The Extras
The Extras
Warner Archive September Release Announcement
George Feltenstein joins the podcast to update us on some recent happenings with the Warner Archive and to announce six September Blu-ray releases, including a highly requested noir, a musical, and more Hanna Barbara. George provides background on each film, the new HD master, and all of the extras that are included. And he always drops some knowledge about what is being worked on for the future. There is no better way to learn about what is on the Warner Archive schedule than to hear directly from George.
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Hello and welcome to the Extras, where we take you behind the scenes of your favorite TV shows, movies and animation and their release on digital DVD, blu-ray and 4K or your favorite streaming site. I'm Tim Allard, your host and joining me today is George Feltenstein to announce the September Blu-ray releases from the Warner Archive.
Speaker 2:Hi George, Hello Tim, how are you?
Speaker 1:Good, there's a lot going on right now, and so I thought, before we dive into the September announcements, which I'm looking forward to, I would ask you a few questions that have come up. One is the fact that the July 30th releases that we announced a while back are moving into August to August 13th. Maybe you could provide a little background for the listeners on what precipitated that move.
Speaker 2:Well, this is not news to anyone and it is not just affecting the Warner Archive collection. There is a crush of replication need throughout the industry. Basically, those who shut down their pressing plants in haste, thinking that streaming would digest the world, were obviously a little bit premature in shutting down their pressing plants, because I know that if we had another choice, as well as other studios, I think they would be happy to have another choice too. There's one pressing plant for North America and there are a lot of discs being made right now. Contrary to what a lot of people think, I know we're not the only studio affected, but anytime there's a change, it is certainly disappointing.
Speaker 2:We don't want to disappoint any of our consumers. We're doing the best we can to try to build our lead times so that we can have things ready in further advance to make sure that we have a little bit more protection against this kind of thing happening. But given the fact that so many of our restorative activities take such a long time, we're often eager to get them into the market and get them onto the schedule and so forth and so on. So that is not helpful. And then if we run into a technical problem, like we did with the Alaskans. That problem ended up being a delay that will bring the consumer a better product and not deprive them of the bumpers and bridges that we located, which they want to be part of their viewing experience, right. So that's the delay of the moment. Will there be more delays? I hate to say probably. Will there be more delays, I hate to say probably, just because of the nature of the avid consumer that wants to be able to own these discs, and we're happy to provide them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just to clarify for those listening, I know that when you and I get together, you're never announcing anything that doesn't have all of the assets they're in, they're there. Anything that doesn't have all of the assets you know they're in, they're there, it's been approved to go, so it's not like you're ever ahead of that game. You're always making sure that everything is there, Then it goes to the replicator, Then it gets bogged down. There's no way you can foresee that in the future. And yeah, so that's why you're saying you know it could happen. But when we do these announcement podcasts, the assumption is that, hey, everything is in there, it looks good to go for that day.
Speaker 2:And the other part of it is that we're structured a little differently and always have been than traditional. Traditional, basically like the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment side, aka Warner Home Video, where things would be announced two, three months in advance, there'd be an eight-week solicitation of order period and then two months for manufacture and replication. There was huge, huge lag time in terms of how far ahead you had to prepare. So we've tried to tighten that window in order to be more efficient, but that also leads to being more susceptible when there are these problems. So if you only have to wait two weeks, it's not the end of the world, but it's disappointing to us because we want our customers to be happy and satisfied with the product. So that basically will explain that issue.
Speaker 1:Right and we've done this. We've talked about this before on some like mailbag episodes where people want to ask, hey, is this title being done, is that title being done? And the response you always have is there are so many titles in the works. The beauty of these announce episodes, I think, is that you're finally able to say I can talk about these, these are coming to you soon. This is the day, we think, but if it does slide a week or two, it's not the end of the world. As a matter of fact, I can finally talk about them and we can all get excited for this release. So that's the major point. I just kind of wanted to be sure we come off and have for the listeners here today. So the other thing that just happened the other day that I thought we could address is that the Facebook page for the Warner Archive has undergone some changes. Maybe you could address that.
Speaker 2:Well, a decision was made within the greater company to try to consolidate the social media destinations for various kinds of activities and it was decided that the Warner Archive Facebook page would serve the overall greater company more effectively if it became a Warner Classics page where classic 4K releases that are coming from the mothership, as I like to call the main unit of which we are the boutique, offshoot when there will be the 4K release eventually, because I know it was leaked in the UK. Everybody knows there's going to be a North by Northwest 4K coming at some point this year. Well, that'll be a place people could talk about it. If there's something happening with a Fathom event or something where we're doing something in partnership with TCM, that will be something that could be found on that page. That will be something that could be found on that page. But it is still primarily, as it says on the page very clearly with the main marquee photo, if you will the home of the Warner Archive collection and other great products. So that is the reason for the change. It was a company decision and we're all a team trying to make the company more efficient and if Warner Archive can help bring more attention to other classic activities that are going on within Warner Brothers Discovery. We think that's terrific, but that page will still be the main destination of where we make announcements.
Speaker 2:And I also want to say that there are some titles that we announced last month that are still not up for pre-order and we're announcing them earlier so that people can have more anticipation and planning of what's coming down the pike. But we don't actually put and it's really working with our partners they don't get put up for solicitation and pre-order until really the discs are locked in for shipment and so forth and so on. So there isn't a big window there. It's usually been a month before. But what was going on earlier but what was going on earlier prior which was frustrating, I think, to a lot of people was that we were announcing titles like a day or two before they'd go up for pre-order, doing it another month earlier, as we're doing today, talking about the releases of September 30th. As we record this, that's basically two months from now, but I want people to know what's coming and that separates this completely from what will be coming in October, because that's going to have a lot of wishes fulfilled, given the seasonality. So I hope that answers that question.
Speaker 1:It does, and I think it's a good move. Like you said, that way you can bring in the North by Northwest and other classics that are being released by the other home video departments there at Warner Brothers, and I think that will be good for the fans. It's also a branding across not just the Facebook page but the YouTube page, so there's a lot more activity, it looks like there than there has been for a while, which I think fans will love to see those clips that are going on there. So it's across the various social media platforms and I think that will be good for the fans.
Speaker 2:And I've been involved in discussions with the folks that are manning that page and giving them some suggestions of some things that I think will please our audiences. In the meantime, the 12, 13 years worth of clips and things we put up on that page will remain. They're not coming down, and it's just going to be a lot more entertainment for everyone, and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:Yep, well before we dive into the September announcements, you just posted recently an announcement that got people very excited and that was the Looney Tunes collector's choice, volume four. Maybe you could provide some background on when that's coming out and whatever else you can share at this time.
Speaker 2:Well, it's still in production but we locked in the content and what's going to be on the release. We'll make a formal announcement about that probably. I would say like within a month we might reveal what the content is and what cartoons are on there, and I think some people are going to be pleasantly surprised with the selections. The collector's choice series has been very successful. We waited a little bit between three and four so that we could basically we had to wait for Nitrate to make its trek across the country and it arrived here before the summer heat. So that obviously indicates there will be some cartoons specifically remastered from Nitrate for this release that are new 2024 masters. We're keeping up the basic concept for the series, which is that there'll be 25 cartoons that have never been in a remastered form on DVD and never been on Blu-ray. What I'd like to say is they've never been on DVD or Blu-ray, but there were some that were on DVD in non-remastered form, much to my chagrin at the time, because I felt it was very confusing to the consumer. But coming back with a proper and improved version is the justification for those two or three.
Speaker 2:In the past We've got some very, very exciting selections that span from the 30s to the 60s, so it'll be a fun fourth edition with an E and an addition to the series, making it the fourth release, and there is a concerted plan for more theatrical animation in 2025. There is a concerted plan for more theatrical animation in 2025. We've turned up the heat on the television animation this year with a lot more Hanna-Barbera, and some people have speculated that this was at the expense of the theatrical animation. Not so. We like to be all things to many people, so I think 2025 is going to be a year, and certainly even the rest of this year where you'll see a lot of variety and versatility in the selections.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm looking forward to talking with you and hearing what those are. We'll get you on to go through those and that'll be a lot of fun, and the date that you have announced is before Christmas, which I think is a big, big deal for those of us who want to put that on our Christmas wishlist. So looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:That was the idea.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that was the idea. Yeah, yeah. Well, because we've talked in the past how oftentimes December is a little bit, you know, less volume, and I think this is currently scheduled for right at the end of November, so it's good to see that for the fans. Well, we've talked about a lot of things that are going on. It's been very busy, but now we should dive right into the September titles that are going to be released. Where do you want to start, george?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm going to start with something that has been on a lot of wish lists. It may not be everybody's wish list, because I know this is definitely a specific taste. Last year we released a few films with Esther Williams and people were saying, oh, this is nice, but we want Bathing Beauty, because that Williams really made a big splash. Oh, terrible pun there with this film. It was originally supposed to be called Mr Co-Ed that was the production title.
Speaker 2:While they were filming and the MGM executives got a look at what Esther was able to do in the pool. She had already been under contract to the studio and had smaller parts that didn't involve swimming. Really, except for the Andy Hardy movie. There was a little pool action there, but they really didn't know what they had in her and they built this movie around her and it led to, you know, over a dozen years where she was a box office champion with these aquatic spectacles. It also has Harry James and his big band and Xavier Cugat and his orchestra. There's a lot of great music in the film. But to see these Technicolor restorations we are able to achieve thanks to the geniuses at Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging.
Speaker 2:it's really staggering, Because what everybody's seen before is so many generations away from the original negative. What we're able to do now I'm probably repeating myself from prior podcasts, but what we're able to do now with the technology we have, is to align down to the pixel and to have perfection in registration of all the colors. So the sharpness and clarity is unprecedented. We're very excited about this release. I know that finally certain people that have been bemoaning its absence from Blu-ray can cross it off their wish lists and buy the disc.
Speaker 1:And I think the other releases have had extras on the discs. Do you have any on this one?
Speaker 2:Yes, we do. We actually have the same extras on this disc that we had on the DVD edition that came out many, many years ago. Most importantly, there's a lovely interview with Esther. She was interviewed by Robert Osborne, who was the longtime TCM host, and he had a series of interviews with performers and artists that was called private screenings. So Esther's interview with Bob Osborne will be on this disc. The Tom and Jerry cartoon Mouse Trouble will be on this disc in, of course, high definition. Uh, we've got an mgm short, also from 1944, called main street today, and the trailer. So it's the exact same extras that were on the dvd. So people don't like it if we've left something off an extra that was on dvd. They feel like they've got to hold on to their DVDs. The idea here is everything is now on the Blu-ray and that solves a lot of problems.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Well, the previous Esther Williams films have been huge sellers for you, I know, and terrifically popular with the fans, so I'm looking forward to this as well. What do you have next, george?
Speaker 2:Well, the next film I'm going to talk about is a double feature of two telefilms, animated telefilms from Hanna-Barbera Productions, and these both have the same character in them. And no, it's not Scooby-Doo folks, it's Johnny Quest. We have Johnny's Golden Quest, which was made in 1992, and Johnny Quest versus the Cyber Insects, which was made in 1995. These were both finished to film. They were not finished to videotape. So this remastering that has gone now 60 years old.
Speaker 2:But you know the popularity of Johnny Quest just continues, based on the original series. That's still my go-to for Johnny Quest. But there were the subsequent reboots and then the real adventures of Johnny Quest and these two telefilms, both of them on one disc with still a very robust bit rate. There's no diminishing of the picture quality because the two are on one disc. But it provides the consumer with a value proposition. You know I wouldn't be particularly happy putting out a 90-minute telefilm on a disc and charging what we charge for our single discs. I could put two films on there. That's a greater value and certainly preferred. So very, very happy about that. We've got a lot of Hanna-Barbera fans and we hope that they'll be happy with that release. I know a lot of people have asked for it because we've been doing a lot of Hanna-Barbera lately and Johnny Quest was not part of the Superstars 10, you know. So this was the opportunity to bring Johnny into the fold, and there's, of course, more Hanna-Barbera in the offing.
Speaker 1:And when you usually put the double features on, you don't necessarily have any other extras. But I'll just ask if that's the case here.
Speaker 2:In the case of these two there weren't, because I think it was probably from the time they were made. I think they were probably produced for Cartoon Network, but that was just at the time Cartoon Network was coming into being and Turner not for the second one, but for the first one. Turner Broadcasting had just purchased Hanna-Barbera, so we didn't have anything of substance to add to these. So they will be just as the DVDs were, but you get two for the price of one, and that's something I think that's commendable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm enjoying these double features that you're putting out with the animation, so I'm sure that's going to be a really popular one. So many people keep asking for the Hanna-Barbera and you've said it's coming, but this should be very exciting. Well, what do you have next, george?
Speaker 2:Well, the next film I'm going to talk about is a film we've gotten a lot of requests for. It's known by cinephiles quite well but may not be as familiar to the general public. This is a film from 1943 called Journey into Fear. It was made at RKO as an Orson Welles Mercury production. He's in the film. He certainly directed part of the film, but the film is not considered the same as Citizen Kane and Magnificent Ambersons and had production issues with RKO in the making and distribution of it.
Speaker 2:This is also a film that we never released on DVD because the elements were so bad. The original negative is long gone. We were aided in this release to bring it to Blu-ray by the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress had created safety preservation master positives, I'm assuming. Master positives I'm assuming before the original negative, which was likely housed with them as many RKO negatives are, was probably deteriorating and they made this before it went bad, so it was the best element we could locate. It's a really very impressive film. It's not very long but it's a thriller and you can feel Orson Welles' touch upon it. I know a lot has been written about it and there are certainly people who were part of the stock company of the Mercury Theater and Mercury Productions. Ruth Rorick, agnes Moorhead, joseph Cotton, everett Sloan. They were part of Well's team and I think a lot of people will be very happy to finally see this film not on Laserdisc and not on VHS, but on a beautiful Blu-ray.
Speaker 1:Does this film have any extras included?
Speaker 2:Well, being an RKO film. We had no trailer because it's almost a rule, because RKO did not make their trailers and they were not turned over to us. So it's very rare when we have an RKO trailer. We had no trailer for this, but we've added some of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater radio broadcasts from 1938. One is Dracula, one is Treasure Island and one is Tale of Two Cities, and a lot of the same creative people were involved in those radio broadcasts and so it gives a little taste of something different as an extra.
Speaker 2:I'm very grateful. We've been wanting to release this film for years and if it weren't for the material at the Library of Congress, what we had internally within our old holdings was just deplorable and could not be released as far as I'm concerned. So we're very grateful to all of our archival partners, but in this case it's the Library of Congress that we're grateful to for providing. This was a protection master they created in 1972. So it's actually a 52-year-old safety film element that came to the rescue here. So this speaks out to the importance of film preservation and that Library of Congress, not unlike MGM, were doing that kind of preservation work at such a critical time. I think it's going to make a terrific disc and I hope it will make the denizens of Wells devotees very happy.
Speaker 1:Well, there's no doubt of that. As you said, many people have been waiting for this one, I think for a very long time, so it's great that it's finally coming out on Blu-ray. Do you have any more titles for us, George?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not done yet. The next film is also from RKO and its trailer does survive. This is from 1948 and from one of our great American filmmakers, george Stevens, and from one of our great American filmmakers, george Stevens, this is, I Remember, mama. It stars Irene Dunn and Barbara Bel Geddes. It was a very popular film when released, based on a very successful play of the same name, which was itself based on a short story called Mama's Bank Account, and this is just one of those sentimental favorites that people love and I think that it represents.
Speaker 2:You know George Stevens, who is one of the directors I'm most fascinated by, and especially because his son, george Stevens Jr, who happens to be a close friend. George Jr has done so many wonderful things in his own life founding the American Film Institute, creating the Kennedy Center Honors and producing them for years and years and making his own films. He made a film about John F Kennedy. He made a film about his father, george Stevens A Filmmaker's Journey, and also a film about his father's work overseas during World War II, george Stevens' D-Day to Berlin. So in that respect, george Stevens stopped making films in Hollywood during the war to help the war effort, as a lot of great American directors did do and he documented so much. Turning Home from Wartime was a very sentimental family story that was warm-hearted and beautifully done. The film was taking very successful popular material in that the play was a big hit and it eventually inspired a very early television series that was called Mama, so the material was really beloved by the public.
Speaker 2:Being an RKO film, this is something that's looked awful in prior years and I'm delighted that we now have a beautiful, beautiful Blu-ray. This is another RKO film where the camera negative perished I don't know when or at what time, but we had second generation nitrate preservation elements to work from. We scanned them at 4K and the new master is beautiful. I think people are really, really going to enjoy this. Only extra on this disc is the original trailer, but the film is also quite long for its era it's 134 minutes. So we've got a very substantial film restored here beautifully in a beautiful presentation, and I hope people are happy to add it to their collection because it was nominated for several Oscars. It was a very, very popular film in its time and a tribute to Mr Stevens, and we're very, very, very proud to be able to bring it to Blu-ray.
Speaker 1:I'm excited about that one as well, george. Another classic film for the many classic film fans that we have that, listen to the podcast. And then what do you have next, george?
Speaker 2:Well, the last time we spoke I think it was the last time we spoke I dropped a little hint that we had a film noir in the works with a big male movie star from our library and that, of course, sent the conspiracy theorists loose on the Internet trying to say OK, what's that going to be? Is it going to be this? It's going to be that Surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly because we're talking about a lot of smart people a lot of people guessed correctly that our next release is in fact Conflict starring Humphrey Bogart from 1945. And some people were debating whether it's a true noir or not. And you know that goes on with a lot of films, because the definition of noir varies, I think, between individuals and whatnot. I think it is a great thriller and suspense movie and just the way it's shot conveys to me that it is. If it isn't a specific film noir, it's noir adjacent, so let's put it that way. But here we have something to be celebrating. The original negative survived and we scanned the original negative at 4K and have this brand new master from the 4K scan of the camera negative. And we did put this out on DVD in the early days of Warner Archive and it was actually a new master, but we didn't promote it as such because it really was not good looking. It was the best we could do with the materials we had. But the materials we had were basically fourth generation and filled with flicker, and we did try to clean it up but it required an enormous investment and we didn't have that kind of funding in those days and we didn't have that kind of funding in those days. This is probably 2010, I'm thinking, but 14 years later or 13 years later whenever we did do that, once again joined by the inimitable Sydney Greenstreet the leading lady is Alexis Smith and Curtis Bernhardt is the director Very much an expressionistic style film, which certainly is what I think gives it more tendencies. But I'm just thrilled that we're putting it out and we've added on to the disc.
Speaker 2:I found the exact cartoon that it opened with when it opened in Hollywood in June of 1945, life with Feathers, and we also have another, of course in high def. And then we have another HD cartoon, trap, happy Porky. And we have two Warner Brothers shorts that are in high definition Peaks at Hollywood, and one more aimed towards kids called Our Animals Actors. And then, in addition to the original theatrical trailer. I did find a radio broadcast of Conflict with Bogart that wasn't from the Lux Radio Theater they never did one. Wasn't from the Screen Guild players they never did one. And wasn't from Screen Directors Playhouse players they never did one. And wasn't from Screen Directors Playhouse it was from a series, I think, called Romance Theater in 1945. And it came out really about two or three months after the movie. So it was really done to promote people going to the theater as opposed to recreating the experience.
Speaker 2:It's less than a half hour long, but anytime we can find something like that, that's so rare, it's a terrific bonus. And so, yes, those who guessed conflict, you were right. But some of you who were wondering about other films, some of those films you were wondering about, may be down the line too. We just can't talk about them yet.
Speaker 1:Well, that's exciting. It's always fun, I mean, when you drop those little hints, and I appreciate that, because we all kind of like to play the game a little bit of what it might be. But this is a terrific film. I'm so looking forward to seeing it in HD, and it has a terrific amount of bonus extras on here as well, so this is going to be extremely popular. I'm just going to predict that right now.
Speaker 2:So our last release for the month is a mere 61 years newer. For the month is a mere 61 years newer. It's from 2006, which, in my book, makes it a recent film. Since I'm dealing with 100 years plus worth of library material. This is the last film made by the late, great master director Robert Altman. This is a Prairie Home Companion from 2006. Director Robert Altman. This is a Prairie Home Companion from 2006.
Speaker 2:This was a new line release and has a phenomenal cast Lily Tomlin, meryl Streep, woody Harrelson, kevin Kline and Garrison Keillor, who started that radio program Prairie Home Companion, and that's what was the basis for this movie. It was really a fine capper to Altman's career because some of his very best films were loaded. I can think of two of my favorites Nashville and the Player, just loaded with unbelievable cast members, and this film is just like that. The disc comes with an audio commentary that Altman recorded right before he died, and Kevin Kline, who's one of the stars of the film, is also on the commentary. There are additional scenes and there's a very nice behind-the-scenes documentary that was created by New Line Home Entertainment for the DVD release. This is obviously reflective of more modern technology. It's a 239 letterbox, five ones around, it's going to look and sound terrific.
Speaker 2:I think people have forgotten about this movie, for whatever reason. It's not something that you see. You don't see it on cable or Turner Classic Movies, or certainly don't see it in any streaming services. So where better than on a beautiful Blu-ray disc where you're not subject to small file bit rates or commercials or anything else? You can just enjoy it and own it forever because it's yours on the shelf.
Speaker 2:So our releases span many decades, many different types of films, and that is really what the Warner Archive collection is.
Speaker 2:It's it's not just old movies, and just because a film is old doesn't make it a classic, and just because a film is a classic doesn't necessarily mean it's old. There are some films that have come out just in the last year that are instant classics because of their genius, and we try to make sure that we're covering all bases, and that's why there will be more animation. There will be more live action television, more recent films, more classic films from the golden Hollywood era and, yes, there is that big silent movie that we've been working on for a long time that we will finally be able to talk about. I can see that, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping it will be a release in this calendar year. I'm pretty sure it will be, so a lot of exciting things in store for the future. But I think this is a very robust September and will lead to more exciting releases in the months to come.
Speaker 1:Yes, thank you so much for coming on, as always, and giving us those updates that we had here at the beginning of our conversation, and then then, of course, taking us through the announcements for September, and you've already said that the October ones are going to be very exciting and please so many fans. So the rest of the year just looks terrific, starting with the September ones that we discussed today.
Speaker 2:Well, tim, as always, I have to thank you for dedicating your time to helping to get word out to the consumers and I think it's wonderful that you have a Facebook group specifically dedicated to Warner Brothers Home Entertainment and Warner Archive and Warner Brothers catalog in general, because you've built up such a large group of people in a very short time and they know they can rely on you to get their information from you, and you can always ask me questions that I can relate to you, that you could get to them, and we want to make sure those lines of communication stay open and always. Thank you to all of our consumers for bearing with us as we have to constantly morph and change, but we're making changes only for the better, and the next months these releases certainly represent that, and what are going to follow in the ensuing months, I think, will really underscore that.
Speaker 1:For those who would like more information about the films announced today, be sure to check out our Facebook page and our Warner Archive Facebook group. You can find the links to those and all of our social media sites in the podcast show notes. Facebook is also the best place to go to get the pre-order links for these titles when they become available and, as George mentioned, some of these pre-order links have been a little bit delayed, so we'll always put them up as soon as we can when they're on Amazon. If you aren't yet subscribed or following the show at your favorite podcast provider, you may want to do that so that you don't miss any of the updates, the pre-order links and the other information that George shared today. Until next time you've been listening to Tim Millard, stay slightly obsessed.