Colt .45 - The Complete Series - Coming to Blu-Ray on March 12th '24 (Warner Archive) (2 Viewers)

[Jeff Flugel]

As long as you don't get this guy as your delivery man, Neal:

 

[The 1960's]

As long as you don't get this guy as your delivery man, Neal:

Man, you'll do anything to start off a new page. I hear there's guys here who really care about that.
Can you imagine"?

 

[The 1960's]

Here's a few grabs from Colt .45 S03E12 Impasse (Jan.31.1960). These are untouched.

​

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Here's a few grabs from Colt .45 S03E12 Impasse (Jan.31.1960). These are untouched.

Linda Lawson alert!!

Looks like this is one of the episodes featuring Donald May in the lead as Sam Colt, after Wayde Preston had walked off the set.

Thanks for the screengrabs, Neal!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’ve gotten word that Warner Archive is being kind enough to share a review copy with HTF. I will hopefully be getting it next week and look forward to being able to cover this release in an official capacity.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

Got my set in the mail today, gonna enjoy Colt .45!

 

[SuperClark]

I received the box set today several days in advance of what informed delivery had stated,Yay.Picture looks good and sharp and clear.A tip of my black stetson hat to Warner archives for remastering this in HD.
I checked the video bit rate on the first disc it averages 35/36 mbps and each episode runs about 24 mins 43 seconds.
Andrew Duggan plays the heavy/meanie in the first ep Judgment Day,He repeatedly refers to Colt as 'Buttercup'.
Rather silly but at least he didnt call him Princess).I am well pleased - this is excellent!

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

I received the box set today several days in advance of what informed delivery had stated,Yay.Picture looks good and sharp and clear.A tip of my black stetson hat to Warner archives for remastering this in HD.
I checked the video bit rate on the first disc it averages 35/36 mbps and each episode runs about 24 mins 43 seconds.
Andrew Duggan plays the heavy/meanie in the first ep Judgment Day,He repeatedly refers to Colt as 'Buttercup'.
Rather silly but at least he didnt call him Princess).I am well pleased - this is excellent!

Duggan also appeared in the Wagon Train pilot episode The Willy Moran Story over at Revue that same season.

 

[Flashgear]

Thanks for the screen caps Neal! Out here in Dogpatch, Lower Slobovia, I'm supposed to have my Colt .45 set by next Wednesday!

Big fan here of the great Andrew Duggan! What a presence he was in 12 O'clock High and Lancer, among his many guest starring roles in just about every series in my collection. He's one of those special guys who just elevate the proceedings, and makes it look effortless.

And for anybody who wants to seek it out, WB's 1959-60 detective series Bourbon Street Beat with another great in Richard Long (Archive.org has the whole 39 episode series from old Starz showings along with 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye and Surfside 6). Andrew Duggan's archetype 'Southern Gentleman' character of retired New Orleans Police detective turned P.I. Cal Calhoun is smoothly charismatic! Here's a few screen caps I took not long ago from my DVD-Rs...

Andrew Duggan was a frequent and welcome guest star in all the WB TV series of that era. And his single season sit-com with Peggy McCay, Room For One More (1961-62) would be a welcome long-shot WAC release, among many that I'd want. That is, if Warner Archive continues to give us more WB and MGM B+W TV series.

 

[SuperClark]

This is so cool a limited edition Colt Peacemaker CO2 pellet revolver with the extra long barrel 7.5.
I have the regular 5.5.I prefer the gold version but both are great. Chris Colt special ordered it for me )

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

I've watched six episodes so far with 61 more to go. I also play Super Mario RPG on Nintendo Switch, and I could imagine Chris Colt offering to sell a pair of Colt.45s to Mario to aid in the battles all the way to Smithy. The plumber would be one dude you wouldn't want to mess with!

 

[Konstantinos]

These are untouched.

These are untouched???
I didn't expect something like this from WAC. These seem DNRed to hell!
Or are we having new standards now (after the Cameron releases) and we take these as having excellent picture quality?
I'm sorry, I don't know now, I'm confused..

 

[Randy Korstick]

My set is due from Amazon either tomorrow or Thursday. Looking forward to it.

 

[LouA]

Mine arrived! Nice package!!
I watched 1 episode, and it looks fantastic. I hope WBA won’t wait too long for the next vintage TV Blu-ray set!

 

[Flashgear]

My Amazon set arrived much sooner than I first thought! Surprising, as I'm in Canada, and we're usually the Dogpatch and Lower Slobovia of international shipping!

As to Konstantino's concern over these new HD transfers being "DNR'd to Hell" (digital noise reduction, his judgement based on Neal's screen caps), I haven't as yet had the opportunity to view a number of these Colt .45 episodes...when I've had a chance to examine this set fairly at length, like other fans, I'll be looking for the appropriate level of film grain that I'd expect to see from a 35mm OCN transfer.

 

[Flashgear]

Interesting newspaper article from the New York Daily News of May 17, 1959. Quoting an interview with WB's executive producer Wm, T. Orr....This was during the 1958-59 TV season, the absolute height of weekly TV Westerns aired by the three networks. That year there were 31 TV Western series on the air! Including Colt .45 of course...the article says that WB's then TV division spending on their exclusive ABC network production deal had amounted to 35 Million Dollars...and Orr boasted that Maverick had bested the Ed Sullivan Show, Steve Allen and Jack Benny Program in the Neilsens...posted on FB by Stephen ONeil in the 77 Sunset Strip TV Show fan group (which I recommend following if you do FB)...click on image to read enlarged...

 

[Flashgear]

Wow, these are brilliant HD transfers! Nothing DNR'd to hell at all. The pristine film sources are fine grain to begin with, and fans should be thrilled with this result. IMO, and as others have already said. You have to see them for yourself.

 

[Konstantinos]

Nothing DNR'd to hell at all. The pristine film sources are fine grain to begin with, and fans should be thrilled with this result.

Then why am I seeing zero grain in those "untouched" screenshots? (these remind me of The Longest Day release)
Unless they haven't been taken correctly.
Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

 

[LouA]

Wow, these are brilliant HD transfers! Nothing DNR'd to hell at all. The pristine film sources are fine grain to begin with, and fans should be thrilled with this result. IMO, and as others have already said. You have to see them for yourself.

My impression as well. They look great.
Does the critical poster actually have the set I wonder?
Or is he going strictly by the screen grabs?
I’m really happy with it. So nice to have this series on BD.

 

[Flashgear]

Then why am I seeing zero grain in those "untouched" screenshots? (these remind me of The Longest Day release)
Unless they haven't been taken correctly.
Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

Konstantinos, I respect your opinion and concerns, which in the recent past I have shared and has been a sometimes legitimate concern depending on the various studio or licensee HD releases under contention. We've all seen frustrating examples of DNR being applied too radically.

Neal is well known for taking great screen caps for his posts on HTF. He'll have to elaborate if he is so inclined. With my current hardware, I can only take caps from DVD, and thus I can't take my own caps from Blu-ray as yet to prove my point that you really have to see this new set for yourself. I've watched six Colt .45 episodes thus far and haven't seen anything less than absolutely pristine and sharp images with wonderful gray scale and the deepest noise-free blacks. Absolutely zero film specks and zero film damage or warping, all hallmarks of the finest climate-controlled film vault preservation. Film grain is there, but only the finest of fine grain native to the superb OCN is evident. Ironically, the sublime film grain is (to me), most obvious on the white lettering of the famous WB shield itself, closing and opening as where the announcer intones: "from the entertainment capitol of the world, produced for television by Warner Brothers". The hairy manes on horses and wardrobe fabric textures are spectacularly sharp, even striped shirts don't succumb to moire or strobe.

But Warner Archive's current superb standard of a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negatives (which is how Colt .45 and all recent WAC releases like the upcoming Friendly Persuasion and The Nun's Story and the other titles just announced today), IMO starts with their already superbly preserved fine grain OCN, from which a 4K scan reproduces faithfully for these brilliant HD transfers on Blu. In even the relative recent past, budget or administrative variables at WAC (George Feltenstein coming and going, an obviously reduced transitional budget in the WAC division) resulted in a more scattershot outcome for some of their older Blu and DVD transfers. These last several years, with budget cuts and administrative turmoil behind them, WAC has doubled down on the 4K OCN emphasis, even going back to some torturous and expensive 35mm and even 70mm restorations of highly desired marquee treasures like Flying Leathernecks, The Naked Spur, Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and Giant, with WAC also entering the UHD 4K realm with select releases.

I haven't seen the newer transfer of The Longest Day (UHD?), as I'm quite happy with my original Blu-ray release of that film. I'm old and refuse to re-buy most films in what would be the fourth home video format for me since the early '80s...This is just my opinion, but considering optimal viewing distances, your variable big-screen technical range with even projectors in the mix, our variable and sometimes failing old-men's vision, when it comes to the most eye-popping Blu-rays in my collection (The Court Jester, Greatest Show on Earth, Flying Leathernecks, Naked Spur, Geisha Boy, Last Train From Gun Hill, The War Wagon, The Professionals, The Wild Bunch etc., etc.) and especially the already superb Blu-ray of the VistaVision Gunfight at the OK Corral, I think some guys are just fooling themselves in thinking that it needs a 4K UHD upgrade, or that such an 'upgrade' is easily discernable from an 8 to 10 foot viewing distance ...but if they're convinced to spend their own $, more power to them.