning a place in film history while Blonde Crazy flopped and remains lesser known and even unknown to most people. A shame because it's quite a star vehicle for him, and Blondell and the supporting cast do quite well too. In fact, the acting is uniformly much stronger in Blonde Crazy, and much of the supporting cast in Public Enemy looks pretty stiff in comparison.

GTO
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:23 pm
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1671 Post by GTO » Fri Jun 14, 2019 11:23 am

Damn Yankees became available on June 4th. My guess as a tie-in with the recent Fosse/Verdon mini-series, which is why I'm so excited to finally get to see this without having to pay the $90+ the used version goes for. A very happy surprise.

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1672 Post by Ribs » Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:50 pm

Quick Q: has anyone ever ordered one of the multi-disc “MOD” sets from WBshop/DD/etc and received the DVD-R versions? I’ve done a search on usual haunts to see if anyone’s reported getting Forbidden Hollywood Porky Pig etc as the MOD discs but it doesn’t appear anyone’s actually had that happen unless they bought it from Amazon. So what I’m asking is, I guess, why is it we believe that only the first print run of these sets are pressed instead of all of them? Is it possible it’s just a long-held misconception and the sets remain pressed if ordered direct?

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1673 Post by domino harvey » Sun Jan 12, 2020 1:21 pm

Because Warners explicitly says for every initially pressed disc set that it’s available pressed in limited quantities only for the first press run— it’s in their newsletters announcing titles. And plenty of people have received high selling sets like the Forbidden Hollywood sets burned from non-Amazon retailers. So no, not a myth, but some titles may take a while to sell through their initial runs

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HJackson
Joined: Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:27 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1674 Post by HJackson » Tue May 19, 2020 9:23 am

Just went to play my Warner Archives disc of I Died a Thousand Times, which has long sat in my kevyip, only to discover they've actually pressed Penn & Teller Get Killed on the disc! Must just be another downside to the MOD model for the consumer: human error... When they say it's an On Demand process, do they mean that literally? As in, there isn't a little batch of discs that were pressed at once, meaning if I order another copy I couldn't possibly be double dipping on a film I never even wanted to own?

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

#1675 Post by domino harvey » Tue May 19, 2020 9:38 am

Where did you buy it? Amazon does print on demand, whereas WB or other retailers will have a small stock already burned with new stock created as needed

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