Warner Archive Show Boat!

silentmovies742 · Post by **silentmovies742** » Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:30 pm

Does this teaser trailer mean what I think it means with regards to the 1936 film? If so, this is very exciting news.

didi-5 · Post by **didi-5** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:49 pm

Just the 1936 title, or the long-awaited triple with the 1929/1951 versions as well?

Harlett O'Dowd · Post by **Harlett O'Dowd** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:51 pm

Hopefully this is WA ... ahem .. testing the waters for a box set and not a sign of surrender in that regard.

Post by **silentfilm** » Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:59 pm

I just got an email from the Warner Archive with this announcement.

Marr&Colton · Post by **Marr&Colton** » Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:51 pm

This is great news---hope they release the restoration of the MGM Technicolor version soon--there is NO decent video
version of this film available--other than the muddy transfer released some years ago.

I would imagine the 1936 version, despite being a Universal Picture, is owned by MGM/Turner probably from MGM buying the
story from Universal to do their later version---true?

I keep saying---we need MORE 1930s and 1940s Universal Pictures on DVD---not just the Paramounts they own--they are the only studio left without enough of their old material available for the public to see on DVD--unless all you want are their old horror releases.

Post by **Christopher Jacobs** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:45 am

Marr&Colton wrote:I keep saying---we need MORE 1930s and 1940s Universal Pictures on DVD---not just the Paramounts they own--they are the only studio left without enough of their old material available for the public to see on DVD--unless all you want are their old horror releases.

We do indeed. But actually Universal have released a quite a substantial number of non-horror sets and sporadic individual titles on very nice-looking DVDs, like the Abbott & Costello films, W. C. Fields, Mae West, the Marx Brothers, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, early Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, a nice Preston Sturges set, the major Hope-Crosby "Road" pictures, Ma & Pa Kettle, and also the fun Deanna Durbin six-film set I recently got on sale for $17.49 from Amazon.

It's Blu-ray releases of classics that are truly lacking from Universal. What they really need to do is upgrade those DVD sets to good HD transfers (not DNR'd to death) on Blu-ray editions, but aside from ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT a selection of their eight key horror classics, a couple Abbott & Costellos, and some Hitchcock classics, almost no 30s-40s Universal/Paramount classic titles are on Blu-ray unless they're licensed through other distributors (like the Sherlock Holmes box set from MPI and a few titles through Criterion, and several outstanding U.K. releases (a few region-free, others locked to region B).

As for SHOW BOAT, I've got Warners' old laserdisc box set of the three versions, and that will do for me until they finally get the 1929 version fully restored with the rest of the sound discs and put the set of all three films on Blu-ray.

rudyfan · Post by **rudyfan** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 1:20 pm

I really like the 1936 version of Show Boat

David Alp · Post by **David Alp** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:10 pm

Oh how disappointing! I want all three in one huge box-set.... I once read that the 1951 version was the problem mainly, because of the Technicolor decomposing, especially towards the end of the film when we have all those scenes in the fog. I don't know if all three matrice's still exist for the Technicolor version? But if they do then it will be a big job to restore.

Plus of course they will then have to tackle the 1929 version, and will have to restore and synchronize the sound to the Vitaphone discs; decide which discs to use, (as apparently there are several sets in existence), and then also decide whether or not to include the musical portion of the film at the beginning. I hope they do!

So will this 1936 release version be part of the Warner Archive? If so it won't be a DVD9, it will be a DVD-R. The Youtube clip atop has been removed for some reason?

Donald Binks · Post by **Donald Binks** » Thu Feb 27, 2014 7:17 pm

Plus of course they will then have to tackle the 1929 version, .... and then also decide whether or not to include the musical portion of the film at the beginning. I hope they do!

So do I! As that is where all the familiar tunes from the musical actually reside!

s.w.a.c. · Post by **s.w.a.c.** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 7:52 am

David Alp wrote:So will this 1936 release version be part of the Warner Archive? If so it won't be a DVD9, it will be a DVD-R. The Youtube clip atop has been removed for some reason?

In the Warner Archive thread, someone quoted the WAC newsletter (which they refuse to send to me, no matter how many different email addresses I give them) as saying that the initial batch will be pressed discs, not DVD-Rs. I believe they've done this before, and the couple of blu-rays they've put out under the WAC banner (I know of Gypsy, but can't recall the others) have been pressed discs as well.

silentmovies742 · Post by **silentmovies742** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 7:52 am

David Alp wrote:Oh how disappointing! I want all three in one huge box-set.... I once read that the 1951 version was the problem mainly, because of the Technicolor decomposing, especially towards the end of the film when we have all those scenes in the fog. I don't know if all three matrice's still exist for the Technicolor version? But if they do then it will be a big job to restore.

Plus of course they will then have to tackle the 1929 version, and will have to restore and synchronize the sound to the Vitaphone discs; decide which discs to use, (as apparently there are several sets in existence), and then also decide whether or not to include the musical portion of the film at the beginning. I hope they do!

So will this 1936 release version be part of the Warner Archive? If so it won't be a DVD9, it will be a DVD-R. The Youtube clip atop has been removed for some reason?

I believe Warner have said that initial orders of the title will be factory pressed rather than dvdr. And yes, the 1951 film is apparently the issue.

s.w.a.c. · Post by **s.w.a.c.** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:04 am

Here's the order page for Show Boat on the Warner Archive site, which states: "Initial quantities of this release will be traditionally replicated (pressed) in anticipation of high consumer demand"

And also: "This film is newly remastered."

s.w.a.c. · Post by **s.w.a.c.** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:07 am

s.w.a.c. wrote:I believe they've done this before, and the couple of blu-rays they've put out under the WAC banner (I know of Gypsy, but can't recall the others) have been pressed discs as well.

To save anyone the trouble of looking, the other WAC BDs are The Hudsucker Proxy, Jumbo, Deathtrap and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. Also, the first season of the animated series Batman: The Brave & the Bold.

EDIT: Oops, and also the Peter Weir film Fearless, starring Jeff Bridges.

Post by **Danny Burk** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:50 pm

HTF has a link to a Warner Archive podcast, in which George F comments that a blu-ray trilogy is still planned, but may be a couple of years in the works. Since the Whale version is one of their most-requested films, they decided to release it now as a single rather than continue to wait until the trio is ready.

David Alp · Post by **David Alp** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:12 pm

Looks to me like a DVD-R?? Where is the evidence that it will be a proper DVD9?

azjazzman · Post by **azjazzman** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:33 pm

David Alp wrote:Looks to me like a DVD-R?? Where is the evidence that it will be a proper DVD9?

George Feltenstein says in the WAC podcast that initial quantities of "Show Boat" (1936) will be pressed DVDs "in anticipation of high demand". He goes on to say that the Triple Feature Show Boat set is still in the works (in Blu-Ray, no less)

Post by **Christopher Jacobs** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 12:35 am

s.w.a.c. wrote:
s.w.a.c. wrote:I believe they've done this before, and the couple of blu-rays they've put out under the WAC banner (I know of Gypsy, but can't recall the others) have been pressed discs as well.
To save anyone the trouble of looking, the other WAC BDs are The Hudsucker Proxy, Jumbo, Deathtrap and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. Also, the first season of the animated series Batman: The Brave & the Bold.

EDIT: Oops, and also the Peter Weir film Fearless, starring Jeff Bridges.

I've got GYPSY and JUMBO (which both look spectacular projected 10 feet wide!) and DEATHTRAP (which looks quite good). Still need to order GREYSTOKE and HUDSUCKER one of these days, and might get FEARLESS as well, which like those other two I haven't seen since it played theatrically.

It seems as if two soon-upcoming Blu-rays from Warner Archive will be THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY (1964) and PERFORMANCE (1970). Looking forward to both, especially EMILY. Warner have been much slower on their Blu-ray Archives releases than originally anticipated.

And back to the topic, it's good to hear that a Blu-ray release of all three restored SHOWBOAT films is still in the works, even if a couple of years away. I expect I can wait until then. (Now if only they would do the classic Warner, RKO, and MGM musicals of the 30s on Blu-ray!)

David Alp · Post by **David Alp** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 1:22 pm

azjazzman wrote:
David Alp wrote:Looks to me like a DVD-R?? Where is the evidence that it will be a proper DVD9?
George Feltenstein says in the WAC podcast that initial quantities of "Show Boat" (1936) will be pressed DVDs "in anticipation of high demand". He goes on to say that the Triple Feature Show Boat set is still in the works (in Blu-Ray, no less)

Have you got a link to this podcast? I would love to hear it. I am going to wait until all three are on Blu-Ray. There's no point in buying this DVD copy if we hare going to have a Blu-Ray in a few years time. It will just be a redundant copy on the shelf that nobody watches.

Rick Lanham · Post by **Rick Lanham** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 5:59 pm

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war ... 63354?mt=2" target="_blank" target="_blank

is apparently the link to the full collection. You'll need iTunes installed. The latest
podcast is titled "Show Boat" and is about an hour long.

There are other apps/programs to get podcasts, this is just one way.

Rick

Ray Faiola · Post by **Ray Faiola** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 8:37 pm

I got my Warner Archive DVD today. Appears to be actual DVD. Great transfer, even the first reel.

I have a disc of the original 1936 Radio Prevue. It includes "Why Do I Love You". Here it is:

http://chelsearialtostudios.com/showboa ... prevue.mp3" target="_blank

azjazzman · Post by **azjazzman** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 8:49 pm

Rick Lanham wrote:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war ... 63354?mt=2" target="_blank" target="_blank

is apparently the link to the full collection. You'll need iTunes installed. The latest
podcast is titled "Show Boat" and is about an hour long.

There are other apps/programs to get podcasts, this is just one way.

Rick

The podcast titled "Show Boat" is actually the 1940 Lux Radio Theater presentation. The podcast where the new DVD release of SHOW BOAT (1936) is discussed is titled, "We Keep On Rollin' Along".

You can also listen to it here: http://warnerarchive.tumblr.com/tagged/ ... ve-Podcast

azjazzman · Post by **azjazzman** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 9:00 pm

Ray Faiola wrote:I got my Warner Archive DVD today. Appears to be actual DVD. Great transfer, even the first reel.

I have a disc of the original 1936 Radio Prevue. It includes "Why Do I Love You". Here it is:

http://chelsearialtostudios.com/showboa ... prevue.mp3" target="_blank" target="_blank

As thrilled as I am with the newly remastered DVD of "Show Boat", I am disappointed they didn't retain the excellent commentary track by Miles Kreuger from the LaserDisc release. One hopes that this is rectified on the Blu-Ray.

monks19 · Post by **monks19** » Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:29 pm

Hi. Anybody know where I can order this dvd to be shipped in Canada ? Unless I missed something on this, none of the usual retailers, like amazon and Turner, is selling this at the moment.

Thanks to answer

TerryC · Post by **TerryC** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 12:02 am

Hello,
Usually about a month after a DVD is available from Warner archive or Turner, you can order it from Amazon.com. Postage is pricy but they mail to Canada.

David Alp · Post by **David Alp** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:41 pm

Wow that podcast was truly fascinating! Feltenstein says that the 3 Disc (1929; 1936; 1951 versions) of "SHOW-BOAT" will be out on Blu-Ray sometime within the next 2 years; or "even maybe before 2 years" as they have now found all of the 1929 Vitaphone Disks, and the 1936 version is already done. So I shall be waiting for the Blu-Ray version

The thing I don't understand is them saying that the "1936 DVD debut version will be available as initial pressings are going to be replicated copies" ?? What the heck does that mean? "Replicated Copies" Huh??? What??? I don't understand that? Does that mean DVD-R??? A "Replicated Copy" is just a fancy way of saying "DVD-R" in my language???

Post by **Danny Burk** » Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:12 pm

Replication = pressed discs, not burned/DVD-R.

s.w.a.c. · Post by **s.w.a.c.** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 1:56 pm

monks19 wrote:Hi. Anybody know where I can order this dvd to be shipped in Canada ? Unless I missed something on this, none of the usual retailers, like amazon and Turner, is selling this at the moment.

I find Amazon.com's shipping to Canada has become a bit ridiculous lately, it's almost never worthwhile ordering from them (they switched from USPS to courier, and shipping costs nearly doubled). For WAC titles, I'd go to MoviesUnlimited.com, oldies.com or deepdiscountdvd.com, they often have them at better prices and the shipping is less of a gouge.

EDIT: Just checked all three of those sites, none of them have the Whale Show Boat yet, but it's still pretty new so I'd give them another week before checking. You might also find it via Amazon.ca Marketplace, I've seen a few WAC titles on there via U.S. retailers, only you don't pay the hefty shipping fee you would with Amazon.com.

TerryC · Post by **TerryC** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:55 pm

My solution is to rent a P O box at a US post office. This is rather modestly priced and we have all our US on line purchases sent there. When we cross the border we declair the packages with everything else.

Post by **Christopher Jacobs** » Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:14 am

David Alp wrote:
The thing I don't understand is them saying that the "1936 DVD debut version will be available as initial pressings are going to be replicated copies" ?? What the heck does that mean? "Replicated Copies" Huh??? What??? I don't understand that? Does that mean DVD-R??? A "Replicated Copy" is just a fancy way of saying "DVD-R" in my language???

Danny is right. These have long been standard terms.

"Replicated" copies are commercially mass-produced and have a substantially lower cost per item for the client (wholesale and then retail markup are something entirely separate, of course). They require special masters to be made for stamping out (pressing) the DVDs (rather than simply recording a new copy) and are usually done in orders of 1000 or multiples thereof to be cost-effective because there is a much higher setup expense. Runs that large, of course (especially when they are in the tens of thousands and more) also require more extensive inventory maintenance and storage space and/or retail turnover, and assume that there will be enough demand to avoid long-term storage of product that simply sits on shelves waiting for orders.

"Duplicated" copies are re-recorded one at a time onto blank DVD-Rs (like you can do on your home computer), most likely either using machines that copy and change discs one after another in a large stack of maybe 25 or 50 automatically (sometimes also printing the label on each disc), or by having a DVD player drive connected to a bank of several DVD-recorder drives loaded with blank discs all copied simultaneously (which have labels preprinted on the discs or are printed later). These involve much more manual labor and are much more expensive to create, but are more convenient for a few individual copies up to runs of under about 500 copies, since all you need is a DVD to be played back and the recorder(s) will copy it. Very little inventory is required on low-demand items, so duplication (i.e., DVD-R) is the preferred means for do-it-yourself DVD companies who don't have much cash flow on any one title, much less the storage space to stock it.

Think of the days of LP records and cassette tapes. Records were replicated, pressed into vinyl from a metal master, whereas tapes always had to be duplicated, re-recorded from another tape (albeit at high speed with large banks of recorders to make mass-production practical).

With the rapid growth of online streaming and "the cloud" it's gotten pretty much to the point these days that short-quantity runs of DVD-R copies (and for Blu-rays a small replication run of a few thousand copies) are a simple service provided for consumers who still want physical media and prefer quality over convenience, whereas the once-traditional large-run commercially replicated DVDs (and Blu-rays) are a gamble that the product will still be able to sell in mass numbers. These are the DVDs that within a year or so of initial release wind up selling for a couple of bucks, and the Blu-rays that turn up in the $5 to $10 bargain bins, after the studio has either made back its initial investment in the run or decided that low demand means it's futile to hope for its initial projected profits so maybe they'll be able to recover their costs by dumping their inventory at barely above cost.

Getting back to SHOW BOAT, while the 1936 version is certainly an entertaining film, I don't need to see it again immediately (and could always watch my old laserdiscs if necessary) so am perfectly willing to wait for a 3-disc replicated Blu-ray set that promises to be the highest quality of all three versions ever made available.

David Alp · Post by **David Alp** » Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:21 pm

Thanks Christopher that was really interesting and I learnt a lot! What are your thoughts on the Warner Archive Collections future? You say that it is primarily for customers who want a "physical" DVD in their hands so they can play it... Well; once that market has dried up; what happens next? My thoughts are that some of the titles will become very very rare, such as for example "It's A Great Life" (1929), (which is one of the Warner titles I have bought). And are we expected to see they them selling on Ebay for astronomical prices in the future? And if so, what is to stop me buying up 20 or 30 of them to sell off in 10 years time? Or even what's to stop someone just making their own copies by just photocopying the artwork sleeve in colour, and popping it into a plastic DVD case; and then copying the DVD-R and then selling that?

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