Speaking from experience within the UK I am very disappointed with the movies of John Wayne’s which have been transferred to DVD. The DVD’s offer little although usually no extras and now the covers are becoming inaccurate. For example the DVD for the “Sons of Katie Elder” contained a picture from El Dorado as well as a poor cover picture. The El Dorado cover also had a poor main cover and a picture at the back, which wasn’t from any John Wayne movie. I feel a little more care is needed and a little more respect for fans of the Duke and for the Dukes legacy.

Anyone else feel the same?

B)

I have seen some VHS boxes that advertised that Wayne starred in 250 films...about 100 more than he actually did.

GSP

Oh . . . if only he had made another 100 movies . . . although I still have another 70 to go to have all 150+ . . .

One good thing is that with these new-fangled DVDs I see people selling VHS videos on ebay like they're trying to dump 'em cheap, while the dumpin's good. Although as I add to my collection, I lean in the direction of DVDs.

As an aside, I just got my VHS copy of Tigrero today (thanks, itdo, for turning us on to that one!).

Chester

I agree with you Robbie even on videos they seem to be cut short and badly done. :huh:

I've also noticed that alot of his "B" movies are sold with pictures of the Duke on the cover later in his career. I have a DVD of Angel and the Badman that has Hondo on the cover. The only reason I can come up with is that they put a picture on there that they know will attract the buyer. Gets my goat also. Robbie! Dukefan1

Robbie :rolleyes:

As you bring up this subject :huh: My DVD copy of McLintock has a very cheesie picture of the Duke on the cover. I have to agree with you on the marketing as of lately :angry:

Monique ;)

I have seen most of your concerns, as a collector of his movies on VHS and DVD. I have found that if you stick with the authenic productions of the movies, you will get the original cover from the movie, and not a substitute.

I have mentioned in the case of McLintock!, that on DVD the original production has not been released on DVD, yet. There are two production companies that have copied that movie right now, and I guess to say the best way I can without sounding like a jerk, you get what you pay for.

I am waiting for the right copy of that and other movies and will hopefully get the right cover design from the original production. I am not aware of your situation, Robbie, so I cannot say what the problem is over seas, but usually there is an address and/or web site of the production company that you may address to for your concerns of the inaccurate covers, extras, and even the editing of the movie.

Extras are very hard to find in the older movies. Sometimes they just don't have any to put in the movie. Looking at A Lady Takes A Chance, they had nothing for the movie except scene selection and the playing of the movie itself. Not even language, or subtitles. I am sure that if they had anything, they would put something in it, but sometimes they don't. Don't be too hard on them for that, especially for the older not as popular titles.

I do enjoy the extras in the movie, when I see it. I enjoy the comments made in the movie from directors, producers, actors. I enjoy the documentaries about the movies, I enjoy the bio's of the actors, etc. But I buy to see the movie. If that is all I get, then that's alright with me. Because that is the main reason for getting the DVD in the first place.

I will stick with the original productions of the movies, which means I will not be getting Angel & The Badman, which has not been released by Republic Picutres, yet. It has been released by six (6) production companies, and yet some might be good quality, but they were not released by the original company.

You might address this issue to getting upset that the original productions of the movies are not coming out fast enough for your satisfaction.

Just something to think about. And yes, I do get frustrated that McLintock!, The High and the Mighty, Island in the Sky, Hondo, Angel and the Badman, Without Reservations, Trouble Along the Way, 3 Godfathers, The Wings of Eagles, Pittsburg, The Spoilers, Allegheny Uprising, The Shepherd of the Hills, Reunion in France, and Fort Apache are not released from the ORIGINAL production companies.

But I will wait.

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hondo :rolleyes: I respect your feelings on this issue B) And I thought I was stuborn :unsure:

Monique ;)

As far as the covers on the DVD's, they seldom do justice to the end product. The purpose is to catch your eye. When a store has thousands on display, they want something that will grab you right away.

The reason that I am collecting the DVDs is not the extras, it is the realization the VHS movies grow old and die. When this happens you have lost it. A VHS degrades each time you watch it. The more you watch it the more it degrades. I would like to find a DVD recorder that has a universal format so it will play on all DVD players. Then I would convert all of my VHS's to DVD. You get long term survival along with less storage area needed.

Hi Folks
I think part of me thinks that every time a company wants to suck the buyer in for another DVD,they very easily find an extra or two to put on the DVD. For example: The Quiet Man and Rio Grande. Recently Casablanca is supposed to be redone with extras. I'm sure you'll see The Alamo complete and withmore extras. It 's a shame when the VHS has more extras then the DVD. And I'm sure that there's documentaries around for some of these films.(I'm sure there must be some legal and financial obstacle involved). You can't run out every time a new DVD is released with new extras(check out the great home mJohn Ford home movies on the She wore a Yellow Ribbon DVD) . At least I find that the prices are starting to level out some.

Monique

Cheesy is exactly how I would describe the pictutres of the Duke on the covers of "The Sons of Katie Elder" and "El Dorado", I feel it is something that should be stamped out, Clints DVD covers are really good "usually" the same can't be said for the Dukes.

Regarding extras on Dukes DVD's has anyone come across any good ones.

B)

Robbie,

With the recent release of Chisum, and Cahill, United States Marshal on DVD, they had some very good extras. The mini documentaries about the movies, trailers, and the commentaries from Andrew McLaglen (director) about the movie were good. I actually watched the two movies with the director's commentary, and really enjoyed it.

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hello :rolleyes:
I'm going to have to look for CHisum on DVD this week for that is my alltime favorite John Wayne movie :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I'll see if I can grab Cahill on dvd at the same time :unsure:

Monique

Monique,

Where do you get your DVDs? I'm sure you've already heard about Deep Discount DVD online (Hondo's favorite place; thanks, Hondo, for turning us on to that!), good prices and free shipping!

Amazon.com is another good source, and you can click on it above (I think it might help keep this board a'runnin' when you access it from this site).

Chester

Hey Chester,

How many purchases have you made from DeepDiscountDVD.com?

I've made at least 50 myself. I'll get an accurate count and report, and yes, I do make other purchases other than Duke movies.

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hondo

You talk about movies being released by the original production company what difference does this make and how do you know when buying a DVD, VCR etc that it has been released by the original production company. Does it say in the cover, sorry if these questions sound very trivial I'm just in unfamiliar territory.

Thanks


B)

I have the book, The Complete Films of John Wayne, and they list the original studio that made or distributed the film. When a studio makes an announcement of a movie coming out on video, they ususally give listings to that effect. That would also include Duke movies. Unless the studios merge like MGM and United Artists, they will release them as their studio.

In the case of McLintock!, released through United Artists, they do not own the rights of that movie, because Batjac bought the rights, and they have not officially released this yet on DVD.

Republic Pictures which folded down back in the 50's, is releasing their videos through another distributer (I'm not sure who, but they do put the Republic Pictures emblem on the cases). But this gets interesting, because this production company does not have all the rights to all Republic movies. So that's where Angel & the Badman slid through the cracks and other production companies grabbed it and released it through their distributers.

Your question about what difference do it makes who put outs the film. Well, that means they do not have the original negative, and are copying it from another source. The quality is ususally poor in picture and sound, and if that doen't make a difference to you, then I say get it, because it will be cheaper. You will find they don't put any extras in those movies either. That is what the hipe is all about.

Monique said that her copy of the McLintock! DVD is not all that good. I have not seen her version, and will not because it is not officially released from its rightful owners. That's where I said, "You get what you pay for."

My guess would be, if you see a film released on video (VHS or DVD), check who is putting it out, and check with imdb to see who put out the original film. Unless they are given permission from the original distributer/studio, then more than likely, its not the quality you are looking for.

Hopes this answers your question, Robbie

Cheers, Hondo B)

I never before realised that films not released by the origonal studio are of an inferior quality picture wise etc. That really is interesting. Thanks for taking the time with that great post, do original studio distributors usually use decent cover pictures? I will certainly in the future be buying my JW films and any other for that matter from the original studio. How does it work though when these movies are shown on tv is it always via the original studio?

Thanks again Hondo

B)

Robbie,

Televison and cable stations are required by law to show the movies from the original distributor who owns the rights. They have to pay a royality to show these films.

That is another reason why, The High & The Mighty, and Island in the Sky are not shown on TV, because of the battle between who owns the rights to those movies.

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hondo

Thanks for clearing all that up for me, hope my questions are not too boring or trivial for you to answer. I have one more. This is regarding the original reel that the director stores the film onto. When the movie is released is this reel then copied and sent around the different cinemas etc.

Thanks again.

B)

Robbie,

I'm sure that Roland can answer this better than I can, but I will answer it. If I am not completely right, Roland, please correct me.

When the Director and editor completes the film with all parts including the soundtrack, special effects, and finishes his cuts, then it goes to the studio and they review the film. They then go to the director and make changes if needed. This is done from the original negative. When this is done, they make the copies into 35mm film, and distribute it world wide to theaters.

The studio stores the original negative in their vaults. Or the owner of that negative, stores them. I think it is stored in a refrigarator to perserve it for future generations. As for the older films, they are losing them by the bunches. I'm not talking about just Duke films but many of the films. Many have been lost. There are efforts to save those that are in danger of being destroyed, but once they are destroyed, there is no bringing them back.

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hondo and Robbie,

Thanks for that very informative interchange.

With the advances in computer cinematography, I would think that they could just about recreate a whole movie in whatever quality they want, with computer imaging. If not now, I bet that will be in the future. While some purists may squawk, I'm not quite as worried, if it means some good JW movies.

Chester

Hondo, just to put my two cents in, I'm wondering when this legal fight between whomever started, concerning "The High and the Mighty". The movie had been shown on Home Box Office (HBO) back in the mid eighties. I had recorded it on VHS, and the quality was very good. It was shown as widescreen and the picture was of crystal clear quality.
I have also found this movie listed in the MoviePlex (part of the Starz cable group) movie listing. An inquiry I made several years ago, I found out that the movie was shown on their program also. At the time I haven't had MoviePlex show I can't tell you when it was shown. In their response they said they are trying to show it again in the near future (no date said, or how many years).
I have a poor recording of it that was shown in the early 80's on WGN out of Chicago. I myself have been sending emails to these companies to try to get the movie shown again.
I am also bugging Warner with emails asking when or possibly if they can get THATM released on DVD in the near possible future. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated in this little campaign of mine if any other JW fans would also do the same. Thanks! :o

Baron,

I've heard that the battle is over, and now a processing lab is trying to put The High & The Mighty out on DVD, but no official announcement has been made at this time to the release date as of this posting. :chickawow:

I have not been in contact with Warner about it, so I think it's a great suggestion to e-mail (bug) them about any release date of THATM. :headbonk:

I have not seen any listings of this movie or Island in the Sky over the last decade, and I kept a pretty good eye on the movie listings, but of course I could have missed it. I have looked though almost every week. Mainly on cable networks like TBS, TNT, WGN, Turner South, Turner Classic Movies, AMC, Pay Movie TV, PAX, just to name a few. :stunned:

So if by chance anyone see a listing of those two movies, tell us. I might not be able to get it, but would like to see it. :uhuh:

Cheers, Hondo B)

Hello :rolleyes:

I buy from RareVidio, Deep Discount, Walmart online :huh: Offline I just do what a woman is great for :rolleyes: SHOPPING looking for discounts :blink:

Monique :chickawow:

Originally posted by Hondo Duke Lane@Aug 18 2003, 01:55 PM
I've heard that the battle is over, and now a processing lab is trying to put The High & The Mighty out on DVD, but no official announcement has been made at this time to the release date as of this posting.* :chickawow:
Hondo,

I'm glad to see that you're on top of this. If anyone will, I'm sure you'll keep us posted as to the progress of this much awaited film.

Chester

hi all,

after reading this post i would have to say that all of the dvd's that i have seen here in oz have had the same covers as the videos :) so i would have to say we must be purest over here :D :D :D

cheers smokey

Smokey

Do you mean that all Duke DVD/VCR covers in Australia do just credit to the movie.

Hondo

When did the legal battle for THATM end and what was it about and is this the same problem that "Mclintock" and "Hondo" faced in the past and where does this leave "Island In The Sky".

:agent:

Robbie,

I think this came out about the same time that Michael Wayne died. I'm not sure if that was a coincidence or not that the suit was settled, but if I recall Michael had been sick for awhile, and I guess Melinda was acting CEO of the John Wayne Enterprises (a.k.a. Batjac Productions). She did get Big Jake, Rio Lobo, Chisum, and Cahill, United States Marsahl released in April.

The rumour has been that a processing lab is currently working on getting McLintock! released some time later this year or early next year. No word at this time on a release date for McLintock!, Hondo, The High & The Might, Island in the Sky. It depends on the distributor, the studio, and the time frame that they determine.

That's all I know at this time. I have no official announcement of any releases, but as soon as I find out, I will pass it along. I'll try to find the article concerning the suit.

Cheers, Hondo B)

robbie

well i hope they all do as all of the covers have a picky of jw from one of the scenes of the movie as the front cover and they are easily reconisable. even my mum can pick them out on the shelf

cheers smokey

Thanks for that info, I'm glad that the legal battle is over and now all we have to do is wait for the release. I have one final question when THATM is release how will we know if we are getting the full version or not as it may have been edited, this in my opinion will be difficult to know as not many have seen the movie.

Smokey

I wish they did that over here but they seem intent on putting naff pictures of the Duke on DVD covers check out this link. It would put me off buying TSOKE its pathetic. What do you all think?

http://www.surprise.com/dvds/classics_dvds...e_Elder_DVD.cfm (http://www.surprise.com/dvds/classics_dvds_westerns/The_Sons_of_Katie_Elder_DVD.cfm)

robbie

well i have to agree with you if i saw that on the shelf i would think twice about buying it i just bought the alamo dvd today ($14.90 aust) and the cover is the same as on the video jw is wearing a what looks like a racoon hat so you can tell without the title what movie it is. sorry about all the naff ones you seem to get saw twe today same situation know by sight which one it is. hope the covers improve for you

cheers smokey

Robbie,

The official run time of the movie when released at theaters back in the release date of 3 July, 1954 is 147 minutes. When the movie is released, be sure you look at the run time, and if it is anywhere around 147 minutes, give a minute or two, then I believe you will have the complete version.

Robbie, don't get upset if the movie run time is 145 minutes. You will have the complete version. What part of any movie will cut 2 minutes? :lol:

Cheers, Hondo B)