Amberson rumor on the web

[Glenn Anders]

What you report also makes sense, Ray. For instance, I know that there was some rummaging about, looking for more or less contemporary radio dramatizations of JOURNEY INTO FEAR. And from the many discussions we've had here, some of them controversial, on the "lost" . . . AMBERSONS print, it might be almost as interesting in Warner Brothers' eyes, if not so important, to have a little doc just on the vain search for that print.

Not to be a broken record, but it's a fitting metaphor: Time will tell.

Glenn

[tonyw]

http://video.fnac.com/a2042789/La-Splen ... &Nu=1&Fr=0

The rumor of the original may be untrue but davidbordwell.com. mentions this version in his blog. today. I'm uncertain whether there are English subs for Douchet and Krohn on Disc 2.

[atcolomb]

I do have a dvd version from Hong Kong i got from Ebay a couple of years ago whch has the art work from the French dvd version. Picture quality is poor so i still watch the movie on laserdisc or my copy i recorded from a TCM broadcast.

[The Night Man]

After reading this: http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/06/say-goodbye-to-big-screen-classics/#more-72175 I'm starting to get nervous about ever seeing a proper R1 release of "Ambersons", to say nothing of "Journey Into Fear".

We should all keep our fingers crossed that they don't both end up in the Warner Archive. I know it seems ridiculous to think of Welles getting shunted off to that minor league but then who would have imagined "Ambersons" being double-billed in first run with "Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost"?

They say WHV "still has some classics scheduled", I hope that Welles is among them.

[bord]

If your satellite/cable provider uses copious amounts of noise reduction and compression on Turner Classic Movies (mine does and it is horrible), you might find this interesting: Some PBS affiliates routinely show classic films on Saturday nights. Our St. Louis station is replaying The Magnificent Ambersons again this weekend at 8pm CST. This is an HD feed of an SD source, so it features a nice high bitrate. I recorded the HD feed on my PC last time it showed. It isn't nearly as blocky or washed out as TCM over Dishnetwork and it doesn't have some of the chroma noise that my Criterion laserdisc rip suffers from. The print is still plenty dirty, but as far as quality goes this has to be about as good as it gets.

Just an FYI.

[nhu]

After reading this: http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/08/06/say-goodbye-to-big-screen-classics/#more-72175 I'm starting to get nervous about ever seeing a proper R1 release of "Ambersons", to say nothing of "Journey Into Fear". We should all keep our fingers crossed that they don't both end up in the Warner Archive.

I don't think that WHV would dump "Ambersons" into the Archive but what is taking so long to get out on an R1 DVD? It was announced in early 2007 for a 2008 release. 2009 is slipping away with no release announcement, not even for 2010. So what the hell is really going on here?

[atcolomb]

I guess one reason is that dvd sales are down so they look twice at a movie to see if it's worth it to release it on dvd and make some money on it. Would Ambersons be a money maker in Warner Bros. eyes?

[edmoney]

I guess one reason is that dvd sales are down so they look twice at a movie to see if it's worth it to release it on dvd and make some money on it. Would Ambersons be a money maker in Warner Bros. eyes?

That's a very good question ... perhaps it might not be. What I don't understand, though, is that if it isn't seen as a money maker for WB at the prices they typically charge for DVDs, why does WB stubbornly refuse to at least license this title (or any of their other titles) to a company like Criterion? That way WB can skip out on all the production costs and still generate revenues from licensing it out. Criterion has released it before on laserdisc, I'm sure they would be happy to release it again on DVD, and I'm sure most fans of this film would be happy to pay the $39.95 Criterion typically lists its DVDs for.

Otherwise, Ambersons just sits in WB's vaults not making money for anyone. WB loses, Criterion loses, and film fans lose.

[atcolomb]

Lets hope that the delay is because Warner Bros. is trying to get the best print and putting together the extras for the dvd release....and maybe a commentary?

[atcolomb]

I saw this on The Digital Bits website...i hope it won't change their planned release of Ambersons....

After a promising beginning, Warners' programme of pressed releases virtually dried up over the late spring and summer, only coming somewhat to life with the onset of the fall announcements. Filling the gap was the introduction of the Warner Archive Collection - an initiative intended to make many classic titles available as burned discs on demand. Unfortunately its execution has been less than commendable with issues arising from inconsistent transfer quality to excessive prices and inaccessibility for customers in Canada and overseas. Some of these issues have begun to be addressed positively, particularly pricing by way of the half-price bundling of titles, but the overall concept may eventually find at best grudging acceptance as the only way to make many of the lesser-known classic titles available at all. The studio appears to have committed itself to making the Archive approach work and consequently, it seems clear that the golden days of Warner box sets with sparkling new transfers and impressive extras on pressed discs appearing virtually every month are behind us and that we're likely to see such products on only an occasional basis in the future.

This overall pullback in classic titles as evidenced by the current state of studio releases is merely a culmination of trends over the past two or three years. The declining economy that has negatively impacted buyers' available DVD purchasing capability, reductions in shelf space devoted to catalog titles at major retailers, the rise of Blu-ray and its demands on the studios' disc production and advertising budgets, and as much as we may hate to admit it, the decreasing size of the market for classic titles as older fans pass on and are not replaced by new younger enthusiasts at the same rate - all have contributed to the current state of affairs

[Alfred Willmore]

Is there any truth to the rumor that Mac Resarf was watching "The Fleet's In" in Pomona, on March 17, 1942 ?