Duke's Movies- Blu-Ray/DVD Releases

[wtrayah]

Hello RoughRider! Read your recent comments, thanks for the Info! I had considered purchasing my copy of The Barbarian and The Geisha through that Hollywood classics but not i won't. I'll wait. Did buy my copy of Circus World through them, I'ts OK, print is good, it's a DVD which i did not have. Curious, where abouts in Canada are you? That's a big country! Are you near Montreal? that's a hour and a half from me! bill

[RoughRider]

That is a great help; thanks again Roughrider!
I take it the English audio doesn't have forced subtitles as per the French release of Circus World?

All sounds like it's one to get.

Is anyone else stunned at the choice of films they've released to date on Blu Ray!?! The Conqueror and The Barbarian and the Geisha are hardly high points in the Duke's career!

Nope, Legend of the Lost has no forced subtitles like the French release of Circus World.

It should be noted that the subtitles for Circus World aren't hard-encoded directly onto the print itself. By re-ripping the BD they can be removed, but this is something most people won't do of course. I removed them and then re-encoded the film using the x264 encoder. My BD player can play ISOs directly from a USB hard drive, so there was no need to burn the film to a BD disc.

The x264 encoder is so good that I can't tell the difference. I threw AviSynth's Undot filter at the 211 GB master file (in Lagarith lossless codec format) before encoding to AVC.

Call me crazy but I really don't want to see subtitles if I don't want to.

[RoughRider]

Hello RoughRider! Read your recent comments, thanks for the Info! I had considered purchasing my copy of The Barbarian and The Geisha through that Hollywood classics but not i won't. I'll wait. Did buy my copy of Circus World through them, I'ts OK, print is good, it's a DVD which i did not have. Curious, where abouts in Canada are you? That's a big country! Are you near Montreal? that's a hour and a half from me! bill

I live in the outskirts of Vancouver just above Seattle. Wayne used to bring his yacht up to this neck of the woods. Just across the border in Port Angeles is the John Wayne Marina.

You must have a region-free player -- more people should have one!

[Dooley]

Nope, Legend of the Lost has no forced subtitles like the French release of Circus World.

It should be noted that the subtitles for Circus World aren't hard-encoded directly onto the print itself. By re-ripping the BD they can be removed, but this is something most people won't do of course. I removed them and then re-encoded the film using the x264 encoder.

Call me crazy but I really don't want to see subtitles if I don't want to.

Totally, totally agree with you on the subtitles front. I've ripped a few Blu Rays before for exactly that reason!
I'm working my way through my older DVDs and ripping them onto an external drive so I can put them in the loft to create some space so I hear where your coming from.

[RoughRider]

I've had a chance to sit down and look at the 10-disc John Wayne Collection from Fox.

The bad news is that 9 of the 10 titles are simply re-issues of previous releases, right down to using the exact DVD masters (dates shown in parentheses).

The Big Trail (2003), Red River (1997), Legend of the Lost (2002), The Horse Soldiers (2001), The Alamo (2000), North to Alaska (2003), The Comancheros (2003), The Longest Day (1999), and The Undefeated (2003).

So instead of getting some new and better prints, there's nothing for these titles. In the least Fox could have included an anamorphic version of The Horse Soldiers instead of the 4x3 letterboxed version. Six of the 9 titles have been released on Blu-ray, but none of the new masters made it to DVD in this collection.

The good news is that The Barbarian and the Geisha looks lovely and to my surprise has the original 4-track audio soundtrack. The extras are as follows: original theatrical trailer, 4 Fox Movietone newsreels and a photo gallery.

Duke fans who have the other 9 titles should stay away of course. It's best to buy the combo pack (Blu-ray/DVD) from Walmart.

[Dooley]

I've had a chance to sit down and look at the 10-disc John Wayne Collection from Fox.

The good news is that The Barbarian and the Geisha looks lovely and to my surprise has the original 4-track audio soundtrack. The extras are as follows: original theatrical trailer, 4 Fox Movietone newsreels and a photo gallery.

Duke fans who have the other 9 titles should stay away of course. It's best to buy the combo pack (Blu-ray/DVD) from Walmart.

Another useful update.

Does anyone know if Walmart do international shipping as it sounds like a Blu Ray purchase?

Regards,

Dooley

[WaynamoJim]

I was in Walmart today and not only saw the Blu-ray edition of Barbarian And The Geisha, but also The Big Trail. Both were priced at $12.96 and were in a Blu-ray/ DVD combo pack, which makes it convenient for viewing anywhere.

[Paula]

Rio Grande on Blu-ray (and standard DVD) on August 7!



PRESS RELEASE FROM OLIVE FILMS:

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE SEARCHERS & SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON
REMASTERED IN HD FROM AN ARCHIVAL 35MM PRINT
FIRST TIME ON Blu-ray©
DAY & DATE (DVD and Blu-ray)

JOHN WAYNE | MAUREEN O’HARA in
RIO GRANDE (1950)
Directed by JOHN FORD (THE GRAPES OF WRATH)
with BEN JOHNSON | VICTOR McLAGLEN | HARRY CAREY JR. | CHILL WILLS

PREBOOK 7/10/12 STREET 8/7/12

DVD UPC# 887090044905 CAT# OF449 $19.95srp
BLU-RAY UPC# 887090045001 CAT# OF450 $29.95srp

In the John Ford (The Quiet Man) classic, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara (First of five films together) are embroiled in an epic battle with the Apaches and each other. Wayne leads his Calvary troops to the Rio Grande to fight a warring tribe. His toughest battle lies ahead when his unorthodox plan to outwit the elusive Apaches leads to a possible court-martial. Locked in a bloody war, he must fight not only to save his family, but also to redeem his honor. This was the third and final of the John Wayne/John Ford Cavalry films, which started with Fort Apache and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. The great supporting cast includes Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen and Chill Wills.

1950 | B&W | 105 Minutes | Not Rated

SPECIAL FEATURES:
• THE MAKING OF HIGH NOON (1993 – 23 MINUTES) - NARRATED BY LEONARD MALTIN
Includes Interviews with MICHAEL WAYNE | BEN JOHNSON | HARRY CAREY JR.
• THEATRICAL TRAILER

An Argosy Production JOHN WAYNE MAUREEN O’HARA in “RIO GRANDE” co-starring BEN JOHNSON CLAUDE JARMAN JR. HARRY CAREY JR. CHILL WILLS J. CARROLL NAISH VICTOR McLAGLEN

Screenplay by JAMES KEVIN McGUINNESS Based on a Saturday Evening Post Story by JAMES WARNER BELLAH

Produced by JOHN FORD and MARIAN C. COOPER Directed by JOHN FORD
RIO GRANDE © 1950 MELANGE PICTURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


(Olive Films will also release Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar on Blu-ray and DVD on August 7. Olive Films has licensed for Blu-ray/DVD release about 200 titles from Lionsgate, which currently owns much of the Republic Library.)

[Lt. Brannigan]

Rio Grande on Blu-ray (and standard DVD) on August 7!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• THE MAKING OF HIGH NOON (1993 – 23 MINUTES) - NARRATED BY LEONARD MALTIN
Includes Interviews with MICHAEL WAYNE | BEN JOHNSON | HARRY CAREY JR.
• THEATRICAL TRAILER

Really? IS this a typo or from the actual press release?

[Dooley]

Really? IS this a typo or from the actual press release?

Agreed! Does seem mighty strange. However, glad to see these classics being released on Blu Ray, as long as they do a decent job on the re-mastering.

[RoughRider]

It's not so strange when you consider High Noon is part of the Republic/Paramount library.

Still... a bad filler -- Blu-ray on a budget. There would probably be no money to be made by investing in a proper documentary for the actual film.

[Paula]

It's a typo -- they've now released a corrected release. Here's the corrected language:

• THE MAKING OF RIO GRANDE (1993 – 23 MINUTES) - NARRATED BY LEONARD MALTIN
Includes Interviews with MICHAEL WAYNE | BEN JOHNSON | HARRY CAREY JR.

[Paula]

P.S. Olive Films is also releasing High Noon on Blu-ray and DVD, on July 17. That release will have a "Making of High Noon" featurette:

http://www.classicflix.com/high-noon...n-p-12486.html

[Dooley]

It's a typo -- they've now released a corrected release. Here's the corrected language:

• THE MAKING OF RIO GRANDE (1993 – 23 MINUTES) - NARRATED BY LEONARD MALTIN
Includes Interviews with MICHAEL WAYNE | BEN JOHNSON | HARRY CAREY JR.

Thanks for the update Paula. That makes much more sense.
Hopefully it'll be a good transfer.

dooley

[Dooley]

That's very true!
Where abouts did you get the information on rio grande as I've just been on the olive website and cannot find any mention of it!
High noon is on there though?

Dooley