20th Century Fox Studio Classics

[Musicguy]

DVD beaver has reviewed some - screen shots look pretty good

[Brad1963]

I watched Call of the Wild for the first time this weekend and thought it was wonderful.

[bluknight1]

Has Fox given up on this line yet? They haven't announced any new releases in several months and May seems to be filled with repackages of the previous Studio Classics releases.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by bluknight1

Has Fox given up on this line yet? They haven't announced any new releases in several months and May seems to be filled with repackages of the previous Studio Classics releases.

I've been wondering that myself the last few weeks. Although it's great for us as buyers, it's not a good sign that they are bundling these movies in 3-4 packs for the same price as the individual releases costs just a few months ago. That always means poor sales, and gives people more incentive to just wait until the price comes down or they get repackaged in bundles. Also Foxconnect has had some 50% off promotions, which is not indicative of strong sales of their catalog product.

Maybe they just learned something that Warner already knows?

[Brad1963]

I do not think they have given up on these, or at least I hope not. They still need to release Two for the Road and they have not released any Shirley Temple yet. It seems like the classics they are releasing are from last year's Poll on Fox Connect. So I would think eventually we may get most of what is on that list.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I do not think they have given up on these, or at least I hope not. They still need to release Two for the Road and they have not released any Shirley Temple yet. It seems like the classics they are releasing are from last year's Poll on Fox Connect. So I would think eventually we may get most of what is on that list.

They have a restored version of Two For the Road that they premiered at the TCM fest in Hollywood last April. Unfortunately I missed seeing the screening. I'm shocked it's not on BD yet. Still can't believe a bunch of obscure John Wayne films beat it out in that online vote.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

They have a restored version of Two For the Road that they premiered at the TCM fest in Hollywood last April. Unfortunately I missed seeing the screening. I'm shocked it's not on BD yet. Still can't believe a bunch of obscure John Wayne films beat it out in that online vote.

Hopefully they will release it along with How to Steal a Million sometime before the Fall.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

Hopefully they will release it along with How to Steal a Million sometime before the Fall.

At this point I could live with them both being licensed to Twilight Time, as long as we can get them on BD. I don't expect any extras beyond the minimal ones they had on DVD, which would get ported over to a TT disc.

[bluknight1]

I'm hoping we get The Return of Frank James (to complement Jesse James), The Bravados, and Captain From Castile.

Maybe the studio is taking a break for May since it's a month that seems to be pretty cluttered with other releases. That way nothing would get lost in the shuffle.

[Brad1963]

1930

Jesse James
Call of the Wild
The Little Princess
Steamboat Round the Bend
Swanee River

1940

The Return of Frank James
That Night in Rio
Pin Up Girl
The Black Swan
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
My Gal Sal
Kiss of Death
To the Shores of Tripoli
Captain From Castile
My Friend Flicka
The Blue Bird
Crash Drive
A Letter to Three Wives
Hello, Frisco, Hello

1950

Don’t Bother to Knock
Cheaper by the Dozen
Carmen Jones
On the Riviera
Anastasia
Black Widow
Broken Lance
The True Story of Jesse James
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
The Tall Men
Desk Set
The Best of Everything
The River’s Edge
The Bravados
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness

1960

From the Terrace
Morituri
Two for the Road
North to Alaska
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Bandolero!
Let’s Make Love
Do Not Disturb
The Agony and the Ecstasy
Back Door to Hell
How to Steal a Million
Bedazzled (1968)
The Undefeated
The 300 Spartans


The most recent update of what has been released.

[Brad1963]

I wonder if we will get some more Monroe films in late July. Let's Make Love and Don't Bother to Knock could be announced soon if that is the case.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by Akijama

That's interesting. I thought the only classic Titanic movie was A Night to Remember. I'll have to look into picking this up.

Anyone that has seen the two, how does it compare to Remember?

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

That's interesting. I thought the only classic Titanic movie was A Night to Remember. I'll have to look into picking this up.

Anyone that has seen the two, how does it compare to Remember?

It's good, but not as painstakingly researched and accurate as A Night to Remember...which is still, and probably always will be, the definitive Titanic film. Titanic is more dramatized...though not to the extent of the 1997 film.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

It's good, but not as painstakingly researched and accurate as A Night to Remember...which is still, and probably always will be, the definitive Titanic film. Titanic is more dramatized...though not to the extent of the 1997 film.

Thanks

[Oblivion138]

No problem. Think of it this way...A Night to Remember is straight docudrama, where relating the story as truthfully as possible is the number one concern. Titanic was more of a Hollywood version of the story, with big name actors like Barbara Stanwyck as the main selling point. A little less docudrama, a bit more melodrama. Still, a good film, and worth a look.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

No problem. Think of it this way...A Night to Remember is straight docudrama, where relating the story as truthfully as possible is the number one concern. Titanic was more of a Hollywood version of the story, with big name actors like Barbara Stanwyck as the main selling point. A little less docudrama, a bit more melodrama. Still, a good film, and worth a look.

Agree. Both A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and the 1953 TITANIC are very good, each in different ways. Both obviously influenced Cameron's version and both also owe a certain amount to the very interesting 1943 German film TITANIC, which is on DVD from Kino but really deserves a good restoration and Blu-ray release.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Scarface32

That's interesting. I thought the only classic Titanic movie was A Night to Remember. I'll have to look into picking this up.

Anyone that has seen the two, how does it compare to Remember?

Titanic has Clifton Webb, who is always entertaining.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

It's good, but not as painstakingly researched and accurate as A Night to Remember...which is still, and probably always will be, the definitive Titanic film. Titanic is more dramatized...though not to the extent of the 1997 film.

The 1953 film is far more fictionalized than Cameron's film.

The love story in the 1997 film is fictional, but everything else is scrupulously accurate. Probably 1/3 to half of the 1997 film is concerned not with the fictional lovers but the historical figures, who are rendered as accurately as possible. In addition, the gargantuan sets and stunning props were all reproduced from the original designs.

The 1953 film is just a big sudsy romantic 50s melodrama that happens to take place on the Titanic, in which the true story plays a miniscule role. It's worth watching, but almost nothing, from the way the historical incidents and characters are portrayed, to the sets, is very accurate at all.

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The 1953 film is far more fictionalized than Cameron's film.

The love story in the 1997 film is fictional, but everything else is scrupulously accurate. Probably 1/3 to half of the 1997 film is concerned not with the fictional lovers but the historical figures, who are rendered as accurately as possible. In addition, the gargantuan sets and stunning props were all reproduced from the original designs.

The 1953 film is just a big sudsy romantic 50s melodrama that happens to take place on the Titanic, in which the true story plays a miniscule role. It's worth watching, but almost nothing, from the way the historical incidents and characters are portrayed, to the sets, is very accurate at all.

Well said!

I like all 3 of these Titanic films. I do not own the '53 movie but as a big Barbara Stanwyck fan I will eventually add it to my collection.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by jetthead

Well said!

I like all 3 of these Titanic films. I do not own the '53 movie but as a big Barbara Stanwyck fan I will eventually add it to my collection.

It's worth adding, however, that the 1953 film can't really be blamed for being wildly inaccurate. Until the 1955 book "A Night to Remember" came out and was a monstrous critical and commercial hit, the Titanic wasn't the pop culture phenomenon it is now, and there wasn't the vast library of books that screenwriters could turn to. Walter Lord did groundbreaking work interviewing all the survivors he could find and reading all the contemporary accounts to piece together a gripping, minute-by-minute dramatic narrative of the sinking. In 1953, when the Stanwyck film was made, it would have been enormously difficult to make an accurate film about the disaster, the material wasn't out there yet.