Warner Archive Announcements Thread (8 Viewers)

[jayembee]

Yes, those classic detective shows used a lot of music that is expensive to clear.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Where are the real hit detective shows..... 77 Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street Beat, Surfside 6, and Hawaiian Eye...music featured involve complications in clearing rights? Warner Archive have been focusing on less successful/less commercial/older titles which appear to have more sales potential juding by the comments here...

Makes me wonder how Timeless Media Group got away with their 114 episode Peter Gunn set what with Lola Albright singing standards in most episodes. Some "not so reputable" sets can be found of the above shows. The Surfside 6 one is filled with what I'd call "the unwatchables", horrid damaged 16mm kinoscope to video nightmares and the Hawaiian Eye set has TOO many of the same. I'd pay a pretty penny for all the above titles in good shape. Maybe limited but pricey sets would defray the music rights price tags. Hoping for Surfside 6 in particular as it was a real hoot!

 

[Mike Frezon]

So let me leave this question here and I would be interested in anyone's thoughts.

Since there has been a healthy discussion of the WA dipping into its TV catalog, does anyone here think that the WA might sometime be the vehicle to release a Blu-ray set of the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls?

So far, my discs in the DVD set are all still playing fine (but run the risk of getting worn out from over-use!). But, of course, I would prefer to see upgraded resolution (and audio) the next time my wife and I decide to visit Stars Hollow.

I believe I have seen HD episodes in release in syndication--although I also think they have been converted to 16:9. As heretical as it sounds, I might connvince myself to ignore the reframed composition to get improved PQ/SQ.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Since there has been a healthy discussion of the WA dipping into its TV catalog, does anyone here think that the WA might sometime be the vehicle to release a Blu-ray set of the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls

The masters are already available to them which is the biggest hurdle to clear.

The thing with WA is that they defy predictability so while I do think it could happen there’s really no way to guess when it could happen. It could in theory also come from the regular home video branch like their Smallville complete series set did. I don’t think anyone was really expecting that one and then one day it was just on the schedule.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I need to ramp up a media blitz to put that thought on the radar of the powers-that-be in order to get it done!

We want Gilmore Girls in HD! When do we want it? NOW!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I need to ramp up a media blitz to put that thought on the radar of the powers-that-be in order to get it done!

We want Gilmore Girls in HD! When do we want it? NOW!

You can see it in HD on NetFlix these days. That's what I finally got around to doing lately to see what all the fuss is about (and have never used NF quite this much before), LOL... and yeah, this newbie is hooked, haha! As I mentioned in the Star Wars thread, I even watched a little more when I got home after my ~24-hour Star Wars marathon (plus a ~2-hour student concert at the Julliard) on Saturday night, LOL!

FWIW, I didn't find the reformatting to 16x9 problematic/detracting (or even noticeable) at all (after nearly 5 seasons binged), but then again, I've never seen it in original form...

I'm definitely enjoying it and would consider owning it in HD... but will probably just do so via streaming, not disc. Maybe Apple/iTunes will run another rock-bottom flash(?) sale on the complete series bundle at some point... though hard to see them doing it anytime soon, if ever again, after the $15(!) 1-day sale I apparently missed back in early Nov. It did drop again to just $20 for 1 day in late Jan though... followed by a more probable/normal-ish, week-long sale at $30 in early Feb... I do hate how Apple/iTunes handles their complete series bundles though, especially now that they're getting rid of the iTunes app(s), leaving us w/ very poor UI (via their unified AppleTV app) for navigating such bundles...

_Man_

 

[JoshZ]

FWIW, I didn't find the reformatting to 16x9 problematic/detracting (or even noticeable) at all (after nearly 5 seasons binged), but then again, I've never seen it in original form...

The 16:9 HD versions of Gilmore Girls have a significant number of scenes where the characters will be cramped together in the center of the screen with empty space around them on the sides. It get to be kind of comical when there a large group of characters in the scene. The show was definitely only composed for the 4:3 center extraction, with no thought of ever airing in widescreen.

With that said, it's the sort of thing you forget about and tune out after a while.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The 16:9 HD versions of Gilmore Girls have a significant number of scenes where the characters will be cramped together in the center of the screen with empty space around them on the sides. It get to be kind of comical when there a large group of characters in the scene. The show was definitely only composed for the 4:3 center extraction, with no thought of ever airing in widescreen.

With that said, it's the sort of thing you forget about and tune out after a while.

Now that you mention that, yeah, I do get that sense at times. Guess I was only thinking the reformatting would involve cropping (top/bottom) instead of opening/expanding the sides. But yeah, it's probably not the kinda show that makes me scrutinize the composition enough at least in binging mode to be bothered, heh...

_Man_

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The official policy for Warner Bros television in advance of and at the dawn of the switch to HDTV was to shoot most of their shows on 3-perf 35mm, which yields a roughly 16x9 aspect ratio, and the original 4x3 broadcast masters were achieved by cropping the sides off the wider image. Showrunners and cinematographers were told to protect the 16x9 frame and were well aware of the possibility that one day these shows would be viewed on widescreen TVs.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The official policy for Warner Bros television in advance of and at the dawn of the switch to HDTV was to shoot most of their shows on 3-perf 35mm, which yields a roughly 16x9 aspect ratio, and the original 4x3 broadcast masters were achieved by cropping the sides off the wider image. Showrunners and cinematographers were told to protect the 16x9 frame and were well aware of the possibility that one day these shows would be viewed on widescreen TVs.

Makes perfect sense, especially given when this show was produced.

_Man_

 

[TravisR]

The official policy for Warner Bros television in advance of and at the dawn of the switch to HDTV was to shoot most of their shows on 3-perf 35mm, which yields a roughly 16x9 aspect ratio, and the original 4x3 broadcast masters were achieved by cropping the sides off the wider image. Showrunners and cinematographers were told to protect the 16x9 frame and were well aware of the possibility that one day these shows would be viewed on widescreen TVs.

Personally, I'd rather see Gilmore Girls in 4x3 but I can live with the empty space of the sides of the frames. It beats the hell out of cropping it to achieve 16x9.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Besides being such a huge fan of the entire production, I truly believe its a show that would hugely benefit from HD resolution and better audio.

Gilmore Girls in HD!

We now return you to your regular programming...

 

[JoshZ]

The official policy for Warner Bros television in advance of and at the dawn of the switch to HDTV was to shoot most of their shows on 3-perf 35mm, which yields a roughly 16x9 aspect ratio, and the original 4x3 broadcast masters were achieved by cropping the sides off the wider image.

Right, and shooting in 3-perf this way saved them a lot of film (and thus a lot of money) versus shooting the traditional 4-perf format that feature films used.

Showrunners and cinematographers were told to protect the 16x9 frame and were well aware of the possibility that one day these shows would be viewed on widescreen TVs.

Some of them took this more seriously than others. Famously, the 16:9 transfers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer have a number of flubs where you can see camera and lighting equipment on the sides of the frame. The show's creator (kind of notorious himself for other reasons these days) was upset that the studio released 16:9 versions on DVD overseas and on streaming, insisting that 4:3 is the only valid composition for the series.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Some of them took this more seriously than others. Famously, the 16:9 transfers for Buffy the Vampire Slayer have a number of flubs where you can see camera and lighting equipment on the sides of the frame. The show's creator (kind of notorious himself for other reasons these days) was upset that the studio released 16:9 versions on DVD overseas and on streaming, insisting that 4:3 is the only valid composition for the series.

Remember that while Buffy aired in part on a Warner-owned network, it was a Fox Television production so the same mandate did not apply.

Although for that particular show, it’s worth noting, seasons 4-7 originally aired in 16x9 in Europe. It wasn’t a surprise that it was going to happen.

I really don’t want to get into the weeds on this but to my mind all of this speaks to the intricacies of work-for-hire and refutes this kind of auteur legend that only one person is responsible for anything. An individual was hired by a studio to run a show and that individual was told that the deliverable in the overseas market was required to be a 16x9 formatted presentation. The individual can say whatever he wants about it not being his preference and that’s all well and fine, but like most working people, he was hired to do a job that had certain requirements and 16x9 for Europe was one of them.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Yes, those classic detective shows used a lot of music that is expensive to clear.

True but so did the Alaskans so there is still hope. The rumored DVD release of Alaskans from around 2017-2018 never happened due to the Music Clearance.

 

[Yeoman007]

True but so did the Alaskans so there is still hope. The rumored DVD release of Alaskans from around 2017-2018 never happened due to the Music Clearance.

There is a LOT more music to clear in long-running TV shows than in a one-season show.

Rick

 

[JoshZ]

Although for that particular show, it’s worth noting, seasons 4-7 originally aired in 16x9 in Europe. It wasn’t a surprise that it was going to happen.

I really don’t want to get into the weeds on this but to my mind all of this speaks to the intricacies of work-for-hire and refutes this kind of auteur legend that only one person is responsible for anything. An individual was hired by a studio to run a show and that individual was told that the deliverable in the overseas market was required to be a 16x9 formatted presentation. The individual can say whatever he wants about it not being his preference and that’s all well and fine, but like most working people, he was hired to do a job that had certain requirements and 16x9 for Europe was one of them.

True enough, and to be honest, I generally prefer the 16:9 versions of those seasons, even with the occasional flubs. It's not like the regular 4:3 version didn't also have its share of boom microphones dipping down into the top of the frame, anyway.

 

[mskaye]

I love jungle movies, so this one is a must. I read the book in High School. I have the soft and overall crumby-looking DVD, and would love to see a Blu. Audrey is so damn beautiful.

Is WHITE HEAT out of print on blu ray? I was just looking on Amazon quickly and it's pricey. I wonder if it is headed to Criterion? They love Raoul Walsh and later WB films like Mildred Pierce and The Breaking Point.

 

[Dick]

WHITE HEAT is available as part of a 4-movie set called THE ULTIMATE GANGSTER COLLECTION, which also includes LITTLE CAESER, THE PUBLIC ENEMY and THE PETRIFIED FOREST. It's all over Amazon and eBay at incredibly low prices:

Amazon.com

 

[mskaye]

WHITE HEAT is available as part of a 4-movie set called THE ULTIMATE GANGSTER COLLECTION, which also includes LITTLE CAESER, THE PUBLIC ENEMY and THE PETRIFIED FOREST. It's all over Amazon and eBay at incredibly low prices:

Amazon.com

Ah, thank you. Still doesn't change my hope for a Criterion release of it.