Classic Coming Attractions by Barrie Maxwell

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Classic Coming Attractions by Barrie Maxwell

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Classic Reviews Roundup #21 - October 2005
(Continued)

The Latest New Announcements

I've been able to update the Classic Release Database (zipped Word .doc) - you'll recall it was not done at the time of the previous column - and it now includes all the new classic announcements that were reported on then, as well as a few new ones from the past couple of weeks. The latter are reported on below, alphabetically by studio.

As anticipated, Photoplay's Unknown Chaplin (1983) is now scheduled to come out on DVD. It will be issued by A&E Home Video on November 29th and will include, in addition to the three programs that make up the title, a making-of featurette and two rare Chaplin shorts.

Alpha has approximately four-dozen titles set for release on September 27th and October 25th. It's the usual blend of B westerns, mysteries, 4-episode collections of TV series, and a couple of 1930s serials (The Galloping Ghost and The New Adventures of Tarzan arrive on October 25th). Consult the database for the complete list of titles.

BBC Video's release of the restored version of Scrooge (1951) has been delayed (originally set for September), with no new date yet announced.

Criterion is expected to deliver François Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player (1960) and René Clément's Forbidden Games (1951) on December 6th. A number of Criterion's titles previously set for release on either October 4th or 18th have now all been delayed until October 25th. They are: Kill!, Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics, Samurai Rebellion, Samurai Spy, Sword of the Beast, Le Samourai and The Wages of Fear. Criterion's early 2006 plans include John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) and Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well (1960) on January 10th, and Vittorio De Sica's The Children Are Watching Us (1944) and Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (1960) on January 24th. All will have the usual high definition transfers, anamorphically enhanced as appropriate. Only The Virgin Spring is expected to offer audio commentary.

Sony, through its Columbia arm will release Arizona (1940, with Jean Arthur) on December 6th. Also due then are a re-release of All the King's Men (1949, presumably timed with the arrival of the new theatrical remake), and the previously delayed Matt Helm Lounge Collection (all four films with Dean Martin). In other Columbia news, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939, with James Stewart) is being remastered from recently-found nitrate elements, but no release date is set as yet. Other early Capra is in the plans, likely for 2006, including American Madness (1932, with Walter Huston).

Disney will have a two-movie collection on November 15th of Old Yeller (1957, the original Vault Disney release) and the sequel Silent Sam (1963). The Shaggy Dog (1959) and The Shaggy D.A. (1976) are both now expected in 2006. Now set for February 28th, 2006 is Lady and The Tramp (1955). Presented in anamorphic widescreen, the two-disc SE will include deleted scenes and a 1943 original storyboard conception, as well as other supplements.

Image will release The Naked City Box Set #2 (12 episodes) on November 22nd. Having just released the fifth season of the TV series Combat last month, Image will give us Combat: The Complete Series (all five seasons, 40 discs) on December 6th. On the same date, we'll also get Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star, a 90-minute biography from 1996.

A restoration of Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945) is coming from Kino on November 22nd. It is expected to include audio commentary by David Kalat of All Day Entertainment. Also being released at the same time is Lang's House By the River (1950, with Louis Hayward).

Classic fans may have missed the September 6th release by Lions Gate of four westerns in what is billed as The Zane Grey Collection. The titles are West of the Pecos (1945, with Robert Mitchum), Nevada (1944, with Robert Mitchum), Wagon Wheels (1934, with Randolph Scott), and Fighting Caravans (1931, with Gary Cooper).

An outfit known as Looser Than Loose is releasing several silent collections on DVD-R. New is A Stan Laurel Reference Library, Volume 1 (5 shorts from the 1918-1919 period), coming on September 15th. Already available is Snub and Marie: Hollywood's Other First Couple (4 Snub Pollard and Marie Mosquini shorts from 1921-1923), and The Larger World of Laurel and Hardy, Volume 1 (5 shorts from the 1918-1926 period). Further details are available at looserthanloose.com.

Sony, through its MGM arm, will release the American Movie Musicals Collection on October 18th. It will include West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, and Fiddler on the Roof, but presumably will offer just the existing transfers of them (not good news for Guys and Dolls fans, at least). Coming on November 8th is Burn! (1969, with Marlon Brando) although whether it's the full 132-minute version or cut 112-minute one is unclear. A number of December 6th releases are also planned. They are: Belle of the Yukon (1944, with Randolph Scott), Kid Galahad (1962, with Elvis Presley), Kid Millions (1934, with Eddie Cantor), Konga (1961), Land Raiders (1970, with Telly Savalas), Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966, with Chuck Connors), and Green Acres: The Complete Third Season.

On October 25th, MPI will have two collections - The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction Ultimate Christmas DVD Collection (3 Christmas shows (2 BH, 1 PJ) on one disc), and The Doris Day Show: Season Two (1969-70, 26 episodes).

Paramount's November 8th release of Mahogany (1975) has been postponed with no new date indicated. For December 13th, the studio will release The Five Pennies (1959, with Danny Kaye) and on December 20th: Man in the Vault (1956, with William Campbell), Plunder of the Sun: Special Collector's Edition (1953, with Glenn Ford), Ring of Fear (1954, with Clyde Beatty), Seven Men from Now: Special Collector's Edition (1956, with Randolph Scott), and Track of the Cat: Special Collector's Edition (1954, with Robert Mitchum). Coming on January 3rd, 2006 are two three-disc sets of the TV series Gunsmoke entitled Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary, Volume 1 and Gunsmoke: 50th Anniversary, Volume 2, as well as Have Gun Will Travel: Season #3.

Rhino will release The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp: From Ellsworth to Tombstone on October 25th. It will be a four-disc set containing 25 episodes of the popular TV series.

Universal will have a two-disc release of Japan's King Kong Escapes (1967) and King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) on November 29th. Both will sport anamorphic transfers. The Rockford Files: Season One is forthcoming on December 6th. The previously delayed The Return of the Pink Panther (1970) is now scheduled for January 10th, 2006 and will feature an anamorphic widescreen transfer.

VCI is updating its current releases of Gorgo (1961, with Bill Travers) and Blood and Black Lace (1963, with Cameron Mitchell) in new widescreen editions coming out on October 25th, although neither appear to be anamorphic. The City of the Undead (1960, with Christopher Lee) in anamorphic widescreen is also set for October 25th. It will feature audio commentary by Lee and director John Moxey.

Warner Bros. insists that its The Last Days of Pompeii (1935, with Preston Foster), which had been announced for November 22nd, is still expected on that date (there had been some confusion about the release). Newly expected are three classic releases for January 10th: Hallelujah (1929, directed by King Vidor), The Green Pastures (1936, with Rex Ingram), and Cabin in the Sky (1943, with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson). All will have audio commentary and various shorts and trailers.

Well, that's all for now. Back again soon!

Barrie Maxwell
barriemaxwell@thedigitalbits.com

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