criterionforum.org

James Franco dissects a scene from Rebel Without A Cause.

Does anyone here know exactly why Ray is so underrepresented on R1 DVD? I don't think his rep is so underrated in America--certainly, I think there's a better chance of running into an "average" movie person who knows him, at least moreso than Doug Sirk (yet there's plenty of him now on DVD), even if it's solely on the strength of Rebel Without a Cause. I hear references to some of his scope films like Bigger than Life and Party Girl pretty frequently, and I want to go out to the store and check them out, but nope, not available. Have to import.

Why do we have to import DVDs of films that were made in America?

I think it's just as simple as the studios who own the rights don't realize there's a market for 'em

A lot of titles from the major studios that were released on VHS have still not seen the light of day on DVD in North America. Party Girl and Johnny Guitar are two examples. If they were marketable on VHS I don't see why they wouldn't be aware that they'd be even more so on disc. I know that creating a digital transfer is an added expense, but the vastly larger number of people who buy DVDs compared to videotape would more than make up for that, I would think.

There's a Nicholas Ray retrospective at Film Forum in NYC running the next two weeks. In A Lonely Place is playing for a week, starting last Friday.

Knock on any Door is being released in the UK in October.

tojoed wrote:Knock on any Door is being released in the UK in October.

I see it's an Orbit release, though - usually means PD quality. I think I'll stick with my off-air VHS. Sony ought to release it in their upcoming noir series. (Edit: I see there are Spanish and Japanese official releases, though they usually work out expensive for UK buyers.)

I wish someone would release The Lusty Men. My film tutor - a friend of Ray's in his last years - thought it was his greatest film. I didn't quite agree when I studied it many times 30 years ago but I'd welcome the chance to re-assess it.

Born to Be Bad is available on DVD in Spain.
It's a minor Ray, still enjoyable thanks to Joan Fontaine playing against type and the ever reliable - and underrated - Robert Ryan.

There's also a French release - Editions Montparnasse.

Wind Across The Everglades screened last night at the Film Forum. Must be seen to be believed; it almost approaches the gonzo majesty of Johnny Guitar or Bigger Than Life from a different angle, though it's not as solid. Beautifully done, but I wonder how much of the final product was Schulberg after he fired Ray.

I'm plugging up my Ray gaps and oof, is there anyone anywhere who can present a defense of Flying Leathernecks? Because my initial impression is that not only is it the worst Ray film, it's one of the worst John Wayne films-- and that's an even more competitive category! Ryan looks like he's about to burst out laughing at any given moment and Wayne has never looked more bored on-screen. The only really successful moment comes early in the film, when the various recipients of a 10-word telegram elaborate wildly on the thoughts of the servicemen for a variety of audiences. Were that the whole film had as much beauty as that sequence. As a sharp contrast, how about that dreadful scene with the little kid waving around a real samurai sword in his bed-- I'm not sure he's gonna make it long enough to attend any of the colleges advertised on the pendants affixed to his bedroom wall!

I just watched Johnny Guitar on TCM tonight, and I can tell you, it's my second favorite Sterling Hayden performance, and a great Nick Ray. I don't know what it is about the Duke's Ray that makes it so unappealing, but it just doesn't work. My favorite NR film will always be The Savage Innocents. But I can't mount a defense for Leathernecks. Because it just doesn't work, on so many levels.

Blaming Ray for Flying Leathernecks is like holding Larry Brown responsible for the 2005-06 Knicks. Sure Ray was the director but he had virtually no input on casting, the script, etc. Howard Hughes told him to make it for RKO so he did, after Hughes had presumably kept Ray off the Blacklist.

Does this DVD definitely have english subs?
It's only 10 euros shipped on Amazon France marketplace, cheaper than importing it from Spain.

Why would you need english subs for this film O.o, its audio is English... unless you're heard of hearing of course.

hangman wrote:Why would you need english subs for this film O.o, its audio is English... unless you're heard of hearing of course.

My English is not my mother language and i prefer watching films with subs, in case i miss a word or two. Anyway, some 50's accents are not very common today and sometimes i have difficulty understanding everything.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReview ... review.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Apparently, ffrom dvdcompare, the Spanish Johnny Guitar and the French Johnny Guitar have the same specs and subtitles, and yes, including English.

I purchased it anyway, i am not waiting until Criterion or someone else decides to put it on blu-ray. I recently saw a French print and it was marvelous except for 20 minutes where it looked kind of washed out and faded.

According to Dvdclassik, Wild Side in France will be bringing out both Wind Across the Everglades and The Lusty Men in 2010/2011.

otis wrote:According to Dvdclassik, Wild Side in France will be bringing out both Wind Across the Everglades and The Lusty Men in 2010/2011.

Awesome, my two most anticipated Ray titles not yet on DVD =D>

domino harvey wrote:Awesome, my two most anticipated Ray titles not yet on DVD =D>

You can catch The Lusty Men on TCM on Nov. 03, if you would rather not wait for the DVD. (Of course, maybe you've already seen it . . .)

Jonathan S wrote:

tojoed wrote:Knock on any Door is being released in the UK in October.

I see it's an Orbit release, though - usually means PD quality. I think I'll stick with my off-air VHS.

You'd be wise to - the picture quality might well be better, and there's presumably no standards conversion. And this is a final shrinkwrapped release copy, not a DVD-R or other interim version, so I'm afraid that's official.

Are the Spanish editions superior to Orbit though?

MichaelB wrote:

Jonathan S wrote:

tojoed wrote:Knock on any Door is being released in the UK in October.

I see it's an Orbit release, though - usually means PD quality. I think I'll stick with my off-air VHS.

You'd be wise to - the picture quality might well be better, and there's presumably no standards conversion. And this is a final shrinkwrapped release copy, not a DVD-R or other interim version, so I'm afraid that's official.

Thanks for the confirmation, Michael. It's especially ironic if this Orbit release is an "unofficial" tranfer as it's a Columbia film and part of MovieMail's list of exclusives, most of them Columbias that are official Sony-licensed transfers! It's £2-4 cheaper than those, but unwary buyers might easily assume this was another title that MovieMail licensed directly from Sony. If Orbit have licensed it, then surely the transfer would be a lot better than you imply.

I'm puzzled that Orbit seem to be treating a number of classics (from various studios) as PD that nobody else appears to regard as such - and quite a few of them are listed as MoveMail exclusives. Surely if such titles as Dancing Lady, The Narrow Margin (1952), The Prince and the Pauper (1937), Barbary Coast and Knock on any Door really were PD in the UK, then lots of other small DVD labels would be releasing them, as happened with other big studio titles that fell out of copyright? (These all have Orbit-type catalogue numbers though MovieMail give the publisher in some cases as "PALL" - rather appropriate! All of them, incidentally, are scheduled on Amazon UK for March/April 2010 release by "Cornerstone Media", but I suspect that may be another name for Orbit.)

Even if these are perfectly legal in the UK - either because they really are PD or in the unlikely event Orbit licensed them from the various companies - I think MovieMail risk tarnishing their high reputation by promoting them if the transfers are as poor as you are imply about this one, which seems to be on the same level as previous Orbit releases. And if they are illegal....

Hi Nicholas,

After reviewing your Blogg, I have to tell you that Cornerstone Media is not Orbit Media and currently represents a catalogue of over two and a half thousand titles from every genre. The company has fifty labels that it has sales and distribution agreements with and yes one of those it Orbit. However the titles you are refering to are actually Palladium Pictures releases and are not PD titles, the quality of the prints are of a high standard not VHS transfers and I would be happy to send you samples if you so wish to show you...

Cornerstone is my company, we are not a two bit opperation but a small collection of people like you who love films and content and want to help get them back into the market where they have been missed and wanted.

Please keep up the Bloggs and if there is an old title that you would love to see returned to the market, I am more than happy to see if we can get one of our Clients to source the rights to release it.

Regards

Nick