Warner Bros Archive

Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

Precious Doll wrote:Latest releases from Warner Archive:

Breakthrough
The Bride Goes Wild
Central Airport
Ensign Pulver
Fighter Squadron
First to Fight
Force of Arms
God is My Co-Pilot
The Last Flight
Operation Secret
Son of the Gods
The Tanks Are Coming
Weary River (Oscar Nominee - Best Director Frank Lloyd)

The Archive description of Weary River says that it is one of three films that won Lloyd his first Oscar. I remember some old records actually having said he had won for all three of the films he was nominated for that year, not just The Divine Lady, but those records have long since been corrected.

Some of these additions are routine, some are downright awful (Ensign Pulver for one), but the interesting titles from this release are the four Richard Barthelmess starers, Weary River, which is a part talkie prison flick; The Last Flight, which is the last of John Monk Saunders' WWI trilogy that included Wings and The Dawn Patrol; Son of the Gods which is a pre-code look at racial intolerance with Barthelmess playing a half-caste Chinese rejected by a bigoted Constance Bennett and Central Airport, about barnstorming aviator brothers, directed by William Wellman.




Edited By Big Magilla on 1265362472
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Post by Precious Doll »

Latest releases from Warner Archive:

Breakthrough
The Bride Goes Wild
Central Airport
Ensign Pulver
Fighter Squadron
First to Fight
Force of Arms
God is My Co-Pilot
The Last Flight
Operation Secret
Son of the Gods
The Tanks Are Coming
Weary River (Oscar Nominee - Best Director Frank Lloyd)
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Post by Precious Doll »

I recall a couple of months ago there was some discussion on Between the Lines. The film is now available in DVDR format from MGM at Amazon at a cost of $19.98.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:Before I got the chance to get to the post office I received a response back from Warner Bros. telling me there was no need to return the twelve DVDs, to pass them on to friends and family. I will do that!
That was very nice of them. Though you would think that after nearly 12 months they would have got their act together.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
flipp525
Laureate
Posts: 6163
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 7:44 am

Post by flipp525 »

Big Magilla wrote:I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989) TV mini-series on 2 discs
You actually OWN this movie? I find that a bit bizarre. One time was definitely enough for me.
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."

-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

White Shadows in the South Seas (1928)
The Pagan (1929)
Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)
It's a Wonderful World (1939)
They Met in Bombay (1940)
Cry Havoc (1943)
An American Romance (1944)
The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Split Second (1954)
The Awakening Land (1978) TV mini-series on 3 discs
Blood & Orchids (1986) TV mini-series on 2 discs
I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989) TV mini-series on 2 discs
Reza
Laureate Emeritus
Posts: 10029
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:14 am
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan

Post by Reza »

Big Magilla wrote:Before I got the chance to get to the post office I received a response back from Warner Bros. telling me there was no need to return the twelve DVDs, to pass them on to friends and family. I will do that!
Just out of curiosity what are the 12 duplicate titles that ur lucky 'friends and family' get?
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

Before I got the chance to get to the post office I received a response back from Warner Bros. telling me there was no need to return the twelve DVDs, to pass them on to friends and family. I will do that!
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

These Warner Bros. guys are really messed up. I received my replacement order via UPS Overnight this morning. This afternoon I went to the mailbox and found the original package sent through the U.S. mail with the UPS Overnight Next Day Air label intact which I now have to pay postage to return. How weird is that?
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

I wish I knew what was going on with this guy.

I placed an order on October 12th which he told me was shipped either late October or early November, but wasn't actually shipped until late November. Thinking that one a fluke, when I finally received it on Decemebr 2nd, I placed another order which still hasn't shipped.

In the meantime I had another problem with Warner Bros. They sent me an e-mail that my order of last week had shipped last Thursday via overnight mail. When I checked the UPS tracking number their website indicated billing information had been received but not the package. I continued to check, no change. Today I contacted Warner Bros. Customer Service. They kept insisting the package had been sent and I kept insisting it hadn't been. Finally they agreed to credit me the $15 shipping charge and re-mail the order overnight at no charge to me, still blaming UPS for the mix-up.

Hopefully this will resolve the problem.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Post by Precious Doll »

Big Magilla wrote:Scooter is back up but London's Vicpine has this curious note posed on their website:

"This page is currently under construction while we validate our catalog"

I received an email today from Dave at Scooter to advise that my discs have been shipped. Good to see things working out.




Edited By Precious Doll on 1264401367
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

Scooter is back up but London's Vicpine has this curious note posed on their website:

"This page is currently under construction while we validate our catalog"
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

dws1982 wrote:These Archive things are ruining the market for catalog films on DVD. Old catalog titles are going out of print in record numbers, and most will no doubt be part of these burn-on-demand series. Whereas we could once buy a good DVD (an actual DVD) of a catalog title for $15 or less, now we're going to have to pay $20+ for a DVD-R, which has a shorter shelf-life and is of inferior quality to regular DVD's.

I do not like this at all. If these archive titles were $10 a piece, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But they're asking us to pay more for a lesser product.
That's the argument that's played over and over in the Home Video forums.

The other side of the argument is that this is the only way studios are going to to be able to give the few collectors of classic movies left what we want. The cost to produce regular DVDs is expensive and the returns are minimal. They woudl rather spend their money producing the latest inane comedy or action flick which they know will sell.

The list price may be $20 but with coupons, bundles, discounts and sales the actual cost is often less. In fact most of the Universal-Paramount titles released last week exclusively by Amazon have already been discounted to $15.

The quality of some of the first discs released by Warner Bros. were horrid, but they quickly improved and money is being spent on restoring older films so that most of the releases look as good as regular DVDs now.

Rumors are that the DVD-Rs will not last as long as regular DVDs. I don;t know where this is coming from. If it plays today it should play 5, 10, 15 years from now.

A legitimate concern is that the incident of discs that freeze or won't play at all are greater than with regular DVDs but I've had the same problem with regular DVDs on occasion.

An early complaint about the Warner Archive was that shipping costs were outrageous, and they were, but they've remedied that. I ordered 12 DVDs yesterday including four new releases at $15, one of which (I Know My First Name Is Steven) is a two-disc set. Standard UPS shipping would have been free, but I chose next day delivery at $15, which is little more than $1 a title.
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19312
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

The only message now is that the site is down for maintenance.

I've had pretty good service from Dave at Scooter in the past. I suspect all the owners of these Mom and Pop operations got the same threatening letter from Warner Bros.' lawyers and have been negotiating for the better part of the last two months. It's not like him to sit on orders.

The settlement reached was probably that they could fill outstanding orders but must close down and not accept any new ones. E-mails I received from both Free Movies and Timeclass Classics said as much. Fortunately my outstanding Scooter order is a small one, just four films.
User avatar
Precious Doll
Emeritus
Posts: 4453
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2003 2:20 am
Location: Sydney
Contact:

Post by Precious Doll »

I've just checked Scooter's home page and the following message is appearing:

This site is currently down. If you have an outstanding order, you will receive it. Thanks for your support.

I have my doubts about receiving my DVD order.
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Post Reply

Return to “DVD Discussions”