It's important to note that this new version of Stagecoach is from an entirely different print than the Warner Brothers DVD, including the special edition. So the combination of Blu-ray and a better print will be something to behold.
Another new release to DVD is In Old Oklahoma/War of the Wildcats. The title has been available on Region 2 for a few years, from a very nice print from the official Republic library (including a few scenes not found in the American VHS release). People will remember that Paramount announced this title for Region 1 in 2006 but all we got was the cover art.
What's interesting to me is that the film is released on DVD (most likely DVD-R) by PR Studios, a public domain label. (The Amazon listing shows it as Region 1, so maybe it's a standard commercial DVD.) Hopefully the print quality won't be as bad as the cover art done by PR Studios. The running time shows as 97 minutes, so I'm wondering if PR did a PAL to NTSC conversion of the official PAL disc (which runs 97 minutes).
Although this isn't an official release, it has UPC and EAN numbers. If the film is still under copyright (i.e. it was renewed after 28 years), then I would think Paramount's lawyers would send PR Studios a warning about selling their property, especially on Amazon which would attract more attention.
Regardless of the legal ramifications, War of the Wildcats is now available on Region 1 even though it's not an official release. But with UPC and EAN numbers, it's somewhat of an official commercial release.
I've ordered the film and will report back on the print quality. I have the official UK DVD, of which I did a high-quality PAL to NTSC conversion with TMPGEnc XPress and DGPulldown. This will be my benchmark for comparison.
Posts from RoughRider in thread „Duke's Movies- Blu-Ray/DVD Releases“
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Hi Take a look at RoughRiders website he lists all JW films that are available on DVD & Blu ray or due for release
http://www.vanc.igs.net/~rough…ayne_dvd_filmography.html
Criterion is rumored to have Stagecoach coming to Blu-ray now that Warner Brothers' distribution rights have lapsed. It'll be a different (better) print than the one currently available on DVD. -
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Originally posted by ethanedwards@Nov 3 2006, 07:11 AM
Hi,This stunt has been pulled before,
and it just comes across as a scam.
Unknowing fans will be purchasing these 'new' titles,
unaware, that they probably have them in their collections,
already!!!From the runtime, it looks highly likely
that they are Lone Star re-works.[snapback]36621[/snapback]
I found more recent information about the John Wayne in Color set.
The three included films have state of the art colorization by Legend Films. Also included are the black and white originals, a policy Legend adheres to for all its product.
Visit Legend Films to see samples of their work and much interesting reading about their digital process. The films are done to such a high resolution that they can strike 35mm prints.
RoughRider
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OK, I see, Keith. So the b&w Fox/Lorber titles were released in the UK by Second Sight. And 15 of them instead of the five that were released on DVD in North America by Columbia (Sony). Although I don't care for the modifications, generally I like the print quality--I've only seen five--so I'll obtain these from the UK. Maybe the 10 other titles were released on DVD over here, but I haven't found them; but all 15 were released on VHS by Columbia. Thanks for the insight -- I didn't know Second Sight released the Fox/Lorber Lone Stars on DVD.
As to why Rainbow Valley was excluded, I don't know for sure. It was either a rights issue or the prints in existence weren't good enough. It wasn't colorized, and I know that process requires high-quality film elements. Mind you, Texas Terror wasn't colorized either but there's a Fox/Lorber version.
RoughRider
John Wayne on DVD: A Filmography -
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Originally posted by ethanedwards@Nov 9 2006, 03:40 PM
They of course, were the Second Sight series.
What is the Second Sight series, Keith? It sounds like the British video distributor, who I'll guess had UK rights to the colorized Lone Star productions.I've been poking my nose into John Wayne's colorized films and come up with 36 titles (excluding the Lone Stars that were re-titled and condensed to 20 minutes). Two of the Lone Stars weren't colorized: Texas Terror and Rainbow Valley. I think a few of the 1940s films were released to television only and not available on home video. But I've confirmed that all those listed below have been colorized.
If anyone sees an omission, let me know.
Riders of Destiny
Sagebrush Trail
The Lucky Texan
West of the Divide
Blue Steel
The Man from Utah
Randy Rides Alone
The Star Packer
The Trail Beyond
The Lawless Frontier
'Neath Arizona Skies
The Desert Trail
The Dawn Rider
Paradise Canyon
Winds of the Wasteland
Allegheny Uprising
Dark Command
Three Faces West
Lady from Louisiana
In Old California
Flying Tigers
A Lady Takes a Chance
War of the Wildcats
The Fighting Seabees
Tall in the Saddle
Flame of Barbary Coast
Back to Bataan
Dakota
They Were Expendable
Angel and the Badman
Fort Apache
Wake of the Red Witch
The Fighting Kentuckian
Sands of Iwo Jima
Rio Grande
The Longest DayRoughRider
John Wayne on DVD: A Filmography -
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Originally posted by ZS_Maverick@Nov 3 2006, 05:34 PM
DVD Features
Note: This 3-Disc set includes the films STOLEN GOODS aka BLUE STEEL (1934), GOLD STRIKE RIVER aka THE LUCKY TEXAN (1933), and AN INNOCENT MAN aka SAGEBRUSH TRAIL (1934).
It sounds like these are the same films colorized in 1990 by Color Systems Technology and released on home video under their original titles, later with different titles under The Young Duke banner. The titles here are different, though: Blue Steel was Bandits of the Badlands; The Lucky Texan was Cowboy G-Man; and Sagebrush Trail was The Fugitive.
It's too bad Wayne's Lone Star westerns ended up in the public domain: If the copyrights were renewed we would have beautiful, unmodified prints available on DVD. Instead, they're hacked (editing, music, colorization) so that the new versions can be re-copyrighted.
Anyone who wants to see how nice these prints can look should check out the 2-disc Columbia Pictures DVD collection called Riding the Range Vols. 1 and 2. There's new music and editing, though, which I deplore. But the print quality is lovely (some better than others), sourced from either the original or early re-issue film elements owned by NTA. The DVDs also benefit from high-quality encoding. But had the films been released unmodified, bootleg copies probably would have flooded the public domain market.
I wonder if the colorized versions by CST used the same prints as the earlier black-and-whites released by Columbia? I'll poke my ever-curious nose into the answer.
RoughRider
John Wayne on DVD: A Filmography
