Billy Wilder on Blu-ray

[BluProofie]

Waiting for Kino to hurry up and release The Lost Weekend.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Waiting for Kino to hurry up and release The Lost Weekend.

Since I'm working my way through all the Wilder films I hadn't seen, I gave up and ordered the Eureka MOC version yesterday. It was only $16 on Amazon US. Apparently The Lost Weekend has been on KL's slate for over a year.

I'm sure it will finally be announced the day my copy arrives this week.

If the new 4K master really blows it out of the water, I'll double dip.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Waiting for Kino to hurry up and release The Lost Weekend.

One of my most anticipated upgrades.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Since I'm working my way through all the Wilder films I hadn't seen, I gave up and ordered the Eureka MOC version yesterday. It was only $16 on Amazon US. Apparently The Lost Weekend has been on KL's slate for over a year.

I'm sure it will finally be announced the day my copy arrives this week.

If the new 4K master really blows it out of the water, I'll replace it.

The Eureka disc is decent for an old Uni-supplied master but it does suffer from black crush (there's caps somewhere here that at least the Uni-Spain disc doesn't have this issue). Still, even if the Kino will be better than the Eureka, I'll keep my MoC for completionist sake (I own all the Eureka Wilders).

[filmlover22]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

One of my most anticipated upgrades.



The Eureka disc is decent for an old Uni-supplied master but it does suffer from black crush (there's caps somewhere here that at least the Uni-Spain disc doesn't have this issue). Still, even if the Kino will be better than the Eureka, I'll keep my MoC for completionist sake (I own all the Eureka Wilders).

Don't forget the MoC version has the 3 part 'Billy, How did you do it?" documentary... worth the purchase alone, imho

[Dailyan]

Kino have detailed their release of "Five Graves to Cairo"

Originally Posted by Kino Lorber Insider

Coming September 29th!

Five Graves to Cairo (1943)
• Brand New 4K Master
• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Joseph McBride
• Theatrical Trailer
• Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
• Optional English Subtitles

B&W 96 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
From Billy Wilder, the legendary director of Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, comes this wartime espionage thriller starring Franchot Tone (Phantom Lady), Anne Baxter (Yellow Sky), Akim Tamiroff (The General Died at Dawn), Erich von Stroheim (Sunset Blvd.) and Peter van Eyck (The Wages of Fear). John J. Bramble (Tone), the sole survivor of a British tank crew, makes his way to a desolate desert town where he is given refuge by a hotel owner (Tamiroff) and a French chambermaid (Baxter) who prepare to receive General Erwin Rommel (Stroheim) and his German staff. Posing as the hotel’s waiter, Bramble attempts to infiltrate Rommel’s inner circle and report the general’s plans to the Allies. Co-written by Wilder and Charles Brackett (A Foreign Affair, Ball of Fire), based on a play by Lajos Biró (The Last Command) and featuring top-notch cinematography by John F. Seitz (The Big Clock, Calcutta), the masterful Five Graves to Cairo marks Wilder’s second U.S. directorial effort.

[James Luckard]

It will have the same transfer as the Eureka disc, which looks like it will have more bonus features. Presumably each will be locked to their region.

https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/five-graves-to-cairo/
SPECIAL FEATURES
-1080p presentation on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from a brand new 4K restoration
-Uncompressed LPCM audio (original mono presentation)
-Audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin
-Billy Wilder on Five Graves to Cairo
-“Five Graves to Cairo” episode of Lux Radio Theatre, originally aired in 1943, starring Franchot Tone and Anne Baxter
-Theatrical trailer
-A collector’s booklet featuring new writing by critic Richard Combs; and an archival article from 1944 about Wilder and Charles Brackett

[bonehica]

As much as I want to support KL for the sheer volume of releases we get from them, I'm probably gonna grab the MoC version of this. Especially since it's a 2 for 25 quid title on Eureka's website.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

It will have the same transfer as the Eureka disc [snip]

Maybe not. The Insider said over on HTF

We haven't shared our new 4K master with Eureka or Universal yet, so...

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Maybe not. The Insider said over on HTF

That's interesting considering Eureka announced that it would be from a 4K remaster (both from the original announcement and on their website). Eureka might of been misinformed.

[James Luckard]

Question for other Wilder fans.

I've been working my way through all the films of his that I hadn't seen over the past month. I'm waiting on the KL FIVE GRAVES BD and for Amazon France to start shipping here again by regular mail, so I can order THE EMPEROR WALTZ BD.

The only other film I need is MAUVAISE GRAINE.

I see that there is an OOP Image DVD, which goes for quite a lot:

https://www.amazon.com/Mauvaise-Grai...dp/B00006LPE7/

And a more recent Flicker Alley DVD that's still available for $20 and appears to be an MOD DVD-R:

https://www.amazon.com/Mauvaise-Grai...dp/B01JA71K9S/

Does anyone own either edition or both? Anyone able to give an opinion on the quality of each?

Thanks!

[Reddington]

The BFI has posted an interview with Wilder on its site, reproduced from the Winter '67 issue of Sight and Sound magazine:

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/...1967-interview

[Dailyan]

Kino's release of "The Lost Weekend" is (finally) dated for November 24th:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=45155

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Kino's release of "The Lost Weekend" is (finally) dated for November 24th:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=45155

Nice one. Thought about buying the MoC a bunch of times, so I'll be picking this up for certain.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Nice one. Thought about buying the MoC a bunch of times, so I'll be picking this up for certain.

The MoC can be found cheaply through Amazon US, and it's worth buying for the 3-hr Wilder interview doc, totally aside from the film itself, which will clearly be bettered by the KL disc, since the MoC disc has crushed blacks, apparently and is an old master.

[ilenewoodsfan99]

Nice to see his writing credits listed!

[Gunsnroses092789]

Review for Eureka/MoC's Five Graves of Cairo:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-r...ro_blu-ray.htm

It claims to be the 4K restoration, but it doesn't look it. Looks like a dated master to me. And I was also suspicious before it came out because Kino paid for the 4K master, and when MoC announced the film too, Kino said that they (Kino) had not even finished/received the 4K master. I would think it unlikely that MoC got the master that Kino paid for before Kino even did.

My guess is there was a mistake and Eureka jumped the gun on it and received the older master. It also looks an awful lot like the French blu-ray from the dated master: http://retro-hd.com/tests/blu-ray/28...du-desert.html

In other words, it's probably best to wait and see Kino's version before buying the Eureka/MoC.

[Dailyan]

I'm not surprised because they stated a month ago that they didn't give their master to Universal:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...4#post17810464

I received mine in the mail today. I'm gonna hold onto it for Wilder MoC completionist sake and pre-order Kino's soon.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Does anyone own either edition or both? Anyone able to give an opinion on the quality of each?

Thanks!

I have the Image disc, it's reasonably solid considering that it's an obscure German movie from the '30's.

It's not worth over-paying for, the movie is really nothing special, just a curiosity. And remember, I'm the guy who *really* liked "The Emperor's Waltz", so you know I'm a sucker for Wilder.

[Dailyan]

I'm watching "Five Graves to Cairo" MoC and there is some nasty aliasing present throughout. I can see why Kino chose to do a new master.

[bonehica]

Good to know. Will hold out for the Kino. I do love those MoC booklets, though!