The Frank Sinatra Collection (On the Town, Anchors Aweigh, more) - May 5, 2015

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

After watching Mutiny on The Bounty (1935), Gypsy, Singin' in the Rain, Grand Hotel, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, Wizard of Oz, and countless others to see what a Warner classic catalog title can look like, I'm again wishing they would have spent the extra money to have these three new discs remastered and released properly. If it was a money issue (poor poor Warner Brothers...), then send them of to the WAC people to do the job correctly.

Would three new proper remasters along with a disc exchange program be too much wisful thinking on my part?? Yes, probably so.

Originally Posted by Zetmoon

Weird:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1744...ollection.html

They judge the image quality completely differently!!!!

I watched Robin and the 7 Hoods this weekend, the image on that one looked great.

The thing is with this set, is that it's a Warner release and they have set the bar pretty high for themselves, so any release that is so-so is going to be judged by that standard. If this was an MGM property released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics, I would be overjoyed by the quality of the image.

Edit: Just realized I pretty much said the same thing in my last post. Oh, well.

[lilboyblu]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

I watched Robin and the 7 Hoods this weekend, the image on that one looked great.

The thing is with this set, is that it's a Warner release and they have set the bar pretty high for themselves, so any release that is so-so is going to be judged by that standard. If this was an MGM property released by Kino Lorber Studio Classics, I would be overjoyed by the quality of the image.

Edit: Just realized I pretty much said the same thing in my last post. Oh, well.

In that respect, I can see your point of view. The majority of Olive releases could fall into that category too, I guess. Being a Warner release though, I presume most people really did expect a whole lot more than what we were given. Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll pick up the set eventually as I really do want to own the films. But, it won't be until after the price drops more in line to match the quality of the discs within.

[The Great Owl]

I took advantage of the Barnes & Noble 40% off sale and my membership discount to buy the Frank Sinatra Collection Blu-ray set in the store today for $40.

Since B&N has jacked-up prices anyway, this was not exactly an amazing deal, but I did get the set for cheaper than I would have from Amazon, and I was also able to verify that it's in good condition.

It's a classy-looking box set in every way, and I'm looking forward to diving into these movies in the future.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by filmczy

I was considering buying this set but based on the first two blu-ray reviews I think I'll pass. Too bad because Warner Brothers used to be a leader in film restoration. Funny how they spend the money to restore the Batman television series but do a half-assed job on movies in this set that probably have just as big a fan base as Batman does...

Cute.

An important thing to understand about Anchors Aweigh and On the Town is that their situation is not in any way the same as a Meet Me in St. Louis or Singin' in the Rain (or the Batman TV series, for that matter.) Negatives and original technicolor elements don't exist anymore, these are from copies, and there is only so much you can do (and restoration, even digital restoration, isn't some magic button that you can press as some people here oddly seem to believe.)

It's the same reason that most Fox Technicolor films, like Drums Along the Mohawk, look lousy today.

Originally Posted by Arkadin

I bet you anything they just used the dvd masters for these Sinatra bds because the dvd box set is not THAT old. It was super hyped when it came out and I saw bunches of dvd copies on closeout at Moviestop months later for dirt cheap.
Hopefully the upcoming films from 1939 will get new masters or we could be in for more disappointment.

No. The On the Town and Anchors Aweigh DVDs were released a long, long time ago and I'm pretty sure both are from analog transfers. They were rereleased with the Sinatra sets but they were the same old DVDs.

Whatever one thinks of the Blu-rays, the simple fact is that they are indeed still huge improvements over the DVDs (go back and put your On the Town DVD in if you don't believe me - one of Warner's worst DVDs.)

[lilboyblu]

Frank Sinatra: 3-Film Collection Blu-ray

This was posted in the News section yesterday regarding the upcoming (abbreviated) UK version of the set:

"...this collection includes newly re-mastered releases of Anchors Aweigh, On the Town and Robin and the 7 Hoods for the first time on Blu-ray."

However, another member brought up a good point in the news post about the extras being exactly the same as the US discs.

Is there a source or Warner press release that confirms those truly are REMASTERS and not just repackages with European ratings logos? Dr. Svet, it looks like you were the author. Can you confirm?

[filmmusic]

The possibilities of Warner doing new remasters of films that were released on Bluray some months ago, would be next to zero I believe.

They are "new remasters" indeed, released "for the first time" in the UK!

[lilboyblu]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

The possibilities of Warner doing new remasters of films that were released on Bluray some months ago, would be next to zero I believe.

They are "new remasters" indeed, released "for the first time" in the UK!

Here's the News post from January for the U.S. set: The Frank Sinatra Collection Blu-ray

There is zero mention of the word remaster in that article, whereas NEWLY REMASTERED is very prominent in the UK article.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

Here's the News post from January for the U.S. set: The Frank Sinatra Collection Blu-ray

There is zero mention of the word remaster in that article, whereas NEWLY REMASTERED is very prominent in the UK article.

I really hope you're right but still, I wouldn't count on it!
Especially since the discs seem to have the exact same bonus features. (suggesting that they are repackages)

If you saw the specs, they even mention the shorts are "NEW!" and I had to compare with the US releases to see if there is indeed something new here.
But there's not!
(by the way, in the US article, the shorts aren't refered to as NEW)

i don't know who is responsible for stressing the "NEW" here (I guess Warner), but it further confuses people!

[MifuneFan]

The French release is about $22 shipped this weekend. It doesn't include Guys and Dolls

http://www.amazon.fr/Frank-Sinatra-H...ywords=sinatra

[lilboyblu]

- Press release for the US set: Frank Sinatra 5-Film Collection

- Press release for the UK set: Frank Sinatra: 3 Film Collection

Guess it was just wishful thinking on my part that the UK set would somehow be different, but since the press releases are the same in regards to the "new three," any doubts of these not being repackages can be safely put to rest.

Edit: Didn't know about the French set. Thought the only Sinatra Blu-ray Collection worldwide thus far was this one, hence the research into the UK release in the first place.

[Gold Ranger]

I found this last night at a dollar general.
$19.99
I've never seen any of these, is it worth the price?

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

I found this last night at a dollar general.
$19.99
I've never seen any of these, is it worth the price?

Given that it breaks down to $4.00 per movie, I would say it's absolutely worth it. Just having OCEAN'S 11 and ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS, two of Frank's most entertaining films, would be worth $19.99, so you can look at the rest as freebies. Go for it. I promise you will have fun and de-stress hanging out with these movies whenever the alligators are at your ass.