Raintree County (1957) Warner Archive Blu-ray 2015?

[javi92]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Why it is disheartening?
From what i read in reviews of Warner Archive Blurays, they don't seem inferior from regular Warner Blurays.

Maybe that wasn't the best word. I've certainly been pleased with the PQ and AQ on all the WA blu-ray titles I've purchased thus far; I own several. Coming from the Archive line, I think, probably reduces the chances of any newly commissioned, produced, or licensed extras, though. It also probably means it won't be sitting on retail shelves waiting for the unfamiliar classic film fan to discover it. Still, absolutely thrilled it is on the radar. One of my biggest wish list titles.

[BluPat]

Originally Posted by abudgell

The "guy" with the Facebook page is me, lol. The collector is a friend of mine who I've been in touch with since starting my Raintree County page trying to gather support for this film to finally be released on Blu-ray. Out of respect for him I only feel comfortable revealing what he's posted publicly on my page, but I can tell you that this is happening. 2015 can't come soon enough for me!

Yes, thank you for having the Raintree County page and coming on here to clarify. I can't wait for this to be released as well! It is a beautiful movie and will no doubt look wonderful on Blu-ray!

[widegambler2012]

I can be honest in saying I have never seen Raintree County. But Considering the cast I will definitively be pre-ordering this

the more classics on Blu-ray the better !!

[Jaymole]

Thanks OP, this is really good news. Raintree County was my second most wanted title that Warner owns the rights to that has never been released on DVD or Blu-ray here in the U.S. It has been rumored for years but nothing ever came to fruition.

My most wanted title? See my avatar...sadly Warner will never release it.

[MikeZ.]

At 55 years of age, I've never seen this film, but...in 1972, at the age of 14, we travelled to Reelfoot Lake, in West Tennessee, from my birthplace of Chicago.
The locals (at the time) were so proud of the fact that this picture had been shot there (partially I now know), it always intrigued me.

Add to this the 2:76 aspect ratio (I love widescreen !), and 1080p HD, and I want a copy definitely !

[BluPat]

Now Warner Archive are claiming it's not true. Unless they are just saying that.

[uncledougie]

Admittedly this was a troubled film, with Montgomery Clift's awful auto accident during filming, and it doesn't come as close to duplicating the scope of the novel as, say, GWTW does. Nevertheless, with its stunning score, wonderful period setting and effective performances, it's an underrated and sadly neglected film that more than deserves a full restoration. The general release laserdisc version was welcome but inadequate and obviously is by now all but obsolete. Come on, Warner Bros., do right by this title.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by BluPat

Now Warner Archive are claiming it's not true. Unless they are just saying that.

what do you mean?
You asked them?

[Oscar Rothman]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

what do you mean?
You asked them?

https://www.facebook.com/warnerarchi...52616177616563

This is what happens when people are gullible enough to believe everything they hear on the internet Some guy allegedly heard through the grapevine that Warner is working on a blu-ray and you all go gaga over it. Untill it's confirmed by a studio, it's all just a rumour

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Oscar Rothman

https://www.facebook.com/warnerarchi...52616177616563

This is what happens when people are gullible enough to believe everything they hear on the internet Some guy allegedly heard through the grapevine that Warner is working on a blu-ray and you all go gaga over it. Untill it's confirmed by a studio, it's all just a rumour

oh, ok thanks..

*though still, i remember an instance of a studio denying that a film was coming on Blu-ray, only for it to come some months later! (don't remember what was the film/studio)

[abudgell]

The person who gave me the information that I posted on my Facebook page was VERY specific about several details, and that's why I went ahead and posted it. But if he somehow got it wrong, I apologize for my involvement in perpetuating a rumour.

[BluPat]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

what do you mean?
You asked them?

Yea I asked them on their Facebook page and they responded with the rumor isn't true and that it would more than likely be released by WHV and not WAC because of the extensive restoration it needs.

But who knows. Guess it's not the first time a studio is not forthcoming about a title. I apologize for making a thread if it's not true.

[MifuneFan]

They are correct, with the high cost, this would more likely be a wide release. It's possible that rep from WAC isn't aware of the all the work being done by WHV. As I said earlier, even with a wide release, it would be tough for Warner to actually make money off this release, so who knows if Warner wants to take that risk. I don't see why someone would make that stuff up though, especially if they went into specific details, so I am leaning towards it being real. I've never seen the movie, but it does sound like a visual treat, and I'd love to see it in HD.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I've never seen the movie, but it does sound like a visual treat, and I'd love to see it in HD.

visual and aural
The musical score is one of the greatest ever made (included in AFI's top 100)

[Aclea]

The restoration has been an on/off thing for a couple of decades now. Ted Turner was pushing for it for years and at one time it was intended to be a followup project to the 1998 restoration/theatrical reissue of GWTW only to be dropped when that and the same year's Wizard of Oz both underperformed at the box-office. It was briefly on again around 2005 until Turner stepped down from the board in 2006. It's the kind of project that's so expensive that it really needs one of the big beasts in the company to champion it, though with HD TV meaning many networks simply aren't relicensing films with SD masters there might be some interest in a restoration - and any restoration now would be TV-led rather than home video-led, so it's quite possible work is being done but neither WHV or WA have it slated for release at this stage.

[BluPat]

Warner isn't exactly destitute where $$$ is concerned so they need to do this. I honestly don't think WB would miss any of the money it would take to restore this film. They are one of, if not THE most prolific studios around.

What a gyp if they don't.

[yellowcakeuf6]

I caught a bit of this on TCM today, and it looked fantastic. There were a lot of white specks, but other than that the color and detail was very good. It looked much better than my saved TCM showing from a few years ago, so this has to be a new HD version like what's available to stream.
I'd take a Blu of this with a bit of a cleanup, WARNER.

[abudgell]

Originally Posted by yellowcakeuf6

I caught a bit of this on TCM today, and it looked fantastic. There were a lot of white specks, but other than that the color and detail was very good. It looked much better than my saved TCM showing from a few years ago, so this has to be a new HD version like what's available to stream.
I'd take a Blu of this with a bit of a cleanup, WARNER.

It's by far the best I've ever seen the film look, and I'll be keeping it on my DVR. Warners have very high standards for their Blu-rays, but I don't know why they can't release what aired Sunday as part of their Archive DVD collection and as a digital download for those who want it in HD...

[dissolute_dog]

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) just aired "Raintree County" again in August 2020 as part of Eva Marie Saint's day in TCM's month of Summer Under the Stars. Similar to what other people here have last about the transfer shown on TCM in the past few years, the picture looks fantastic for a TV broadcast, indicating that there seems to be a Blu-ray quality transfer --- or something close to that caliber --- already in the studio somewhere.

As far as I know, the movie never even got a DVD in the US, let alone a Blu-ray, and that's especially wrong for a movie like "Raintree County": an epic-length film with beautiful cinematography, with several big movie stars in it, etc. And personally, it's a very underrated movie to me as well. Hopefully it will be released on Blu-ray somehow and sometime.

[abudgell]

Originally Posted by dissolute_dog

TCM (Turner Classic Movies) just aired "Raintree County" again in August 2020 as part of Eva Marie Saint's day in TCM's month of Summer Under the Stars. Similar to what other people here have last about the transfer shown on TCM in the past few years, the picture looks fantastic for a TV broadcast, indicating that there seems to be a Blu-ray quality transfer --- or something close to that caliber --- already in the studio somewhere.

As far as I know, the movie never even got a DVD in the US, let alone a Blu-ray, and that's especially wrong for a movie like "Raintree County": an epic-length film with beautiful cinematography, with several big movie stars in it, etc. And personally, it's a very underrated movie to me as well. Hopefully it will be released on Blu-ray somehow and sometime.

George Feltenstein addresses a viewer question about Raintree County around the 32 minute mark on the August 11th edition of the Warner Archive Podcast.

He spends about five minutes going into the complications of potentially bringing this film to Blu-ray and mentions that the HD version TCM shows is not up to their standards. He says that they're between a rock and a hard place and that it would be a seven figure cost even to bring the 65mm general release version to Blu-ray (unless I missed it, he doesn't explore the possibility of using the 35mm general release cut or what that would cost). George concludes his answer by saying that while at this time there isn't a way to make the expense it would cost to restore this film profitable, WAC has been able to bring films to Blu-ray they previously never thought possible, so never say never and this is a problem he would like to solve.