The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles) - Exchange Program in Place!

[Akijama]

To exchange your old Blu-ray Disc for the new version (higher bitrate and lossless audio):

Call the TCM Shop (888) 982-6746. Give them your order number and they will send you a prepaid label to send back the old blu-ray for the new one.

*Our thanks to member buck135 for providing the info listed above.

Available for purchase exclusively (at least for now) at the TCM site : Preorder Link. List price is $29.99 but currently for sale at $24.99.

"In partnership with The Film Foundation, Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment proudly present this DVD/Blu-ray combo pack of The Lady from Shanghai (1947)—the first-ever Blu-ray release of the film, featuring a brand-new 4k digital restoration from the original negative."

Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, 1941) wrote, directed and starred in this treacherous tale of a sailor (Welles) hired to help a beautiful woman (Rita Hayworth) and her disabled lawyer husband (Everett Sloane) sail their private yacht from New York to San Francisco via the Panama Canal. On board, he is bribed to “fake” the murder of the lawyer’s partner (Glenn Anders), only to find himself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Welles created a scandal, and lots of publicity, by having his wife Hayworth’s trademark red locks cut short and bleached blonde for her role as a femme fatale, but the movie failed to score at the box office upon its release. Over time, critics have lavished praise on Welles’s uncommon vision, which culminates with the most elaborately staged of all film noir finales—the famous shootout in the hall of mirrors. "

Grover Crisp, the executive vice-president of film restoration at Sony, the rerelease is the result of more than two decades of work. The camera negative for The Lady from Shanghai was in such a poor state that it was only thanks to recent developments in digital technology that they could successfully restore it.

"Although we do have the original camera negative for the film, it has just about everything wrong with it," said Crisp. "Doing the work digitally means we have not had to compromise by using the substandard secondary film elements. We will be showing the restoration from a 4K digital cinema package, though we are planning to record out to a new negative for preservation purposes and a few prints. The film will also finally be released on Blu-ray shortly."

Read the whole article here

Awesome news!

[dsman71]

Very cool, it sure beats having it limited to 3000 copies It seems like they are / might be restoring some scenes if I read this correctly

[RiFiFi1955]

NICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Great News! Between this and The Big Sleep last week I am beginning to believe there is hope after all

[dsman71]

Im going to *wait and see* about the Big Sleep, I expect it will hit the states at some point just like all of Bogies other titles. However the UK did some cool steelbooks for his movies and other golden movies such as Grand Hotel so I wound up getting them
Im really stoked about *Lady* Seems like Sony themselves will release this gem

[Braktastic]

Excellent news! I love this movie. I hope it isn't going to be released through Twilight Time, but I will begrudgingly buy it anyway if it is.

[jetthead]

A definite purchase for me!

[tama]

I have always wanted to see this film. Great news.

[Blu Titan]

Awesome news .

[Scottie]

Awesome. I've always wanted to see this film.

[Dex Robinson]

I buy EVERYTHING with Rita Hayworth...PAL JOEY, COVER GIRL, BLOOD AND SAND.

If I missed one, let me knnow.

[oscarmerkx]

Originally Posted by jetthead

A definite purchase for me!

+ 1

It is always good to have more Orson Welles

[MifuneFan]

I'll hold off on believing that Sony will release this themselves until it's truly announced as a wide release. Grover Crisp has done several restorations, only to find out that higher-ups don't feel like it's worth a fulll release, and those titles got passed on to TT. Now Crisp did confirm a BD release, but he could very well be talking about TT, since he's one of the main people that communicates directly with them from Sony. I do lean towards it being a wide release, simply based on how he worded it, it's merely Sony's incompetence that makes me less confident.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

I buy EVERYTHING with Rita Hayworth...PAL JOEY, COVER GIRL, BLOOD AND SAND.

If I missed one, let me knnow.

If you count international releases, you're missing Circus World (France appears to be region free), and The Bastard (Germany, appears to be region free)

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I'll hold off on believing that Sony will release this themselves until it's truly announced as a wide release. Grover Crisp has done several restorations, only to find out that higher-ups don't feel like it's worth a fulll release, and those titles got passed on to TT. Now Crisp did confirm a BD release, but he could very well be talking about TT, since he's one of the main people that communicates directly with them from Sony. I do lean towards it being a wide release, simply based on how he worded it, it's merely Sony's incompetence that makes me less confident.

Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll give it to Criterion instead?

[Akijama]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll give it to Criterion instead?

It has Criterion written all over it. I can't see Sony releasing it by themselves.

[Le Samourai]

Great news, much better than the overrated 'Touch of Evil' if you ask me. Can we have 'Gilda' next please?

[The Great Owl]

More film noir is great news to me!

[Arkadin]

great news, but such a shame that the "real" film will never be seen.
one of greatest tragedies in film history imo.
"Lady" would have undoubtedly been the greatest film ever imo had Welles' original cut been allowed to be released.
what remains still blows away 99% of all modern drivel.

[*PREACHER*]

You had me at Orson Welles...his name drains my funds like vodka.

[Seymour]

The film will also finally be released on Blu-ray shortly.

Sony announced Bad Boys II and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle as 'Coming Soon' about 6-7 years ago, and they're still not out yet. I guess we should expect Lady from Shanghai sometime in 2019 then?