jrcasey1960 wrote:Unlike most of the other studios, the Republic library is intact in very good to excellent condition (with the exception of some titles that reverted to the copyright owner, such as CAPTAIN AMERICA). Sadly, with the exception of MARVEL, no one bothered officially releasing any from these good source materials on DVD. Paramount is now in the process of doing high definition scans of the Republic library, which is great news. Hopefully, Kino can license more, although their representative states that they have no plans for further releases at this time (after RED CIRCLE and MARVEL). I love the fact that Olive is releasing some, but have been disappointed that they have chosen the later (and in my opinion, inferior) titles. Who would have ever dreamed that we would see serials on bluray? It's pretty amazing despite the paucity of releases thus far!
These points are dead on. Olive did a good job with the serials they've thus far released, but most of the post '49 Republic serials do not represent the Studio's best efforts. By this time Universal had already dropped out of serial production and Columbia's efforts ...with rare exception... were pretty much retreads of earlier efforts plot-wise with very cheap FX. Republic kept the their production level reasonably high in the early 50's, but the plots got lamer and reuse of effects, cliffhangers and Lydecker designed props made their latter efforts appear half-hearted at best.
Daredevils of The Red Circle ('39) certainly deserves Blu-Ray treatment. A haunting musical theme by William Lava, first rate FX by the Lydeckers, convincingly evil Charles Middleton, inventive cliffhangers and stunt work ...most involving co-starring actor and stuntman Dave Sharpe... make this 12 Chapter treasure a key example of Republic's serial productions in their prime.
While the Captain Marvel serial is a no-brainer BD purchase, it has been readily available on DVD in decent quality. The last time DoTRC was legitimately released to the video market from good elements was on VHS through Republic Home Video back in the 80's.
If KINO is seriously testing the water for future Blu-Ray serial releases, Daredevils would be an excellent choice. In fact, I'd recommend buying multiples as gifts for vintage movie loving friends as an excellent introduction to Republic's serials. Daredevils of The Red Circle's fast pace and cleverly devised cliffhangers belies it's modest budget. Genuine fun, especially taken a chapter at a time over a period of days or weeks.
