Preliminary Magnificent Ambersons DVD info on amazon.com

[Glenn Anders]

Roger: Do you think that little Warner-man died, or just fell asleep at the switch? I'm still waiting, too.

Glenn

[edmoney]

Just found this - you can pre-order the stand-alone AMBERSONS DVD at TCM.com:

http://shop.tcm.com/product.asp?sku=D07198

[Dan]

Just found this - you can pre-order the stand-alone AMBERSONS DVD at TCM.com:

http://shop.tcm.com/product.asp?sku=D07198

DVD running time is 88 minutes. So we can once and for all quash all the rumors of the "lost Ambersons footage" being located in various bizarre places.

[Glenn Anders]

Edmoney: The news of any American DVD edition of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS is welcome and interesting, and you are probably right about the loss of the legendary version being confirmed, Dan. But I would caution that this new disc is one of those TCM productions, and they generally do not break new ground. I saw what was probably the source material on the TCM Channel as part of an homage to film composers. The print seemed decent and I imagined that new material had indeed been added. Todd Baesen disagreed, however, and upon my checking a torrent copy I have, his view was confirmed.

The Warner release, often hinted at, but still obscured by the mists of Burbank, is in an uncertain offing.

Time will tell, I suppose . . . (but I'm sure many of us grow weary).

Glenn

[Dan]

Edmoney: The news of any American DVD edition of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS is welcome and interesting, and you are probably right about the loss of the legendary version being confirmed, Dan. But I would caution that this new disc is one of those TCM productions, and they generally do not break new ground. I saw what was probably the source material on the TCM Channel as part of an homage to film composers. The print seemed decent and I imagined that new material had indeed been added. Todd Baesen disagreed, however, and upon my checking a torrent copy I have, his view was confirmed.

The Warner release, often hinted at, but still obscured by the mists of Burbank, is in an uncertain offing.

Time will tell, I suppose . . . (but I'm sure many of us grow weary).

Glenn

I doubt we will get this "TCM" release and a separate "Warner" release later on. Makes no sense because Warner owns TCM as we all know. Ambersons is not a mass-market film and better a TCM release than one of those "Warner Archive" MOD DVDs.

[Glenn Anders]

What would make sense -- the only thing which would have made sense, commercially, when Warners spoke enigmatically of "additional elements" postponing release of a MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS DVD, two years ago -- was the discovery of that "lost version," OR the completion of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND. Either of those events might have made Orson Welles real news again, in a positive, creative and commercial sense. They are the only two events left which could break into the current "Entertainment News Cycle," making the work of Welles central anew for today's audiences. PR and profits for Warner Brothers, not to mention the biographies, memoirs, documentaries, and a little film like ME AND ORSON WELLES, would have followed.

It didn't happen.

Aside of to us loyal Wellsians, only the fate of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, it seems to me, is still in play.

Glenn

[Dan]

What would make sense -- the only thing which would have made sense, commercially, when Warners spoke enigmatically of "additional elements" postponing release of a MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS DVD, two years ago -- was the discovery of that "lost version," OR the completion of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND...

It didn't happen.

Aside of to us loyal Wellsians, only the fate of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, it seems to me, is still in play.

Glenn

"Additional elements" implied something major but could also be mundane stuff like newly found trailers, still photos, etc. A marketing tactic. If Warner had found the missing Ambersons footage that would have been a major news story in it's own right, like when the lost footage from Metropolis was discovered.

[Roger Ryan]

The search for "additional elements" or "better elements", which is what Warner was supposedly doing in preparation for a release of AMBERSONS, means finding cleaner material (interpositives, prints struck from the original negative, or the original negative itself which I don't think is still around) for the 88 minute released version. I was never under the impression that there was a delay in the release because Warner thought there was a chance any cut scenes would be found. Apart from the delay caused by Beatrice's legal action, the plan was to try and find the best possible elements for the 88 minute version in order to do a HD transfer. They did manage to find superior surviving material for both KANE and KING KONG which is why those DVDs (and persumably Blu-rays) look as good as they do. I was under the impression they found better elements for AMBERSONS and had done a 4K HD scan of those elements. However, it's very possible they never did find anything better to work with and decided to just throw the best they had on DVD and issue it because fans were clamoring. The lack of publicity for this release could indicate that the end result is very underwhelming. We'll know in a couple of months.

[Roger Ryan]

For those who were interested, it's looks like the TCM.com shop has pulled the AMBERSONS DVD release. I'm thinking that Amazon got miffed that Warner Home Video intended to sell the disc separately via TCM when the Amazon KANE Blu-ray/AMBERSONS DVD combo was being called an "exclusive". I'm sure the disc will be sold separately at some point in the near future, but for now it's the Amazon combo or nothing as far as this Region 1 release goes.

[RayKelly]

It goes without saying, but if someone gets the Amazon 'Kane' box set soon, please check out the "Ambersons' disc and let us know what you think.

[atcolomb]

It goes without saying, but if someone gets the Amazon 'Kane' box set soon, please check out the "Ambersons' disc and let us know what you think.

I have my Criterion CAV laserdiscs, a Chinese made dvd and a copy i recoreded from a TCM broadcast on to my dvd recorder so once i get it i will make a comparison to all the versions i have and will post the results...hope they did find a great looking print to make the dvd.

[atcolomb]

Just did a comparison to the Ambersons dvd, Criterion laserdisc, and a TCM broadcast where i froze a scene on all three at the same time and with my receiver looked at each one and the TCM broadcast was the worst with a muddy dark picture and both the laserdisc and the dvd kinda look the same but the dvd is sharper and brighter with better contrast and you can see more of the interior of the Amberson manson. But to my eyes a big disappointment on the dvd...for a movie from 1942 it could have looked better and sharper but instead it looks weak. The sound does have a little more hiss on the dvd than the laserdisc but both over all sounds good and clear. I was expecting a better picture on Ambersons with this new dvd release but after seeing parts of it ...maybe this was the best print they can find?

[Roger Ryan]

I agree with "atcolomb"; the AMBERSONS DVD is ultimately disappointing.

I feel pretty certain now that WHV never found the "better elements" they were searching for. The image quality is better than what had been showing on TCM, but this is definitely not a HD scan. The print shows damage throughout in the form of dirt and scratches, but nothing too detrimental. More troubling is that it appears to be overly-cropped with framing that is often too tight. Also, two or three times the bottom half of the frame shifts to the left for a split second which betrays a faulty video conversion.

Apart from a Spanish language track, there are no extras whatsoever - not even chapter headings. Including the film's trailer would have been nice as it contains snippets of scenes that were cut from the film. The good news is that the packaging corrects the spelling of Joseph Cotten's name along with Booth Tarkington's! Ironically, the two main production stills that appear on the front and back of the DVD case are from scenes no longer in the movie. The group shot shown on top "Photoshops" Tim Holt into a group still, persumably so all the major characters would be represented (hell, why not sneak in Erskine Sanford peeking over Agnes Moorhead's shoulder - that way, all of the credited cast would be on the cover!).

I dare say this may be the end of the road for AMBERSONS - they're not going to create a Blu-ray using this transfer. Anyway, I'm glad the film is finally available on a Region 1 DVD; it's been a very long wait. However, it's depressing that everything about this release feels like a throwaway.

[Dan]

The whole Ambersons on DVD saga is strange. First announced by Warner in 2007 with an expected 2008 release date, all we have apparently ended up with is a plain vanilla DVD release. And let's not even get into the whole "better elements" thing. I'll buy it when it's a separate DVD at a bargain price.

[atcolomb]

Yeap...i wonder what will happen to Journey Into Fear?...A Warner Bros. Archive?