Stranger on DVD

[R Kadin]

Well, as best I could ascertain via numerous web-based searches, Europe (i.e. those countries I specified) was the only place I could find discs for sale that were unmistakably the MGM/UA version studied on the DVDBeaver site. Caveat emptor: there are lots of versions out there, many with brand names that could mean anything in terms of their quality and provenance. Gary Tooze's comparative analysis clearly demonstrates the difference between "the best" and "the rest".

And let's not forget an ongoing thanks to all the contributors here whose informed advice helps Wellesnetters the world over track down the best versions of OW's often elusive output.

Without this site to steer me right, I could have misspent an awful lot of money on some pretty marginal product, never knowing that I didn't have to settle for it and that it can be possible to see and hear a number of Welles' works in a condition very close to that which first emerged. It's tough enough to watch some of those films and imagine what might have been had his vision not been pre-empted; take away the quality of the images that at least made it through the process and, although you're still left with quite a lot (his work being so rife with other solid merits), it's just not the same. Not even close, sometimes.

So, thanks, guys & gals. I, for one, owe you big time.

[R Kadin]

Following up on my previous post, a note of caution: a seller on Amazon.fr is advertising the MGM/UA version of The Stranger ("Le Criminel") on DVD but is actually delivering some no-name knock off that looks to have been copied from some sketchy VHS source. Caveat emptor, indeed!

[R Kadin]

Two updates to my previous post:

1. To his well-deserved credit, the seller referred to, above, graciously refunded my entire outlay - shipping costs, included - without argument or even a demand for a (costly) return of the item.

2. I went back to Amazon.fr and ordered the MGM/UA disc, proper. It just arrived and is one of the crispest transfers of a Welles film I have ever seen. It is to the Roan disc as the Criterion F for Fake is to the previous favourite, the "Japanese" version.

[Anton]

Thanks, RKadin. That DVD Beaver is an amazing site. Too bad they say they're a sinking ship. So, "Spur Des Fremden" is the one to get? The Stranger comparism page says that that version runs about 3 minutes shorter then the Roan disc, so I hope nothing is missing. Also interesting is that the original trailer for the film is included as an extra. I've never seen that before, how is it?

[Wilson]

The 3 minute difference is probably just PAL speedup, which makes films 4% shorter in terms of runtime. I highly doubt anything was edited out.

[chrissie]

Just spotted the German MGM release on ebay, so I've finally put my money down for it. The DVD Beaver comparison makes a good case, as does R Kadin! I'm sure it was supposed to come out in the UK in Feb '04 as well, but MGM have a nasty habit of pulling UK releases at the last minute (Witness for the Prosecution was slated last year but never surfaced, for instance).

I've been meaning to track this down for ages, but watching a snippet of the UK PD release I have the other day reminded me of how awful the quality was, mediocre VHS transfer standard kind of stuff. Worse than the blurring, even, is the loss of contrast, most blacks being mid-tone grays -- which kinda makes an average film's virtues even harder to admire.

And on the obsessive front, I think it's time for me to track down the unrestored Kane DVD! I have no real problem with this restoration (though it suffers a bit from jaggies here and there), but the old print I have on VHS is fine, really -- did anyone look at that bogus comparison on the restored version? The unrestored prints I've seen didn't look like that! Is that a joke or what?! Or do these people seek the worst-possible prints to work from to justify their efforts?

[colwood]

Regarding the Stranger trailer, if memory serves, it isn't anything special and doesn't appear to have been done by Welles, but it is still worth a watch once.

Below is a link to the trailer at the Turner Classic website. Also on the site are the trailers to Kane, Ambersons, Touch of Evil and the Trial,

http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com/Multimedia/Popup/0,,12008,00.html

[R Kadin]

Anton - I don't know about you but I couldn't get that TCM link to play the trailer for me. In case you're having a similar problem, I'll simply agree with colwood in saying that it's typical of the overwrought studio-generated promos at that time. And the visual quality is mediocre, at best.

But I do find it interesting to compare it (a testament of how its producer, Sam Spiegel, would have viewed it in "product" terms) to what we know of Welles' intentions for it. It makes Welles' realization of how he simply had to get out of Hollywood to get anything interesting done all the more inevitable.

[atcolomb]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions, i have a multi code dvd player and i will get the region 2 MGM dvd.

[chrissie]

While I'm having a little screen-grabbing fit (see Falstaff thread), here's The Stranger:

Stranger UK PD release

Stranger MGM German DVD

[Michael O'Hara]

Digital bits reporting MGM to release "The Stranger" on 7/10/07.

Digital Bits

[purplepines]

What's MGM's record, again?

As far as quality of DVDs released, that is.

[Michael O'Hara]

They tend to be a little lite on the extras. In fact, I can't think of any MGM dvds that have knocked my socks off. They tried their best with my favorite film "Midnight Cowboy", although the transfer wasn't hi-def, which is irritating. But for an old movie like The Stranger? We'll be lucky if they include a theatrical trailer.

[atcolomb]

MGM i think has the record for the least amount of extras on their dvd's and the prints they use are not the best but i hope they can do better with The Stranger release. It's too bad Criterion can't get their hands on it!!

[Kevin Loy]

I don't have many MGM DVDs, but they generally include at least a trailer and a featurette or two. Of course, that doesn't even begin to compare with the lavish bonuses that Criterion generally includes with DVDs, but MGM isn't nearly as bad (in my opinion) as Sony/Columbia when it comes to bonus features. I'm still floored by the fact that their release of Gloria featured just one trailer, and it wasn't even for the film on the DVD...