Cast Your Votes: 4 AFI titles not yet released on BD (1 Viewer)

[PMF]

Cast Your Votes: 4 AFI titles not yet released on BD​

Well, we're down to 4 remaining AFI Titles not yet released with a 2K or 4K transfer on BD. AFI, of course, is the American Film Institute. As most everyone at HTF knows very well, AFI voted upon the Top 100 films of the 20th Century, back in 1998. But, then again, AFI also went back and did the whole vote over, again, back in 2007. Of the two lists, 77 titles remained the same. 23 films were dropped and 23 newer selections were introduced.

Of the 77 titles that survived and got carried over to the second list, we find "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) to be the lone and sole title without a proper 2K or 4K transfer release on BD. Of the 2 titles dropped from the original 1998 AFI vote we've got the two ultra classics of "Wuthering Heights" (1939) and "A Place in the Sun" (1951); which also remain without a proper 2K or 4K transfer release on BD. And, finally, we've got "A Night at the Opera" (1935); which was added to the AFI Top 100 vote in 2007; yet also remains without a proper 2K or 4K transfer release on BD.

Both of the AFI Top 100 lists were fun but, in truth, no one really needed to be told that "A Night at the Opera", "Bringing Up Baby", "Wuthering Heights" or "A Place in the Sun" were already classics in their own right;
nor did anyone need to be told that they have long deserved to receive their due for a 2K or 4K release on BD.
Well, let me re-state this...we didn't need to be told but, apparently, they need to be told.
"They", of course, being the studios who are still withholding these 4 remaining titles from a proper and rightful release.
Enough said, so have a go at it - vote - and hopefully a pro-active insider will be reading this thread.

P.S. This is an updated thread and vote from August 1, 2017. At that time the unavailable AFI titles were up to 6. Since that time we have seen the release of "The Philadelphia Story" and recently learned up the upcoming release of "Swing Time". So,19-plus months later our hopeful list of completions has brought us one-third closer to this long-overdue goal. Funny thing, though; as both "The Philadelphia Story" and "Swing Time" have come from Criterion; which now places them at the 100% forefront for doing the most about this particular film-drive.

 

[StarDestroyer52]

A Night at the Opera easily for me.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

They’re all good films, but for me, I’d have to pick A Night At The Opera and Bringing Up Baby, depending on my mood on any given day.

 

[dana martin]

i would hope that 3 of the four will show, with the Paramount title possibly being the most elusive of the bunch, call it a hunch, seen War of the Worlds or Roman Holiday on blu lately, yea, me neither. Then there is the issue of the Goldwyn Library, WB did release Wuthering Height...... on DVD , so i am still waiting to see if WAC gets around to an upgrade, but with so many titles in the library they can only move so fast, 3 out of those four are theirs, So when is the next set of announcements from them?

 

[Mike Frezon]

I wouldn't consider myself a really big fan of films (at least compared to MANY of the members of this forum)...but these four films would ALL be "must haves" for me. The only one I've never seen is A Place in the Sun...and that's one I would really like to see. But the other three are all favorites which I would LOVE to see on my shelf ASAP.

 

[lark144]

I wouldn't consider myself a really big fan of films (at least compared to MANY of the members of this forum)...but these four films would ALL be "must haves" for me. The only one I've never seen is A Place in the Sun...and that's one I would really like to see. But the other three are all favorites which I would LOVE to see on my shelf ASAP.

I agree. It's impossible to vote for just one. I want them all! All 4 of them are essential.

 

[PMF]

[...] All 4 of them are essential.

You bet they are !!
You're darn tootin' !!!
What are they waiting for?!!!!

 

[Astairefan]

Personally, I'm all for Bringing Up Baby and A Night At The Opera getting released! Sadly, for one reason or another, the other two really don't look likely. As said before, A Place In The Sun is Paramount, so who knows there, and Wuthering Heights, I really don't know why everybody keeps dragging that one (or any of the other Goldwyns) up, because I just don't see WAC releasing them. Given how much we have been told that most (if not all) of the Goldwyn films are in bad shape, I just can't see WAC having the budget to work on them (and it's not like WAC have released ANYTHING that was licensed to Warner, from either Paramount or Goldwyn, ON BLU-RAY). That may change, but at the moment, with the disc market going downhill, that seems very unlikely to me, short of the Goldwyns being licensed out to, say, Criterion, who might actually have the budget (or at least, more than WAC, anyway).

 

[Mike Frezon]

It's been a while since I've watched my DVD of Wuthering Heights, but I don't remember thinking it looked in very bad shape.

And as to WHY people bring up WH for an HD release, there are a TON of very good reasons--chief of which is that it's a very good film. Olivier, Toland, Olberon, Niven (and the mystique of being one of the 1939 "greats") are just icing on the cake.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I agree. It's impossible to vote for just one. I want them all! All 4 of them are essential.

Same here! I watched "Wuthering Heights" earlier this winter and the HD digital on iTunes looked good, but I hope Criterion gets a crack at that for a BD release. I have the other three on iTunes in HD digital too. I've been meaning to watch "A Place in the Sun" again as I haven't seen it since it first came out on DVD. I plan on watching "Bringing Up Baby" this year. As to "A Night at the Opera" I need to get in the mood for some Marx Brothers to watch that film which I'm planning to do later this summer when I watch a few of their other films already on Blu-ray.

 

[Astairefan]

It's been a while since I've watched my DVD of Wuthering Heights, but I don't remember thinking it looked in very bad shape.

And as to WHY people bring up WH for an HD release, there are a TON of very good reasons--chief of which is that it's a very good film. Olivier, Toland, Olberon, Niven (and the mystique of being one of the 1939 "greats") are just icing on the cake.

Maybe I said it wrong, but it wasn't my intention to put down either Wuthering Heights or any of the other Goldwyns (I know there are a few I would like). My comments were meant merely to wonder why people are still expecting WAC to release any of the Goldwyns on Blu when they haven't really given any indication that they would. I know nothing about what shape ANY of the Goldwyns are in, just what I've been hearing on here the last few years. But again, I just don't see it happening either until Warner's license ends, or if they are able to license them out to Criterion. And in the case of Wuthering Heights in particular, that is also a 30s film (a decade that WAC BARELY has represented on blu, with only 42nd Street available, and whatever the one film is that they are working on, which would be their first 30s film on blu in 4 years).

 

[PMF]

[...]My comments were meant merely to wonder why people are still expecting WAC to release any of the Goldwyns on Blu when they haven't really given any indication that they would.[...]

Our reasons for expecting WAC to release a Goldwyn title is simple:

a) With "Archive" being the operative word, Warner's has been providing classic titles on BD as an ongoing business for quite some time. This, alone, is where expectations do begin.
b) No other studio has a Goldwyn in their possession; which makes WAC our go-to guys.
c) Because WAC has also licensed out a few of their titles to Criterion; so, either way, let's have 'em.

BTW, here's Criterion's BD offerings from the "AFI Top 100" lists of 1998 and 2007:

"The Gold Rush" (1925)
"City Lights" (1931)
"It Happened One Night" (1934)
"Modern Times" (1936)
"Swing Time" (1936)
"Stagecoach" (1939)
"The Philadelphia Story" (1940)
"Sullivan's Travels" (1941)
"On the Waterfront"(1954)
"12 Angry Men" (1957)
"Some Like It Hot" (1959)
"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962)
"Dr. Strangelove" (1964)
"The Graduate" (1967)
"In the Heat of the Night" (1967)
"Easy Rider" (1969)
"Midnight Cowboy" (1969)
"Nashville" (1975)
"The Last Picture Show" (1971)
"Tootsie" (1982)
"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)

I would say that Criterion has handily beat them all, when providing selections from the AFI vote. Now, if the other studios wants to step up to the plate, we'd be more than glad to hear from them via a 2K or 4K BD release announcement concerning these 4 aforementioned titles. As it is, I hope that WAC will simply license out their remaining titles; as I am confident that Criterion would be more than glad to take it the rest of the way.

 

[Astairefan]

Our reasons for expecting WAC to release a Goldwyn title is simple:

a) With "Archive" being the operative word, Warner's has been providing classic titles on BD as an ongoing business for quite some time. This, alone, is where expectations do begin.
b) No other studio has a Goldwyn in their possession; which makes WAC our go-to guys.
c) Because WAC has also licensed out a few of their titles to Criterion; so, either way, let's have 'em.

Except, as you say WAC is still a business, and as I said before, they have NOT been releasing 30s films on Blu-ray. We were told by RAH that their lone release 42nd Street was an EXPENSIVE restoration, and that the other Busby Berkeleys would also be expensive. And here we are, 4 years later, with no more Berkeleys, and quite frankly, only mention of ONE 30s title coming through WAC on blu. Seriously, if 42nd Street sold well enough, why has it taken them four years to consider ONE? I mean, they've even been pulling back on their 40s releases the last few years, so, again, there goes most of the Goldwyns, especially if they are expensive restorations, and they can only do just so much against that (especially if their customers rebel against less-than-stellar releases like the recent release of Horror Of Dracula, or rely too much on sales to buy these titles). I mean, George Feltenstein said in one of the podcasts that, if we wanted more Errol Flynn, The Sea Hawk had to sell.
Of course, the rest of the question is, does Warner still have the license for the Goldwyns? I was just checking wbshop for a few of them, and was coming up with nothing. Maybe the license is up now? Not that anybody can really tell us, as far as I know...

 

[PMF]

Yes, Astairefan, I understand; but once, again, this thread is addressing "A Night at the Opera"; the sixth Marx Brothers film; to which the first 5 on BD have done very well.

We are also addressing "Bringing Up Baby"; to which there is a large BD audience for Howard Hawks, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

There is also a successful BD following for William Wyler films ("The Big Country", "Ben-Hur", "Mrs. Miniver", "Funny Girl", "The Best Years of Our Lives" and Criterion's "The Heiress"), with "Wuthering Heights" representing another major classic from his canon. "Wuthering Heights" also represents a triad of other desired gaps to be filled; as there also branches of fans and collectors searching for more BD's of Laurence Olivier, DP Gregg Toland and the major films from 1939.

And finally, there's "A Place in the Sun". Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Shelly Winters and an Oscar winning film for Best Cinematography and for George Stevens as Best Director. Of these 4 cited films, I expect "A Place in the Sun" to be the true hold-out; as this (along with Wyler's "Roman Holiday") belongs to Paramount. Nonetheless, all four films are on so many "Best Of" lists from the 20th Century and is not mutually exclusive to just the AFI vote, alone. I love "42nd Street" and am grateful to have been able to purchase it; but the 4 aforementioned films of this HTF vote and request list are arguably of greater importance with appeals to a wider consumer base of interests that undoubtedly reaches beyond our more potent circle of film aficionados.

Rather than speaking of our known past subjections to studio hold-outs or the dozen other facts, doubts, reasons, excuses and speculations that we are all too familiar with, I would rather this thread be comprised with messages and posts of the affirmative. If, by any chance, this thread is being read by the powers that be, I would wish for them to be reading a clear-cut path of our voices that say, "Yes, I would absolutely purchase a 2K or 4K BD of one, two, three or all four of these titles upon availability". It's a bottom line thread. So, with that said, just simply state which of these titles are of interest to you. No reasons to mention the ones that are not of interest. Just shine a light on those discs that you would purchase and have long coveted.

 

[RMajidi]

Philip, I just came across this thread of yours for the first time.

As you say, the whys and wherefores of certain releases not seeing the light of day have been rehashed across many threads now.

So in keeping with your intended positive outlook for this thread, I’ll just say that the four remaining AFI titles that you’ve highlighted here would be automatic purchases for me, and I’m glad that other members have indicated likewise.

 

[ahollis]

I feel sure that WAC only licensed the Goldwyn titles and does not intend to pay for a restoration to release in Blu-ray. The Goldwyn estate would have to do it.