Cofanetto Mitchell Leisen (Italy)

[Stefan Andersson]

Flamingo Video in Italy has announced a Cofanetto Mitchell Leisen:

MIDNIGHT
EASY LIVING
REMEMBER THE NIGHT
ARISE MY LOVE
NO TIME FOR LOVE
LADY IN THE DARK

At Videociak.

[Gregory]

Yes, in fact it's already been released. I've been planning to order it but don't know the best/cheapest source.

I know most of the films in the set, and it's an excellent assortment.

[Stefan Andersson]

Hi Gregory - If and when you order this, I´m sure a lot of forum readers would like to hear your opinions on audio/video quality.

I have very limited experience in ordering from Italy and don´t feel qualified to advise re: best sources.

[tojoed]

Yes, in fact it's already been released. I've been planning to order it but don't know the best/cheapest source.

Videociak or DVD.It are both fine, though neither are cheap.

[Hofmeister]

There's a useful price comparison engine for Italian online retailers called "IHHC Spider DVD". Here's a search using "Leisen" as argument. In brief, verbose.

This yields DVDVillage.it and DVDCom.it as the preferred sellers. Links to the item pages of the Leisen set at the four sites mentioned in this thread so far:

EUR 44.90 +sh at DVDCom (shipping cost page)
EUR 39.90 +sh at DVD Village (in my case - within Europe - shipping would be EUR 5.90)
EUR 47.90 +sh at Videociak
EUR 43.99 +sh at DVD.it

I've used both dvdcom.it and dvd.it several times; the customer service of dvdcom.it is more responsive; dvd.it have very costly but extremely fast shipping (next day UPS within Europe). DVDVillage seems to be worth a try. Heard of very positive experiences with Videociak.

Hope this helps.

[Gregory]

Thank you both, that's very helpful. I will probably order from DVDVillage.it so I can get La Signora di Tutti at the same time. FInally having that will ease the sting if the Leisen set happens to have forced Italian subs or some comparable flaw.

The only thing that troubles me now is that some site show this:



while others show this:

.

Listings for both say Flamingo and have the same films listed, so perhaps there was just a change in box design and some sites don't reflect this?

[Hofmeister]

You're right Gregory, the packaging has had some work done. Perhaps it's mere wishful thinking, but I regard the gold box as the preliminary design since it's on most sites:

NonSoloCinema
Genux.com
ibs.it

On the other hand, the gold box is sufficiently ugly to be chosen by the 'deciders'... hey it's got stars!
The official Cecchi Gori site ought to have the last word on this but I couldn't find Leisen there.

Gregory, I trust you will apprise us of your experience with DVDVillage.it – you'll be so happy with LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI, it's a real treasure.
While I'm off topic: if you like Bozzetto, get the coffanetto – everything in it has English subtitles! Some are BE though (Broken English).

if Leisen had made more films along the lines of DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY, we'd be discussing him alongside Borzage rather than with Sturges.

This may be common knowledge here but I couldn't find it posted: DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY was quietly released some time ago on a beautiful R1 DVD... as the main supplement on the 'Ultimate Edition' of MEET JOE BLACK, see DVD Price Search. If it's completely out of print, shoot me an e-mail.

[Ashirg]

Gold box is the final artwork - there's an ebay listing in Italy that shows front and back covers scanned and gold artwork is the one shown. Just search for "COLLEZIONE MITCHELL LEISEN" at ebay.it

[Gregory]

Ha, yes I have that too. I picked it up for around $5 + shipping on Half.com. I devoured Death Takes but will probably never get around to giving Meet Joe Black a try.

I'll report back on DVDVillage and the Collezione.

Glad to have the box art issue cleared up, although I wonder why they would have abandoned that black and white design. It actually looks like a MoC box.

DVD Village apparently does not ship outside Europe. Videociak does not have SIgnora di Tutti in stock.

I tried ordering from DVDCom, but it's asking me for a "codice fiscale," I used this site to get my codice fiscale, but DVDCom is not accepting the number. Any suggestions? I really would like to order both of these items at once.

[otis]

I tried ordering from DVDCom, but it's asking me for a "codice fiscale," I used this site to get my codice fiscale, but DVDCom is not accepting the number. Any suggestions? I really would like to order both of these items at once.

The codice fiscale is the Italian social security number, so that website can't just issue you with one. I thought Italian etailers only asked for it when the buyer was inside Italy, but if DVDCom insist, I'm afraid you'll have to find another vendor. Also, bear in mind that a lot of Italian DVDs of classic Hollywood films are awful PD affairs. Have you seen any reviews of this?

[Gregory]

The codice fiscale is the Italian social security number, so that website can't just issue you with one.

That's what my cursory research seemed to suggest, but then I wondered how the site I linked came up with a particular string of numbers and letters for me after I put in my country of birth and the other information.

Also, bear in mind that a lot of Italian DVDs of classic Hollywood films are awful PD affairs. Have you seen any reviews of this?

No, but I'm hard up for most of the films included and was willing to take one for the team since I've often benefited from information about others' purchases on this forum.

EDIT: I ended up ordering from DVDWeb.IT. If all goes well I will report back on the set's quality.

[otis]

Some parts of the codice fiscale are letters from your name and numbers from your date of birth, so I imagine that site uses them to recreate it.

Just done a quick search, and although I can't find any reviews, the blurb on the back of the box says the films are restored and remastered. Also, this guy is selling it on ebay.it with worldwide postage. Please post screen grabs when you get it!

[Stefan Andersson]

Can anybody please tell of good/bad experiences in dealing with genux.com? Their shipping rates within Europe for several DVDs bought at the same time seemed good last time I checked.

[Jonathan S]

On HTF Miguel M Santos reports on the quality of this set:

I'm afraid I have bad news regarding LADY IN THE DARK. It's much, much worst that any of the B&W films. It is a transfer from an Italian print (although still has the Paramount logo), which is faded and has burnt in subtitles. Unlike all the other films is lacking the Universal logo prior to the Paramount one. I'd say possibly an archive print, possibly a VHS or TV master, but these are guesses rather than anything else. From the little information I managed to gather before I bought the set (and no reviews...), there was a RAI3 season of Leisen films some 10 or more years ago. I doubt that Universal would release that master in the US.

As for the transfers of ARISE, MY LOVE and NO TIME FOR LOVE, although they aren't as good as REMEMBER THE NIGHT, they are ok/good (I'd say depending of your hardware) but never less than watchable.

Here in the UK, several digital channels have shown a really nice transfer of LADY IN THE DARK for some years now!

[Perkins Cobb]

Well, that shoots that down. Damn. I really want to see good copies of Lady in the Dark and Leisen's other color Paramount film, Frenchman's Creek.

[Gregory]

I'm quite happy with this set. I can confirm that Lady in the Dark is by a considerable margin the worst transfer -- not only forced Italian subs but back colors etc. However, this doesn't bother me because I think it's one of Leisen's weakest and most awkward films, and one of the least enjoyable to watch. Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland both really disliked it too, for whatever interest that's worth.
I didn't mind splurging on the price of the set to get No Time for Love, Arise My Love, and Remember the Night, which all looked nice.

[Miguel M Santos]

It seems that HOLD BACK THE DAWN and TO EACH HIS OWN are going to have a general release in Spain courtesy of Universal on Thursday (October 3rd). As far as I could find out, both titles and REMEMBER THE NIGHT have been exclusives to the department store chain El Corte Inglés.

[Saimo]

Now at 25.11 €