Warner Brothers Archive Collection (DVDs only)

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1601 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 12, 2015 5:58 pm

They stopped labeling them when they switched over to the WB site exclusively. They don't even mention if recent multi-disc sets are pressed or not anymore, sadly

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1602 Post by Gregory » Thu Jun 18, 2015 1:01 pm

fdm wrote:Any idea whether there will be 5 for $50 sales in the future, or did they maybe go the way of the dodo bird? Been a while.
They've now announced a $12.49 sale, through June 21. This may be better for those who only want a couple of discs, not 5. In fact, 5 is the maximum that can be ordered in the sale, something I've don't remember seeing before. I wonder if all this suggests that they don't make any profit during these sales and are doing them to boost interest in WAC or that maybe they don't want to run out of stock too quickly and only have a few on hand of most of the MOD titles.

Also, 20 Blu-rays are included at the same price point.

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1603 Post by fdm » Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:54 pm

Saw that. May bite on a few blu-rays, if there's enough of them of interest to me that haven't been in one of these sales before.

(They started calculating my sales tax wrong last year or the year before, so between that and everything else I've griped about before, they're kind of on my shit list, unless there's some title or other I really gotta have. Plus I still have a bunch that I haven't watched yet from before, so need to back off some anyways.)

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Gregory
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1604 Post by Gregory » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:00 pm

When I posted that, I was planning to order a few things, but then I remembered that I've purchased WAC Blu-rays from DD for around $11 before, and that was with free shipping and a little Ebates cash back to sweeten the deal that much more. I'll plan to wait for the end-of-year 5 for $45 sale, considering that I have more than enough to watch, and at both WBShop and FoxConnect by far the best deals are offered in Nov.–Dec.

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1605 Post by domino harvey » Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:04 pm

I only bought one Blu-ray and the Cantor set (which is pressed/replicated, according to HTF) and it didn't charge me any shipping because both titles were on sale via the promotion, FYI

Werewolf by Night

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1606 Post by Werewolf by Night » Fri Jun 19, 2015 9:30 pm

If anyone cares, the recent WAC release of Star 80 is indeed in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but it still looks and sounds like an old VHS/TV transfer.

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domino harvey
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1607 Post by domino harvey » Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:38 am

domino harvey wrote: the Cantor set (which is pressed/replicated, according to HTF)I
Got my copy in and can confirm that it's pressed when ordered from WBShop. No idea why they aren't advertising this aspect anymore, since surely there's a lot of hesitant Archive shoppers who'd prefer to purchase only pressed titles

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PfR73
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:07 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1608 Post by PfR73 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 11:19 am

Werewolf by Night wrote:If anyone cares, the recent WAC release of Star 80 is indeed in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but it still looks and sounds like an old VHS/TV transfer.
I haven't seen the disc myself, but a good friend of mine told me basically the same thing last month, that it was one of the worst-looking DVDs he'd personally seen. Which is really a shame, because I saw a pretty knock-out print at Austin Film Society last year.

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CSM126
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1609 Post by CSM126 » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:39 pm

That's just pathetic. If WB can't be bothered to do a basic scan of a perfectly good print, why even bother at all? Would've been better to license it to Criterion and let them do the leg work and do it right. Star 80 is a great and important film by a great filmmaker and it deserves better.

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Randall Maysin
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:26 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1610 Post by Randall Maysin » Tue Jun 23, 2015 5:50 pm

No, it deserves worse. Much, much, much, much worse. Star 80 is nothing more than a mindless, feelingless pornography of disgust. Whatever good intentions Mr. Fosse no doubt had.

rwaits
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2004 12:24 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1611 Post by rwaits » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:34 pm

Well, it's certainly not Fosse's best film, but Eric Roberts is absolutely amazing in it. His performance is top line psychopath. For that alone it deserves a better release.

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Randall Maysin
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:26 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1612 Post by Randall Maysin » Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:01 pm

LOL! You're right, good point. Poor Eric Roberts, I keep hoping someone will rehabilitate his career, preferably Tarantino. I mean he seems like a perfect Tarantino actor to me.

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Grand Wazoo
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:23 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1613 Post by Grand Wazoo » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:46 pm

Eric Roberts did appear, albeit briefly, in Inherent Vice.

I received a copy of Star 80 today and while the transfer is certainly bad, it's by no means unwatchable and definitely not one of the worst I've seen. I do however wish someone would give this film proper treatment.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1614 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:59 pm

He was in Dark Knight, one of the greatest films ever made! (Sez imdb voters)

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palntsc
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2015 6:25 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1615 Post by palntsc » Wed Jun 24, 2015 8:30 am

Just wanted to share this for those of you particularly keen on classic westerns like myself: according to a video posted on their Facebook page, Sam Fuller's Run of the Arrow is coming out in July as part of the Warner Archive series! Though it's going to be on dvd only, let's hope it'll be a properly remastered, anamorphic version...

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jorencain
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1616 Post by jorencain » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:39 am

I just watched "The Lusty Men" on TCM (my first viewing - continues to cement my feeling that Ray was one of the greatest American directors), and I have a question about the Warner disc. The audio was pretty rough on TCM...quite soft, and inconsistent. I was constantly riding the volume control on my remote. Is the audio any better on the DVD?

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Feego
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1617 Post by Feego » Sun Sep 27, 2015 1:45 pm

domino harvey wrote:
domino harvey wrote: the Cantor set (which is pressed/replicated, according to HTF)I
Got my copy in and can confirm that it's pressed when ordered from WBShop. No idea why they aren't advertising this aspect anymore, since surely there's a lot of hesitant Archive shoppers who'd prefer to purchase only pressed titles
I haven't purchased from Warner Archive since their website switch-over. Have they provided a way for customers to see what is on pressed disc vs. DVD-R since this last post, or is it still pretty much up in the air?

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1618 Post by hearthesilence » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:25 pm

jorencain wrote:I just watched "The Lusty Men" on TCM (my first viewing - continues to cement my feeling that Ray was one of the greatest American directors), and I have a question about the Warner disc. The audio was pretty rough on TCM...quite soft, and inconsistent. I was constantly riding the volume control on my remote. Is the audio any better on the DVD?
I have this and didn't have any problems with volume levels that I can recall from the two viewings I've had so far.

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jorencain
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1619 Post by jorencain » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:57 pm

Very good. Thanks!

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feihong
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 12:20 pm

Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

#1620 Post by feihong » Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:58 pm

I forgot this was happening for a while, but Warner went and shunted Sammo Hung's Pedicab Driver onto an Archive DVD, after an abortive preorder listing of the film as a blu ray. The result is, of course, the only official DVD release of Pedicab Driver, and a disc with very handsome picture quality. It looks like this could have been released on blu-ray, judging by the quality of the transfer. The DVD is one of the better-authored DVDs out there, with a pretty solid image, nice depth of field, great color...lots to recommend it.

The subtitles have some occasional errors, and they are subtitles for the deaf or hearing-impaired, complete with sound effects described in brackets, etc. There's only the one subtitle track. The audio is Dolby Digital Stereo, Cantonese. No other audio tracks.

It's great to finally see Pedicab Driver released officially. It's just a shame they couldn't have gone with the planned blu-ray.

Warner Archive has also released Blade of Fury, I think, and a couple of other gems from their conspicuous martial arts holdings.

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Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

#1621 Post by Ashirg » Tue Mar 01, 2016 12:18 am

So far through Warner Archives they released on DVD-R -
Big Bullet (1996)
Blade of Fury (1993)
Downtown Torpedoes (1997)
Pedicab Driver (1989)
Tsui Hark's The Blade (1995)
He's a Woman, She's a Man (1994)
Terracotta Warrior (1989)

The last 3 street March 1st.

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feihong
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection Blu-rays

#1622 Post by feihong » Tue Mar 01, 2016 12:31 am

Oh, right. I wonder what their disc of The Blade will look like? I'll have to order it.

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feihong
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1623 Post by feihong » Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:39 pm

I watched the Warner Archive Collection DVD of Tsui Hark's The Blade last night. Up until now I've had the HK Video DVD to rely upon, and while I love the box, I can retire that disc for good, I hope. The Warner disc is not blu ray but its quality for a DVD is extremely high. It has far better detail than the HK Video disc, and much richer, more saturated colors. It's quite beautiful in motion.

One painful problem, though, is the subtitles, the only version available being subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired. Just like on Pedicab Driver, the subtitles call out stuff like "[dramatic music]" and "[dramatic music continues]" and "[angry mumbling]." There are single quotes around every subtitled line spoken off camera.

The subtitles are different than any set we've seen until now. A lot of the language is given a more efficient English translation, but it's generally been cleaned up a little more poetically than in past translations. There are a few more bizarre changes. The villain, Fei Lung, has his name translated as "Falcon." The place in the flashback battle where Ling's father calls out to his brother-at-arms, "Brother Fung!" has changed in the subs to him screaming "Falcon!" Not really sure that adds anything, though it most likely takes away the meaning of the cry. On's father is no longer called "Hundred–Catty Lai," in the subtitles, they really just forego mentioning the hundred–catty saber except in preparation for the flashback.

Of course, the subtitle that vexes basically every translator, which was originally translated as "enprise' field," and which corresponds on the sound track to the narrator referencing "jiang hu," I believe, gets yet another translation in this version. I've seen a fan translation that read it as "this world of violence," or something to that effect. Now, for the Warner Bros edition, it's been retranslated as "the inner circle." This makes for much easier quick reading than anything so far, but it remains, I think, about as obscure as the always frustrating "enprise' field." It does make for a lovely turn of phrase near the end, where the narrator, seeing On facing Lung––excuse me, facing "Falcon"––says, "Abruptly, the shape of the inner circle became clear to me." While that works better than any translation proposed so far, what exactly is the inner circle? I picture a sort of a member's club, where, after a long day at the iron forge, the saber makers can sit in plush armchairs with sifters of brandy.

Overall the translation reads more cleanly than in previous versions, conspicuous naming errors and "inner circle" mumbo–jumbo notwithstanding. But there is a sense that the abrupt harshness of the movie is somewhat neutered by the softening of the previous translations. In previous translations, after Iron Head and On discover the death of the monk, Iron Head yells "I need to get revenge for that monk!" and On responds, "Are you crazy? We need to deliver our goods!" The confrontation is flat but angry, emphasized by the repetition of the word "need" and the close syllable count of the two opposing phrases. In the Warner Bros translation, Iron Head says something like, "They'll pay for that!" and On responds "We need to make our deliveries!" It's easier to read, with the statements clearly differentiated and with less words all around, but the in–your–face aggro of the original confrontation is no longer supplemented by the linguistic tone of the translation. It seems as if that aggressive, anti–romantic tone, meant to clash heavily with the more poetic narration, is being sacrificed in this new translation so that the final product will be easier to read.

There are two audio tracks on the disc, a Cantonese language track with no special luster, and a very thin, very weird English dub track I had never heard tell of before. The dub is a miserable affair, with actors sounding like they're reading off a teleprompter in a garage. No one seems to have any idea why they would be saying what they're saying throughout. It's far worse than the old dubs for The Killer and Hard Boiled, and it's not nearly as fun as the old Shaw Bros dub tracks.

Still, the picture quality is a great improvement over the French disc, and The Blade hasn't really been available to English speakers except as a bootleg since the days of VHS and that original, dastardly UK DVD about a million years ago. So it's definitely a serious upgrade.

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tenia
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1624 Post by tenia » Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:49 pm

Had no idea WAC was releasing that type of movies. If the technical presentation is good on top of that, I need to follow them better then.

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feihong
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Re: Warner Brothers Archive Collection

#1625 Post by feihong » Sun Mar 06, 2016 6:54 pm

There was a weird moment some months ago when they were toying with putting at least some of their Hong Kong catalog on blu ray, but then they stepped back to DVD for the releases. The masters look like they are better than the DVD compression can present. None of the films are restored, per se––there are little pops and scratches, though not a ton of them. Even though they've never done anything with their little Hong Kong catalog of highly-desired cult artifacts before, Warner seems to have taken very good care of these films, even whilst they quietly sat on them. I wish they could have gone full HD, though; it really looks like the transfers could have supported it.

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