Alice Faye Collection 2
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 19:46
Fox Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Alice Faye Collection Volume 2 on 7th October 2008. #Â Actors: Alice Faye# Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC # Language: English # Number of discs: 5 # Studio: 20th Century Fox# DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008 The announcement of a second collection of films of the charming Alice Faye is welcome. Faye's films tended to follow a proven box office formula and most of the cliches are on view here with a few twists.
- first off is the 1939 "Rose of Washington Square". This is a dramatic musical with a more gutsy part for Faye than usual and an excellent role for matinee idol Tyrone Power as a heel. The story was based on the life of "Funny Girl" Fanny Brice who sued the studio for plagiarism. Al Jolson, as Faye's vaudeville buddy, and Faye sing superbly. The film was severely edited before release and many of the cut scenes survive. It will be interesting to see if they are included here. Â - next, also released in 1939, is the technicolour romantic comedy "Hollywood Cavalcade". This is a nostalgic look at the coming of talkies, a Reader's Digest potted history of Hollywood, with Faye's role based loosely on, among others, Mabel Normand, a silent screen comedian, and Don Ameche on Mack Sennett, a silent comedy director. The film is very well made with soft colouring and excellent performances by the leads but the director Irving Cummings, while meticulous, always directed at a plod. The best scenes are the Keystone Cop comedy recreations, not directed by Cummings, before the films descends into the usual cliches with Faye neglected by her leading man and wearing her heart on her sleeve.
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The Godfather Collection
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 19:46
Paramount Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration on 23rd September 2008. Â
The DVD release of "The Godfather" was an abysmal disappointment. After all those years of shoddy VHS viewings I was very excited about seeing these films in fully restored, DVD glory. So sad that didn"t happen.
The first two films, on DVD, where often grainy, the color was washed out and there where still noticeable scratches from the film. For $80 you expect these classics to be better, much better. As well, the surround mix was pointless. Granted, the first film I believe was in Mono, the second two stereo, but still, re-mix? The sound was thin, the music tinny and the aural experience was just a disappointing as the visual. The scene with Sonny at the toll-booth should have exploded in the room, instead it barely felt like stereo. So lets home a new 5.1 or 7.1 lossless PCM has been added. Older films have been restored to flawless perfection in the past. After all, extra-effects aside, the DVD restorations of films like "Star Wars" and "Alien" where amazing, and the Blu-Ray releases are something to look forward to. So what of "The Godfather" on Blu-Ray? Well the title says "restoration" so one can only hope that they finally fixed what was wrong with the DVD collection. If they did then this will truly be an event for Blu-Ray.
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Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 19:46
Fox Home Entertainment have announced the Region 1 DVD release of the Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection on 29th July 2008 priced at $49.98 SRP.
#Â Actors: Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, Simone Simon, Herbert Marshall, Ruth Chatterton
# Directors: Walter Lang, Henry Hathaway, Anatole Litvak
# Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
# Language: English
# Region: All Regions
# Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
# Number of discs: 5
# Rating:
# Studio: 20th Century Fox
# DVD Release Date: July 29, 2008
Tyrone Power died on November 15, 1958. In 2007, 20th Century Fox released a five-disk set of Power"s swashbuckler films and was overwhelmed by its success - so overwhelmed, in fact, that a year later, they are following it up with 10 more films, the majority of which are from Power"s early days at the studio where he spent about 17 years of his 22-year career. In addition, Power"s anniversary is due to be celebrated at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles in November, with tributes at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and in his home town of Cincinnati to follow. It"s probably not enough for a tremendous star who doesn"t benefit from Turner Classic Movies network or books because TCM doesn"t own his films, and it"s definitely not enough for this highly underrated actor whose breathtaking looks received most of the reviews.
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The Mario Bava Collection
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 19:42
One of the most influential "genre" directors of all time, Mario Bava was responsible for some of the finest seminal works of horror to come out of the golden age of the Italian film industry. A master of his craft, his influence is still felt today and even years after his death people continue to discover and re-discover his films. Anchor Bay Entertainment has compiled five entries from the man"s filmography in its aptly titled The Mario Bava Collection Volume One boxed set release. Image Entertainment previously released four of these films but Kill, Baby... Kill! sees the light of day in its original aspect ratio for the first time on home video in North America (the Dark Sky Films release that was supposed to come out on March 27, 2007 has gone the way of the dinosaur). While this selection doesn"t contain the best of the best, it is a fine assortment of films that show"s how diverse the director was and old and new fans alike should enjoy sifting through this trove of pure and unadulterated cinema. Black Sunday (1960): When this masterpiece of gothic horror begins, a witch named Katia Vajda (Barbara Steele) has the Mark Of Satan pounded on to her face before she"s burned at the stake. As she"s about to be burnt the skies open up and the rain pours down. Though she is killed, her body does not burn and is instead laid to rest in a coffin with a cross on top to ensure that her evil dies with her corpse. Before she passes, however, she swears she will destroy the Vajda family. Shortly after, Doctor Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and his assistant Gorobec (John Richardson) inadvertently spill some blood on Katia"s tomb and she"s resurrected. Meanwhile, a beautiful girl who turns out to be Princess Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele again) shows up. Kati"s ghost, with the help of her trusty man servant (Arturo Dominici), attempts to possess Asa"s body so that she can fulfill her promise and kill off Asa"s father, Prince Vajda (Ivo Garrani).
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