George Feltenstein announces the Warner Archive's upcoming October Blu-ray releases. PLUS details on Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 2 and an exclusive announcement you don’t want to miss!
Now available for Pre-order from Amazon:
Looney Tunes Collector's Choice Vol. 2 Pre-order
THE DEVIL DOLL (1936)
DANCE, FOOLS, DANCE (1931)
DOUBLE TROUBLE (1967)
RAPA-NUI (1994)
MAD CITY (1997)
IN LOVE AND WAR (1996)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello and welcome to the extras, where we take you
behind the scenes of yourfavorite TV shows, movies and
animation and their release ondigital DVD, blu-ray and 4k or
your favorite streaming site.
I'm Tim Lager host, and joiningme today is George Felonstein
to announce the October Blu-rayreleases from the Warner
archives.
Hi, george.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hey Tim, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Good, good.
Well, there's been a lot ofexcitement.
People are anxiously awaitingthe October releases.
But before we dive into those,I did want to ask you a little
bit about.
I saw three September releaseshad moved to October.
Is there any update you cangive us on those?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, obviously everybody knows they're now
treated for October 24th andthis is due to production
limitations and we were nothappy about this, but we wanted
to make sure that we got thosetitles out and that October
didn't suffer, and that's whywe're here to talk about a full
(01:07):
slate of six additional titlesfor October 31st.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh, wow, that's terrific news.
So just a little bit of delay,but that's exciting to hear that
October has got a full slate,so we better dive in if you have
six to announce.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, it's a very group of people and I know that
the diehard Halloween fansprobably were expecting a full
slate of Halloween movies.
Ideally, that would bewonderful, but we can only
release what's ready andfortunately we do have one
that's one of the best in ourlibrary in my opinion an
(01:44):
underrated film in my opinionand that's Todd Browning's the
Devil Doll.
So we've given that a specialtreatment by having a brand new
commentary from Dr SteveHaberman, the film historian and
film historian and filmmakerConstantine Nazar, and that's a
brand new commentary along witha 4k scan of our preservation
(02:07):
elements for the film, and it isreally a tour de force for
Lionel Barrymore, and I knowthat people who really liked our
classic legends of horror seton DVD many years ago were
hoping that all those filmswould make it to Blu-ray.
So this is one down and very,very happy about that.
(02:29):
I wish we could have had sixhorror films for Halloween.
That would be what we wouldhave done 10 years ago on DVD,
but we barely squeaked by to getthis ready in time, because
when you're dealing with filmsthis old and state of basically
essential protection and as wellstriving for perfection in the
(02:53):
end product that goes to theconsumer.
You can't always make thosedeadlines, and I also think that
Halloween is not the only timeyou could release horror films
and make it a successfulbusiness venture.
You can release them 12 monthsout of the year because they're
such a popular genre, and justFriday I found out about another
one that's going to be added toour output.
(03:15):
So, horror film fans, I knowyou're probably happy about the
Devil Doll, but a lot of peopledon't look at the glass half
full, they look at it half empty.
Fear not, we hear you, andthere are more on the way, some
surprises too.
So that's one thing for Octoberthat I wanted to get out of the
way.
That'll be ready on Halloweenitself, october 31st, and also
(03:40):
that day.
We have a very interesting filmfrom 1931 that is a 4K scan off
the nitrate camera negative.
This is a film that made itsDVD debut from an ancient shelf
master when Warner Archive waslaunched.
It's a huge upgrade in qualityand a really terrific film that
(04:00):
is very much of its time.
It's Dance, fool's Dance, withJoan Crawford in her first of
eight airings against ClarkGable, who's actually
fifth-billed, but walked awaystealing the picture from the
other men in the movie, and itled the way for Crawford and
(04:20):
Gable to cement our relationshipon screen that would last
almost 10 years at MGM.
So Dance Fool's Dance is thefirst of the films that we'll
talk about, aside from the DevilDoll.
We'll talk about that more alittle later, but I'm very, very
excited about that, and thefact that the original camera
negative still exists, on ablack and white MGM film, and
(04:43):
didn't succumb to the disasterof the fire is pretty remarkable
and I'm so glad that we'vescanned it for preservation.
We had protection, safetyelements, of course, and the
fact that we're able to go backand get the camera negative and
do a 4K scan of it is very, veryimpressive.
So very excited about that.
(05:05):
Is that a film that you've seen, tim?
It is not, but I have seen.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
You know, because you've released a lot of the
Crawford's issues this year,many people are hopeful that
this would be on the list,because you had kind of teased
that there would be more comingthis year.
So I know I'll be lookingforward to it, along with a lot
of others.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
But we did something cool for the disc also.
The film is relatively shortand we were able to add an hour
long documentary that won anEmmy Award back in 19,.
I guess it was made in 72.
So I assume it got its award in72.
It might have been 73, but it'scalled Hollywood the Dream
(05:44):
Factory and this was produced bya small documentary unit that
existed at MGM in the late 60sand early 70s and kind of, I
think, was an unofficial testrun for what eventually would
become.
That's entertainment, but it'snarrated by Dick Cavett and it
(06:04):
is a superb documentary.
It's really about MGM, but itdoesn't call it out as much as
it does Hollywood itself, andit's really an astute piece of
filmmaking.
It holds up and this is a highdefinition presentation, which
is something I'm particularlyhappy about, because we have
(06:27):
made this available before onDVD as a bonus on another film,
and now you get an HD Master asa bonus on this film.
And Dance Fools Dance isexcerpted briefly in Hollywood
the Dream Factory and that's whyit's here.
We also added to WarnerBrothers cartoons that are in
high definition as well.
(06:47):
One more time, and smile,darnia's smile.
So I think this is going to bea very, very fan pleasing disc.
I really do.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, the others that I briefly mentioned.
What our Dancing Daughters isfrom that same era, roughly and
boy, the remaster on that justmade it look so terrific, and
all the extras in the packageyou had on that.
So looking forward to this oneas well.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
This is of equal impressiveness.
I would say it looks evenbetter because on our Dancing
Daughters we didn't have thecamera negative and our Dancing
Daughters had previously lookedhorrible.
The result of our work made itlook great.
Here we're able to go back tothe negatives, so the results
are even more impressive andexcited for people to be able to
(07:34):
see for sure.
Then the next film I'd like totalk about you got 1967 for
another Elvis at MGM effortcalled Double Trouble.
Elvis was making a lot of filmsat MGM at this time and the
plots are pretty simple.
But there are an excuse forElvis to sing and he sings a lot
(07:56):
of songs in this movie,including City by Night and
Could I Fall in Love, andthere's so Much World to See.
And it's a gorgeous masterbecause it's a 4K scan off the
camera negative, so the colorsare eye popping.
It's a lot of fun.
We also added two Chuck JonesTom and Jerry cartoons in High
(08:18):
Def Rock and Rodin and SurfboardCat, and certainly Chuck had
his own way with Tom and Jerryand we're really happy about
that.
The next film we're going totalk about is something that's
been a little bit forgotten andIt'll be good for people to have
(08:38):
a chance to revisit this moviebecause it deserves to be Given
a second look, and that is inLove and War from 1996, directed
by Sir Richard Attenborough,who, of course, is very famous
for having directed severalimportant motion pictures.
And this is a tale of based ontrue story.
(08:59):
Ernest Hemingway, when he wasAbout 18 years old, was fighting
in World War one and fell inlove with a nurse, and the nurse
is played by Senator Bullockand Chris O'Donnell plays Ernest
Hemingway is a very tender lovestory.
It was a very impressive efforton New Line Cinema's part in
(09:20):
1996.
It was ambitious for them tomake something that was Not a
negative pickup made by somebodyelse.
They produced it in-house andthey really wanted to make a
prestige film, and theperformances are very, very
Impressive.
The new master is lovelybecause it's a 4k scan off the
(09:42):
camera, negative and we knowthis film has its fans because
we've heard from them on socialmedia.
So In Love and War gets athumbs up from the War Archive
collection.
Tim, have you seen this?
Speaker 1 (09:54):
movie.
You know I I do remember whenit came out.
I was a big, of course, andstill am big Sandra Bullock fan.
Chris O'Donnell was huge in the90s, of course.
He had what the threemusketeers and many other great
movies, and it's a great cast.
I'm looking forward to kind ofrevisiting it again.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Well, the next film we're going to talk about is
from a cinema master, and thatis the director Costa Gravras.
I hope I'm pronouncing his namecorrectly, but I remember when I
was a kid in film school seeinghis film Z, which was a
monumental motion picture of itstime, with Yves Montan, and he
(10:35):
did make several Englishlanguage movies and I hope I'm
not incorrect in saying this, abelief.
He's still with us and this isa 4k scan of the camera negative
for a new presentation of amovie called Mad City, made 1997
and starring Dustin Hoffman,john Travolta and Alan Alda, and
(10:56):
I would say it's almost like adog day afternoon meets network,
both of which are Sydney limitmovies.
But Costa Gravras brought hisresponsibility of making
political films to Mad City,which is an indictment of
basically corruption and thepsyche of criminals, and it's
(11:19):
really quite a thriller and itwas not as appreciated when it
came out as I think it deservesto be.
But when you have a cast likethat and a director like that,
it warrants reappraisal and Ithink people will be very
pleased by this film and itlooks gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Well, there's two right there and then from the
1990s, so you got a few thismonth that are more current,
which is fantastic.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yes, all the people who were complaining and
complaining and then complainingagain and complaining.
This is another month wherethey get their wish fulfilled.
Of course it might not be thespecific movie they're looking
for, but who knows, the specificmovie they're looking for might
be around the corner.
They just don't know.
And to some degree we don'tknow, because something we'll
have working may take two yearsto complete and other films may
(12:10):
take two months.
It's so much of a roll of thedice and we're happy with these
releases.
And the next one is a film thatdid not do well at the box
office.
It was a hugely expensiveproduction, a very ambitious
production, and I don't think itgot enough appreciation for
what the filmmaker intended.
(12:30):
And the film is Rapa Nui.
It was made in 1994.
And this was a co-production ofan overseas company.
As well as Warner Brothers.
We have the domestic rights.
This is a brand new master.
Rapa Nui basically is a SouthSeas adventure and it was
(12:53):
co-produced by Kevin Costner anddirected by his friend Kevin
Reynolds, and the two of themhad collaborated before on a
film we released not that longago, fandango.
Now, many years later, we'rereleasing a film that they
worked on almost a decade later.
This is a visual feast for theeye and also for the ears,
(13:18):
because this was an early 5.1surround release.
This is when DTS had becomepretty prevalent in motion
picture theaters and it didn'ttake a huge epic to get a huge
epic soundtrack.
And the cast is Jason Scott Lee, who at the time made Dragon,
(13:40):
the Bruce Lee story, and IsaiMorales, who was in La Bamba,
and it's a very, veryinteresting look at a culture
that we don't get to see on thescreen very often.
So we're looking forward tothis and we released a DVD of it
many years ago where we werejust trying to get films out in
their proper aspect ratiobecause the original DVD was
(14:03):
four by three.
So we did release a letterboxDVD years ago, but people at
that time were, rightly so,saying where's the Blu-ray?
Well, here it is Right.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And I know there's a lot of fans of Kevin Reynolds
and his films and he's aterrific filmmaker.
And then this was co-producedby Kevin Costner, who he
partnered with.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yes, and from Kevin Costner's production company,
TIG Productions.
So he was utilizing the supportthat he received as a filmmaker
producer from Bob Daley andTerry Semmel, who were the two
gentlemen running WarnerBrothers in the 80s and the 90s,
(14:46):
and it was because of thatrelationship that this film got
made and we're very pleased tobe releasing it to Blu-ray.
It looks amazing.
If anything, it's a travelogueand an entertainment, because
the location photography isstunning and it kind of makes
you wonder how they were able toshoot where they shot and get
(15:10):
those kind of results.
It's very, very impressive anda beautifully made film that
again we're about trying toshine a light on rediscoveries.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, I mean it's great that it's coming back out
so that people can get aReappreciation, so to speak, for
this movie.
I remember watching it when itwas in theaters and it's
visually stunning and anythingthat Kevin Reynolds does, I
think, is worth.
You know, there's so many fansworth looking at, so he just has
done so many good stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Absolutely.
And then I'll go back to ourlast release, which was the
first thing I talked about,because it's the thing that
we're most excited about, andthat is the release of the Devil
Doll as our kind of showcasefor Halloween, arriving just in
time on October 31st.
This is a 4K scan of thepreservation elements.
(16:02):
This is one of those filmswhere, of course, the camera
negative did burn in that tragicfire, so the safety
preservation elements were usedand this is the first time the
film has been mastered in over30 years.
So it's a dramatic improvementand happily we have a brand new
feature commentary by twofriends of the Warner Archive,
(16:25):
dr Steve Haberman and yourfriend and mine, constantine
Nazar.
They were very passionate aboutwanting to speak about this
film and anything Todd Browningdid or she's a virtually
anything Todd Browning did atMGM is worth creating a
celebration, and our friends atCriterion are releasing freaks,
(16:46):
along with the unknown and themystic, as a celebration of Todd
Browning around the same time.
So we're happy to be able toprovide the Devil Doll on
Blu-ray.
So everybody will be talkingabout Todd Browning because he's
a fascinating filmmaker and Ido think this will keep the
horror fans at least satiateduntil we can give them our next
(17:09):
surprise.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
As we kind of touched on before.
I think this is going to bereally, really popular.
And those other ones you justmentioned by Criterion, were you
working with them a little biton that?
I mean, we don't want to godeep into that story, but was
there any involvement of WarnerBrothers?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Very much so.
Everything they do, we'reinvolved to some degree, but I
was very involved in trying tomake freaks look a lot better
than it ever has, and there's astory in that in and of itself
that maybe that warrants doing aspecial podcast or something.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, why don't we save that for a little
discussion?
Maybe we'll do something aroundMr Browning and then couple
those movies there and see whatwe can come up with.
I think that could be afascinating podcast episode.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
That sounds terrific.
Yeah, and I do want to makenotice of something we announced
on our Facebook page just a fewminutes ago that November 28th
will provide the release datefor Looney Tunes Collector's
Choice volume two, and we'regoing to have a lot more to say
about that Blu-ray.
It has 25 cartoons making theirBlu-ray debut and it is in
(18:27):
response to the fans' support ofthe first volume, and we're
going to have a lot to say aboutthat and that's coming at the
end of November.
But we let people see thepackaging today to let them know
what's in store, and we'regoing to have a lot more to say
about it very, very soon.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
That's fantastic.
I mean I got a big smilebecause I love that first volume
and I know so many, just somany people have purchased it,
enjoyed it and fingers crossedwe're hoping that their support
would bring a volume two.
So that's great news.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
And I can even give you a little exclusive here that
we haven't mentioned yet we'realready working on volume three,
so that tells the fans thattheir support was heard loud and
clear throughout Burbank, andthat's enabling us to continue
with this series for not justthis volume that's coming out on
(19:20):
November 28th, but another onenext year and hopefully many
more to follow.
So that's good news that I'mdelighted to share, and we've
had to keep it under wraps for along time until we were sure we
would have something ready torelease before the end of the
year, and I'm delighted that wedo.
Right, right.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Wow, fantastic For those who are still listening,
and hopefully everybody is.
That is quite the little drophere at the end of this episode.
So thank you, george, as always, for coming on giving us the
announce so that we can get alittle background on these, and
then also, you know, you alwaysgive us a little extra here in
these little teases for otherthings, so thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
It's my pleasure, tim , and, as always, thank you for
giving me the opportunity toshare details with the fans here
on the extras.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Well, I was not expecting such a robust number
of releases in October.
So this is great news foreveryone who has been hoping
that the Warner Archive can getback to a greater number of
releases each month, and whatgreat news for Looney Tunes fans
that a collector's choice Wyme2, is coming soon and, as
announced first here on thepodcast, that a Wyme 3 is
(20:37):
already being worked on.
I will post more information onthese releases on our Facebook
page and in our Facebook group,the Warner Archive and Warner
Brothers catalog group.
You'll look for all of thoselinks in the podcast show notes.
Whether you are a first-timelistener or a long-term fan of
the show, don't forget to followor subscribe at your favorite
podcast provider.
(20:57):
That way you won't miss any ofour podcasts and you'll get some
of these exclusiveannouncements that are only on
the extras.
Until next time you've beenlistening to Tim Maillard, stay
slightly obsessed.
Thanks, george, for giving usthat exclusive announcement
(21:56):
about Wyme 3.
You know we'll be highlightingWyme 2, of course, here on the
podcast and look forward to Wyme3 in the future.
So thank you for that.
Hello and welcome to the extras, where we take you
behind the scenes of yourfavorite TV shows, movies and
animation and their release ondigital DVD, blu-ray and 4k or
your favorite streaming site.
I'm Tim Lager host, and joiningme today is George Felonstein
to announce the October Blu-rayreleases from the Warner
archives.
Hi, george.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hey Tim, how are you?
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Good, good.
Well, there's been a lot ofexcitement.
People are anxiously awaitingthe October releases.
But before we dive into those,I did want to ask you a little
bit about.
I saw three September releaseshad moved to October.
Is there any update you cangive us on those?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, obviously everybody knows they're now
treated for October 24th andthis is due to production
limitations and we were nothappy about this, but we wanted
to make sure that we got thosetitles out and that October
didn't suffer, and that's whywe're here to talk about a full
(01:07):
slate of six additional titlesfor October 31st.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Oh, wow, that's terrific news.
So just a little bit of delay,but that's exciting to hear that
October has got a full slate,so we better dive in if you have
six to announce.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, it's a very group of people and I know that
the diehard Halloween fansprobably were expecting a full
slate of Halloween movies.
Ideally, that would bewonderful, but we can only
release what's ready andfortunately we do have one
that's one of the best in ourlibrary in my opinion an
(01:44):
underrated film in my opinionand that's Todd Browning's the
Devil Doll.
So we've given that a specialtreatment by having a brand new
commentary from Dr SteveHaberman, the film historian and
film historian and filmmakerConstantine Nazar, and that's a
brand new commentary along witha 4k scan of our preservation
(02:07):
elements for the film, and it isreally a tour de force for
Lionel Barrymore, and I knowthat people who really liked our
classic legends of horror seton DVD many years ago were
hoping that all those filmswould make it to Blu-ray.
So this is one down and very,very happy about that.
(02:29):
I wish we could have had sixhorror films for Halloween.
That would be what we wouldhave done 10 years ago on DVD,
but we barely squeaked by to getthis ready in time, because
when you're dealing with filmsthis old and state of basically
essential protection and as wellstriving for perfection in the
(02:53):
end product that goes to theconsumer.
You can't always make thosedeadlines, and I also think that
Halloween is not the only timeyou could release horror films
and make it a successfulbusiness venture.
You can release them 12 monthsout of the year because they're
such a popular genre, and justFriday I found out about another
one that's going to be added toour output.
(03:15):
So, horror film fans, I knowyou're probably happy about the
Devil Doll, but a lot of peopledon't look at the glass half
full, they look at it half empty.
Fear not, we hear you, andthere are more on the way, some
surprises too.
So that's one thing for Octoberthat I wanted to get out of the
way.
That'll be ready on Halloweenitself, october 31st, and also
(03:40):
that day.
We have a very interesting filmfrom 1931 that is a 4K scan off
the nitrate camera negative.
This is a film that made itsDVD debut from an ancient shelf
master when Warner Archive waslaunched.
It's a huge upgrade in qualityand a really terrific film that
(04:00):
is very much of its time.
It's Dance, fool's Dance, withJoan Crawford in her first of
eight airings against ClarkGable, who's actually
fifth-billed, but walked awaystealing the picture from the
other men in the movie, and itled the way for Crawford and
(04:20):
Gable to cement our relationshipon screen that would last
almost 10 years at MGM.
So Dance Fool's Dance is thefirst of the films that we'll
talk about, aside from the DevilDoll.
We'll talk about that more alittle later, but I'm very, very
excited about that, and thefact that the original camera
negative still exists, on ablack and white MGM film, and
(04:43):
didn't succumb to the disasterof the fire is pretty remarkable
and I'm so glad that we'vescanned it for preservation.
We had protection, safetyelements, of course, and the
fact that we're able to go backand get the camera negative and
do a 4K scan of it is very, veryimpressive.
So very excited about that.
(05:05):
Is that a film that you've seen, tim?
It is not, but I have seen.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
You know, because you've released a lot of the
Crawford's issues this year,many people are hopeful that
this would be on the list,because you had kind of teased
that there would be more comingthis year.
So I know I'll be lookingforward to it, along with a lot
of others.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
But we did something cool for the disc also.
The film is relatively shortand we were able to add an hour
long documentary that won anEmmy Award back in 19,.
I guess it was made in 72.
So I assume it got its award in72.
It might have been 73, but it'scalled Hollywood the Dream
(05:44):
Factory and this was produced bya small documentary unit that
existed at MGM in the late 60sand early 70s and kind of, I
think, was an unofficial testrun for what eventually would
become.
That's entertainment, but it'snarrated by Dick Cavett and it
(06:04):
is a superb documentary.
It's really about MGM, but itdoesn't call it out as much as
it does Hollywood itself, andit's really an astute piece of
filmmaking.
It holds up and this is a highdefinition presentation, which
is something I'm particularlyhappy about, because we have
(06:27):
made this available before onDVD as a bonus on another film,
and now you get an HD Master asa bonus on this film.
And Dance Fools Dance isexcerpted briefly in Hollywood
the Dream Factory and that's whyit's here.
We also added to WarnerBrothers cartoons that are in
high definition as well.
(06:47):
One more time, and smile,darnia's smile.
So I think this is going to bea very, very fan pleasing disc.
I really do.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah, the others that I briefly mentioned.
What our Dancing Daughters isfrom that same era, roughly and
boy, the remaster on that justmade it look so terrific, and
all the extras in the packageyou had on that.
So looking forward to this oneas well.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
This is of equal impressiveness.
I would say it looks evenbetter because on our Dancing
Daughters we didn't have thecamera negative and our Dancing
Daughters had previously lookedhorrible.
The result of our work made itlook great.
Here we're able to go back tothe negatives, so the results
are even more impressive andexcited for people to be able to
(07:34):
see for sure.
Then the next film I'd like totalk about you got 1967 for
another Elvis at MGM effortcalled Double Trouble.
Elvis was making a lot of filmsat MGM at this time and the
plots are pretty simple.
But there are an excuse forElvis to sing and he sings a lot
(07:56):
of songs in this movie,including City by Night and
Could I Fall in Love, andthere's so Much World to See.
And it's a gorgeous masterbecause it's a 4K scan off the
camera negative, so the colorsare eye popping.
It's a lot of fun.
We also added two Chuck JonesTom and Jerry cartoons in High
(08:18):
Def Rock and Rodin and SurfboardCat, and certainly Chuck had
his own way with Tom and Jerryand we're really happy about
that.
The next film we're going totalk about is something that's
been a little bit forgotten andIt'll be good for people to have
(08:38):
a chance to revisit this moviebecause it deserves to be Given
a second look, and that is inLove and War from 1996, directed
by Sir Richard Attenborough,who, of course, is very famous
for having directed severalimportant motion pictures.
And this is a tale of based ontrue story.
(08:59):
Ernest Hemingway, when he wasAbout 18 years old, was fighting
in World War one and fell inlove with a nurse, and the nurse
is played by Senator Bullockand Chris O'Donnell plays Ernest
Hemingway is a very tender lovestory.
It was a very impressive efforton New Line Cinema's part in
(09:20):
1996.
It was ambitious for them tomake something that was Not a
negative pickup made by somebodyelse.
They produced it in-house andthey really wanted to make a
prestige film, and theperformances are very, very
Impressive.
The new master is lovelybecause it's a 4k scan off the
(09:42):
camera, negative and we knowthis film has its fans because
we've heard from them on socialmedia.
So In Love and War gets athumbs up from the War Archive
collection.
Tim, have you seen this?
Speaker 1 (09:54):
movie.
You know I I do remember whenit came out.
I was a big, of course, andstill am big Sandra Bullock fan.
Chris O'Donnell was huge in the90s, of course.
He had what the threemusketeers and many other great
movies, and it's a great cast.
I'm looking forward to kind ofrevisiting it again.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Well, the next film we're going to talk about is
from a cinema master, and thatis the director Costa Gravras.
I hope I'm pronouncing his namecorrectly, but I remember when I
was a kid in film school seeinghis film Z, which was a
monumental motion picture of itstime, with Yves Montan, and he
(10:35):
did make several Englishlanguage movies and I hope I'm
not incorrect in saying this, abelief.
He's still with us and this isa 4k scan of the camera negative
for a new presentation of amovie called Mad City, made 1997
and starring Dustin Hoffman,john Travolta and Alan Alda, and
(10:56):
I would say it's almost like adog day afternoon meets network,
both of which are Sydney limitmovies.
But Costa Gravras brought hisresponsibility of making
political films to Mad City,which is an indictment of
basically corruption and thepsyche of criminals, and it's
(11:19):
really quite a thriller and itwas not as appreciated when it
came out as I think it deservesto be.
But when you have a cast likethat and a director like that,
it warrants reappraisal and Ithink people will be very
pleased by this film and itlooks gorgeous.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Well, there's two right there and then from the
1990s, so you got a few thismonth that are more current,
which is fantastic.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yes, all the people who were complaining and
complaining and then complainingagain and complaining.
This is another month wherethey get their wish fulfilled.
Of course it might not be thespecific movie they're looking
for, but who knows, the specificmovie they're looking for might
be around the corner.
They just don't know.
And to some degree we don'tknow, because something we'll
have working may take two yearsto complete and other films may
(12:10):
take two months.
It's so much of a roll of thedice and we're happy with these
releases.
And the next one is a film thatdid not do well at the box
office.
It was a hugely expensiveproduction, a very ambitious
production, and I don't think itgot enough appreciation for
what the filmmaker intended.
(12:30):
And the film is Rapa Nui.
It was made in 1994.
And this was a co-production ofan overseas company.
As well as Warner Brothers.
We have the domestic rights.
This is a brand new master.
Rapa Nui basically is a SouthSeas adventure and it was
(12:53):
co-produced by Kevin Costner anddirected by his friend Kevin
Reynolds, and the two of themhad collaborated before on a
film we released not that longago, fandango.
Now, many years later, we'rereleasing a film that they
worked on almost a decade later.
This is a visual feast for theeye and also for the ears,
(13:18):
because this was an early 5.1surround release.
This is when DTS had becomepretty prevalent in motion
picture theaters and it didn'ttake a huge epic to get a huge
epic soundtrack.
And the cast is Jason Scott Lee, who at the time made Dragon,
(13:40):
the Bruce Lee story, and IsaiMorales, who was in La Bamba,
and it's a very, veryinteresting look at a culture
that we don't get to see on thescreen very often.
So we're looking forward tothis and we released a DVD of it
many years ago where we werejust trying to get films out in
their proper aspect ratiobecause the original DVD was
(14:03):
four by three.
So we did release a letterboxDVD years ago, but people at
that time were, rightly so,saying where's the Blu-ray?
Well, here it is Right.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
And I know there's a lot of fans of Kevin Reynolds
and his films and he's aterrific filmmaker.
And then this was co-producedby Kevin Costner, who he
partnered with.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yes, and from Kevin Costner's production company,
TIG Productions.
So he was utilizing the supportthat he received as a filmmaker
producer from Bob Daley andTerry Semmel, who were the two
gentlemen running WarnerBrothers in the 80s and the 90s,
(14:46):
and it was because of thatrelationship that this film got
made and we're very pleased tobe releasing it to Blu-ray.
It looks amazing.
If anything, it's a travelogueand an entertainment, because
the location photography isstunning and it kind of makes
you wonder how they were able toshoot where they shot and get
(15:10):
those kind of results.
It's very, very impressive anda beautifully made film that
again we're about trying toshine a light on rediscoveries.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, I mean it's great that it's coming back out
so that people can get aReappreciation, so to speak, for
this movie.
I remember watching it when itwas in theaters and it's
visually stunning and anythingthat Kevin Reynolds does, I
think, is worth.
You know, there's so many fansworth looking at, so he just has
done so many good stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Absolutely.
And then I'll go back to ourlast release, which was the
first thing I talked about,because it's the thing that
we're most excited about, andthat is the release of the Devil
Doll as our kind of showcasefor Halloween, arriving just in
time on October 31st.
This is a 4K scan of thepreservation elements.
(16:02):
This is one of those filmswhere, of course, the camera
negative did burn in that tragicfire, so the safety
preservation elements were usedand this is the first time the
film has been mastered in over30 years.
So it's a dramatic improvementand happily we have a brand new
feature commentary by twofriends of the Warner Archive,
(16:25):
dr Steve Haberman and yourfriend and mine, constantine
Nazar.
They were very passionate aboutwanting to speak about this
film and anything Todd Browningdid or she's a virtually
anything Todd Browning did atMGM is worth creating a
celebration, and our friends atCriterion are releasing freaks,
(16:46):
along with the unknown and themystic, as a celebration of Todd
Browning around the same time.
So we're happy to be able toprovide the Devil Doll on
Blu-ray.
So everybody will be talkingabout Todd Browning because he's
a fascinating filmmaker and Ido think this will keep the
horror fans at least satiateduntil we can give them our next
(17:09):
surprise.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
As we kind of touched on before.
I think this is going to bereally, really popular.
And those other ones you justmentioned by Criterion, were you
working with them a little biton that?
I mean, we don't want to godeep into that story, but was
there any involvement of WarnerBrothers?
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Very much so.
Everything they do, we'reinvolved to some degree, but I
was very involved in trying tomake freaks look a lot better
than it ever has, and there's astory in that in and of itself
that maybe that warrants doing aspecial podcast or something.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, why don't we save that for a little
discussion?
Maybe we'll do something aroundMr Browning and then couple
those movies there and see whatwe can come up with.
I think that could be afascinating podcast episode.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
That sounds terrific.
Yeah, and I do want to makenotice of something we announced
on our Facebook page just a fewminutes ago that November 28th
will provide the release datefor Looney Tunes Collector's
Choice volume two, and we'regoing to have a lot more to say
about that Blu-ray.
It has 25 cartoons making theirBlu-ray debut and it is in
(18:27):
response to the fans' support ofthe first volume, and we're
going to have a lot to say aboutthat and that's coming at the
end of November.
But we let people see thepackaging today to let them know
what's in store, and we'regoing to have a lot more to say
about it very, very soon.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
That's fantastic.
I mean I got a big smilebecause I love that first volume
and I know so many, just somany people have purchased it,
enjoyed it and fingers crossedwe're hoping that their support
would bring a volume two.
So that's great news.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
And I can even give you a little exclusive here that
we haven't mentioned yet we'realready working on volume three,
so that tells the fans thattheir support was heard loud and
clear throughout Burbank, andthat's enabling us to continue
with this series for not justthis volume that's coming out on
(19:20):
November 28th, but another onenext year and hopefully many
more to follow.
So that's good news that I'mdelighted to share, and we've
had to keep it under wraps for along time until we were sure we
would have something ready torelease before the end of the
year, and I'm delighted that wedo.
Right, right.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Wow, fantastic For those who are still listening,
and hopefully everybody is.
That is quite the little drophere at the end of this episode.
So thank you, george, as always, for coming on giving us the
announce so that we can get alittle background on these, and
then also, you know, you alwaysgive us a little extra here in
these little teases for otherthings, so thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
It's my pleasure, tim , and, as always, thank you for
giving me the opportunity toshare details with the fans here
on the extras.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Well, I was not expecting such a robust number
of releases in October.
So this is great news foreveryone who has been hoping
that the Warner Archive can getback to a greater number of
releases each month, and whatgreat news for Looney Tunes fans
that a collector's choice Wyme2, is coming soon and, as
announced first here on thepodcast, that a Wyme 3 is
(20:37):
already being worked on.
I will post more information onthese releases on our Facebook
page and in our Facebook group,the Warner Archive and Warner
Brothers catalog group.
You'll look for all of thoselinks in the podcast show notes.
Whether you are a first-timelistener or a long-term fan of
the show, don't forget to followor subscribe at your favorite
podcast provider.
(20:57):
That way you won't miss any ofour podcasts and you'll get some
of these exclusiveannouncements that are only on
the extras.
Until next time you've beenlistening to Tim Maillard, stay
slightly obsessed.
Thanks, george, for giving usthat exclusive announcement
(21:56):
about Wyme 3.
You know we'll be highlightingWyme 2, of course, here on the
podcast and look forward to Wyme3 in the future.
So thank you for that.
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