TCM Vault Collection

[domino harvey]

Mine's in transit as I type but am I reading the DVDBeaver review correctly and the Esther Williams movie in the Women in Danger set is really non-anamorphic?

[Ashirg]

You are correct. I posted the review and I can confirm that The Unguarded Moment is letterboxed and piss-poor quality.

[vsski]

I talked with TCM Customer Service today and asked the question as to whether they can tell if a disc I'm ordering is a pressed disc or a DVD-R and I was told in no uncertain terms that if a pressed disc has reverted to a DVD-R and the initial run is sold out, that it would clearly show this on the technical specs tab of the respective disc and the format DVD would be replaced with DVD (MOD).
While it is correct that all the Warner Archives titles they are selling are labeled as MODs none of the the Sony's and Universal's I looked at show any MOD classification. Yet reading this thread it appears that the Sirk set is only DVD-R any longer, even though it shows on the website as a regular pressed disc, as do the invidivual titles from this set.

Is it safe to assume that the information given to me by TCM customer service is therefore incorrect and there simply is no way of telling which title by now is only available on DVD-Rs?

[Murdoch]

I talked with TCM Customer Service today and asked the question as to whether they can tell if a disc I'm ordering is a pressed disc or a DVD-R and I was told in no uncertain terms that if a pressed disc has reverted to a DVD-R and the initial run is sold out, that it would clearly show this on the technical specs tab of the respective disc and the format DVD would be replaced with DVD (MOD).
While it is correct that all the Warner Archives titles they are selling are labeled as MODs none of the the Sony's and Universal's I looked at show any MOD classification. Yet reading this thread it appears that the Sirk set is only DVD-R any longer, even though it shows on the website as a regular pressed disc, as do the invidivual titles from this set.

Is it safe to assume that the information given to me by TCM customer service is therefore incorrect and there simply is no way of telling which title by now is only available on DVD-Rs?

I emailed them before and they gave me the same response, saying that a couple of titles that are definitely MOD were pressed (e.g. the RKO collection, which appears still to be listed as normal DVD).

[souvenir]

I talked with TCM Customer Service today and asked the question as to whether they can tell if a disc I'm ordering is a pressed disc or a DVD-R and I was told in no uncertain terms that if a pressed disc has reverted to a DVD-R and the initial run is sold out, that it would clearly show this on the technical specs tab of the respective disc and the format DVD would be replaced with DVD (MOD).
While it is correct that all the Warner Archives titles they are selling are labeled as MODs none of the the Sony's and Universal's I looked at show any MOD classification. Yet reading this thread it appears that the Sirk set is only DVD-R any longer, even though it shows on the website as a regular pressed disc, as do the invidivual titles from this set.

Is it safe to assume that the information given to me by TCM customer service is therefore incorrect and there simply is no way of telling which title by now is only available on DVD-Rs?

I emailed them before and they gave me the same response, saying that a couple of titles that are definitely MOD were pressed (e.g. the RKO collection, which appears still to be listed as normal DVD).

The RKO Collection, I believe, was MOD from the start because I remember ordering it very soon after it came out and my discs were burned.

The Cary Grant set, on the other hand, was initially reported to contain pressed DVDs yet my set, bought weeks after release, is MOD.

[zedz]

Yet reading this thread it appears that the Sirk set is only DVD-R any longer, even though it shows on the website as a regular pressed disc, as do the invidivual titles from this set.

It ain't necessarily so. I bought this earlier this year and received pressed discs (at least a year after domino received DVD-Rs). Not exactly helpful, I know!

[Ashirg]

I wonder if there is a difference if you order from Movies Unlimited or TCM Shop since they seem to be separate now...

[vsski]

I think it's safe to assume that Customer Service doesn't have a clue and there is really no telling. I have found the same scenario with Warner.

[Matt]

I'm watching Shopworn on TCM right now and it looks amazing. Sharp picture, nice contrast, fine grain; if it and the rest of the films in the pre-code set look this good, it's well worth the price.

Someone on Amazon is saying that these are cut-for-re-release versions. I don't know enough about these films to know if that's a credible claim. The AFI catalog info on Shopworn indicates that cuts were made before the original release and then again before a later re-release, but I don't have the set myself to verify running times.

[Stefan Andersson]

Mike Schlesinger, who works with Sony, posted on HTF that Grover Crisp, who restores Sony titles, did a long search for censored trims from Shopworn. They were not found. So Shopworn is a rerelease cut.

[Frankinho007]

Five Early Frank Capra Gems Coming to DVD for First Time,

From Turner Classic Movies, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

and The Film Foundation

Set Includes Video Introductions by TCM's Robert Osborne and

Filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard and Michel Gondry,

Along with Audio Commentaries from Noted Film Historians

Frank Capra is one of the most popular and beloved filmmakers of all time, but many of his earlier films have never been made available on DVD. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) are joining forces with The Film Foundation on Frank Capra: The Early Collection, a box set of five 1930s pre-code Capra classics coming to DVD for the first time on Monday, Sept. 3. Among the collection's many special features are video introductions by TCM host Robert Osborne and OscarÒ-winning filmmakers Martin Scorsese (Best Director,The Departed, 2006), Ron Howard (Best Director, A Beautiful Mind, 2001) and Michel Gondry (Best Original Screenplay, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004), as well as audio commentaries by film historians Jeanine Basinger and Jeremy Arnold.

Frank Capra: The Early Collection will be available exclusively through TCM's online store (http://shop.tcm.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) as part of the TCM Vault Collection. The set includes re-mastered editions of Rain or Shine (1930), and four early collaborations with his legendary leading lady Barbara Stanwyck: Ladies of Leisure (1930), The Miracle Woman(1931), Forbidden (1932) and The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933). The collection also includes extensive on-screen digital bonus materials including production stills, behind-the-scenes photos, lobby cards, movie posters and more.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/32257 ... st_3954097" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regarding the missing Dirigible

According to Mike S on Nitrateville earlier today......."Grover's still working on it."

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/32257 ... st_3954053" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[HerrSchreck]

This is good stuff... I'll never forget the first time I saw YEN, a couple years ago-- a latecomer to that film, I was totally blown away by what could have easily turned into stringy melodrama. These are all really good films-- Miracle Woman is awesome, as is Shopworn, etc.

[domino harvey]

Nice to see some actual extras like commentaries-- this is even better than the rumored Stanwyck-only set in that we get a fifth non-Stanwyck title

[Finch]

Is this set worth a blind buy if I've been very indifferent to Capra except for It's A Wonderful Life and Mr Smith Goes To Washington?

[Murdoch]

I'd say go for it. I'm not much a fan of Capra, but Bitter Tea... blew me away. Not only is it the best Capara I've seen, but I'd rank it among the best films of that decade. Going in I expected a stereotypical and orientalist approach to the material with the wholesomeness I came to expect from watching the two Capras you cited, but here the film manages to be in league with Sternberg's Shanghai Express in terms of expressionist portrayals with visuals that feel Sternberg-esque in some sequences, and it creates a great sensuality and amibguity around the General and Stanwyck's character that doesn't fall into a simplistic West vs. East dichotomy. Definitely a must see for anybody regardless of your views on Capra.

[swo17]

I've only seen Miracle Woman and General Yen but based on those two alone (especially the former) I'd say so. Miracle Woman is somewhat similar in theme to Nightmare Alley, and not what you might typically associate with Capra, in case that helps.

[Finch]

Thanks folks.

[triodelover]

Miracle Woman also harkens forward to Elmer Gantry, particularly the closing scenes. I have to agree with all the comments concerning Yen. I agree with Murdoch that's it's among the best Capra, light years better than the treacly It's a Wonderful Life and a far better Stanwyck vehicle than John Doe.

[triodelover]

The great thing about Yen is it's so clearly under the thrall of Sternberg. Capra never made another picture like it (more's the pity.)

I had seen all of Capra's later ouevre by the time I finally got around to Yen. I had to double check the credits. That Frank Capra? Really? I just wish it was coming on Blu.

[vsski]

Someone please remind me again, but are the Sony titles released through TCM Vault pressed discs or DVD-Rs?
The webiste says pressed, but they are not totally reliable, and I seem to remember someone saying that the Sony titles are all pressed and continue to be, while the Unversal ones are pressed initally and then DVD-Rs.

[swo17]

AFAIK, all TCM Vault releases are initially pressed but then revert to DVD-Rs, so the sooner you can purchase them the better.

[Max von Mayerling]

Along the lines of what swo17 said, I recently purchased the Dietrich set (Universal), Jolly Frolics (Sony), and the Columbia Pre-Code set (Sony), and they were all pressed. But I either pre-ordered them or ordered them soon after the release date. I have the Sirk set, which I ordered long after the release date, and it is DVD-R.

[Askew]

Billy Wilder collection with A Foreign Affair and (finally) Five Graves to Cairo.

[Frankinho007]

New TCM/Sony set in November: Joan Crawford - In The Fifties (4 DVDs)
HARRIET CRAIG (1950)
QUEEN BEE (1955)
AUTUMN LEAVES (1956)
THE STORY OF ESTHER COSTELLO (1957)

Introduction by Robert Osborne
Digital Photo Gallery including Scene Stills, Movie Posters, Publicity Stills, Behind the Scenes Photos, Lobby Cards and Publicity Art
TCMDb Article(s)

[perkizitore]

I just got my Film Noir Collection Vol. 3 from Movies Unlimited and only My Name is Julia Ross is a DVDR, all the other discs seem factory pressed.